Meet the newest members of the Ball State University Foundation Board of Directors, Class of 2024

The Ball State University Foundation Board of Directors welcomes four new members to its ranks. Eric Foss, Jill Lacy, Betsy Ross, and Michelle Ryan compose the freshman class. Joining them are three re-elected veterans to the table—Jo Ann Gora returns for her second term on the board, and Craig Dobbs and Kathy Arbuckle will both be returning for their third terms.

Eric Foss, ’80

Eric Foss is the former chairman and CEO of two multibillion global-, asset-, and people-intensive Fortune 200 companies—Aramark and Pepsi Bottling Group. He has a proven track record of creating significant stakeholder value for consumers, clients, employees, shareholders, and communities. He is currently a senior advisor at Bain Capital and serves on the boards of two publicly traded companies, Cigna and Diversey.  He sits on the board of X2 Energy (privately held) and the National Board of Back on My Feet.  He is also the co-owner of the Omaha Storm Chasers (the AAA baseball franchise of the Kansas City Royals). Foss graduated from Ball State University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and the University of Michigan in executive education.

Jill Lacy, ’92

Jill Lacy is the president of the Lacy Foundation, a private charitable foundation established in memory of Stanley K. Lacy. The Lacy Foundation’s philanthropy focuses on education, leadership, and quality of life issues. Jill is a founding board member for Leadership Indianapolis and also currently serves on the boards for the Indiana Repertory Theatre, Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, and various other boards throughout the area. She has been elected to the National Council (Board of Directors) for Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity, Inc. and serves on the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation Board of Trustees. Lacy earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and political science from Ball State University in 1992 and a master’s in education in higher education ddministration from Indiana University in 1994.

Betsy Ross, ’72

Betsy Ross is the president of Game Day Communications, a sports and entertainment communications firm based in Cincinnati and founded in 2002. Ross most recently worked as an anchor at ESPN for five years. She won a regional Emmy® for her work on the broadcast of the Lauren Hill Mt. St. Joseph-Hilliard College basketball game at Xavier University in November 2014. A native of Connersville, Indiana, she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ball State, where she was a member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. Ross also holds a master’s in communication arts from the University of Notre Dame.

Michelle Ryan, ’81

Michelle Ryan is a board member and volunteer teacher at Chicago Jesuit Academy, a middle school in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood that offers young men a college prep education in the Catholic tradition.  She serves as a director of the James T. and Michelle A. Ryan Foundation, which focuses on providing academic scholarships, internships, and social support for students from underserved communities.  Michelle had a successful career as an executive in merchandising and human resources with Federated Department Stores and Baxter Healthcare Corporation.  She graduated from Ball State University in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education.