Felege Hiywot Board

Shellye Suttles is an agricultural economist with a focus on local and regional food systems, municipal food policy, and food system impacts on climate change. Shellye was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She served as a sustainable agriculture and livestock volunteer for Peace Corps in Santa María Visitación, Guatemala. She currently lives in Indianapolis with her family.

As a graduate of the University of Wyoming, Tommy taught music in public, private, and charter schools between 1995 and 2009. In 2002, Tommy began writing educational units for the National Core Knowledge Foundation. Since that time, he has presented in numerous National Conferences on unit writing and curriculum design. In 2009, Tommy moved to school administration at Knowledge Quest Academy in Milliken, CO. Soon after, he accepted a position as school director of Paramount School of Excellence in Indianapolis, where he resides as CEO over a network of charter schools. Tommy Reddicks has worked in four K-8 Charter Schools in two US states. He has also been part of three separate Charter School Start-ups, growing a vast array of experience in the field of school operations.

As a strong believer in data-driven solutions for health and education, he began partnering his school efforts with Community Health Network in 2011. This has sparked ongoing research and pilot programs in Indiana for school-based health center models that leverage correlations between academic performance and social determinants of health.

Tommy published The Insane Book of Riddles Codes, and Secret Math with Dogear Publishing in 2014 and a guide for new school leaders called, Lead From the Start, which released in December 2019. He has composed and released two CD’s, Time & Space in 2012 and A New Dimension in 2015.

Tommy has overseen the creation of the Paramount Peace Park adjacent to Paramount School of Excellence on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis. The park features two of his art installations and countless other local artist installations all within a model of accessibility. Tommy is also an avid cheesemaker. He specializes in French washed rind and aged goat cheeses. His most famous goat cheese, “Gnarly Val”, is now being produced at his schools and is for sale in the Indianapolis community. Tommy has worked in collaboration with the Felege Hiywot Center since 2011.

Ryder Harman is a salesman and marketer who currently oversees marketing for his family’s manufacturing business, ALmix. Ryder began his career in account management and sales at an ad agency in Indianapolis where he developed a diverse marketing skill set and a knack for business development in the B2B space. Ryder is a Philadelphia, PA native who came to Indiana in 2010 to study at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Ryder also has an M.B.A from the Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis. He lives in Noblesville, IN with his wife Madison Harman.