Vop Osili

Biography: Vop Osili is President of the Indianapolis City-County Council, representing District 11, which covers a large portion of downtown Indianapolis and parts of the near west side, including the campus of IUPUI. Osili was elected President of City-County Council by a unanimous vote in 2018. He is currently Chairman of the Council’s Rules & Public Policy Committee and also serves on the Parks and Recreation Committee. Working with his fellow public servants on both sides of the aisle, President Osili is committed to addressing the important issues – equity, fair and affordable housing, homelessness, reentry, police/community engagement, inclusive urban development – impacting the daily lives of Indianapolis citizens. First elected to the Council in 2011, Osili has collaborated extensively with community groups, civic organizations and the business community on the expansion of work opportunities, skills-training and disadvantaged small business financing. He helped establish Indianapolis’ first city-funded microloan program targeting residents and businesses operating in neighborhoods with households well below area median income, and he continues to implement new initiatives to incentivize fair wages. Osili was a member of the Indiana Fire and Building Services Commission from 2001 to 2005 and Chairman of one of the Indianapolis Boards of Zoning Appeals from 2005 to 2008. He serves on a number of civic boards in the community, working at various times with organizations like the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, the United Way of Central Indiana and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. In 2010, he was the Democratic candidate for Indiana Secretary of State. With a background in architecture, Osili has led urban design and architecture projects throughout the United States, Africa and the Middle East. He was a founding partner of A2SO4, an Indianapolis-based architectural design company that was one of the first LEED-certified firms in the nation. He also served as a missionary to Haiti and other developing countries. Osili graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University with a bachelor's degree in architecture and earned a master's degree in architecture and urban design from Columbia University. He and his wife Una are the proud parents of two amazing children, Arinze and Tasia.