Leadership Arkansas Class XXI 2026-2027
Class of 2026/2027
Leadership Arkansas
Congratulations to the new Leadership Arkansas Class XXI! The Leadership Arkansas Selection Committee carefully worked to identify 52 individuals from a diverse set of industries across the state to participate in the 2026-2027 program. The members of Leadership Arkansas XXI have two things in common: all are leaders in their respective communities and industries, and all are committed to making Arkansas a better place to live and work.
Congratulations Leadership Arkansas Class XXI - 2026 / 2027
Dr. Aaron Duvall
UA Little Rock
Dr. Aaron Duvall is an educational leader and workforce development strategist dedicated to expanding opportunity through innovative education, industry partnerships, and talent development. Throughout his career, he has championed initi...
Alex Jackson
Cromwell Architects Engineers
Alex Jackson has spent her career investing in the future of Arkansas; first through its students and now
through its communities leading business development in Northwest Arkansas for Cromwell Architects
Engineers.
A graduate of Bentonv...
Amber Rush
Ozarka College
Amber Rush serves as Vice President of Finance at Ozarka College, where she provides strategic leadership for the college’s financial operations, budgeting, accounting, compliance, and long-range financial planning. With more than ...
April Drummond
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort
With more than 30 years of experience in hospitality, April has built a career centered on exceptional service, strong leadership and operational excellence. April’s dedication to excellence, combined with decades of industry expertise f...
April Kiser
Arkansas Department of Transportation / Keep Arkansas Beautiful
April Kiser serves as Affiliate and Community Education Coordinator with the Arkansas Department of Transportation’s Keep Arkansas Beautiful, where she leads statewide education, outreach, and community engagement initiatives focused on ...
Blake Hudson
Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration / Office of the Arkansas Lottery
Blake Hudson was appointed Director of Investigations & Enforcement for the Office of the
Arkansas Lottery in September 2024 by Executive Director Sharon Strong. As the agency’s
chief law enforcement official, Hudson leads all invest...
Blake Martin, PE, CFM
Garver, LLC
A lifelong Arkansan and University of Arkansas alum, Blake Martin, PE, CFM, serves as field services central director and a vice president for local engineering firm Garver. His resume touts over two decades of experience providing const...
Brandi B. Legate
Dassault Falcon Jet
Brandi Legate is a lifelong Arkansan, graduating from North Little Rock High School and University of Central Arkansas. She has been employed by Dassault Falcon Jet since 1998, rising from an unpaid Intern to Director of Upholstery Fabri...
Brian Neal
Nucor Steel Arkansas
Brian is a seasoned leader with more than 20 years of experience in the steel industry working for Nucor Steel Arkansas. He has successfully led both production and mechanical maintenance teams. His current role is the casting mechanical...
Bridget Jones
ABB
Bridget Jones is a Community Relations & Workforce Development Manager for ABB’s NEMA Motors Division who is passionate about connecting people to opportunity and aligning her passion with purpose. With a background in mechanical eng...
Brittany Lindsey
Lockheed Martin
Brittany Lindsey serves as Senior Manager of Production Planning & Control for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control’s Camden Operations. In this role, she leads an organization of approximately 200 employees responsible fo...
Dr. Catherine Love, DVM
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Dr. Catherine Love is a visionary healthcare executive, globally recognized biomedical researcher, and clinical professional specializing in emergency medicine and trauma surgery. As the State Wildlife Veterinarian for the Arkansas Game ...
Derek Bowman
Simmons Bank
Derek Bowman serves as a Senior Commercial Banker with Simmons Bank in Northeast Arkansas. Since joining Simmons in 2018, he has advanced through several leadership roles, including Community Banker and Senior Community Banker. In 2022, ...
Dr. Derek R. McDowell
Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts
Dr. Derek R. McDowell was recently appointed as the Executive Director of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts (ASMSA) in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Dedicated to serving as an educational change agent, Dr. McDowell foc...
Diane Verser
Arcare
Diane serves as Senior Vice President of Operations for Arcare, a multi-state Federally Qualified Health Center headquartered in Augusta, Arkansas. Joining the organization in 2020, she oversees the operational strategy and healthcare de...
