Applications for the 2026 Delta Leadership Institute (DLI) Executive Academy are now open. An extensive nine-month leadership development program, DLI brings together public, private and nonprofit sector leaders from the Mississippi River and Alabama Black Belt regions. For more information, click here.
Deadline to apply is Aug. 15, 2025.
The DRA was established in 2000 as a formal framework for joint federal-state collaboration to promote and encourage the economic development of the lower Mississippi River and Alabama Black Belt regions. To fulfill this purpose, DRA invests in projects supporting transportation infrastructure, basic public infrastructure, workforce training, and business development. DRA works to create jobs, build communities, and improve the lives of those that reside in the region. DRA’s region encompasses 255 counties and parishes in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.
DRA’s enabling legislation dictates that at least 75% of DRA’s funds must be invested in economically distressed counties and parishes and isolated areas within non-distressed counties and parishes. In addition, half of DRA’s funds must support transportation infrastructure and basic public infrastructure.
Delta Regional Authority
236 Sharkey Avenue, Suite 400
Clarksdale, MS 38614
info@dra.gov
