Who We ARe
Staff Members
Executive Director
Williams holds a degree in Family and Consumer Science from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. She is from the small Delta town of Elaine, Arkansas. She served as a board member starting as a high school student in 2007 until the time she became a staff member. Williams coordinates member relations, organizes conferences, attends legislative meetings, directs special projects, does strategic planning, directs staff, and maintains the central Arkansas office of the organization.
Southeast Regional Director
After a career in health care, Broadnax moved back home to the Arkansas Delta to work with youth and help with revitalizing her community. She organizes communities in the four southeast counties of Chicot, Desha, Drew, and Ashley, works with parental engagement, does youth organizing, and is in charge of forming a southeast regional revitalization network.
Delta Regional Director
North Central Regional Director
A graphic artist with 14 years of professional experience in design and production, Matt Grandon helped develop the Ozark Byways project. He designs websites, signs, magazine, logos and organizes chapters in north central Arkansas.
Youth Network Coordinator
Board Members
President
Erma Brown is a retired Ouachita County Administrator for the Arkansas Department of Human Services. She currently serves on Ouachita County Quorum Court as Justice of the Peace, and Ouachita County Enrichment Board. She’s a graduate of Leadership Arkansas (LEADAR) and the Community Development Institute (CDI). She has served as Region 13 School District Representative of the Arkansas School Board Association, President of Stephens School District Board, Vice President of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, member of the Camden Chamber of Commerce Board, Facilitator for Camden Leadership program, President of the Women’s Crisis Center, and appointed by the Governor to serve on the Arkansas Child Abuse Prevention Board.She holds a Master Degree in Counseling and is a proud member of the St. Stephens Missionary Baptist Church.
Vice President
Secretary
Margaret Elumbaugh has a track record and reputation of successful teaching for 33 years, before retiring in 2022. She taught children at the middle school level in all subject areas, with a strong focus on mathematics. Her philosophy was dedicated to enthusiastic and dynamic teaching as a means of creating and nurturing a lifelong love of knowledge in children. She resides in Batesville, Arkansas, where she looks forward to continued involvement with local schools/programs in her area and across the state.
Treasurer
Board Member
Board Member
Paulette is a native Arkansan, reared in the Brinkley Public Schools. She loves fishing, reading, and discovering new things and information. She is the mother of three, the grandmother of six, and the wife of Grover Lawson, Sr. for over 40 years. Paulette is a member of 2nd Baptist Church in Little Rock, AR, and is a member of the Leading Ladies of Christ Ministry. She served on the Board of the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame for 15 years, and on the Foundation Fund Board for UALR for three years. She has numerous years of community service experience. She is also a motivational speaker. Paulette holds a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication and a Master of Applied Psychology degree (with an emphasis in Training & Development) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is a certified diversity professional and is EQ-i 2.0 and EQ-360 Certified. She has over thirty years of experience in Human Resources management. She has served as a management consultant for over twenty five years, as well as an Adjunct Instructor for Pulaski Technical College and Webster University. She is the President/CEO of L. P. Lawson Consulting, a human resource consulting firm.
