The Delta Regional Authority is continuing its partnership with the Harvard Kennedy School to offer an advanced education opportunity exclusively to members of the Delta Leadership Network. The
\nDelta Leadership Institute program, designed and led by Harvard faculty, focuses on cultivating authentic leadership to move Delta communities forward.<\/p>\n
The program sends 41 representatives from across the eight states of the DRA footprint, including Dr. Rolando Herts, director of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s four day-session, from Nov. 27-30, will be led by retired Air Force Brigadier General Dana Born, co-director of the Center for Public Leadership at HKS.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis executive training will equip regional leaders across the Delta with the latest advancements in leadership skills and will prepare them to make positive changes in their local communities,\u201d said Peter Kinder, DRA\u2019s alternate federal co-chairman. \u201cThese participants are alumni of the Delta Leadership Institute\u2019s Executive Academy and were selected due to the leadership they have exemplified in their communities and their ability to translate these experiences to actionable solutions for the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
The class includes six members from Alabama; seven from Arkansas; six from Illinois; two from Kentucky; four from Louisiana; four from Mississippi; six from Missouri; and six from Tennessee. The group reflects the diversity of the Delta region and includes public, private and non-profit leaders that have graduated from the DLI\u2019s Executive Academy. Chairman Kinder, DLI director Spencer Lucker, and select DLI staff will participate with the delegation of Delta leaders in the continuing education session.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing selected to participate in DLI\u2019s Authentic Leadership program at Harvard is quite an honor,\u201d said Herts. \u201cThe Delta Center has provided educational and professional development opportunities to DLI alumni and people they serve, including the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, the International Delta Blues Project, and our NEH Most Southern Place on Earth workshops. I look forward to learning ways to enhance this trend through collaborative regional leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2017 Authentic Leadership participants are:<\/p>\n
Alabama
\nSusan Keith of Selma | City of Selma
\nTeresa McCall of Montgomery | Alabama Department of Mental Health
\nDonald Mills of Livingston | The University of West Alabama Small Business Development Center
\nChad Nichols of Hoover | Sight Savers America
\nGena Robbins of York | City of York & The University of West Alabama
\nMax Snyder of Northport | City of Northport<\/p>\n
Arkansas
\nMellie Bridewell of Lake Village | Arkansas Rural Health Partnership
\nJennifer Conner of Lake Village | University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service
\nLynn Hawkins-Caldwell of Lexa | Arkansas Rural Health Partnership
\nBevin Hunter of Wilson | Lawrence Group
\nKaren McDaniel of Jonesboro | Arkansas State University
\nTrudy Redus of Pine Bluff | City of Pine Bluff Parks and Recreation
\nPeggy Wright of Jonesboro | Arkansas State University<\/p>\n
Illinois
\nBrandi Bradley of Marion | Office of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin
\nLynne Chambers of Grand Chain | Bigler Law Office
\nBrian Chapman of Ava | Southern Illinois University System
\nTracey Glenn of Herrin | Peoples National Bank
\nJennifer Olson of Carterville | The Lookout at the Lake
\nWoody Thorne of Makanda | Southern Illinois Healthcare<\/p>\n
Kentucky
\nBrandi Harless of Paducah | City of Paducah
\nMark Lee of Madisonville | Paragon Development Consultants, LLC<\/p>\n
Louisiana
\nCole Avery of Jonesboro | Office of U.S. Representative Ralph Abraham
\nLeslie Durham of St. Joseph | Office of Governor John Bel Edwards
\nAdam Holland of Oak Grove | Town of Oak Grove
\nHeather Malone of Vidalia | City of Vidalia<\/p>\n
Mississippi
\nJosh Bower of Jackson | Hinds Community College
\nRolando Herts of Cleveland | Delta State University \u2013 The Delta Center for Culture and Learning
\nTim Lampkin of Clarksdale | Higher Purpose Co.
\nLane Riley of Cleveland | Delta Hands for Hope<\/p>\n
Missouri
\nTR Dudley of Potosi | City of Potosi
\nSteve Halter of Poplar Bluff | Greater Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce
\nMaude Harris of Sikeston | University of Missouri Extension
\nKris Klaus of Perryville | Klaus Construction
\nScott Sattler of Perryville | Perry County Economic Development Authority
\nChristina Wade of Caruthersville | Delta Regional Authority<\/p>\n
Tennessee
\nMinnie Bommer of Covington | City of Covington
\nJulie Allen Burke of Milan | Milan Chamber of Commerce
\nLandy Fuqua of Martin | University of Tennessee at Martin REED Center
\nTravis Martin of Jackson | TLM Associates, Inc.
\nBill Rawls of Brownsville | City of Brownsville
\nKayla Taylor of Jackson | Younger Associates<\/p>\n
DLI Staff
\nAndrea Allen | Arkansas State University
\nShawnie Carrier | Arkansas State University
\nLeigh Hersey | University of Louisiana Monroe
\nLauren Lewis | The University of Alabama<\/p>\n
Since 2005, the Delta Leadership Institute has worked to strengthen the knowledge and skills of community leaders across the Delta by broadening their understanding of regional issues and building a corps of alumni that have a regional and national perspective. DLI is a program of the Delta Regional Authority in partnership with three institutions of higher education from the DRA\u2019s states: The University of Alabama, Arkansas State University and the University of Louisiana Monroe.<\/p>\n
The DRA is a federal-state partnership created by Congress in 2000 to help create jobs, build communities, and improve lives through strategic investments in economic development and infrastructure projects in 252 counties and parishes across eight states. DRA has provided leadership development to nearly 500 community leaders over twelve years and strengthened regional collaboration through the Delta Leadership Institute. Learn more at http:\/\/dra.gov\/leadership<\/a>.<\/p>\n Harvard Kennedy School aims to improve public policy and public leadership in the United States and around the world through research, teaching and direct engagement with policymakers and public leaders. Nearly 20,000 alumni of the school\u2019s degree programs and 44,000 people who have taken executive education courses at the school work in more than 200 countries. In addition, faculty, staff and students of the school are currently undertaking projects to advance knowledge and strengthen public policy and leadership in dozens of countries. Around the world, the skills and energy of the HKS community are dedicated to helping make people\u2019s lives safer, more prosperous and more fulfilling.<\/p>\n The mission of The Delta Center at Delta State is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement. The Delta Center serves as the management entity of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and is the home of the International Delta Blues Project and the National Endowment for the Humanities \u201cMost Southern Place on Earth\u201d workshops. For more information, visit http:\/\/deltacenterdsu.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Delta Regional Authority is continuing its partnership with the Harvard Kennedy School to offer an advanced education opportunity exclusively to members of the Delta Leadership Network. The Delta Leadership…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":78078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[412,1828,362],"class_list":["post-78077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-delta-center","tag-delta-center-for-culture-and-learning","tag-delta-leadership-institute","tag-mississippi-delta-national-heritage-area"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78077"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78384,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78077\/revisions\/78384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}