Keynote

Bill Hanna is President and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority [RDA]. Hanna joined the RDA and the state of Indiana in 2009 and has served under the RDA board of directors and the administrations of Indiana Governors Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence, and current Governor, Eric Holcomb. During Hanna\u27s tenure the RDA has facilitated over 1.4 billion in new investment in infrastructure. The RDA and a coalition of private business representatives, community leaders, labor, and federal, state, and local officials are working together in an unprecedented way to deliver the largest investment in commuter rail transportation in the state\u27s history. Prior to his current assignment, Hanna was the City Manager and Deputy Mayor for the City of Valparaiso, the Economic Development Director for Valparaiso and Vice President of the Valparaiso Economic Development Corporation. Hanna earned his Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University, his MBA from National-Louis University in Chicago, and his Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management and Human Resources from Colorado Christian University. His military career in the U.S. Army as an airborne qualified light infantryman (paratrooper) from 1995 to 1999 included membership in the Army’s Official Presidential Escort and service as a Sentinel (guard) and Head Trainer/Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C