Holly’s heading to the Appalachian Leadership Institute

It’s true. Holly’s going back to school, well, sort of.

One of the best parts about being a local marketing agency is telling all the great stories about growth and change right here in Northeast Pennsylvania. But sometimes you see opportunities to do more, to make a difference. 

Our Chief Executive Officer Holly K. Pilcavage has been working on real initiatives like the Rainbow Alliance, the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce and Dress for Success Luzerne County (to name a few) for years now, and she’s helped them all in some big ways. 

It was because of her community efforts so far and her deep commitment to see this great region flourish that she’s gotten a great opportunity to do more. 

Drumroll please!

Holly’s been selected along with only 40 applicants across 13 states to take part in the Appalachian Regional Institute, an exclusive nine-month program that empowers regional leaders and trains them with best practices to change their communities. 

The fellowship program, run by the Appalachian Regional Commission, runs from October to July and includes six multi-day seminars focusing on skills and best practices, preparing fellows to:

• Design effective economic development project proposals
• Integrate community assets into long-term economic development strategies
• Identify resources available to spark economic and community development
• Locate and access investment capital from a variety of public and private sources
• Prepare competitive applications for public grant opportunities
• Use expanded connections and leadership skills to create strong regional partnerships

Appalachian Leadership Institute fellows were selected through a competitive application process to reflect the Appalachian region’s wide range of economic development challenges, opportunities and strategies.

Pilcavage will join one other area development expert, Todd Pousley, neighborhood revitalization manager with NeighborWorks Northeast Pennsylvania in Scranton also was selected. Cool, right? Out of just three fellows from Pennsylvania, two of them come from our region. 

Learn more about this incredible opportunity for Holly, Coal Creative and the northeast region. Click here

And if you happen to see Holly out and about, tell her, “Congratulations!”