Delta Regional Authority opens application period for nine-month executive leadership academy

Arkansas Delta Informer Staff – June 1, 2022 – The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) has opened the application for the 2023 Delta Leadership Institute (DLI) Executive Academy, an extensive, nine-month executive leadership program that brings together public, private, and nonprofit sector leaders from the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions. 

Chosen through a competitive application process, the 2023 Executive Academy class will include approximately 30 fellows from the eight-state DRA region, including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. DLI is a program of DRA in partnership with three institutions of higher education in the Delta region, including Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, the University of Louisiana Monroe, and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Since 2005, the DLI Executive Academy has provided leadership development to more than 700 community leaders from diverse backgrounds, sectors, and industries to strengthen skills development, information sharing, regional collaboration, and improve the economic competitiveness and social viability of the Delta.  The leadership program empowers fellows with the tools, experiences, and networks needed to address local and regional challenges. 

Sessions led by local, regional, and national experts cover policy areas such as infrastructure and transportation, small business and entrepreneurship, workforce development, public health, and other fields necessary to facilitate economic growth in the Delta.  As a result, DLI fellows graduate with improved decision-making skills, policy development know-how, strengthened leadership capacity, and a mutual understanding of regional, state, and local cultures and issues.

Those interested can apply through Aug. 12, 2022, at dra.gov/leadership.  The 2023 DLI Executive Academy schedule is listed below.

2023 Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy Schedule

• Session I:  January 23-26, 2023 | Selma, Ala.
• Session II:  March 6-9, 2023 | New Orleans
• Session III:  April 24-27, 2023 | Greenville, Miss.
• Session IV:  June 12-15, 2023 | Washington, D.C.
• Session V:  July 24-27, 2023 | Memphis
• Session VI:  September 11-14, 2023 | Paducah, Ky.

Upon graduation, DLI fellows become members of the Delta Leadership Network (DLN), which provides peer-to-peer engagement opportunities for continued leadership development, information sharing, and collaboration with other leaders dedicated to the future of the Delta region.

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