Spokesman: Dallas-based group ‘very selective’ •
Danita McAnally
Danita McAnally, chief of planning and advancement at Amarillo College, has been selected to join the 2013 class of Leadership America.
Established in 1988, Leadership America is a program created by Women’s Resources, a nonprofit educational organization located in Dallas.
The program is one of several focused on improving women’s leadership skills as well as their personal, economic and professional status.
It was created after the success of the statewide program, Leadership Texas.
“It demonstrates pretty clearly that she is highly regarded well beyond the confines of Amarillo College and even beyond the state of Texas, as the program is very prestigious and selective,” said AC spokesman Joe Wyatt.
“It reflects really well on Amarillo College that we have someone of her caliber of leadership, and we should all be very proud.”
McAnally said she completed an application for the program after receiving an email advising that she had been nominated for selection.
She said she will attend three sessions, each lasting 2½ days.
Host cities for the sessions this year include Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Detroit.
At each session, she will meet with other women selected from around the country to discuss this year’s theme, “Surveying the Landscape . . . Shaping the Future.”
“The women chosen for this program are well-established, intelligent and accomplished,” said Ellen Green, AC chief of communication and marketing.
After being a part of the program, “They are able to realize how much you can accomplish, regardless of gender or ethnic makeup,” she said.
Green, an Amarillo city commissioner, described her involvement as a member of the 2009 Leadership Texas class as a great growing experience in which she learned from other women about leadership while both mentoring and being mentored.
She said their discussions that year regarding water conservation made her realize not only how extremely interested she is in the subject but also the importance of local government and the things that take place at city hall.
While McAnally has not been told who the national speakers will be at each session, she said she is excited at the prospects.
“I’m hoping what I learn can be implemented into the vision of the college,” she said.
She said her favorite part of her position at AC is strategic planning.
She said she’s looking forward to the intellectual conversations she will have regarding national issues, global perspectives and how they will affect where higher education is headed.
McAnally heads the Division of Planning and Advancement, which includes the offices of institutional research and effectiveness, outcomes assessment and grant development and compliance. She has been a part of the AC faculty since 1987.
Leave a Reply