By: Little Rock Soirée staff
Read the original article here
Thank you to Arkansas Business, Soiree, and Woman Achieve! Learn more about the Woman Achieve program here!
Following months of nominations and vetting more than 600 submissions, the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, Little Rock Soirée magazine and Arkansas Business Publishing Group are excited to announce the Top 100 Women of Impact in Arkansas honorees.
“The 100 women that appear on this list are impacting Arkansas today, and they are making it a better state for future generations,” WFA CEO Anna Beth Gorman says. “By sharing these stories in the Top 100 publication, we know that leaders across Arkansas will have the opportunity to learn the names of our state’s trailblazing women, and how they’re affecting change. Our goal is to inspire more women, businesses and leaders to support and replicate change-making work.”
The list is a revival of a publication helmed by former ABPG owner Olivia Farrell that helped launch the WFA 25 years ago. Honorees will be featured in a special publication in September and celebrated at WFA’s 2023 Power of the Purse event.
“The new list recognizes 100 outstanding and ambitious women who reflect the spirit of ingenuity and ambition at every stage of their career journey,” says Mitch Bettis, owner and president of ABPG, the parent company of Soirée. “There are some names you’ll know who are now prominent CEOs at prominent companies — an idea 25 years ago that was a complete oddity. However, the list will also include women of impact from the four corners of the state you may not know, and that’s the point.”
Read on: Recognizing 100 Women of Impact (Mitch Bettis Publisher’s Note)
Without further ado, here are the Top 100 Women of Impact in Arkansas:
Heather Albright
President, Bank of America Arkansas
Robyn P. Allmendinger
Member, Rose Law Firm
Elizabeth Burns Anderson
Senior Vice President, Farmers Bank & Trust
Executive Director, Farmers Bank Foundation
Katherine Andrews
Director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation, Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism
Daymara Baker
CEO, Rockin’ Baker
Katherine Berry
Associate Professor & Founding Program Director, Southern Arkansas University
Graycen Colbert Bigger
Executive Director, Northeast Arkansas Regional Intermodal Authority
Tracy Black
Partner, NewRoad Capital Partners
Jean Block
Chief Legal Officer, Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority
Mellie Boagni Bridewell
President & CEO, Arkansas Rural Health Partnership
Regional Director, UAMS Office of Strategy
Michele Brown
Retired Educator
President, Lamar School Board
Erika Buenrrostro
Director of Student Success & Enrichment, UA Cossatot
Leah Collins
Premarital Financial Coach, Leah Marie Collins LLC
Angie Cooper
Executive Vice President, Heartland Forward
Esperanza Massana Crane
Director of the Minority & Women-Owned Business Enterprise, Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Sammie Cribbs
CEO, North Arkansas Regional Medical Center
Shunqetta N. Cunningham
CEO & Lead Strategist, KHARIS Group Consulting
Founder & Board President, OVER A CUP Initiative Inc.
Krista Cupp
Vice President of Corporate & Community Affairs, Runway Group
Breanne Davis
Arkansas State Senator, District 25
Cathy Dickinson
Chief Human Resources Officer, Baptist Health
Marcy Doderer
President & CEO, Arkansas Children’s
Annette Howard Dove
Founder & Director, TOPPS Inc.
Angela Duran
Executive Director, Excel by Eight
Tamika S. Edwards
Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Southwest Power Pool
Kelly Eichler
Deputy Chief of Staff, Governor’s Office
UA Board of Trustees
Faith Elliott
Vice President of Operations, Amfuel
Laura Ferner
Partner, Crouch, Harwell, Fryar & Ferner PLLC
Rebekah Fincher
Chief Administration Officer, Conway Regional Health System
Quantia “Key” M. Fletcher
Director, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
Tonya Fletcher
Executive Director, Paris Area Chamber of Commerce
City Council Member, City of Paris
Eliza Hussman Gaines
Publisher, WEHCO Media Inc.
Sarah Goforth
Executive Director, UA Office of Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Gina Gomez
Executive Director, El Centro Hispano (Jonesboro)
Suzanne Grobmyer
Chief of Staff, Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism / Office of the Secretary
Sarah Catherine Gutierrez
CEO, Aptus Financial
Janet Harris
Executive Director & CEO, Winthrop Rockefeller Institute
Shannon Hendrix
Senior Vice President & Chief Administrator, Arkansas Children’s Northwest
Marie Holder
Highway Commissioner, Arkansas Department of Transportation
Abby Hughes Holsclaw
Founder & CEO, Proper Southern Strategies
Lexanne Horton
Chief Financial Officer, Ritter Communications
Leslie Huitt
CEO & CFO, Bradley County Medical Center
Mandy Hunt
Co-founder, Athlete Advocate Consortium
Beckie Irvin
Nonprofit Consultant, Beckie Irvin Consulting
Jennifer James
Owner, H&J Land Co.
