Meet our Team

President & CEO

Marie foster-bruns

marie@oneregionnwi.org

Marie began her role as President & CEO of One Region and the Northwest Indiana Regional Opportunities Council in 2021 and has extensive background in nonprofit management, entrepreneurship, fundraising and community relations. She was most recently an executive of West Lafayette-based Purdue Alumni Association, which has more than 600,000 members. Marie is a Purdue University at West Lafayette graduate who earned her MBA at Purdue Northwest.  She also held leadership roles at Purdue Northwest, in Porter County government, and corporate marketing. She is a graduate of Leadership Northwest Indiana, was named as one of the NWI Times’ “20 Under 40” and has been a Northwest Indiana Influential Women finalist.  She resides in LaPorte County with her husband, Norvin, where they enjoy raising their teenage children and taking their little dog, George, on kayaking & hiking adventures.

Program Outreach Manager

Sara Soneye

sara@oneregionnwi.org

Sara joined One Region as Program Outreach Manager in March 2022.  She brings over 20+ years of experience working in marketing and communications in corporate, nonprofit, and higher education sectors.  This diverse background gives Sara a comprehensive skillset to benefit Northwest Indiana through her expertise in communications, event planning, and creativity.  Most recently, she was a manager for a wholesale fuel provider and was responsible for proactively leading creative ways to streamline processes and procedures.  Throughout her career, Sara has served on multiple committees that focus on employee relations and equity, diversity and inclusion. She also practices lifelong learning and attended Purdue Global and various professional development seminars and workshops to stay current in best practices.  During her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children.  Her favorite family activity is camping and finding new places to enjoy the great outdoors.    

Board of Directors

• Chris White
  Publisher of The Times Media Company/ Lee Enterprises
• Ben Bochnowski
  President & CEO of Peoples Bank
• Michael Bergerson
  Partner, Barnes & Thornburg
• Michael Hooper
  President, NIPSCO
• Michael Schneider
  Wintrust Bank (NIROC Liaison)
• Matt Wells
  (Non-Voting Treasurer)