INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — News 8 has brought viewers several stories in recent weeks that highlighted the challenges facing Black communities in central Indiana.

News 8 contributor Emil Ekiyor has been a part of each discussion, and he has again returned, this time to lay out his plan to capitalize on opportunities and address vulnerabilities in the community. Ekiyor is the chief executive officer of InnoPower Indy Inc., which works to drive innovative community empowerment programs.

The community leader discussed a desire to create a “central Indiana impact network,” which he said will present an opportunity “for us to come together and set goals.”

“We have a huge opportunity as a a community today to align organizations, corporations, (and) policy makers around a common goal,” he said. “We haven’t set goals around (where) we want to be in five years.”

He said his plan includes laying out a way to “measure wins.”

“As a collective, we can come together and set bold goals around what we want to do around talent, for example,” Ekiyor said.

Asked for an example of his goals, Ekiyor said one includes the creation of “energy around supplier diversity.”

“If we don’t have those goals, then, what we say in sports, we’re ‘drawing plays in the sand, hoping for wins,’ and we’re not being deliberate about going to win.”