Brenda Lageson, the district administrative assistant for the Freeborn County Soil and Water Conservation District, recently completed a one-year leadership development program sponsored by the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The program, titled “The MASWCD Leadership Institute,” brought together 33 participants from across the state.

The group was composed of locally elected soil and water district supervisors, local SWCD staff, and staff from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. The group met for seven sessions held throughout Minnesota with one session held in Washington, D.C., and studied leadership topics including: understanding personal leadership skills, developing a vision, practicing ethical leadership, effective communication, addressing conflict, and facilitating effective organizations.

This was the seventh group to complete the statewide leadership program which first began in 1996. The program is designed to build and enhance the leadership skills and capacities of local natural resource agencies so that they can better serve the public and successfully address the complex natural resource conservation issues that are found in communities throughout Minnesota. The content of the program is designed and delivered by staff of the University of Minnesota Extension. A portion of the costs to conduct the program is provided through a grant from the Minnesota office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.