Auburn University Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Johnny Green selected as fellow for Delta Leadership Institute

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Auburn University Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Johnny Green has been named one of seven community leaders from across Alabama's Black Belt region as a fellow in the Delta Regional Authority's Delta Leadership Institute.

The Alabama fellows will join representatives from seven other states and participate in the 10-month Delta Leadership Institute, or DLI, Executive Academy program to help further their skills in community leadership and policy development to promote regional collaboration and local economic growth across the Delta Regional Authority's eight-state region.

"I am very excited about the possibilities this opportunity presents for our students to learn, and I am excited about the opportunity to personally contribute to the overall well-being of my state and region,” Green said. "I really like connecting with other leaders across our region to share information, ideas and support each other to improve the Delta region."

Alabama's fellows will attend six sessions across the region, visiting each of the eight states in the Delta Regional Authority, or 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.

"Alabama has a strong partnership with the Delta Regional Authority, and I am proud of the community leaders from Alabama who have been chosen for the new class,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said. "I know firsthand the importance of DLI to rural communities and the state as a whole. I am proud to serve as DRA states' co-chair and look forward to seeing the success of this class.”

The fellows, who were selected by Gov. Ivey and DRA leadership, represent a diverse cohort of community leaders.

"DRA is pleased to begin working with this new class of leaders from the Black Belt of Alabama who are committed to learning from each other and working together with their fellows from other states to build a strong future for the Delta,” said Peter Kinder, alternate federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority.

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.

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 has 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.

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Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.