Ascend Indiana, the talent and workforce development initiative of the CEOs of Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), announced today a new member to its Board of Directors.

Dedric Day, senior director- Strategic Talent Partnerships at Eli Lilly and Company, is filling the Eli Lilly and Company board seat that had been previously held by Eric Dozier.

“Ascend’s board of directors provides invaluable insight and guidance, and I am pleased that Dedric will join as our newest member,” said Brad Rhorer, president and CEO of Ascend Indiana. “I am thankful for Eric’s support of Ascend Indiana over the years and eager to welcome Dedric, who brings significant value to the board through his strategic leadership in building partnerships across education and government.”

In his role at Eli Lilly and Company, Dedric is responsible for creating talent ecosystems by leveraging partnerships with high schools, key higher education organizations and government partners associated with Eli Lilly and Company’s new U.S. manufacturing sites announced as part of the more than $50 billion expansion.

Prior to his current role, Dedric’s most recent experiences with Lilly were in a global role as the Senior Director of the Process Engineering Center within Lilly’s central engineering organization, driving strategic business improvements across all Lilly manufacturing sites and resourcing subject matter experts to accelerate the delivery of new manufacturing sites. Before that, he held leadership roles in engineering, operations and technical services/manufacturing sciences across manufacturing modalities including API, Dry Products Packaging and Device Manufacturing, and he is Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified.

Dedric has also been influential with Indiana’s federally designated Biotech Hub (Heartland BioWorks HQ), the BioCrossroads Life Science Industry Talent Association and the Ascend Indiana Workforce Council Steering Committee.