Besides speaking with a former participant, there’s no better way to get a feel for what you’ll experience than looking at last year’s agenda, skimming previous action projects, and browsing the biographies of past staff and speakers.

Program Agenda

Action Project

As part of the NEW Leadership ® program, you will complete a political “Action Project.” Each year, we focus on a different issue—typically in a policy area that topped the agenda of a recent legislative session. As part of the project, you will research the issue from the perspective of an assigned interest group or coalition of interests. The project will culminate in a mock legislative committee hearing on proposed legislation related to the chosen policy area.

2024 Staff and Guest Speakers

At Mississippi University for Women, the NEW Leadership ® MS program is organized and administered by Dr. Chanley Rainey, Director of the Women’s Center for Research & Public Policy, with assistance from undergraduate and graduate student interns. In addition, Peer Mentors and Faculty in Residence are hired each summer to assist with the institute.

FACULTY IN RESIDENCE (FIRs)

NEW Leadership ® Mississippi Faculty in Residence mentor students, guide students in research and rehearsals for the Action Project, provide general oversight of student behavior and assessment of student achievement in coordination with mentors, and facilitate engagement with elected officials.FIRs are women political leaders who agree to stay on campus with the students for the duration of the program. This allows for an intensive learning and mentoring experience, ensuring students receive the kind of high-quality mentoring that will prepare them, socially, for a career in politics and public service. As part of the Action Project, FIRs are each assigned to a small group of students with whom they can develop especially strong relationships, but the program also creates many opportunities for interaction with other students. In addition, the program offers a range of contexts for mentor-mentee interactions, ranging from policy research to professional dinners, from FIR-led panels to coffee breaks.

Dana McLean

Representative, Mississippi House; District 39 – Lowndes, Monroe

Dana McLean was born in Russellville, Alabama but spent part of her childhood in Columbus, Mississippi. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and French at the University of Alabama and received her JD and LLM from Stetson University College of Law.
After living and working as an attorney in Florida, Dana and her daughter relocated to Columbus, Mississippi in 2013 and she began a career in real estate, serving the Columbus, Caledonia, and Steens communities. also joined the Exchange Club, served as President of the Columbus Arts Council, and sat on the Lowndes County Crime Task Force’s Education Committee.
In the spring of 2019, she decided to challenge Jeff Smith, a powerful incumbent of 28 years, for the Republican nomination in the primary election for Mississippi House District 39. Dismayed at the state of education policy and concerned that it did not seem to be a priority for elected leaders, Dana was already going to public forums and paying close attention to politics. When former Representative Smith voted down a local 2% restaurant sales tax that was essential to the operation of Columbus’ local development association, Dana was convinced new leadership was needed. The day before the filing deadline, when it was clear no one else was going to challenge Smith, she threw her name into the hat. Traveling Lowndes and Monroe counties in her 1988 Airstream Excella camper, Dana led an insurgent, grassroots campaign. Despite being at a severe financial disadvantage (Smith raised $74,000 to McLean’s $14,550), Dana prevailed. She won by 162 votes.
Dana has served in the legislature since January 2020 and serves on the Agriculture, Constitution, Judiciary B, Judiciary En Banc, Public Health and Human Services, Universities and Colleges, and Workforce Development Committees in the House.
Dana is a member of the National Association of Realtors, Greater Golden Triangle Realtor Association, Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce, Exchange Club, and Columbus Arts Council.

Kristie Metcalfe

Municipal Attorney, City of Jackson, MS

Kristie is a municipal attorney serving the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi.
Kristie has extensive legal experience in Mississippi’s legislature and judiciary. After law school, Kristie began her legal career as a law clerk for Chief Justice William L. Waller, Jr. with the Mississippi Supreme Court and then for Judge Ermea (EJ) Russell with the Mississippi Court of Appeals. After her time as a law clerk, Kristie joined the Mississippi Senate as legislative counsel, where she remained for eight years. Kristie then served as an attorney for privacy and civil rights at the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services before becoming an attorney for the city of Jackson.
Kristie holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and English from the Mississippi University for Women. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she was Executive Board Notes and Comments Editor of the Mississippi Law Journal and a member of the Moot Court Board.
Kristie loves to Tunisian crochet in her free time. Her work in that area has earned her an exhibiting membership in the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi. Kristie is also an avid fan of science fiction and fantasy novels and college football.

