Kentucky is sending five community leaders from western Kentucky to the Delta Regional Authority’s (DRA) Delta Leadership Institute (DLI.) They will join fellows from seven other states and participate in the 10-month DLI Executive Academy program to help further their skills in community leadership and policy development to promote regional collaboration and local economic growth across DRA’s eight-state region.
Kentucky’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: transportation and infrastructure; workforce training and education; entrepreneurship and disaster resilience for small businesses and communities; public health; policy and governance; and culture and tourism.
“DRA is pleased to begin working with this new class of leaders from western Kentucky who are committed to learning from each other and working together with their fellows from other states to build a strong future for the Delta,” said Peter Kinder, alternate federal co-chairman of DRA.
The fellows, who were selected by Gov. Matt Bevin and DRA leadership, represent a diverse cohort of community leaders. Among those chosen to participate is Marshall County Deputy Judge-Executive Brad Warning.
“I am very honored to be selected to this executive academy and am excited about the opportunities it will bring,” Warning said. “I look forward to gaining knowledge and ideas to bring back to Marshall County to help foster deeper development and make our community a better version of itself.”
The class includes seven members from Alabama; eight from Arkansas; five from Illinois; five from Kentucky; seven from Louisiana; eight from Mississippi; four from Missouri; and seven from Tennessee.
Kentucky’s 2017-18 DLI Executive Academy fellows are:
• Bill Bartleman of Paducah | Director of Special Projects for the West Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative
• Ron Burkins of Henderson | Assistant Vice President-Western Kentucky for the Community Ventures Corporation
• Cynthia Elder of Fancy Farm | Director of Mayfield Graves Tourism Commission
• Brad Warning of Calvert City | Deputy Judge-Executive for the Marshall County Fiscal Court
• Angie Yu of Wickliffe | President of Two Rivers Fisheries
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 51 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.