Each year, the VRSA Members’ Supervisory Board allocates $400,000 in Risk Management Grant funds back to our member communities to assist them in preventing and reducing losses. A portion of these funds is earmarked each year to support members pursuing continuing professional education and training.
For Christine Jacobs, now the executive director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC), attending the Senior Executive Institute (SEI) was a career goal she made long before accepting her position.
“I stumbled upon the SEI, and while I wasn’t yet at the point in my career that I could take advantage of the program, I kept it tucked away in my mind,” said Jacobs. She hoped “that I would one day attend as I continued my leadership journey in public service.”
Jacobs joined the TJPDC as a housing program manager in 2018, then served as chief operating officer. In the fall of 2021, she was named executive director. Just a few years later, she was able to complete the two-week SEI program, thanks in part to funds received through the VRSA Risk Management Grant.
“As most local government leaders know, when budgets are tight, professional development opportunities can be considered ‘luxuries’ and are regrettably pared down,” said Jacobs. “As local governments continue to shift their service delivery to meet the ever-changing needs of our communities, it is imperative that leaders have opportunities to develop new skills, share best practices, and lean into peers who understand the challenges and opportunities of public sector leadership.”
Senior Executive Institute Class of 2024
The SEI program is designed to provide local government leaders with essential skills they can apply in their organizations to make positive changes.
“The tools, strategies, and above all, the connections that I made at SEI will undoubtedly make me a better leader,” said Jacobs. “As John F. Kennedy once stated, ‘Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.‘”
VRSA is here to protect our members and their employees so they can effectively serve their communities. Supporting quality professional and personal development of our next generation of local government leaders is one way to support good governance for the future.
“Not only am I very fortunate to have a governing board that strongly encourages and supports me and my team’s professional development, but my organization also has the great fortune of having a partnership with VRSA,” said Jacobs. “A sincere thank you to VRSA for their willingness to invest in indispensable learning opportunities for the next generation of leaders.”
Applications for the 2025 – 2026 Risk Management Grant program open Aug. 1.