(INDIANAPOLIS) — Kania D. Lottie was named the 2019 Ogletree Deakins Human Resources Professional of the Year for her efforts as first vice president, director of HR, director of diversity & inclusion and ethics officer at FHLBank of Indianapolis.
Lottie was honored today during a luncheon ceremony in downtown Indianapolis at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s 55th Annual Human Resources Conference & Expo.
The award is given annually to a human resources professional that provides lasting impact through the implementation of best practices, organization design and effectiveness and accomplishment of the company’s strategic direction.
Lottie, an Indianapolis resident, has been in her current role over 10 years and has been with the organization since 2008, when she started as a staff attorney. She joined the human resources profession by “accident” during a lunchtime conversation with bank executives.
“I talked about my interest in HR – how much I enjoyed working with them from the legal side – and one thing led to another,” Lottie recalls. “Their wheels started spinning because they knew that the current HR director was planning for retirement. I thought I was simply having a conversation over lunch and they had another plan in mind.”
In 2015, she transitioned to her new position. Lottie remains involved in the legal side of operations – primarily in employment law issues.
“People always ask, ‘Which do you like better. Legal or HR?’ and I say, ‘I have the best of both worlds now. I feel like I’m in my happy place because I can still be a people-pleaser as I love helping people and still use my legal skills at the same time.”
Among her responsibilities are executive and professional coaching. She chairs the office of diversity & inclusion council, an internal advisory group, and is one of FHLBank’s three ethics officers.
She graduated with a Juris Doctorate in law from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2007 and attained her MBA from the Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis Kelley School of Business. For her undergraduate work, Lottie studied criminal justice and business information technology at Ball State University, graduating in 2004.
Her volunteer activities include membership on the alumni association board of directors at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law as well as the Geist Montessori Academy. She also provides pro-bono legal services as part of the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Homeless Legal Aid Clinic.
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The Indiana Chamber partners with 25,000 members and investors – representing over four million Hoosiers – to achieve the mission of “cultivating a world-class environment which provides economic opportunity and prosperity.”