Annemarie Dillard Jazic
Vice President, Dillard’s Inc.
Lisa John-Adams
Quality Director, Nucor Steel Arkansas
Colbie Jones
Director, Keep Arkansas Beautiful
Debbie Jones
Superintendent, Bentonville Schools
Jerrilyn Jones
Associate Director for Science, Office or Preparedness & Emergency Response Systems, Arkansas Department of Health
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine , UAMS
Cherisse Jones-Branch
Dean, Arkansas State University Graduate School
Fellow, Agricultural History Society
Julie Joyce
Senior Manager of Community Partnerships, UAMS Community Health & Research
Kim Koch
Founding Principal, Insight Engineering
Laura Landreaux
President & CEO, Entergy Arkansas
Marcina Langrine
Programs Manager, Marshallese Educational Initiative
Heather Larkin
President & CEO, Arkansas Community Foundation
Toni Lindsey
Director of Governmental Affairs & Leadership Arkansas Program Director, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associate Industries of Arkansas
Heather Loftis
Co-owner, Mountain Lakes Broadcasting Corporation
Meredith Lowry
Partner, Wright Lindsey Jennings
Brookshield Luarent
Chair & Associate Professor, NYIT
Executive Director, Delta Population Health Initiative
Nirvana Manning
Chairman & Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, UAMS
Susannah Marshall
Bank Commissioner, State Bank Department
Julie McCallister
President, ECCI
Judy McReynolds
Chairman, President & CEO, ArcBest
Cherilyn Grant Minnis
AP English Teacher, Academies of West Memphis
Debrah Mitchell
President, Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus
Brooke Montgomery
Assistant Professor, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, UAMS
Danyelle Musselman
Community advocate, wife of Razorback Men’s Basketball Head Coach Eric Musselman
Creshelle Nash
Medical Director of Health Equity & Public Programs, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield
Karama Neal
Employee, U.S. Federal Government
Kim LaScola Needy
Dean of the College of Engineering, University of Arkansas
Shannon Newton
President, Arkansas Trucking Association
Keegan Nichols
Vice President for Student Affairs, Arkansas Tech University
Marnie Oldner
CEO, Stone Bank
Jamie Pafford-Gresham
President, Pafford Medical Services Inc.
Katherine Pickus
Vice President of Sustainability & Global Impact, Tyson Foods Inc.
Rebecca Pittillo
Executive Director, Blue & You Foundation
LaTasha Randle
Assistant Vice President of Retail Marketing, Relyance Bank
Sandra Register
Principal, Jefferson Elementary School, Little Rock Public Schools
Karen Reynolds
Immediate Past President, Arkansas Nurse Practitioner Association
Talicia Richardson
Executive Director, 64.6 Downtown
Sondra Rodocker
Director of Supportive Services, Arkansas Family Doulas
Mimi San Pedro
Chief Strategy Officer, The Venture Center
Sarah Sanders
Governor, State of Arkansas
Hallie Shoffner
CEO, SFR Seed
Shelley Simpson
President, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.
Rickie Smith
Director of Public Relations, Wright Lindsey Jennings
Margarita Solorzano
Executive Director, Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas
Victoria DeFrancesco Soto
Dean, Clinton School of Public Service
Barbara Sugg
President & CEO, Southwest Power Pool
Melissa P. Taverner
President, Lyon College
Denise Thomas
CEO, World Trade Center Arkansas
Lenore Trammell
Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Compliance Officer & General Counsel, Big River Steel
Erendira Vazquez
Founding Executive Director, Pioneros Unidos (Pioneers United)
Shirley Moorehead Washington
Mayor, City of Pine Bluff
Jeanne Y. Wei
Executive Director of Reynolds Institute on Aging, Professor & Chairperson of Reynolds Department of Geriatrics, UAMS
Mindy West
Executive Vice President of Fuels, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer, Murphy USA
Anika T. Whitfield
Former tri-chair, Arkansas Poor People’s Campaign
Co-chair, Grassroots Arkansas
Kara Wilkins
Owner & Co-founder, KWilkins Consulting Group/Tidal Partners
Alison R. Williams
Founder, Tidal Partners
Founder, Wilco Consulting
Keli Wylie
Assistant Chief Engineer of Program Delivery, Arkansas Department of Transportation
Learn more about the Top 100 Women of Impact and the milestone year on the WFA’s website.