Valley Leadership’s Explore Program Goes to Yuma
Our newest program, Explore, visited Yuma last weekend as their first of five trips to different communities around our state. Yuma’s largest industry is agriculture, bringing in about $3.4 billion a year to the community. This was one of many areas along with education, water and immigration that the participants learned about during their trip.
Jen Gastelum, the Explore program developer, shared of her experience, “We were blown away by our trip to Yuma. We learned about the thriving agriculture industry, the community’s focus on education, and how larger issues in Arizona like immigration and water show up for the people living and working in Yuma. We had dinner with a local business owner at Prison Hill Brewery, explored the uniqueness of a binational economy in San Luis, and learned how the Yuma Art Center and State Historic Parks contribute to a rich cultural experience in this community. The trip was a nonstop consumption of information that will forever transform our perception of Yuma as a gas stop before San Diego to one of a complex community full of stories, opportunities, and people full of passion and love for their home.”
Special thanks to all of our community partners who made the trip such an incredible experience.
| Lowell Perry Jr. | Executive DirectorYuma Crossing National Heritage Area |
| Paul Brierley | Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture |
| Meghan Scott | Water attorney at Noble Law |
| Stephanie Parra | ED of ALL In Education |
| Dr. Daniel Corr | President of Arizona Western College |
| Reetika Dhawan | Vice President of Workforce Development and Career & Technical Education, AWC |
| Timothy Brienza | Deputy Superintendent |
| Julie Engel | Greater Yuma Economic Council |
| Jim Schuessler | Yuma Multiversity; Director of SBDC |
| Jamie Sheldahl | Superintendent, Yuma Elementary School District 1 |
| Jenny Torres | San Luis Economic Development Manager |
| Veronica Schorr | Arizona Community Foundation of Yuma |
| Chris Wheeler | Owner Prison Hill Restaurant |
| Ana Padilla | Yuma Art Center |
| Diana Gomez | Director of Health Department |
| Antonio Carrillo | Academic Advisor & Professor of Spanish, AWC |
| Chief Richard Jessup | San Luis Chief of Police |
| Jenifer L Sumner | Director of Allied health |
| Mario Guevara | ED for Organismo Promotor de Desarollo Economico de San Luis Rio Colordado (OPRODE) |
| Nate Duser | AWC LETA Coordinator |
| Lydia Aranda | President Southern Arizona CPLC |
