Mekisha Neal joins the Leadership Institute at Purdue Northwest

Mekisha Neal, M.ED is the new assistant director of the Leadership Institute at Purdue University Northwest.

Neal, who most recently served as greater Chicago regional director for the Boston-based non-profit, Summer Advantage USA, was chosen to expand the Leadership Institute at PNW’s role as the hub of leadership development in Northwest Indiana.

“It is a real pleasure to announce that Mekisha Neal, an experienced educator and non-profit leader, has joined our dedicated team at the Leadership institute at Purdue Northwest,” said Sheila Brillson Matias, executive director of the Leadership Institute and Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest. “She brings her passion for education and her community engagement experience to PNW. With program design expertise gained from years as both a CPS classroom teacher, program manager and director of programs at Summer Advantage USA, Mekisha brings a wealth of knowledge, business acumen and leadership experience which will make our team even more innovative, responsive and robust.”

Rachel Clapp-Smith, academic director of the Leadership institute at PNW, stated, “Mekisha will be a fantastic addition to our mighty team. Her years of experience in youth programming complements nicely the Leadership Institute’s palette of programs. She also has practiced leadership in contexts that will greatly benefit the participants across our many leadership development programs. I’m looking forward to our leadership journey together, which I know will be inspiring and engaging.”

“It is an honor to join the Leadership Institute at Purdue Northwest,” Neal said. “I am looking forward to working with this amazing team and my colleagues at Purdue Northwest to bring empowering leadership development opportunities to youth, college students, business leaders and community stakeholders.”