Leadership West, the West Valley's leadership group, is embarking on its 27th year with a new class of local business and government leaders.

The 17-member class will spend the next nine months engrossed in learning about the region in what the organization bills as an intensive study of the issues and topics involved in the West Valley stretching from Glendale and Peoria to Goodyear and Buckeye.

"We are pleased to welcome this new group into Leadership West to enjoy the benefits of this unique civic organization that cultivates and galvanizes leaders with knowledge, compassion and vision," said Bobbi Magdaleno, the group's board president and executive director in Arizona State University's Office of Government and Community Engagement, in a news release.

Members of the class, pictures in the slideshow above, come from a range professional  occupations and include government service, utilities, education, construction and transportation among others.

The Leadership West program involves nine months of issue days focusing on a specific topic in the region. This year the class, which typically features field trips to various West Valley sites, will be conducted in a hybrid model because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

With 27 years of leadership building, the organization has  more than 600 alumni, many of whom remain working in the region.

"One of the areas in  which Leadership West excels is in educating the community on civic engagement," said Michelle Hess, the group's executive director and council member in the city of Buckeye, in a news release. "We are proud of the contributions  our alumni are making. As an example, we currently have nine alumni running for elected office ranging from school boards to the state Legislature."