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HLI Leadership Class of 2016
The Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition and Valle del Sol recently celebrated the graduation of the fall 2016 Hispanic Leadership Institute. The fall class was hosted at the Cobre Valley Hospital in Globe/Miami. Graduating from the 10-week leadership program were: Superior Councilmember Vanessa Navarrette, Globe Councilmember Roberta Johnson, along with leaders from Superior, Globe and San Carlos, Pete Casillas, Toni Deanna, Maryn Belling, Michael Betom, Janette Herrera, Hank Gutierrez, Jakob Irish, Jill Wilson, Eduardo Sanchez-Renazco, Jose Lira Jr., Michael Williams and Jasmine Nock.
The Hispanic Leadership Institute is a comprehensive and culturally-relevant leadership program in partnership with Resolution Copper, SRP, The Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition, and Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center. HLI’s mission is to promote the individual development of Hispanics for increased participation in leadership roles. The curriculum builds from participants’ experiences, emphasizing personal and professional development with sessions focusing on cultural and personal identity; serving on a board; ethics and media training.
“Through Valle del Sol’s Hispanic Leadership Institute, we are developing leaders that will be strong advocates on issues impacting our Arizona community,” said Kurt Sheppard, Valle del Sol’s President and CEO.
During the graduation the Pete Rios Leadership award was given to Carmen Casillas for her longtime work in the Globe-Miami area. Bryan Seppala was awarded the Emerging Leader award sponsored by Copper Area News.
“We are grateful to have this program in our region. Growing strong leaders is an important task in rural communities, we look forward to seeing these leaders serve their communities” explained Michael Carnes, President of the CCEDC. The CCEDC is a non-profit economic development organization that is working to increase non-mining employment and maintain the rural quality of life for all of the communities in the region.
The 2017 HLI class will begin registration later this Summer.
Mila Besich is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.
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