SIU in the Delta

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Last Updated: Apr 07, 2025, 02:53 PM

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Delta Regional Authority Leadership Institute Executive Academy Fellows

Selected each year from a competitive field of applicants are 40 community leaders from throughout the eight DRA states. They will receive executive education through the extensive, nine-month leadership program that brings together public, private, and nonprofit sector leaders and empowers them with the tools, experiences, and networks needed to address local and regional challenges.

Visit the Delta Regional Authority to learn more about the program

Delta Leadership Institute Past Graduates 

2023

Dori Bigler, City Administrator, City of Anna

Terri Bryant, Illinois State Senator, Illinois General Assembly

Josh Downs, Mayor, City of Du Quoin, Deputy Director of Outreach & Community Affairs, Illinois Comptroller’s Office

Quianya Enge, Research Assistant/Small Business Advisor, Illinois Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Terance Henry, IT Director, City of Marion

2022

Thirty-three community leaders from all eight DRA states will participate as fellows of the 2022 Delta Leadership Institute (DLI) Executive Academy.  The four Illinois fellows are:

Jane Bryant (Murphysboro, IL) | Professor of Political Science and Sociology, John A Logan College

Byram Fager (Energy, IL) | Executive Director, Southern Illinois Community Foundation

Sarah Gray (Carbondale, IL) | System Director, Business and Economic Development, Southern Illinois Healthcare

Roni LeForge (Carbondale, IL) | Public Relations Officer, City of Carbondale

2021

The 2021 DLI class marks the 16th year of DLI-trained regional leaders, comprised of government, non-profit, and business professionals from all eight DRA states. The four 2021 Illinois graduates are:

Angela Rowe (Harrisburg, IL) | Owner and Designer, Decorating Den Interiors

Hellena Shorty (Carbondale, IL) | Senate Aide, Office of U.S. Senator Richard Durbin

Ronnie White (Red Bud, IL) | Commissioner, Randolph County Board of Commissioners

Brooke Simmons (Hickman, IL) | Community Relations Director, Obion County Joint Economic Development Corporation

2020

Four Illinoisans join cohort of 30 professionals across 8 states for the advancement of the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions. The Program brings together representatives from the public, private, and non-profit sectors from across the eight-state Delta region. Arkansas’s 2019 – 2020 Delta Leadership Institute Fellows include:

Deborah Barnett, Marion | Director, Business Incubator Programs & Interim Associate Director, SIU Research Park, Southern Illinois University

Jamie Green, Murphysboro | President, Murphysboro Main Street

Lauren Bonner, Carbondale | Senate Aid, Office of Senator Richard Durbin

Brooke Guthman, Murphysboro | Member Services Manager, Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association

2019

The fellows, who were selected by Gov. Rauner and DRA leadership, represent a diverse cohort of community leaders. The class includes four members four from Illinois.

  • Ted Gutierrez, Carbondale | Managing Director at the Jackson County Mass Transit District
  • Deborah Johnson, Mounds | Trio Educational Talen Search Director at Shawnee Community College
  • Steven McKeown, Herrin | President of Kindled Flame Ministries
  • Travis Zettler, Sesser | City Alderman for the City of Sesser

2018

The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) congratulates five new Illinois graduates of the Delta Leadership Institute (DLI) Executive Academy who now have the tools to support DRA’s efforts to create jobs, build communities, and improve lives across southern Illinois and the Delta region.
  • Tiffany George, Villa Ridge, executive director, Southern Five Regional Planning District & Development Commission.
  • Tom Harness, Carterville, Tom Harness Digital Marketing.
  • Jenny Pruitt, Broughton, district aide for U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Belleville.
  • Karen Stallman, Ellis Grove, director of community relations in University Communications and Marketing
  • Mark York, Equality, finance chair, Gallatin County Board.

Robyn Laur Russell Graduates from Delta Leadership Instituterobyn

Robyn Laur Russell graduated from the 2013-2014 Delta Leadership Institute class sponsored by the Delta Regional Authority on Thursday, September 9th, 2014, in Little Rock, Arkansas, at The Old Statehouse Capital.  Russell is serving as the Director of the Center for Delta Studies at SIU and serves as Director of Business Development and International Trade in SIU Carbondale’s Office of Economic and Regional Development.

Russell is a two-degree graduate of SIU and an ardent Saluki.  She works intensively with small businesses and entrepreneurs in the region and oversees the International Trade Center.  A native of Du Quoin, Illinois, she represents OERD on the Du Quoin Chamber of Commerce and the Perry County CEO program.

Delta Leadership Network at SIUkimberly

Kim Sanders, Director of the Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development with the SIU School of Medicine, graduated in the class of 2011-2012.