An orientation session for the ninth Leadership Wyoming class is July 31-Aug. 1, at the University of Wyoming. Since 2001, more than 300 people from throughout the state have graduated from the program.
A Wyoming Heritage Foundation and UW program, Leadership Wyoming provides opportunities for a diverse group of 40 Wyoming citizens to participate in a challenging and thought-provoking nine-month educational experience. Beginning in late July and ending in May, the group will participate in eight sessions in Laramie, Jackson, Gillette, Evanston, Worland, Cheyenne, Casper and Sheridan.
Training sessions provide practical, nonpartisan, hands-on understanding of a broad spectrum of public policy issues, and develop an appreciation for trusteeship, with lasting commitments to civic involvement at the state and local level.
Leadership Wyoming gives participants an opportunity to better understand general public policy issues, economic and social diversity and the challenges facing the state. The experience prepares them, through shared mutual interests and the leadership skills developed, to be active in building a better Wyoming, says Bill Schilling, Wyoming Business Alliance/Wyoming Heritage Foundation president and Leadership Wyoming executive director.
Leadership Wyoming focuses on leadership at several different levels: leaders and followers in the pursuit of a common goal -- the skills that are needed to bring people together; and the characteristics of effective leaders.
For more information about the program, call Schilling at (307) 577- 8000 or visit the Web site www.wba.vcn.com/leadership_wyoming_test.htm. For more information about the Leadership Wyoming orientation at UW, call Jennie Nein, Conferences and Institute, at (307) 766-2343.
Members of this year's Leadership Wyoming class are:
Afton -- Tammie Archibald, Lincoln County, commissioner.
Big Piney -- Kurt Meeks, EnerCrest, vice president of operations.
Fort Washakie -- Sergio Maldonado, Northern Arapaho Tribal Education, director.
Casper -- Kelly Eastes, Natrona County School District, community
relations manager; Brenda Eickhoff-Johnson, Mercer House, Inc.,
executive director; Lisa Hubbard, GSG Architecture, co-owner and
licensed architect; John Kambutu, University of Wyoming/Casper Center,
assistant professor; Wendy Wilson, Natrona County School District,
school nurse; Linda Witko, City of Casper, assistant city manager.
Cheyenne -- John Barnes, Wyoming State Engineer's Office, surface water
administrator; Shelley Campbell, Wyoming National Guard, 243rd Air
Traffic Control Squadron commander; Dennis Ellis, Wyoming Medical
Society, executive director; Jake Guzman, WYDOT/Wyoming National Guard,
software development manager/communications officer; Cathy Jarosh,
Montgomery Broadcasting, general manager; Richard Mincer, Hirst
Applegate, P.C., attorney/shareholder; Jerimiah Rieman, Department of
Workforce Services, policy analyst; Juliette Rule, Wyoming Department of
Family Services, public information officer; Shane Schulz, Questar
Market Resources, Inc., government affairs director; Steve Waddington,
Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, executive director.
Cody -- Fred Bronnenberg, Groathouse Construction, Inc., president; Kurt
Graham, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, McCracken Research Library
Housel curator.
Denver -- Randy Teeuwen, EnCana Oil & Gas (USA), Inc., community relations advisor.
Douglas -- Kara Underwood, Memorial Hospital of Converse County, physician.
Evanston -- Van Johnson, Wells Fargo, community bank president-Uinta County market.
Gillette -- Kent Levi, First Interstate Bank, senior vice president;
Doreen Schaar, Powder River Energy Corporation, vice president of
communications and external relations; Jeani Stone, Campbell County
Attorney's Office, county attorney.
Jackson -- Bob Lenz, Town of Jackson, councilman; Tim O'Donoghue,
Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, executive director; Melissa Turley,
M.E.T. Solutions, owner; Fran VanHouten, Rainmaker Coaching LLC, owner.
Lander -- Linda Lindsey, National Outdoor Leadership School, human resources and diversity
director.
Laramie -- Sarah Mathews, UW College of Education, development director; Mike
Peck, First Interstate Bank, vice president of commercial loans; Heidi
Peterson, Wyoming Inc. Publication, president; Peggy Rounds, Laramie
Area Chamber of Commerce, executive director; Trey Sherwood, Wyoming
Territorial Prison State Historic Site, curator/ public historian; Jim
Wangberg, University of Wyoming College of Agriculture, associate dean
and director/ entomology professor.
Riverton -- Phil Christopherson, University of Wyoming-Manufacturing Works,
field engineer/executive director (IDEA Inc.)
Rock Springs -- Sandy Caldwell, Western Wyoming Community College, associate vice
president for student learning.
Sheridan -- Michael Fox, Advanced Communications Technology, vice president/general
manager.
