Second Session of Arkansas Delta Women’s Leadership Academy Held in El Dorado
JONESBORO — Women from across the Delta convened in El Dorado this week for the second of six sessions of the inaugural class of the Arkansas Delta Women’s Leadership Academy (ADWLA). The year-long program, hosted by the Delta Center for Economic Development at Arkansas State University, includes women from 17 counties in the state. In this session, participants continued down the path of learning more about the state, what opportunities are available, and networking with one another. “Having the session in El Dorado allowed the participants to learn from the successes of Main Street El Dorado and gain ideas and resources for their own communities,” said Andrea Allen, executive director of the Delta Center for Economic Development. Guest speakers included Beth Brumley, executive director of Main Street El Dorado; Amy Williams, regional manager of the Northeast region of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission; Jill Floyd, state director for USDA Rural Development; and Alison R. Williams, founder of Wilco Consulting and chair of the 2022 Arkansas Women’s Commission. “Over the course of the ADWLA, the women will be working on a project for their communities or organizations, and this session provided them with more tools, resources, and knowledge to move forward with their projects,” added Allen. Each of the participants has been directed to identify a project that would benefit the Delta county they are representing. At Tuesday's event, participants worked on their project plans and learned more about how to move forward in terms of access to funding, how to gain support and where to start or continue their work.
“I was inspired to hear about the projects the women are pursuing as well as how the women in the cohort are providing support to each other and sharing knowledge of resources available to help with each other. I foresee many projects beneficial to our Delta communities coming to fruition from this cohort, and I could not be more excited to watch these women succeed,” Allen added. The third session will be held on Tuesday, May 7, in Mountain Home. Other meetings will take place in West Memphis, Pine Bluff and Little Rock.
Members of the Arkansas Delta Women's Leadership Academy participate in their second meeting in El Dorado. (from left) Ashtyn Lockley, Jannie Quillen, Jade Kennon, Jlynn Perkins, Katrina Brown, Tara Thomason, Lee Ann Hoskyn, Stephanie White.
