Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. The life sciences sector is a major driver of Central Indiana’s economy and a key contributing factor to the vitality of Indianapolis. While Indiana’s life sciences sector is robust – wages for the sector have grown to $5.8 billion in 2018, and venture capital investments over the last four years totaled $360 million – competition is intensifying as other markets also compete to attract the investments, companies and talent required for continued growth. Cross-sector collaboration, coordination and alignment are key to ongoing economic prosperity in Indianapolis and elsewhere around the state. To ensure the continued strength of the […]

Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. There’s no question that opioid addiction is wreaking havoc in communities across Indiana, including in Indianapolis. The latest figures show that, in 2016, there were 18.9 opioid poisoning deaths in Marion County per 100,000 residents – which translates into 171 lives lost. What’s worse, a new study from the University of Virginia finds opioid poisoning deaths are likely much higher than official figures reported in Indiana and other states. Two years ago, in November 2015, the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation adopted new funding priorities, one of which is to tackle the opioid crisis in Indianapolis. The first […]