Brian Blackford
Executive Director of Indiana Communities Institute
Brian Blackford is the Executive Director of the Indiana Communities Institute (ICI) at Ball State University’s Miller College of Business, where he has served in various roles since 2014. Based in Indianapolis, Brian works with partners across Indiana to enhance the prosperity and wellbeing of people and place through community-based projects and educational experiences. Brian helps connect communities of all sizes with the resources needed to support modern and comprehensive community economic development. He specializes in community engagement, civic design, arts and culture development, tourism, and action-based planning. Brian has created customized tools, innovated processes, and organized training to support capacity building efforts in dozens of communities. His clients include local elected officials, community foundations, destination marketing/management organizations, statewide associations, and state agencies.
Prior to joining Ball State University in 2014, Brian worked for the Indiana State Fair Commission, where he launched a local food pavilion and supported several large-scale events including the Indiana State Fair; the Indiana Office of Tourism Development, where he initiated several statewide product development programs and directed communications; and Indiana Landmarks, where he led heritage tourism efforts for the nation’s largest statewide non-profit dedicated to preserving the built environment.
He graduated with honors from Ball State University in 2001, completed the Indiana Economic Development Course in 2010, finished the AgriInstitute’s two-year rural leadership program in 2016, completed the Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute’s EntreLeaders curriculum in 2018, and earned a Master in Public Administration degree with a concentration in community economic development in 2019 from Ball State University.
Brian has previously served on the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, the Natural Resources Commission, and the Indiana Main Street Council. He helped establish and served as past president of both Dig IN and Indiana Artisan, non-profit organizations dedicated to enriching community through local food and art. As an adjunct professor, he has taught several classes on cultural heritage tourism and tourism geography at IUPUI. Any spare time is spent biking, running, kayaking, traveling and, most importantly, enjoying the adventures of parenthood with his wife, Cindy, and son, Eli.