A dozen community-minded leaders and changemakers got down to work this week as part of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce’s third Leadership QC cohort, according to a chamber news release.
This latest group of area business and nonprofit leaders will spend the next nine months meeting to discuss and facilitate solutions to the Quad Cities community’s most challenging business and social issues, the chamber said.
The program was designed, chamber leaders say, to inspire a generation of community servants and leaders who will leave an indelible mark on this community and to create a place where all members can grow, thrive and experience prosperity in a way that is meaningful to them.
Cohort leaders are
Cohort participants include these Quad Cities professionals:
- Angela Campbell, Rock Island Library director.
- Loredana Cooper, multicultural & inclusion coordinator, Black Hawk College.
- Ramona Dixon, director of grants, accountability, and assessments, Rock Island/Milan School District.
- Tim Jackson, program manager, John Deere.
- Amy Jones, director of philanthropy, Royal Neighbors.
- Joan Karanovich, Visit Quad Cities.
- Tyler Lanz, Mississippi Valley Workforce Development Board.
- Jaclyn Macias, payroll administrator, City of Silvis.
- Randy Olson, chief technology officer, Twin States Services.
- Monica Silliman, factory engineering manager, John Deere Seeding.
- Jennifer Verscha, director of marketing, Quad Cities Chamber.
- Adam Watkins, chief strategy and information officer, Fidlar Technologies.
Ms. Campbell told the QCBJ, “I wanted to join the cohort to learn from my peers about issues facing the Quad Cities. The library already makes a far-reaching positive impact on the public, and I want to elevate what we’re able to do with our small, but mighty, staff. I hope to learn from like-minded community leaders so that I can use my leadership privilege to benefit others in the community.”
Goal to reduce barriers
Mr. Lanz, communications assistant for the workforce development group, told the chamber he applied for Leadership QC to “collaborate with changemakers in the Quad Cities to expand opportunities in our local area to reduce barriers to unemployment.”
John Deere Seeding’s Ms. Silliman, shared similar goals, “I would like to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced in our community and take an active role in supporting solutions. I believe that engagement from community members is an important component of lasting change.”
“Oftentimes I feel I am underrepresented,” Silvis’ Ms. Macias added in the chamber release. “I would love to take part in this program to open my eyes to all that the area – professionally and personally – has to offer. I would call it a success if someone were to say, ‘If she did it, then certainly I can too.’”
The nine-month program meets once per month through September 2024. Applications for the chamber’s 2025 cohort open again in the fall.
