United Way of Central Indiana honors Marshood at its annual celebration.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – At its annual celebration Monday evening, United Way of Central Indiana shared the work the nonprofit and its partners did in 2025 and 2026 and hosted a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Brian Goldstone. The evening closed with community recognition awards honoring individuals whose leadership has had a significant impact.
Ruba Marshood, Indy Reads Chief Executive Officer, was named 2026 Exceptional Nonprofit Executive of the Year, an honor recognizing individuals who exemplify leadership within the nonprofit sector. Her stewardship of Indy Reads is recognized as transformational and courageous, positioning literacy as a path to dignity, economic mobility, and self-determination for immigrants and non-native English speakers who are often marginalized in policy and practice. She leads without retreating under pressure, ensuring those most affected by linguistic isolation are met with access, respect, and high-quality services.
Inclusive Program Design
Marshood and her team have worked to build partnerships across sectors to create program design that is student-centered, tuition-free, and flexible, from instruction to student support coaching, meeting learners where they are. Internally, she has shaped a staff culture grounded in accountability, empathy, and cultural competency. Her approach reflects a belief that literacy is tied to economic, social, and civic power, and that focusing on historically excluded populations helps disrupt inequity at a systemic level.
Centering Underrepresented Communities
Today, 98% of Indy Reads students identify as belonging to one or more historically underrepresented groups: 67% are immigrants, 87% are people of color, and 71% live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Indy Reads’ community model serves over 550 adult learners and their families annually, representing 48 countries and 42 languages. Shared learning spaces foster belonging and cross-cultural connection, while the organization’s community bookstore and programming extend that welcome, making learners and their families contributors to a broader civic community. As Fred Payne, CEO of United Way of Central Indiana, shared from Marshood’s nomination, “Indy Reads does not just serve an underserved population; it centers them.”
“I’m deeply honored to receive this recognition from my peers, who are doing incredible work in our community. At Indy Reads, our holistic program model is anchored in the belief that every person has the right to full literacy—and that every person has something to learn and something to share. To have this work recognized by United Way and our partners is both humbling and affirming,” said Marshood. “This award recognizes our entire Indy Reads community, whose trust, engagement, and partnership give my leadership meaning. Together, we will continue uplifting community and opportunity as we advance 100% literacy for all.”
About Indy Reads
Indy Reads builds literacy, English language, and job readiness skills to empower adults and their families to reach their full potential. The organization’s vision is 100% literacy for all. Indy Reads’ office, classroom, and community bookstore space hosts around 250 free community events each year engaging over 8,000 participants and serves as our center of operations for tuition-free literacy programs serving nearly 500 adult students across central Indiana.
Current statistics show that 1 in 6 adults in Indiana read at or below a fifth-grade level, impacting their educational, civic, and workforce engagement. Indy Reads advances social equity through education, helping adult learners increase their English literacy proficiency, earn High School Equivalency (HSE) diplomas, support their children’s education, engage in the community, and build industry skills. Indy Reads is proudly the only organization in the region that serves adults of all literacy skill levels, including the most beginning-level. To learn more about Indy Reads visit indyreads.org.