LITTLE ROCK, AR – Arkansas is sending six leaders from across the state to the Delta Regional Authority’s (DRA) Delta Leadership Institute (DLI). They will join fellows from the seven other Delta states to participate in the 10-month DLI Executive Academy program to help further their skills in community leadership and policy development, promote regional collaboration, and drive economic growth across DRA’s eight-state region.
“DLI fellows are strong community leaders who make an impressive impact on the states they represent and the Delta region as a whole,” said DRA Chairman Chris Caldwell. “They collaborate with colleagues from across our region to develop skills that prepare them to help strengthen economic development opportunities that will make our region and communities more competitive.”
Arkansas’s DLI fellows will attend six sessions across the region, visiting each of the eight states in the DRA footprint. They will engage in policy and program development, advocacy training, case-study discussions, and on-the-ground field experiences aligned with DRA’s priorities for the region. Those priorities include: enhancing transportation and basic public infrastructure, supporting workforce training and development, and promoting business and economic development.
“When I select members of the Delta Leadership Institute, I am sending out ambassadors for our state as well as shaping the future for our state,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson, (R-AR). "That’s a heavy assignment for our fellows, but as always, they are well up to it. Congratulations to our newest fellows.”
The fellows, who were selected by Gov. Hutchinson and DRA leadership, represent a diverse cohort of community leaders. The class includes three members from Alabama; six from Arkansas; four from Illinois; two from Kentucky; five from Louisiana; five from Mississippi; one from Missouri; and five from Tennessee.
Arkansas’s 2018-2019 DLI Executive Academy fellows are:
- Tiffny Calloway, Jonesboro | Director of Community Development for the City of Jonesboro
- Aaron Germany, Helena | Director of Career and Technical Education at Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas
- Amy Hopper, North Little Rock | Program Officer for Winrock International
- Jennifer Reaves, Jonesboro | Community Development Specialist at the Arkansas Department of Health
- Eddie Thomas, Pine Bluff | WIOA Area Manager or the Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District
- Jordyn Williams, Lake Village | Program Technician – CDC Obesity Reduction at the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service
Since 2005, DLI 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. Upon graduation, the 31 new members will have a toolkit of resources for addressing issues facing their local communities and providing the training and professional development needed to extend the pipeline of skilled local leadership within Delta communities.
About the Delta Regional Authority and the Delta Leadership Institute
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. DLI is a program of the Delta Regional Authority in partnership with three institutions of higher education from the DRA’s states: the University of Alabama, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro and the University of Louisiana Monroe. Learn more at dra.gov/leadership.
This press release from the City of Jonesboro:
Two Jonesboro residents are among the six community leaders statewide selected by Gov. Asa Hutchison for the Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy.
Tiffny Calloway, Director of Community Development for the City of Jonesboro, and Jennifer Reaves, Community Development Specialist at the Arkansas Department of Health, will represent Arkansas in the prestigious fellowship academy serving the Delta Regional Authority’s eight-state region.
“When I select members of the Delta Leadership Institute, I am sending out ambassadors for our state as well as shaping the future of our state,” Hutchison said. “That’s a heavy assignment for our fellows, but as always, they are well up to it.”
The class is a 10-month program that meets in six cities across the region. The group will engage in policy and program development, advocacy training, case-study discussions and field experiences aligned with DRA’s priorities: enhancing transportation and basic public infrastructure, supporting workforce training and development, and promoting business and economic development.
“I’m proud that Tiffny and Jennifer will represent Jonesboro, and indeed Arkansas,” Mayor Harold Perrin said. “It is quite an honor to be selected for this program, and I’m proud Jonesboro has two attending.”
The class includes three members from Alabama, four from Illinois, two from Kentucky, five from Louisiana, five from Mississippi, one from Missouri, and five from Tennessee.
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.
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