Three Northwest Missouri State University staff members have been selected to participate in the spring 2021 cohort of Leadership Northwest Missouri, an initiative to foster understanding of how Missouri communities and policy issues are interconnected. 

Brooke Byland, Samantha Cole and Dr. Bob Machovsky will join 17 other participants representing organizations throughout northwest Missouri to engage with business, community and government leaders through panel discussions, presentations and experiences that survey needs, resources and opportunities within northwest Missouri. Participants explore topics of education, workforce development, transportation, healthcare, government, agriculture and team-building.

Byland, a coordinator of facilities and operations for Northwest campus recreation programs, joined the University in 2018. Prior to her full-time employment at Northwest, she worked as a graduate assistant while completing her master’s degree in recreation and resource management. A native of Maryville, she also earned her bachelor’s degree from Northwest in corporate recreation and wellness in 2016.

Cole, a regional career advisor and pathways consultant with the Northwest Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC), joined Northwest in 2014 as a scholarship and outreach specialist in the University’s Office of Scholarships and Financial Assistance. She has worked in multiple roles since, including as assistant director of admissions and as an academic advisor and success coach before transferring to the RPDC in 2019. She has a bachelor’s degree in public relations and a master’s degree in higher education leadership, both from Northwest.

Machovsky, director of alumni relations and giving at Northwest, joined the Office of University Advancement in 2012 and was appointed director of alumni relations in 2013. Before coming to Northwest, he served as manager of annual giving at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla and was assistant director of annual giving at the University of South Dakota Foundation in Vermillion, South Dakota. A native of South Dakota, he has a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota, a master’s degree in higher education leadership from Northwest, and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis through Northwest’s collaborative doctorate program with the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Founded in 1999, Leadership Northwest Missouri, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was created to bring together up-and-coming leaders from throughout the region to hone their leadership skills, explore local issues and gain a network of contacts. Using “The Leadership Challenge” model created by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, participants learn leadership skills through a blend of classroom presentations and experiential exercises. Day-long sessions take place monthly in communities throughout the region.

Participants are selected, based on their commitment to the region and leadership potential, from the 19 counties of Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Linn, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Sullivan and Worth.

Northwest employees who are alumni of Leadership Northwest Missouri include Leslie Abarr-Cuenca, Dr. Alice Foose, Judy Frueh, Dr. Linda Gray Smith, Ashlee Hendrix, Dr. Allison Hoffmann, Dr. Jamie Hooyman, Mark Hornickel, Dr. Terry Long, Sam Mason, Dr. Sue Myllykangas, Evan Rand, Julie Robertson and Dana Ternus.