Speakers and Panelists through the years
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
– Nelson Mandela
bart hester
Arkansas Senate President Pro Tempore
Schawnee Hightower
Managing Partner for Business Sales for the state of Arkansas for Verizon Wireless and former Vice President and General Manager for Alltel Corporation. He has served on the boards of Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids, Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, and the Club 99 team of the Little Rock Rotary Club.
ESPERANZA MASSANA CRANE
Director of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Steven Helmick
Principal at Little Rock West High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has been named the Little Rock School District Teacher of the Year, a Regional Finalist for Arkansas’ Teacher of the Year, and Ghilder Lehrman’s Arkansas’ History Teacher of the Year.
Mark Pryor
United States Senator for Arkansas from 2003-2015.
Justin whitmel earley
Lawyer, author and speaker from Richmond, VA.
Nicholas Bronni
Arkansas Supreme Court Justice since 2025.
Erinn Stanger
Founder and CEO of Providence Park, a non-profit created to serve the chronically homeless in Central Arkansas.
brook mosser
Leader of Intentional, a nonprofit helping families follow Jesus through theology, therapy, and everyday life.
CJ Duvall
Former officer and executive of Alltel Corporation and former senior pastor of Theressa Hoover United Methodist Church in Little Rock. He is the founder and principal of the Duvall Family Charitable Endowment.
Sarah Huckabee sanders
47th Governor of Arkansas.
Mary carole young
Partner at Munson, Rowlett, Moore, and Boone law firm. She is a trial attorney who represents physicians, nurses, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and medical clinics when they are sued for civil malpractice.
cole jester
Arkansas Secretary of State.
Bill Dillard III
Senior Vice President of Dillard’s Inc. He has served as a board member of Young Life Arkansas, Search Ministries, eStem Public Charter Schools and Arkansas Baptist University.
Fidel Samour
Founder of Fidel & Co Coffee Roasters.
Mark Leverett
District Judge in Little Rock since 2008 and former partner at Leverett & Watts Firm. He has served as the Public Defender for the City of Sherwood and the Special Judge in several Pulaski County Circuit and District Courts.
Jeannine Andersson
Orthopedic hand surgeon at OrthoArkansas.
Millie Ward
Co-founder and president of Stone Ward, a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations agency, with offices in Little Rock and Chicago.
janell vinson
General pediatrician at Baptist Health Medical Center in Conway.
John Boozman
United States Senator for Arkansas since 2011.
Tim Griffin
Arkansas Attorney General.
Keith Jackson
Founder and board president of Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids (P.A.R.K.) in Little Rock. He is a former NFL player for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Camille norman
Media Director at Eric Rob & Isaac, where she leads a team responsible for paid and social media strategy, as well as website development.
Scott McLean
Founder and Executive Director of Pathway to Freedom, Inc., an organization that seeks the transformation of prisoners’ lives through educational, values-based, pre-release services, preparing them to reintegrate into society and become productive citizens.
Mitch Bettis
Owner and CEO of Arkansas Business Publishing Group — the award-winning media and marketing company founded in 1995. He has more than 30 years of experience in management and publishing.
French Hill
United States Congressman since 2015.
Rhea Lana Riner
Founder and owner of Rhea Lana’s Franchise Systems Inc, with more than 80 franchises around the country.