Lise Pace brings abundance of relevant personal, professional experience to public transit agency
INDIANAPOLIS — Later today, IndyGo will officially welcome Lise Pace as a member of the organization’s Board of Directors. Pace, who is Vice President of External Affairs at Bosma Enterprises, will join the board for its first meeting since being unanimously confirmed by the Indianapolis City-County Council this past Monday. Bosma Enterprises – a non-profit organization based in Indianapolis – is the state’s largest employer of Hoosiers who have lost their sight and a leading provider of rehabilitation and training services for people with blindness or visual impairment.
“I first met Lise when my team and I visited Bosma Enterprises to discuss current and future plans for paratransit services at IndyGo,” said IndyGo President and CEO Inez Evans. “Her intelligence and passion for our mission stood out immediately, and I knew this was a person from whom we could benefit tremendously. Lise’s leadership will benefit the entire organization and communities we serve.”
In the United States, people who are blind or visually impaired face a staggering unemployment rate of 70 percent. Pace fully understands the challenges people with vision impairment confront on the job market, because she faced them herself. She began her career in banking and quickly worked her way from an entry-level position to management.
Like many professionals, Pace anticipated a career focused on corporate advancement; however, everything changed in 2000 when she lost most of her usable vision due to retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder. Due to her vision loss, she stopped working for what she thought would be forever. After initial feelings of misfortune and defeat, Pace decided her blindness would not be a hindrance to achieving professional success. She went back to school, earned associate and bachelor’s degrees and rebuilt her skill set to navigate a new career path.
In 2008, Pace started volunteering with Bosma Enterprises. After four months, she was offered a one-year assignment with AmeriCorps VISTA. At AmeriCorps, Pace focused on furthering volunteer opportunities for people who have disabilities. As recognition for her work, she was named Indiana’s VISTA Volunteer of the Year and was profiled in ABILITY Magazine.
At the end of her term with AmeriCorps, Pace was hired by Bosma Enterprises to lead all of the organization’s volunteer programs. Now a 10-year veteran of the organization and currently Vice President of External Affairs, Pace oversees the customer service department and all communications, advertising, public policy and public relations efforts for the organization.
Pace often defines her most important goal as bringing hope to Hoosiers experiencing vision loss, ensuring people with disabilities throughout the state are given the same opportunities in their communities that she has been given at Bosma Enterprises.
“Transportation is one of the most significant barriers to employment for people with disabilities and those who have socio-economic challenges,” said Pace. “My ability to begin volunteering regularly at Bosma Enterprises was due in large part to learning about and how to access the IndyGo paratransit system. Many of my colleagues and the clients we assist rely on the service as well. This is an opportunity to improve their quality of life and ensure viable public transportation in Indianapolis.”
Pace has a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from Indiana Wesleyan University. She earned associate and bachelor’s degrees – graduating magna cum laude – in business administration and management, both from Indiana Wesleyan University and was assisted in part by a competitive scholarship she won from National Federation of the Blind.
Pace is a lifelong learner and in 2017 completed a marketing specialization program with IE Business School. She was a participant in Leadership Indianapolis’ LEAD program and, in 2019, she became Certified Lean Six Sigma through Purdue University’s School of Engineering.
###
Translate This Page
