Dee Thornton obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Louisville, majoring in Communications with a minor in Computer Science. Dee is also a former student athlete, playing basketball at the collegiate level at the University of Louisville. She began her business career at Xerox upon graduation and held various sales, operations, and executive management positions throughout the country before retiring after 30 years with the company. While working full-time and balancing a family, she obtained her MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. She continued to consult with businesses on process reengineering upon retirement as she is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and has owned two small businesses. Thornton/Ray Personalized Books and Visibly Fit, which was a women’s fitness business in Carmel.

Dee has worked in the consumer products industry serving as a leadership coach for women business owners for Avon Products out of New York. She served on the board of the Minority Engineering Program of Indianapolis, one of the oldest STEM programs in the country where she focused on fundraising and process improvement. She currently serves on the Mayor of Carmel’s Human Relations Commission where she works to bridge the gap between diverse communities in Carmel. She led the effort in 2018 to have the 1st Annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration and has worked collaboratively with the police department to organize listening sessions with diverse communities. She currently serves on the board of Families First and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Dee also speaks to high school students throughout central Indiana about skills needed as they transition to work, military or in pursuit of higher education. She particularly likes to speak about ethics.

Dee and her husband Don have lived in Carmel for 28 years and they have three adult children and three grandchildren.