Joy Repair · Indianapolis
One
Neighbor.
One
Institution.
The same city. The same twenty years. Two completely different theories of change.
Marc McAleavey
Born 6/7/77 in Indianapolis. Descendant of Captain Hugh Norvell and Senator John Norvell. Twenty years of community work, two blocks from the Lilly Endowment. One person with a methodology.
The Mind Trust
Founded 2006 by former Mayor Bart Peterson and David Harris. Backed by Lilly, Gates, Arnold, Dell, and Walton foundations. $134 million raised. 50+ schools launched. One institution with a budget.
The Core Question
"The trick is not deception. The trick is revelation."
Miss Marie, concert pianist, kitchen helper
1669, 2005
The historical foundation that made both stories possible.
1669–1719
Captain Hugh Norvell
Original American landowner. Trustee appointed to build the City of Williamsburg. Vestryman of Bruton Parish Church, worshipping alongside Washington, Jefferson, and Madison.
1789–1850
Senator John Norvell
U.S. Senator, Michigan. Co-founder of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Collaborated with Thomas Jefferson. Marc's direct ancestor through his grandmother Constance Norvell McAleavey.
1845
Michael McAleavey settles in Oconomowoc, WI
Marc's great-grandfather Michael arrives from County Mayo. Settles in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The McAleavey family was among the earliest Irish Catholic settlers in the region, representing a significant share of the Irish population in the country at the time.
1838
Colonel Eli Lilly born
Born in Indiana. Civil War veteran. Would found Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis in 1876, the institution whose endowment would eventually fund the Mind Trust two blocks from Marc's house.
1840s
Irish Catholics fight for neighborhood school control
In New York City, Irish Catholic immigrants struggle for community control of schools. The same argument Marc is making, community agency versus institutional control, is already 180 years old.
1970
Patrick McAleavey comes to Indianapolis
Marc's father Patrick arrives in Indianapolis to attend IU School of Medicine. The McAleavey line, rooted in Oconomowoc since 1845, plants itself in the same city where the Lilly fortune is being built.
1937
Lilly Endowment established
Founded by Eli Lilly Jr. and his family. Would become one of the largest private foundations in the United States, the primary funder of Indianapolis civic infrastructure for generations.
1954
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court rules racial segregation unconstitutional. The promise of educational equity enters federal law. Decades of implementation battles follow.
1965
Elementary and Secondary Education Act · LBJ
First major federal investment in poor schools. Title I channels dollars to low-income communities. The social service infrastructure Chelsea Clinton would later call "the bedrock of my family."
1983
A Nation at Risk
Federal report declares American schools failing, sparks the standards-based reform movement. The institutional reform model that produces the Mind Trust twenty years later takes root.
2001
Indianapolis Mayor gets charter authority
Mayor Bart Peterson becomes the first mayor in the country authorized to charter schools. David Harris becomes first director. Harvard Innovation in Government Award. The Mind Trust is five years away.
2002
No Child Left Behind signed
President George W. Bush raises the stakes, standards, tests, accountability, sanctions. Schools teach to the test. The model that produces the Mind Trust's theory of change is now federal law.
1977, 2005
Formation. Everything that made the methodology possible.
June 7, 1977 · 11:11am
Marc McAleavey born
IU University Hospital, Indianapolis. Son of Patrick Joseph McAleavey and Judy Brewer McAleavey. Cousin of Dennis Linde, who wrote Burning Love for Elvis Presley.
1984–1985
First performances
First public performance, St. Luke's Catholic Christmas Show. Indianapolis Deaf Club, break dancing to Herbie Hancock. MUST Ballroom Champion.
1993–1995
Teaching art, photography, ceramics
Photography with William Rasdell, Meadows Apartments. Teaching photography at Indianapolis Art League at 18. Intern, Dan Quayle (1995).
1996
Campaigns for Clinton
First Democratic campaign. Having previously interned for Dan Quayle. Both things are true.
