Robert Kizer, president and CEO of Starfish Initiative, received the TechPoint Foundation for Youth Bridge Builder Award during the 15th annual TechPoint Mira Awards honoring the best of tech in Indiana. The Starfish Initiative, one of the most successful college access mentoring programs in the country, matches students with college-educated, volunteer adult mentors who help “walk” their students into college.

Thanks to the guidance of their mentors, 100 percent of the Starfish Scholars who completed the program have graduated from high school and 97 percent have been accepted by colleges or universities.

“TechPoint Foundation for Youth is pleased to recognize a leader in the community truly making an impact on so many underserved students in our community,” said Laura Dodds, Executive Director of TechPoint Foundation for Youth, “On behalf of the board TechPoint Foundation for Youth, it is with great pleasure that we recognize Bob Kizer, President and CEO of Starfish Initiative as the 2014 Bridge Builder Award.”

Robert Kizer previously served in senior client service and practice development roles in public accounting (Price Waterhouse, now PwC), commercial real estate management (F.C. Tucker Commercial, now Cassidy Turley) and market research/customer strategy consulting (Walker Information).

 

TechPoint, Indiana’s technology growth initiative, honored Robert Kizer and 14 other Indiana-based companies, entrepreneurs and educators for their technology excellence and innovation on May 3, at the Mira Awards gala presented by BKD CPAs & Advisors. Mira — Latin for miracle and a variable star thousands of times brighter than the Earth’s sun — represents the best of tech in Indiana each year.