Mayor Jim Brainard

Jim Brainard served seven terms as the mayor of Carmel, Indiana. Under his tenure, Carmel’s population grew from 25,000 residents to more than 105,000. Brainard is frequently asked to speak on city planning, climate change, redevelopment, and transportation networks. A city that consisted mainly of suburban sprawl, Carmel transformed under the Mayor’s leadership into a vibrant, walkable, and sustainable city. Brainard combined smart land-use planning, pioneered the use of financial modeling to impact zoning decisions, and secured public-private partnerships to redevelop under-utilized land and create a city that is often listed as one of the best places to live, work, and play in America. Mayor Brainard was one of four republicans appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on his 2013 State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. He currently chairs the Seaside Institute Board of Governors, serves as Vice-President of the Board of Governors of the Suzanne C. and Henry L. Lennard Institute for Livable Cities, and is a member of the Board of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. In 2024, he was appointed Senior Researcher Associate in the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame.