I hold a doctorate in educational administration and prior to going into business was Executive Director of a philanthropic and advocacy organization for women and girls.  Previous to that I was an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  I began my work in Little Rock in 1994 as a researcher at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.  During that time, I pioneered work on the problem poor health literacy.  In addition to my research background, I am skilled in administration and program development and have overseen budgets of over $2 million.

In addition, I have a rich history of working with other nonprofits, and in public health.  I have a lengthy resume of community service and volunteerism, which includes serving on dozens of boards and committees for local, state, and national organizations.  In 2002 I co-founded Arkansas’ Reach Out and Read coalition and helped doctors and their staff distribute over 750,000 books to families during well-child visits. I have also served as board member, Chair, and Interim Executive Director of the Arkansas Literacy Council, which funds and provides technical assistance to adult tutoring programs in the state.  From 2012 - 2020 I served on the Advisory Committee of Arkansas' Grade Level Reading Campaign.  My vision and administrative experience are the reason why, in the mid 2010’s, I was asked to serve as interim Executive Director for two different organizations.  Because of my dedication to community service I said yes, and provided administrative and oversight function for them both, at different times, for about six months each, until they were able to hire a new executive.

While I identify as a white woman, I have been a consistent ally to the BIPOC community.  I began my career in inner city Detroit, working with organizations on suicide prevention, sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence, and serving as a community advocate for Head Start, which was also the topic of my doctoral dissertation.  As a professor in the 1990s, I produced, with Dr. Vanessa Sheared, a groundbreaking, edited volume of academic papers in my field of adult education that represented, for the first time, the voices of women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community.   More recently, I served on a committee for the statewide Cradle to Prison Pipeline conference put on with Children’s Defense Fund; I have assisted with the state health department’s initiative for African American and Latina maternal and child health initiative by helping them locate books for infants and toddlers that include brown and black children, and have provided input to a new project in the community entitled “Businesses Against Racism.”