Planting the Seeds for our Future: LEADelware’s Impact on Alumni and the Community

• Jessica Compton, Communication, University of Delaware

• Jennifer Volk, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Delaware

LEADelaware is an agriculture and natural resources leadership program which is designed to help build the next generation of leaders within the food and fiber industries. The University of Delaware and Delaware Department of Agriculture partnered to create a program which addresses the need for leadership within the agricultural and natural resources sectors. However, there are few marketing and communication resources for the program which have impacted its growth and visibility within the agricultural and natural resources community.

This project aimed to generate a marketing program to help support this scholarly engagement program. The results of this project included a branding guide, a social media plan, an updated website, a pop-up banner, and a collection of media. These deliverables are intended to support the growth of the program and enhance its impact on the community. Additionally, an exploratory study using an inductive research method was conducted. Alumni of the program were interviewed about their current leadership practices and their experiences with LEADelware. This data was analyzed to identify common themes in the alumni experiences during and after the program as well as its impact on their careers. The interviews were also used to create a short marketing and recruitment video for the program.