NEDA's 2008 Professional Networking Series: Effective Economic Development Leadership will be held on Thursday, April 24 at the Northeast Utilities Dining Room. Join NEDA for a full day of formal leadership education, where attendees will learn from a leading expert in corporate leadership training and team-building, and then learn how these leadership principles can be applied effectively to real-world economic development situations. Morning Session: 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Jonathan Wheeler of The Clarion Group will lead the morning program. Wheeler will describe the core characteristics of effective leaders, and help us distinguish between leadership capabilities which can be learned, and the diverse characteristics that we're born with and need to learn to harness as we practice our different styles of leadership. Wheeler has had a diverse career including multiple technology sales and marketing roles for a Fortune 100 company, management advisor supporting large scale business transformation projects in global enterprises, general manager of a media division of a rapidly expanding telecom firm, co-founder of a venture backed software startup, and founder and principal of his own management consulting firm. Afternoon Session: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Two experienced development practitioners will show us how these leadership skills and tools can be used in the day-to-day work of economic development. Both will draw on actual situations they've seen in their own work, to illustrate what really works in some diverse economic development environments. * Michael Ross, EDP has been president of the Franklin County Area Development Corp. in Chambersburg, Penn., since its start-up in 1986. Under his direction, FCADC has facilitated over 455 projects, resulting in more than $1 billion in new investment and creating and/or preserving over 34,250 jobs. Franklin County's economy is connected to a three-state region, and Ross has had to build strong alliances not only in central Penn. but across borders in Maryland and West Virginia. Ross is a past president of NEDA, and served on the national board of the American Economic Development Council.   John Shemo has led as VP/director of economic development for the MetroHartford Alliance for the past 15 years. Shemo created and implemented a nationally accredited education program for public officials, led development of NEDA's own accredited "principles & practices" courses, and led NEDA as president through a staff transition toward an expanded membership that has continued to grow since. A light breakfast (from 8 a.m.) and luncheon are included in the registration.