Class VIII Outstanding Fellow | Scott Massey
The seeds for my admiration for Mitch Daniels’ leadership began in childhood, watching his administration’s Interstate-69 Major Moves campaign connect my hometown of Evansville to Purdue University in West Lafayette where my professional journey began to thrive. During his tenure, Purdue President Daniels transformed the university into a premier national hub for entrepreneurship, providing an environment where I was able to contribute to the development of NASA hydroponic technologies intended for space colonization. I ultimately founded anu™. Based right here in Indiana, our company designs and manufactures automated indoor hydroponic farming systems that function essentially as a turnkey “keurig for food” to sustainably grow highly nutrient-dense, flavorful, and food-safe Pure Produce® as a bolt-on Food is Medicine solution. These systems are deployed across some of our country's most forward-thinking healthcare networks, including Hancock Health within the Mayo Clinic Network of Care. By integrating our systems into their Direct to Employer Lifestyle Medicine program, we help address the underlying root causes of preventable diet-related chronic diseases, successfully proving that health prevention can be financially sustainable and profitable.
I joined the Mitch Daniels Leadership Fellowship to cross-pollinate private industry with education, healthcare, and civil society by implementing statewide "Food is Medicine" initiatives. I believe these solutions offer practical ways to combat preventable chronic diseases, which
represent one of the defining challenges facing Indiana today. The scale of this crisis is profound: half of all Hoosiers are estimated to have Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. In Indiana, chronic illness drives over $20 billion in annual Medicaid spending (FSSA), while costing our nation more than $4.9 trillion in total annual healthcare expenditures. According to the American Heart Association, nearly 90% of healthcare spending is devoted to chronic disease, much of which is influenced by nutrition and lifestyle. The urgency cannot be overstated—chronic diseases, many of which are preventable through better nutrition and healthier lifestyles, claim more American lives every year than the cumulative number of Americans who have died in every U.S. war combined.
The Fellowship fundamentally changed how I approached this challenge. Through case studies of the Daniels administration, our class examined how disciplined leadership can align incentives, personal responsibility, and ambitious public investment. Indiana's Health Savings Account model illustrated how policy can encourage citizens to take greater ownership of their wellbeing, while discussions on the expansion of Career Scholarship Accounts reinforced the importance of preparing students through practical, work-based learning
These lessons shaped our Capstone, “Nurturing Hoosier Hearts and Minds from Cradle to Career.” Deployments at the University of Evansville, Perry Central Jr./Sr. High School, Marian University, and Hancock Health demonstrate how on-site cultivation can connect agricultural technology, nutrition, healthcare, and student enterprise. By pairing nutrient-dense food production with an AI-ready curriculum, students can develop healthier lifelong habits while gaining practical experience for careers in agriculture, healthcare, and technology.
Our vision is for Indiana to become a national leader in nutritional sovereignty by building Food is Medicine pathways that strengthen public health, workforce readiness, and economic competitiveness. As the FSSA observed, “Every dollar we send to a hospital is a dollar we don’t send to a school.” Prevention through better nutrition therefore represents an investment not only in Hoosier health, but also in Indiana’s educational and economic future.
Collaborating with my exceptional Capstone partners, Claire McRoberts and Nakeisha Washington, to develop that vision was the most rewarding aspect of this experience, which was further enhanced by the support of my classmates and the MDLF team and network. Together, we transformed a classroom exercise into a growing statewide initiative connecting education, healthcare, and private enterprise through Food is Medicine. The distinction of the Class VIII Outstanding Fellow Award belongs as much to them as it does to me, because their mentorship, collaboration, and shared commitment transformed an idea into a growing statewide initiative.
Photo 1: Jaici Wright, clinical dietitian at Hancock Wellness Center in Greenfield, Indiana, stands by the anu™ hydroponic container farm that will help propel Hancock Health in expanding its Food is Medicine program. (Photo credit: Tom Russo - Daily Reporter)
Photo 2: University of Evansville "We Grow Aces!" container farm, backed by the Eli Lilly Endowment's Indiana Youth Programs on Campus initiative, which helps fund hands-on educational, STEM, and sustainability experiences for students.
Photo 3: MDLF Capstone "Nurturing Hoosier Hearts and Minds from Cradle to Career" team with Nakeisha Washington (Nyla Nova STEMversity, Fishers, Hamilton Co.), Claire McRoberts (Ivy Tech College Counsel, Indianapolis, Marion Co.), and Scott Massey (Co-Founder & CEO of anu, Evansville, Vanderburgh Co.).
Photo 4: Scott Massey presenting the MDLF Capstone using compostable Plug-and-Grow™ Seed Pods manufactured in Indiana at the White House to Calley Means, senior advisor for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, who is spearheading the Make America Healthy Again strategy.
