EMERGING RURAL LEADERS SOUGHT FOR GREAT VALLEY CENTER'S LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

MODESTO (September 15, 2006) -- The Great Valley Center is currently accepting applications from candidates for the 2007 class of the Institute for the Development of Emerging Area Leaders (IDEAL), a six-month fellowship program focused on Central Valley public policy issues. Applications are due October 6, 2006.

With the program now entering its sixth year, the Center plans to select 20 emerging leaders from throughout the Central Valley for its 2007class. Over the course of six once a month sessions, participants will engage in discussions with statewide experts in areas such as agriculture, the economy, transportation, land use and the environment. They will also practice important leadership skills such as separating fact from opinion, asking effective questions, and leading effective meetings.

“Providing access and information to community leaders in traditionally under-represented groups and in rural communities is an important goal of the program,” said Manuel Alvarado, Senior Programs Director for the Great Valley Center. “All segments of the area’s growing population have a stake in the outcome and should be participants in the process. The program is creating a regional network of emerging leaders from communities throughout the Valley.”

According to the Center, more than 100 IDEAL alumni are active members of their communities in the 19 counties of the Central Valley extending from Shasta to Kern County. More than 10 alumni have already gone on to local elective office while over two dozen are now serving on planning commissions or appointed boards.

The program will run from January to June and incorporates a kick-off retreat, four two-day seminars held throughout the region, and attendance at the Great Valley Center’s annual conference in Sacramento. Most of the participants, particularly those from underrepresented groups and rural communities, will receive full or partial tuition scholarships covering program costs, meals and accommodations.

Applications can be requested by calling the Center at (209) 522-5103 or by online, www.greatvalley.org. All applications are due October 6, 2006 by 5 p.m.

Founded in 1997, the Great Valley Center is a private, non-profit organization that supports organizations and activities working to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of California’s Central Valley, in partnership with the University of California, Merced.