ITTA BENA, Miss.— MVSU Chief of Staff & Legislative Liaison La Shon Brooks has been selected among eight leaders from across the state to participate in the Delta Regional Authority’s (DRA) Delta Leadership Institute (DLI).
Brooks will join fellows from seven other states to participate in the 10-month DLI Executive Academy program designed to further skills in community leadership and policy development in hopes of promoting regional collaboration and local economic growth across DRA’s eight-state region.
“I am honored to be extended the opportunity to participate in the Delta Leadership Institute,” said Brooks. “I’m looking forward to collaborating with leaders from across the state as we share ideas and develop strategies that will advance not only the Mississippi Delta, but the entire region.”
As part of the program, Mississippi’s DLI fellows will attend six sessions across the region, visiting each of the eight states in the DRA footprint.
They will also 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 across Mississippi who are committed to learning from each other and working together with their fellow leaders 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. Bryant and DRA leadership, represent a diverse cohort of community leaders. 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.
Other Mississippi 2017-2018 DLI Executive Academy fellows include: Eric Atchison of Jackson, director of system analysis, research & enrollment management for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning; Jo Ann Clark of Ridgeland, constituent services representative for U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran; Jon Delperdang of Leland, graduate student at Delta State University; Emanuel Edmond of Greenville, chief monitoring & compliance officer for the Delta Regional Authority; Jean Gross of Vicksburg, vice president/community development coordinator at Trustmark National Bank; Tray Hairston of Jackson, attorney with Butler Snow LLP; and Bobby Morgan of Jackson, economic development policy advisor and senate liaison for Gov. Phil Bryant.
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.
Since 2005, the DRA’s 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.
For more information, visit www.dra.gov/leadership.