Purdue University Northwest seeks to build on the success of the South Shore Leadership Center.
The leadership center, which has operated as an affiliate of PNW since October 2016, now operates as The Leadership Institute at Purdue Northwest.
The institute builds skills of emerging leaders through project-based learning.
Sheila Brillson Matias, executive director, leads the institute. She joined PNW in October 2018 and also serves as executive director of the Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest.
Cortney Robinson serves as program manager at the institute.
“PNW recognizes the significant opportunity to build upon the connecting legacies of leadership and innovation represented by these two long-standing, successful regional organizations,” said Thomas Keon, cancellor of Purdue Northwest. “The development of the Leadership Institute, along with the affiliation with the Society of Innovators, will bring new opportunities to jointly promote leadership development, a culture of innovation, and to increase our collective impact on the economic, social and cultural well-being of Northwest Indiana.”
Keon said Brillson Matias has been working with PNW faculty and staff members, as well as business leaders throughout Northwest Indiana to develop opportunities for intellectual and business partnerships, new leadership development programs, and ways to support and augment PNW’s research and economic development efforts.
Brillson Matias brings an extensive background in community development, leadership, education and service to her role PNW. She is a former two-term Michigan City mayor, city councilperson, co-founder and board chair of the Michigan City Economic Development Corp., and teacher in the Portage Township Schools.
Brillson Matias most recently served as national director of Programs for Summer Advantage USA/Entrepreneurial Ventures in Education, where she worked with key community partners across the country to bring learning programs into high-need schools. She also led workforce development and employment programs, veteran job retraining and community health services for regional and statewide operations in the state of Washington. Brillson Matias earned a master’s degree from Valparaiso University and a bachelor’s degree from John Carroll University in Cleveland.
Brillson Matias presently serves as La Porte County Commissioner. She was co-founder of the Safe Harbor program and has served on the boards of directors of Save the Dunes, Michigan City Salvation Army, Michigan City Zoning Board, Michigan City Plan Commission, and Dune Brook of La Porte County.
“I am very excited to be a part of the Purdue Northwest team as well as serving alongside the dedicated board members of both the Leadership Institute and the Society of Innovators, who are committed to moving Northwest Indiana forward,” Brillson Matias said. “By developing people and practicing skills, we are investing in the place we call home – our region. Leaders aren’t born, they’re made. By working to develop these skills in our program participants, our communities are strengthened.”
