The River District Association is celebrating some recent accomplishments by several members of their staff. The RDA is excited to see how these news skills can continue to benefit ongoing transformation of the River District.

Office Manager Alyssa Turner completed the local leadership program run by the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Southside. The Leadership Southside program aims to develops participants’ leadership skills to strengthen their role as an individual, professional, and community member.  Turner said she, “learned that titles are irrelevant; you can be leader regardless of your position, and not only at your job! You can be a leader anywhere in your
community.”

Programs and Services Director Lashawn Farmer completed the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute, a professional development program for leaders confronted with Virginia’s most pressing natural resource issues who seek new skills in conflict resolution and collaborative problem solving. Farmer says she can no focus on being an advocate for, “the things that I believe in when it comes to my environment and community. Being
a leader is more than a title or position, it is the person in the community that the people trust and someone who is constantly working on themselves as well as the issues.

Programs and Services Manager Will Mackaman completed the Reinventing Impact: Collaboration Lab program, organized by the Danville Regional Foundation, Healthy Places by Design, and the Tamarack Institute. The Collaboration Lab is  designed to help participants build local relationships, enhance collaborative leadership skills, and learn strategies for sustaining local organizational collaboration.  After completion Mackaman said, “We learned that many of our community’s hardest problems can only be solved when we collaborate, communicate well, and understand the problem to begin with before jumping to the solution. The goal is to eventually change the larger system for the better.”