Drake Moudy
Summit Utilities
Drake Moudy serves as Government Affairs Manager for Summit Utilities, where he oversees legislative and governmental affairs efforts across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas. In this role, he works with elected officials, regulato...
Elizabeth Gomez
Winrock International
Elizabeth Gomez serves as Associate Director, U.S. Programs, at Winrock International, where she advances rural and regional community development across Arkansas and the Mid-South. Her work connects strategy, partnerships, funding, tech...
Emily Lamm
Be Pro Be Proud
Emily Lamm serves as Chief Operating Officer for Be Pro Be Proud, where she oversees programs and operations, data collection and evaluation, and marketing and communications across the organization’s growing multi-state network. S...
Eric Evans
MPR Properties
Eric Evans is the Chief Executive Officer of MPR Properties, where he leads real estate investment and development initiatives focused on strengthening communities and expanding economic opportunity across Arkansas. With more than 15 yea...
Gerrick Smith
Peco Foods, INC.
Gerrick Smith is the Further Processing Manager at Peco Foods in Batesville, Arkansas, where he leads a large workforce across three shifts while driving safety, quality, operational excellence, and continuous improvement. He is passiona...
Grier Bennett
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Grier Bennett is the Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). With more than a decade of experience in philanthropy, healthcare advancement, and nonprofit leadership...
Jason Culpepper
Simmons Bank
Jason Culpepper serves as Senior Vice President of Retail Small Business Banking for Simmons Bank, where he is leading the development and growth of the bank’s newly created Small Business Banking division. In this role, he is responsibl...
Jason Thurman
EngageMED
Jason is an accomplished human resources leader who supports EngageMED through thoughtful people strategy and risk management. He brings strong expertise in recruiting, training, retention, and employee engagement, supporting both Engage...
Jenny Burbidge
Prism Design Studio / Crafton Tull
Jenny is an Arkansas native whose passion centers on the role nature plays in enriching daily life. Originally from Fort Smith, she earned her Bachelor’s in Landscape Architecture from the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the Universi...
Dr. Jessica Freeman
University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton
Dr. Jessica Freeman serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor of Workforce Education and Training at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton, where she leads initiatives that connect education with the workforce needs of ...
Dr. John Lewis
Arkansas Tech University
John Lewis serves as Vice President for Enrollment Management at Arkansas Tech University, where he provides executive leadership for admissions, recruitment, financial aid, marketing, and strategic enrollment planning. As a member of th...
Jordan Gershon
Tyson Foods
Jordan Gershon (she/her) has built her career around a single conviction: that communities thrive when everyone has the opportunity to succeed and the people most impacted are at the center of the solutions. Today, she leads Tyson Foods’...
Jose Flores, MBA, JD
Southland Casino
Jose Flores, MBA, JD is a gaming, hospitality, and business executive with more than three decades of leadership experience across the casino, hotel, food and beverage, and entertainment industries. His career is a testament to the power...
Kaitlyn Rigdon
El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce
Kaitlyn Rigdon serves as Vice President of Economic Development for the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce, where she leads business recruitment, existing industry support, workforce development, and other strategic initiatives t...
Kara Luther-Chapman
Goodwill Arkansas
Kara Luther-Chapman joined Goodwill Arkansas in 2025, bringing extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, marketing, community engagement, and organizational growth. As Director of Development and Community Engagement, Ka...
Kelli Lamberson
Office of U.S. Congressman Bruce Westerman
Kelli Lamberson serves as a Field Representative for U.S. Congressman Bruce Westerman, representing Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District. Over the past three years, she has worked alongside local elected officials, business leaders, ...
Kelly Chambers
Farmers Bank & Trust
Kelly Chambers is a seasoned banking professional with more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. He began his banking career in 1997 as a commercial lender with Pike County Bank and has since held various leade...
Kendall Thornton
Entergy Arkansas
Kendall Thornton is the stakeholder engagement coordinator for Entergy Arkansas where she works to inform stakeholders of the company’s work to provide power that is reliable, affordable and able to meet the demand of Arkansas’s growing ...
Lauren Hoskins
West Memphis Utility Commission
Lauren Hoskins serves as the Director of Communications, Marketing and Public Relations for West Memphis Utilities, where she leads strategic communications and public engagement efforts that strengthen relationships among the utility, i...
