Five from Arkansas graduate from DRA Delta Leadership Institute

There are five new Arkansas graduates of the Delta Leadership Institute (DLI) Executive Academy who now have the tools to support the Delta Regional Authority’s efforts to create jobs, build communities, and improve lives across the Mississippi River Delta region and the Black Belt of Alabama.

The five graduates completed the ten-month DLI Executive Academy, a training program that brings together public, private, and nonprofit-sector leaders from each of the eight states served by DRA. The program equips participants with the tools, experiences and networks that will help them create new economic opportunities in Delta communities as well as support the growth of the region’s economy.

“DLI is one of our most important tools for providing the Delta with the next generation of economic and community development leaders,” DRA Chairman Chris Caldwell said. “This group of graduates will take the experiences and lessons gleamed from the Executive Academy to be change agents in their communities.”

The graduates participated in seven training sessions over the past year to educate them on regional and local economic and community development best practices employed across the Delta to support innovative solutions implementable in their own community and region.

“I commend each of the graduates of the Delta Leadership Institute for their hard work and dedication to promoting economic development in the Delta, “ Gov. Asa Hutchinson said. “The work accomplished and skills learned through this training program will benefit the communities of the Delta, and I am grateful for the graduates’ continued commitment to the region. Congratulations to these professionals on this outstanding achievement.”

The Arkansas graduates are:

Aaron Germany, Helena – Director of Career and Technical Education, Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas

Amy Hopper, North Little Rock – Program Officer, Winrock International

Jennifer Reaves, Jonesboro – Community Development Specialist, Arkansas Department of Health

Eddie Thomas, Pine Bluff – WIOA Area Manager, Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District

Jordyn Williams, Lake Village – Program Technician – CDC Obesity Reduction, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service

DLI fellows learn from local, regional and national experts in infrastructure and transportation, small business and entrepreneurship, workforce training, public health and other fields necessary to facilitate economic growth in the Delta region.

DLI is a program of DRA in partnership with three institutions of higher education in the Delta region: The University of Alabama, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro and the University of Louisiana Monroe.