Professional Development

Meet the 17 young fellows handpicked for Leadership Delaware’s class of 2021

The nonprofit that offers professional development to young, local leaders just announced its 13th class of fellows.

Leadership Delaware's 2021 cohort. (Courtesy photo)

The 2021 class is a little smaller, but Leadership Delaware, Inc. (LDI) is full-steam ahead for its 13th yearlong program.

The professional development org connects its cohorts to notable Delawareans who share their expertise during issues-focused forums on topics ranging from the economy to health care to corporate governance. The goal is for these rising leaders to grow their careers while working to grow Delaware.

The decreased class size, from last year’s 29 to 17, was intentional, so the members can more safely participate in person when possible, complying with CDC regulations by using large meeting areas and masks. When that isn’t possible, they will use Zoom, as the 2020 fellows did for much of this year.

The fellows will participate in sessions two full days per month, hearing from a different speaker approximately every hour — up to 150 speakers across the full program.

“It’s part of the beauty and rigor of LDI, as it is often compared to the equivalent of getting one’s MBA, only more extensive, and then described as life-changing or transformational,” said Greg Munson, Leadership Delaware’s director of development and communications.

Leadership Delaware also has a new CEO for 2020: Jennifer Cohan, who led the Delaware Department of Transportation, started on Nov. 2. Before her start, she joined the candidate interview team to select the class of 2021 in August. She was recently inducted into The Hall of Fame of Delaware Women, and received the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Leadership Award.

“She has great plans to continue to build on the foundation of LDI, which started in 2008, as well [as] increase the awareness and impact of LDI throughout Delaware,” said Munson.

The class of 2020 represents a variety of sectors, from nonprofits to healthcare, business to law enforcement:

  • Stephen Bart, ACFT project leader at Delaware Army National Guard
  • Jordan Bonner, project director at Delaware College Scholars 
  • Jeffrey Chapin, project manager at The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
  • Angela Dolan, senior sergeant, New Castle County Police Department
  • Markevis Gideon, cofounder of NERDit NOW
  • Sierra Harris, project manager at Teen Warehouse
  • Mark Mazak, business development manager at Edmentum
  • Jamie McNatt of Chesapeake Companies
  • Drew Moore, senior system engineer at WSFS Bank; Delaware Air National Guard
  • Rebecca Nazario vice president of operations at ChristianaCare
  • Alexandra Parkowski, Wilmington division director at Aloysius Butler &  Clark
  • Danika Perry, Psy.D. pediatric psychologist at Nemours
  • Justin Rodriguez, sales manager at CSC
  • Taymi Santiago, absence management partner at Nemours
  • Nancy Shen, CPA, senior business analyst at Exelon
  • Alison Travers, Ed.D., leadership associate at UD Delaware Academy for School Leadership
  • Stephanie Wilhelm, Esq., associate at Stevens & Lee; DE Army National Guard

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

19 tech and entrepreneurship events to check out before the holidays

EDA officials are ‘hopeful’ Tech Hubs program will live on under Trump

AI is being used in more and more of the hiring process, especially at high-volume companies

This Week in Jobs: 27 hot open roles to warm up a frosty career

Technically Media