Clarksdale, Mississippi–Five West Tennessee leaders–including Paris City Manager Kim Foster and Benton County Mayor Brett Lashlee–have been graduated from the Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy.
This graduating class marks the 15th year of regional leaders equipped to improve the economic competitiveness and social viability of the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt.
The Tennessee graduates are:
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Kim Foster, Paris | City Manager, City of Paris
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Joey Hassell, Brownsville | Superintendent of Schools, Haywood County Schools
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Erica Plybeah Hemphill, Memphis | Founder & CEO at MedHaul
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Brett Lashlee, Camden | County Mayor, Benton County
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Cody C. Wood, Lexington | Chief Financial Officer, City of Lexington
“Congratulations to the Delta Regional Authority Institute graduates who went above and beyond in serving their communities. Each of you is an asset to your community and I’m proud that you call Tennessee home,” said Governor Bill Lee.
The five Executive Academy fellows completed the year-long DLI Executive Academy, a leadership development program that brings together public, private, and nonprofit sector leaders from DRA’s eight-state region. The program empowers fellows with the tools, experiences, and networks to address local and regional challenges, improve decision-making and policy development, and strengthen leadership capacity and mutual understanding of regional, state, and local cultures and issues.
“The Delta Leadership Institute is a dynamic tool within DRA to promote the economic advancement of the Delta,” said DRA Federal Co-Chairman Chris Caldwell. “DLI’s diverse curriculum provides the next generation of economic and community development leaders with the tools needed to create change within their communities. I congratulate the DLI graduates and challenge you to use this new skillset to shape the development a more resilient Delta economy.”
The graduates participated in six training sessions over the past year to educate them on the regional and local economic and community development best practices employed across the Delta to catalyze innovative solutions implementable in their own community and region. DLI fellows learn from local, regional and national experts in infrastructure and transportation, small business and entrepreneurship, workforce development, public health and other fields necessary to facilitate economic growth in the Delta.
Since 2005, DLI’s Executive Academy has enhanced the leadership skills, policy knowledge and networks of community members in the Delta. After graduation, the Tennessee fellows become members of the Delta Leadership Network, which includes more than 500 community leaders who understand the importance of regional collaboration, resource sharing and innovative thinking.
DLI is a program of DRA in partnership with three institutions of higher education in the Delta region: Arkansas State University, the University of Louisiana Monroe, and the University of Arkansas.