Second cohort chosen for regional leadership development program

Leaders from throughout northwest Iowa have been selected as participants in Accelerate Siouxland, a regional leadership development program offered by Northwestern College’s Center for Innovation & Leadership. The cohort represents a wide spectrum of the region, including business and industry, education, agriculture and health care.

“We have a great mix of individuals and organizations participating in the program this year,” says Josh Van Es, assistant director of the Center for Innovation & Leadership, who leads the program. “This helps tremendously with discussion and growing our understanding of how to be difference-makers in our communities.”

“Accelerate Siouxland increased my knowledge of surrounding communities and what each of them has to offer,” says Dawn Spiess, a recent graduate of the program and director of service planning at Hope Haven. “It expanded my networking circle and gave me new leadership tools to add to my toolbox.”

This year’s cohort will begin meeting on Sept. 8 and will continue to meet on the second Thursday of each month in various locations throughout Siouxland. Participants will engage materials such as Franklin Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” “6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team” and “Unconscious Bias.” Along with this award-winning training material, participants will also hear from area leaders about what makes Siouxland special and how to lead change in their communities. Topics will include government, community development, business/industry, health care, education, agriculture, nonprofits, and faith/values.

“We are grateful to the businesses and organizations that support their employees’ participation in this program,” says Van Es. “We are confident that Accelerate Siouxland will positively impact the participants’ lives, their workplaces and their communities.” 

Participants include:
Jorge Arreola – Orange City, Diamond Vogel Traffic
Sarah Aukes – Sioux Center, Sekisui Aerospace
Chad Hamill – Sheldon, Diamond Vogel Traffic
Leah Holverson – Sioux Center, Siouxland Energy Cooperative
Caitlin Hornback – Northwestern College student from Winterset, Iowa
Juan Ignacio Moya – Northwestern College student from Santiago, Chile
Jaime Meyer – Orange City, Iowa State Bank
Mark Peters – Cleghorn, Peters Farm
Josie Rathje – Orange City, Brad’s Breads & Bakery
Jessica Regnerus – Sioux Center, Interstates
Mere Reyes – Orange City, Northwestern College
Darren Tooley – Sergeant Bluff, Security National Bank
Tamra Van Kalsbeek – Sheldon, American State Bank
Aric Van Voorst – Orange City, Pizza Ranch
Ryan Warnke – Orange City, Orange City Area Health System