Four from Arkansas selected for DRA’s Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy

The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) has selected 35 community leaders from its eight-state service region to participate in the 2025 Delta Leadership Institute (DLI) Executive Academy, a leadership development program that brings together public, private and nonprofit sector leaders from the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions.

Four from Arkansas were chosen for this year’s program.

They include Paragould Economic Development Corporation Director Allison Hestand and Blytheville Mayor Melisa Logan. P3 Group Senior Vice President Grandon Gray from Marion and Arkansas Economic Development Commission Northeast Region Manager Amy Williams from Cabot are also involved in the program.

Representing Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee, the 2025 DLI Executive Academy Fellows were selected through a competitive application process led by DRA’s eight state governors and federal co-chairman.

“The Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy is an essential instrument for nurturing community placemaking and capacity building in the Delta region,” said Dr. Corey Wiggins, DRA Federal co-chairman. “This program will give this dedicated and diverse group of leaders the tools they need to drive change within and outside their communities and accelerate prosperity across the region.”

Since 2005, the DLI Executive Academy has provided leadership development to nearly 700 community leaders from diverse backgrounds, sectors, and industries to improve economic competitiveness and social viability throughout the Delta region. DRA created the program to empower a corps of leaders with the tools, experiences and networks to address local and regional economic development challenges.

DLI fellows will participate in six in-person sessions led by local, regional, and national experts and will cover policy areas and skills related to public infrastructure, regional transportation systems, workforce development, coalition-building and other fields necessary to facilitate economic development in the Delta. Upon completion of the sessions, fellows graduate with enhanced decision-making skills, policy development know-how, strengthened leadership capacity, and a mutual understanding of regional, state, and local culture and issues.