To see the rest of our 50 Over 50 feature, click the links for sections A-D, D-K, R-S, and S-W.
EVERY SINGLE PERSON in this handpicked group proves it’s never too late to shine. Whether launching new careers, chasing passions, giving back, or shaking things up, our bold and brilliant cohort has us awed. In a world fixated on youth, these inspiring individuals defy expectations every day. Thirty under 30? Pshaw. Meet Indy’s cool crowd right here.
Nancy Lee, 65
Jewelry artist Lee has been making her “tiny things” for 30 years, but it never gets old, she insists. Her colorful, precious metal pieces come to life in her downtown studio and are shown off in her Factory Arts gallery. Lee embraces each day with verve. She plans to grow the custom side of her business and lean into professional education so she can offer wedding ring redesign services to older couples. “The second act of life is where the magic is,” Lee says. “With experience comes clarity—and the confidence to create on your own terms.”
Constance Macy, 58
The Phoenix Theatre underwent multiple management changes as it strove to reset its identity. Enter Macy, who took on the title of artistic director. It was an entirely new type of job for one of Indy’s leading actresses. “I turned 50, let my gray come in … and my phone quit ringing,” Macy shares about the flow of acting opportunities. “When I was asked to apply for the artistic director spot, I thought, Why not?” Under her leadership, rather than simply producing its own plays, the Phoenix hosts works by resident arts groups including Naptown African American Theatre Collective, Summit Performance, and American Lives Theatre, as well as offers classes and lectures. “I’d encourage anyone contemplating a career change in their 50s or older. We get one life. I’m happier carrying my own basket instead of putting my eggs in someone else’s.”
Evelyn Magley, 67
From the University of Kansas to Bradenton, Florida, Magley has brought positivity to each place she’s touched. Now as she nears her 10th anniversary as a Hoosier, it comes as no surprise that the same impact she has had elsewhere is being seen here. As the CEO of community-centric The Basketball League and the Basketball Super League, Magley is the first Black female owner of a male professional basketball league. “What has helped me in everything I do has been my faith,” Magley says of her ability to grow through the years. “I get up every day looking to see what God would have me do in the lives that I can impact.”
Tony Mason, 58
The man behind some of Indy’s most thrilling sporting events is also one of the city’s most decorated. As the SVP of the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee, Mason showed fans of the Chiefs and Bucks how to have a great time in the Crossroads of America. He has led the Black equity nonprofit Indianapolis Urban League since 2014, where he’s emerged as a vocal advocate for affordable housing in Indy and beyond. “When you have safe, quality housing that you can afford,” he says, “that’s the basis for being able to thrive.”
Jamie Merisotis, 61
Leading the Lumina Foundation, Merisotis is a tireless advocate for more equitable career preparedness, in particular through Goal 2025, an initiative to increase post-
secondary education attainment among those age 25–64 from 54 to 60 percent. The author of America Needs Talent: Attracting, Educating & Deploying the 21st-Century Workforce and Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines advises policymakers worldwide on workforce readiness issues.
Kipp Normand, 61
If you know even a little about Indy’s homegrown art scene, then you know Normand. The self-professed “junk collector and armchair historian” haunts back alleys, secondhand shops, and abandoned buildings for materials to transform into meditative commentary on our world. He is as eclectic as ever, exhibiting assemblages, shadow boxes, installations, and collages across the city. “Every life experience, every place I have visited, every story I have heard is somehow filed away and shapes my work in unexpected ways,” he observes. When he was a “young blade,” Normand always had a Plan B. “I guess by now I’m on Plan X or Y.”
Polina Osherov, 53
As executive director of the magazine and creative brand Pattern, photographer Osherov has introduced Indianapolis to some of its most forward-thinking artists. Recently she has been instrumental in redefining what a “creative economy” could look like here. Osherov bootstrapped Pattern from a scrappy fashion collective into an economic development engine with residencies, fellowships, summits, workshops, and offices in the historic Stutz Building. Osherov envisions a future where Indy is a magnet for creative companies with jobs—and gives them reason to stick around. “You want there to be so much creative activity that when you walk down the street, there’s music, fashionable people, retail, buskers and, you know, art on the streets,” she says. “All the time, not just during the All-Stars.”
Kelly Oswalt, 63
Makeup artist Oswalt launched photo movement The Gray Hair Project to show the world that older women are sensual and exciting and, more importantly, show the ladies themselves that they are powerful and relevant in today’s world. Next step: Take the photoshoots global and invite women all over the world to join through Facebook. “We get so stressed about our attractiveness as we age that our inner spirit is obstructed. I’m trying to help women break the obsession with trying to appear young.”
Latha Ramchand, 64
As the inaugural chancellor of IU Indianapolis and executive vice president of Indiana University, Ramchand makes it her mission to increase innovation, cultivate leaders through workforce development, and strengthen research initiatives at the R1-designated institution. A native of Mumbai, India, Ramchand held prior leadership posts with the University of Missouri and University of Houston before relocating to the Circle City in February 2024. At IUI, Ramchand fosters a collaborative environment, making herself regularly accessible to students and faculty and fostering connections with statewide mayors and school superintendents. The Herron-Morton resident has found a few favorite haunts in Salt on Mass, Livery, and Vicino while exploring (and impacting) her new environs.
Gary Reynolds, 82
Reynolds’ parents, Mac and Arline, opened a small John Deere shop in Fishers in 1955 when residents numbered well under 500. By 1969, Reynolds started building up the business—and he’s still at it. Reynolds Farm Equipment is now a six-location enterprise. Known for his impactful charitable projects for 4-H, Conner Prairie, youth sports, and local food pantries, Reynolds was hailed as an Indiana Living Legend.
