Missouri selects 4 fellows for Delta Leadership program

MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA REGION – Missouri is sending four leaders from across the

southeastern portion of the state 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.

Missouri’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 southeast Missouri 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 cochairman

of DRA. “As a Missouri native, I am proud to announce this group and support their

collaborative efforts with their colleagues from other Delta-region states.”

The fellows, who were selected by Gov. Greitens 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.

Missouri’s 2017-2018 DLI Executive Academy fellows are:

• Kelli Behrle of Perryville | Project Coordinator at the Economic and Business Engagement Center at Southeast Missouri State University

• Trish Erzfeld of Perryville | Director of Perry County Heritage Tourism

• Jay Lancaster of Sikeston | Director of Public Works for the City of Sikeston

• Hillary Starnes of Dexter | Executive Director of the Dexter Chamber of Commerce and

Economic Development

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.

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 www.dra.gov/leadership.