Katrina Dupins

Jennifer Williams of Cleveland, Mississippi always knew she wanted to be a teacher. When she was a girl, her favorite game was playing school. Though she chose to study computer information systems in college, she remembers eagerly wanting to help her friends majoring in education. After a few years of working, Williams decided to go back to school to earn a master of arts in teaching. Now she is in her 15th year. “There’s just something about the feeling of walking into a classroom every day an

Cheryl Hampton grew up on a farm in Marianna on the same property where her great-great-grandfather lived. He grew lots of vegetables in his garden including sweet potatoes, greens and okra. Cheryl still lives and gardens on the property today. When her nieces and nephews come to visit she shows them everything she knows, and they’re always excited to learn. In 2011, Cheryl started a program called Youth Community Gardner. It was flourishing by 2014 and expanded to help more people including pa

Amanda Hunter, a registered nurse who lives in Central Arkansas, is very interested in exploring her family tree. She wanted to see how far she could go back into her family’s history and found through her journey a valuable perspective she applies directly to her own life. “I’ve been able to get to 1817,” she said. “But I have a very distant cousin who has been able to go all the way back to 1750, which is my sixth great grandfather. She has all these records back to even slave schedules.” On

Talent is there, they just need an opportunity. Executive director and lead maker of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, Chris Jones, Ph.D., talks about his life experiences and his passion to help people realize their full potential. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, Castbox, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Executive director and lead maker of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub Chris Jones, Ph.D. says his parents instilled in him

For 21 years, Jeff Moncrease has organized a unity march and celebration in Conway, Arkansas, on MLK Day. The march begins at City Hall and ends at the Faulkner County Library. During a celebration Jan. 20 honoring the life and accomplishment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jeff Moncrease encouraged attendees to take an extra step in helping to progress King’s legacy and dream. Moncrease is co-founder and executive director of the Political, Economic and Social Empowerment (PESE) Coalition. It’

When Latunja Sockwell was diagnosed with HIV in January 1997, there weren’t a lot of treatment and resource options. Today, she’s using her experience and compassion to help pave an easier path for others. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, Castbox, or wherever you listen to podcasts. When Latunja Sockwell was diagnosed with HIV in January 1997, there weren’t a lot of treatment and resource options. To complicate things further, she was si

Since the late 18th century, the federal government has made it a practice to conduct a census every 10 years. There is a lot riding on the count. As the 2020 census approaches, Kara Wilkins, principal of Little Rock-based KWilkins Consulting Group LLC and co-host of the Blackbelt Voices podcast, shares why it’s important to make sure you’re counted. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, Castbox, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In 1790, U