Phil Lehmkuhler

Education

• MPA, University of Louisville
• BA, Indiana University

Biography

Philip G. Lehmkuhler is the founder of Mid-America Management and Consulting, LLC, and serves as a consultant for community and business development projects in Indiana and Texas. He teaches several public budgeting and finance classes at SPEA.

Appointed by President Obama as Indiana State Director of USDA Rural Development in the summer of 2009, Lehmkuhler oversaw operations of 105 staff members located in Indianapolis and seven regional offices throughout Indiana. He managed an annual operational budget of approximately $9 million and was responsible for a variety of loan, loan guarantee, and grant programs which invested more than $6.5 billion in rural Indiana. Under his leadership, Rural Development program investment increased by 260% in Indiana.

Before joining USDA Rural Development, Lehmkuhler served as manager of economic development and members services of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) where he was responsible for assisting member communities with community and economic development opportunities and other member services. At IMPA, he managed programs that included economic development strategic planning, website design assistance for local economic development organizations, aerial photography, a site and building database, economic impact analysis, and networking and business recruitment opportunities with site selectors and high level corporate executives.

Prior to that, he served as the manager of the Economic Development Division of the Indiana Department of Commerce. There, he managed five economic development divisions of Business Recruitment, Business Retention and Expansion, Small Business, International Trade, and Tourism and Film. He managed the State of Indiana economic development tax credit and grant incentive programs.

Before working at Commerce, he worked 14 years on community and economic development projects while working for members of Congress. Some successful projects include securing funding for Jeffersonville’s downtown revitalization project as well as moving the Town of English which is the second largest community relocation in U.S. history.

Lehmkuhler’s affiliations have included the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Indiana Economic Development Association (IEDA), Mid-America Economic Development Council (MAEDC), Government Finance Officers Association and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He also has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Cancer Bio- Repository (ACB) in Kentucky.

Lehmkuhler earned his Master in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Louisville and his bachelor’s degree with majors in public finance, public policy, and organizational management from Indiana University Bloomington. He received certification in Leadership Decision Making from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government in 2015. He also has received certification in economic development from the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma in 2007. He is certified as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) from the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) and completed the OSHA 30- hour training.

He was born and raised in Jasper, Indiana. He and his wife, Sarah, have three children and live in Indianapolis.