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Five with IU McKinney connections will be honored by the Center for Leadership Development (CDL). They will be celebrated at the organization's 39th annual Minority Achievers Awards and Scholarship Gala on March 21 in Indianapolis.

Lacy Johnson, '81, will receive the 2019 Accomplished Achievement Award. Johnson is a partner at Ice Miller. CDL notes that Johnson "has a long history of putting his resources into supporting Indianapolis and has helped increase minority participation in business and the community by providing invaluable counsel and support to many deserving Indianapolis organizations." He has served on the law school's Board of Visitors, and serves on the IUPUI Board of Advisors. Johnson received IU McKinney's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016.

Carolene Mays-Medley will receive the 2019 Madame C.J. Walker Award for the Outstanding Woman of the year. Mays-Medley is the Executive Director of the White River State Park Development Commission. She is the former Vice Chairman/Commissioner of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Indiana State Representative, newspaper and magazine publisher, and television talk show host. She was named a Sagamore of the Wabash in 2016. She has taken classes as part of the Master of Jurisprudence program at IU McKinney.

Others with IU McKinney connections under consideration for honors recognizing achievement in a variety of categories include:

Kiamesha-Sylvia Colom, '07, a partner at Taft Stettinius and Hollister. In 2018, she was named the winner of the Junior Achievement Best & Brightest for the law category, and was named to Forty under 40 by the Indianapolis Business Journal. Colom was named to the ABA's Top 40 Young Lawyers List in 2016. She serves on the board of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, La Plaza, the Hispanic Business Council of Indy Chamber, is a Chair for the CREW Network Committee for IndyCREW, among many others endeavors.

Barath Raman, '14, is an associate at Lewis Wagner. Raman worked as a field engineer in Houston, Texas, and Los Angeles, California, before law school. While at IU McKinney, he worked as a summer associate  at Lewis Wagner and the Marion County Public Defender Agency, and served as president of the Student Bar Association. He volunteers with Adopt A Stray, College Mentors for Kids, and Habitat for Humanity.

Professor Lahny Silva, who received the Indianapolis Bar Association's Unsung Hero Award for her community service work. Professor Silva works with IU McKinney students who volunteer with REACH, or the Re-Entry and Community Help program. She also works with the annual Re-Entry Job and Resource Fair, which is the effort of the Second Chance Re-Entry Assistance Program, or S.C.R.A.P., student group. She joined the faculty in Summer 2011, and her areas of interest include criminal law, criminal procedure, constitutional law, torts, and evidence.

Dennis Bland, '91, is president of the Center for Leadership Development. He was honored by the IU McKinney Chapter of Equal Justice Works at the Public Interest Recognition Dinner in 2013.

The awards were covered in The Indianapolis Reporter on March 28 (Center for Leadership Development honors minority achievers).