1998
Oxford · Oriel College
Studies International Relations. Would later share this connection with Chelsea Clinton in the Unleavened Bread Café.
2004
BA Philosophy · Indiana University
NASW MSW Student of the Year. Inducted into Phi Alpha Honor Society. Founding President of Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law.
2006, 2026 · Same City · Same Twenty Years
Marc McAleavey · McAleavey-Norvell line
The Mind Trust · Lilly Endowment
2006
Zawadi Exchange co-founded
With De'Amon Harges and Rev. Mike Mather at Broadway UMC. Roving Listeners begin asking what people love in Mapleton-Fall Creek. Asset-based community development at the neighborhood level.
Mind Trust founded
Bart Peterson and David Harris launch with Fairbanks Foundation seed funding. Harvard Innovation in Government Award. Theory of change: institutional autonomy produces better outcomes.
2007–2013
INRC Evaluation Manager + Public Allies
100-125 neighborhood grantees evaluated annually. Founding Executive Director of Public Allies Indianapolis, $1M budget, emerging civic leaders. MSW from Indiana University 2007.
2009
Miracle of 29th Street
People dance in the streets. $5M+ documented economic impact across 10 blocks. De'Amon named one of 8 most influential neighborhood organizers in America by the Kettering Foundation. Not one instrument in the field had any way to measure it.
2011
Opportunity Schools report
Calls for dismantling elected IPS board, replacing with mayoral appointments. Controversial. Partly realized fourteen years later by the ILEA.
2013–2016
Founding Executive Director · Playworks Indiana
Launches Indiana regional office. Elementary education and community building across Marion County. Featured on PBS NewsHour, February 4, 2014.
2015
Every Student Succeeds Act
Obama replaces No Child Left Behind. Shifts accountability back to states. Charter schools now in 42+ states. The national reform model that Indianapolis pioneered is mainstream.
2016–2022
Executive Director · Serve Indiana
Governor-appointed State Commission on Volunteerism and Service. $16M+ federal investment annually. 800 AmeriCorps members per year across all 92 Indiana counties. Shared a stage with Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
2018
Founds Joy Repair
Advisory and civic storytelling practice. Develops Meta-Macro Social Work framework. Founds Journal of Economic Iatrogenesis and Labor Studies. The methodology takes institutional form.
David Harris steps down
Mind Trust founder leaves after 11 years. Brandon Brown becomes CEO. $80M+ raised to date. 17 schools and 10 education nonprofits supported.
2022
Mass shooting · Broadway United Methodist Church
A man dies at Marc's feet on the steps of his church on 29th Street. Karen texts: "Tell the kids I love them." His son Max starts a Students Demand Action chapter two blocks from the Lilly Endowment.
2024–2026
Finalizes Meta-Macro Social Work Framing Documents and Core Practice
Leads two statewide organizations simultaneously. 92 counties. Community Analysis Program Manager at the Polis Center, 20+ research projects as Principal Investigator.
2025
DOGE guts AmeriCorps · Public Allies defunded
Trump administration terminates nearly $400M in AmeriCorps grants. Public Allies Indianapolis, the organization Marc founded, is defunded overnight.
ILEA votes 8-1
Recommends Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, nine mayor-appointed members, zero elected seats. Mind Trust applauds. Protesters fill the room. The only no vote was an IPS parent and teacher.
2026
Trick Him Back · Joy Repair · Joy Radio
Publishes this argument. Makes the ask. The Zawadi model must be funded. The Norvell family helped build American democracy. Their descendant is two blocks from the Lilly Endowment asking why community agency still isn't funded.
Expands nationally · Connecticut
North Star Fellowship launches in Connecticut. $134M raised total. The model scales outward. 5.8% of Black IPS students pass state proficiency benchmarks.
The Norvell family built Williamsburg.
The Lilly family built Indianapolis.
One descendant is asking why his community still can't build itself.