Delta Leadership Institute is cultivating success
by February 10, 2022 5:13 pm 634 views
Every year, a new class of leaders from the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt come together to hone their leadership skills as fellows of the Delta Leadership Institute (DLI) Executive Academy. DLI, a program of the Delta Regional Authority (DRA), offers training to empower Delta leaders with the tools, experiences, and networks to address local and regional challenges.
DRA was created by Congress in 2000 to promote economic development and prosperity within 252 counties and parishes of its eight-state region. DRA’s footprint is one of the most distressed regions in the country and faces enormous healthcare, infrastructure, and educational challenges. With these challenges in mind, DRA created DLI to train leaders to improve the economic competitiveness and social viability both locally and regionally. The Delta Center for Economic Development at Arkansas State University has been a part of a university consortium to administer the program since 2013.
DLI is a year-long program. Participants meet approximately seven times during the year at locations across the eight states and Washington, D.C. Each session includes executive leadership training, field experiences to observe community initiatives, and leading professionals speaking on topics such as the I-40 bridge closure, federal grant opportunities, healthcare, workforce, culture and tourism, public-private partnerships, asset mapping, and coalition building.
Upon graduation, DLI fellows become a part of the 700-member alumni network. Alumni continue their collaboration and learning through state alumni meetings, DRA’s annual Delta Summit, and leadership training at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
DLI builds confidence and inspires its fellows to go home and create positive change within their communities. Many fellows have taken on new public service roles. Graduates of the program include mayors, state legislators, and a Congressman-elect, while others have been appointed to important governmental positions.
Some alumni have collaborated from relationships they built through DLI to create regional partnerships. An informal university-based alliance formed by alumni from Southern Illinois, West Tennessee, Northeast Arkansas, and Western Kentucky have partnered to form the North Delta Economic Alliance. In 2021, three universities collaborated to collectively compete for federal grants. Regional collaboration will continue to be important to maximize limited federal resources, and DLI enables these partnerships to form.
One of my favorite success stories comes from a DLI class field experience to observe a school in Vicksburg, Mississippi, nationally-recognized for its Leader in Me program. While there, a fellow realized that teachers do not have opportunities for leadership development. That prompted him to partner with his regional university to start West Teach, a program to bridge the gap between the classroom, community, and commerce. The program has found such success that the Delta Center for Economic Development will soon start a similar initiative.
On Dec. 11, the Delta Center for Economic Development received a call from DRA Chairwoman Leslie Durham, putting out a call to action for DLI alumni to help those impacted by the “Quad state tornado” that carved a path of destruction through Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky. A DLI graduate in Kentucky, Mary Anne Medlock, suggested collecting online donations through Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland because the local food bank distribution, which served 44 counties, was destroyed. By the end of the day, the DLI alumni network answered the call.
These stories are only a few examples of the impact of the Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy and Alumni Network. Apply and become a part of a growing network of people committed to building prosperity throughout the Delta region.
Editor’s note: Andrea Allen is the executive director of the Delta Center for Economic Development at Arkansas State University. The opinions expressed are those of the author.