Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy 2026 Celebration of Graduates
April 30, 2026
The team was thrilled to celebrate the newest class of Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy Fellows. As our 2026 graduates prepare to enter the next season of life, we gathered to celebrate the impact they have made on the Grand Valley community.
The program included remarks by Hauenstein Center staff, a guest keynote, and commencement by the graduates as they receive their CLA certificates.
About the Speaker
Mary Dailey Brown
Mary Dailey Brown is the Co-Founder, President, and CEO of SowHope.Org, a 501c3 multi-national, sustainable development, nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring impoverished women around the World.
Over the past 40 years, Mary has visited and traveled to over 65 countries and has been involved personally and vocationally with the poor. She is fluent in Spanish, having lived in Spain for nearly four years. She has led over 150 volunteer teams to over 40 countries.
Mary earned a BA from Southern Illinois University with majors in Photography and Psychology. She completed a Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Nonprofit Management and Leadership at Grand Valley State University, where she now teaches as an adjunct professor.
Mary worked at the White House as a staff photographer serving both Carter and Reagan. She owned a professional freelance photography business in the North Suburbs of Chicago for 10 years.
Mary served as the founding Executive Director of Love Inc (formerly, the US branch of World Vision) of Lake County, IL. She was the Director of Missions at Bella Vista Church in Rockford, MI for eight years and it was during that time that she traveled to many low- and middle-income countries and developed the vision to start SowHope.
Mary has been married to Doug Brown since 1981; they have two adult sons, John & Alex.