Liz Mashie
Walmart
Liz Mashie is an attorney and compliance leader with extensive experience in corporate governance, regulatory compliance, risk management, and strategic leadership. She holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Agricultural and Food Law and has ...
Lynn Price
Ad Astra Consulting, LLC
Lynn Price is a negotiation expert, keynote speaker, author, and attorney with over 25 years of experience helping executives and organizations negotiate better outcomes. Over the course of her career, she has successfully negotiated mor...
Maggie Waymack-Cope
Pinnacle Structures
Maggie Waymack-Cope is an Account Executive with Pinnacle Structures, an Arkansas-based manufacturer of pre-engineered metal buildings, where she works closely with contractors, architects, and developers throughout the United States. Pr...
Makenzi Hamilton
Southern Arkansas University
Makenzi Hamilton serves as the Executive Director of Alumni Relations at Southern Arkansas University, where she continues to strengthen lifelong relationships between the university and its alumni while advancing engagement, philanthrop...
Mary Thompson
Apple Seeds
Mary Thompson is the Executive Director of Apple Seeds, an Arkansas nonprofit dedicated to inspiring children to develop lifelong healthy habits through hands-on cooking, gardening, and agriculture education. With well over 10 years of e...
Nicole Herndon
National Park College
Nicole Herndon, CFRE, serves as Executive Director of the National Park College Foundation, bringing over 17 years of experience in fundraising and nonprofit leadership. In this role, she oversees all philanthropic efforts to support stu...
Nikki Courtney
Nabholz
Nikki Courtney is a Business Development Officer with Nabholz, where she works closely with clients and communities across Arkansas to build relationships and connect organizations with construction, industrial, environmental, excavation...
Olivia Womack
Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Olivia Womack serves as the Director of Business Development for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), where she oversees the state’s efforts to attract new businesses to Arkansas through strategic site selection support a...
Paul Gatling
University of Central Arkansas
Paul has spent more than two decades telling the story of Northwest Arkansas. Today, he helps write its next chapter.
As senior director of Northwest Arkansas engagement at the University of Central Arkansas, Paul works to strengthen th...
Colonel Paul J. Needham
Arkansas Air National Guard
Colonel Paul Needham is the 188th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group Commander at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Smith, Ark. The 188th ISRG is comprised of three intelligence squadrons and an intelligence support ...
Randall Harriman
Signature Bank of Arkansas
Randall Harriman is a lifetime Springdale resident and a graduate from Springdale High School. He married his high school sweetheart, Lindsay, a Family and Consumer Science teacher for Springdale Public Schools. They have 19 year old, re...
Dr. Robin Hickerson
Texarkana USA Regional Chamber of Commerce
Robin Hickerson serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Texarkana USA Regional Chamber of Commerce, where she champions leadership development, workforce initiatives, business advocacy, and strategic partnerships across th...
Rocky Tolentino
Southwest Power Pool
Rocky Tolentino currently serves as Southwest Power Pool’s Sr. Director of Integrated Security. In this role, he maintains oversight of all aspects of security to include Cybersecurity, Physical Security and Emergency Management. He lead...
Colonel Ryan L. Workman
Arkansas Air National Guard
Colonel Ryan L. Workman is the commander of the 189th Maintenance Group, 189th Airlift Wing, Arkansas Air National Guard, located at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. As
Commander, Col Workman is responsible for over 300 maintainers ...
Sarah Beth Henderson
Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce
Originally from the Bentonville area, Sarah Henderson brings a strong background in strategic communications, shaped by her tenure in Washington, D.C. as Communications Director in the U.S. House of Representatives. A graduate of Oklahom...
Colonel Tim Dean
Arkansas National Guard
Colonel Dean proudly serves as the Director of the Human Resource Office (HRO) for the Arkansas Army National Guard, Joint Force Headquarters, Camp Joseph T. Robinson, North Little Rock, Arkansas. In this role, he provides strategic lead...
Yukiko Taylor
Developmental Disabilities Provider Association
Yukiko Taylor is the Executive Director of the Developmental Disabilities Provider Association (DDPA) in Arkansas, where she leads statewide advocacy, legislative initiatives, and operational support representing 80 service providers and...