MU
What’s New at MU
What’s New at MU
Five join Manchester University Board of Trustees in 2022
Mark Baer ’91 is chief executive officer of Crowe, based in Columbus, Ohio. With offices around the world, Crowe is a public accounting, consulting and technology firm. He previously served five years as managing partner of the firm’s audit and assurance services. A CPA, he is a member of the Crowe LLP Inclusive Excellence Council, which drives key diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and initiatives across the firm. He is also a director of the Crowe Foundation, which aligns charitable giving with volunteer efforts of Crowe personnel. He served on the Manchester President’s Leadership Council from 2016 until joining the trustees, and was on the board of Salvation Army of Greater Columbus, Prevent Child Abuse of Northern Indiana and Leadership South Bend/Mishawaka.
Alicia Roberts ’01 Baird of Indianapolis is director of grant systems and administration at Strada Education Network, a national organization devoted to research, philanthropy and solutions that align education and careers. She majored in economics at Manchester and went on to earn a master’s degree in philanthropic studies from Indiana University (IUPUI). A recipient of Manchester’s Young Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award, Baird previously served on the Board of Trustees from 2005 to 2010. She served on the Manchester President’s Leadership Council from 2013 until joining the trustees, is a founding member and past president of Indiana Blacks in Philanthropy and is on the Big Brothers Big Sisters Indianapolis Scholarship Review panel.Baird is active in the Indianapolis African American Quality of Life Initiative.
Brittan Bright ’03 King lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is head of industry on Google’s sales team in business and industrial markets. King has worked at Google for seven years, is a member of the Black Googler network, State of Black Women, Mixed Googlers and Woman@Google employee resource groups. She currently helps lead an internal mentorship program geared toward Black+Googler career advancement, serves as a mentor via Google’s Sage program, as well as facilitating several DEI-focused classes through Google’s G2G learning program. She served on the Diversity, Equity and Belonging committee at Brooklyn Friends School. She is a tireless advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion. King majored in English at Manchester.
Rev. Dr. Timothy Lake, associate professor at Wabash College, serves as associate director of the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Religion and Theology. A scholar whose research and teaching reflect the connections that exist among traditionally distinct disciplines, Lake also chairs the Black studies minor program at Wabash. A Fort Wayne resident, Lake has two master’s degrees, one in religious studies from Howard University School of Divinity and another in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame. He has a doctorate in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University (Ohio). Lake is senior pastor of Union Baptist Church in Fort Wayne. He was Manchester’s director of multicultural affairs from 1997 to 2000.
Dan Starr has been president and CEO of Do it Best Corp., based in Fort Wayne, Ind. since 2016. He joined Do it Best in 2005 as human resources director and general counsel, was promoted to vice president of human resources in 2006 and then executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2012.
Prior to joining Do it Best, Starr was a partner at a Midwestern law firm specializing in business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and tax matters, including years serving the legal needs of Do it Best. Starr received his law degree from Indiana University School of Law. He serves on the United Way of Allen County Board of Directors and Parkview Health Board of Directors.