ReCenter Indiana Inc., a nonpartisan nonprofit aimed at strengthening civic participation, has appointed its first executive director as part of an expanded effort to address Indiana’s consistently low voter turnout.

Jocelyn Vare, a former Fishers City Council member and past chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, was named to the new leadership role. Vare also ran for the Indiana Senate and has been active in local politics for more than a decade.

ReCenter Indiana was founded in 2022 to promote centrist candidates through a political action committee, including a statewide billboard campaign ahead of the 2024 primary election. The organization now plans to sharpen its focus on voter engagement, particularly among young people who are eligible to vote but choose not to cast ballots.

Vare said she hopes to help reconnect Hoosiers with the political process. “When we vote, we remind elected officials to work together and recenter on the priorities of the people,” she said in a statement.

As part of that effort, ReCenter Indiana will launch a new survey this fall targeting Central Indiana residents ages 18 to 34 who registered but did not vote in the 2024 general election. The research will be conducted by two national polling firms—one Democratic, the other Republican—to better understand the perspectives of younger nonvoters.

Funding for the survey will come from a $50,000 grant awarded by the Nicholas H. Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation. “The generous Noyes Foundation grant will strengthen ReCenter Indiana’s ability to show young adults that they and their priorities matter,” Vare said.

ReCenter Indiana’s founder and board president, Don Knebel, said the nonprofit is refining its mission to push back against political polarization by encouraging citizens to participate and reminding elected officials to focus on the public interest.

“The chasm between our elected officials and the people keeps widening,” Knebel said. “We have a determined executive director, a significant grant award and a sharpened strategy that will help Hoosiers’ voices be heard.”