Adrienne Wooten

Judge, 7th District Circuit Court of Mississippi

The Honorable Adrienne Wooten is a native of Meridian, Mississippi. Judge Wooten, is the first African American female to hold the position of Circuit Court Judge of District 7, Place 1 in Hinds County, Mississippi, a position she won after a historical run-off election on November 27, 2018.
Prior to her transition to the Judiciary, Judge Wooten was a solo practitioner whose areas of specialty included criminal law, premises liability, personal injury, drug product liability, product liability, mass tort litigation, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and family law. Judge Wooten also served for 11 years in the Mississippi State Legislature representing District 71. She served on the committees of Insurance, Judiciary B, Judiciary En Banc, Municipalities, University and Colleges, and Public Health and Human Services during the last years of her legislative tenure.
Judge Wooten began her career 23 years ago as an associate at the Law Firm of Blackmon & Blackmon, PLLC, and in 2004, she began operating the Law Office of Adrienne Hooper-Wooten, PLLC, with offices in Ridgeland and Lexington, Mississippi. For 19 years she actively litigated civil matters and served as an Assistant Public Defender for Holmes County for 15 years representing indigent defendants.
Judge Wooten is a member of the American Bar Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Metro Jackson Black Women Lawyers Association, Mississippi Women’s Lawyers Association, Magnolia Bar Association, the Mississippi State Bar, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. She is the daughter of the late Tommy Hooper, Sr. and Jo Ann Hooper. Judge Wooten and her husband, Dewayne, have two (2) fur babies, Buster and Biff Wooten.

Peer Mentors

Faculty in Residence are joined by Peer Mentors as they guide students throughout the week of NEW Leadership MS. Peer Mentors are graduate students, law students, or early career professionals who have participated in a previous NEW Leadership MS summer institute. As such, they are well-positioned to help current students navigate the program and to advise them regarding opportunities they might pursue during and immediately after their undergraduate studies.

Ni-Lah Jones

NEW Leadership ® Mississippi Alumna, 2023

Ni-Lah Jones is a native of Natchez, Mississippi and a rising senior at Tougaloo College, where she is majoring in Political Science with a minor in Pre-Law and Public Policy. She is a 2023 graduate of Copiah Lincoln Community College-Natchez Campus and Natchez Early College @ Co-Lin, where she was dually enrolled in her high school’s early college program. While at Co-Lin, Ni-Lah served as president of Phi Theta Kappa – Alpha Alpha Zeta Chapter, a position in which she orchestrated their community and college projects. 

At Tougaloo College, she is involved in various organizations including the Reuben V. Anderson Institute for Social Justice, Tougaloo Ambassadors for Meritorious Scholars, Tougaloo College Pre-Law Phi Alpha Delta Chapter, Economics Club, and more. Ni-Lah is also a part of The Young Women’s Policy and Advocacy Council and Black Women’s Vote Coalition. This past semester she had the opportunity to intern with Gayla Carpenter-Sanders at the Mississippi Volunteers Lawyers Project. After graduating from college, Ni-Lah plans to attend law school to pursue a career as a Civil Rights Attorney.

Ni-Lah enjoys reading, dancing, shopping, watching her favorite TV shows, going to church, and spending time with her peers. She makes it her duty to treat everyone with respect and empathy because what a person is going through is left unknown unless they express it.

Rachel Shirley

NEW Leadership ® Mississippi Alumna, 2017

Rachel Shirley is a 2017 graduate of Mississippi College. She majored in history with a minor in business administration. Afterward, Rachel earned a Marketing Management Technology degree from Hinds Community College in Pearl, MS and is now working toward her Masters in Strategic Communications with emphasis in Social Media Mgt from Arkansas State University Online. 

Rachel has been an intern with Governor Bryant’s and First Lady Bryant’s offices and completed a remote internship with the social media team of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. As Rachel stated while in college, “TV is actually educational, I binged watched the entire The West Wing show while taking an American Presidency class and understood so much more.”

Keara Williams

2022 Summer Intern, Center for Women’s Research & Public Policy

Keara Williams is a licensed teacher with endorsements in English, Biology, and Social Studies and is currently teaching at . In addition, she is a graduate student in the Master of Library and Information Sciences (MLIS) program at the University of Southern Mississippi. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a concentration in Social Studies as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching at Mississippi University for Women.

At The W, Keara participated in Phi Theta Kappa and was honored with the 2020-2021 Edsel and Joyce Cooper award and was selected as the 2022 Dave Evans Scholar. In 2022, Keara interned at the Center for Women’s Research & Public Policy, a position in which she helped to plan and administer the NEW Leadership Mississippi summer institute. 

Keara lives in Columbus with her daughter, Khaleesi, who is five years old.  She is a local photographer when she isn’t a student, mother, or educator. She also enjoys watching Chicago PD, All American, Game of Thrones, and Stranger Things.