INDIANAPOLIS -- Former IMPD chief Troy Riggs will serve as the interim president and CEO of Elevate Indianapolis while the nonprofit mentoring organization looks for a replacement for co-founder Jim Shaffer.
Elevate Indianapolis connects urban youth with mentors to help them develop life skills, improve academically and develop long-term relationships with a network of support.
The organization works with students from 4th through 12 grades to still the program’s 13 character qualities and life skills.
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Shaffer, a former NCAA executive and vice president for the Indianapolis Water Company, recently accepted an appointment by Gov. Eric Holcomb to the Indiana Parole Board.
Since Elevate Indianapolis is already under the umbrella of the Sagamore Institute, where Riggs serves as vice president, Riggs said he was asked to step in on an interim basis to help the organization find a new CEO.
“It will probably take a few months, but they’re looking for a new person to really build upon what Jim started,” Riggs said.
Last year, Elevate Indianapolis selected 20 students to receive focused attention from the mentoring program. According to Riggs, the program showed immediate dividends.
“All 20 of them graduated,” Riggs said. “All 20 of them are going on to higher education, whether that’s trade school or a four-year college.”
Riggs joined Sagamore Institute earlier this year after serving as Mayor Joe Hogsett’s first chief of police.
Prior to that, Riggs served as the director of public safety for the city of Indianapolis.
Riggs recently helped another youth mentoring organization, the One heart Project, secure $100,000 in funding to start an Indianapolis operation.
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One Heart says it “brings together the toolset, skills and resources to achieve a restorative justice model for young adults.”
Riggs said he will continue his work at Sagamore while serving as Elevate Indianapolis’ interim CEO.
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