Through a competitive selection process, Rhonda Peters has been chosen to participate in the 2021 Agents for Change Leadership Development Program.  Peters was chosen for her commitment to helping her community through her work with North Carolina Cooperative Extension and her interest in developing her leadership capacity to address complex problems.

The 2021 Agents for Change cohort will meet online monthly and will apply what they learn to a project in their county of responsibility.  Agents for Change was developed and will be facilitated by Dr. Katherine McKee, Department of Agriculture and Human Sciences, NC State University.  Dr. McKee developed the program for early-career Extension professionals because "Extension professionals in their first several years can often see the big challenges their communities face but haven't yet developed the leadership to identify the systems at work and motivate the key community members to enact lasting change that will benefit the entire community."

Peters has identified poverty and social determinants of health as challenges our communities in Montgomery County face and those will be the focus of her project.  She will use the adaptive leadership and systems thinking she learns in the Agents for Change program to develop solutions that are specific for Montgomery County and that build on existing local programs and expertise.  As Peters works through her Agents for Change year, she may cal on you as members of the community to participate in developing solutions that meets the needs of your community.