EDUCATON 

Arkansas Coding Academy Director Alison Wish will serve as the president of the new Women in Technology chapter for central Arkansas. The Arkansas Coding Academy is housed at the University of Central Arkansas.   

Conway Public Schools Teacher Abby Roberts was named the 2024 Conway Corp Teacher of the Year in the district. Roberts is a first-grade teacher at Jim Stone Elementary. She received a $2,000 check as part of her award. 

She was honored as a regional finalist last month and was named as one of the top four semi-finalists for state teacher of the year. 

Hendrix College has named Tyler Gum as its inaugural director of development for athletics. He began in the role Aug. 19.  

Gum graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a bachelor’s in business administration and a master’s in sports management. He previously served at the University of Arkansas, where he established a notable track record in enhancing athletic revenue and operations. 

J.J. Whitney has been appointed executive director for the Office of Alumni and Constituent Engagement. She began the role on Sept. 1.  

Whitney graduated from Hendrix College in 1996 and returned in 2002 to join the Hendrix-Lilly Vocations Initiative, now the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics, and Calling. There, she developed and led co-curricular programs, organized service trips, coordinated seminary visits, and planned vocation conferences. She served as assistant chaplain, associate director of the Miller Center, and associate chaplain. 

In 2015, she was named chaplain of Hendrix College and served in that capacity until 2020 when she was appointed to First United Methodist Church Bentonville. After her retirement, she returned to Hendrix College as programs coordinator for career services. 

Hendrix College welcomed four new full-time faculty for the new academic year. It includes Aleksandr Polyakov, assistant professor of music; Sarah Root, assistant professor of psychology; Samyak Shertok, assistant professor of English creative writing; and Marianne Tettlebaum, assistant professor of English. 

The University of Central Arkansas Division of Advancement and the UCA Foundation recently announced several new hires and promotions. 

New hires include Ken Bissell, senior director of legacy planning; Amy Fureigh, director of development for the College of Arts; and Shelbey Winningham, foundation support specialist. New promotions include Morgan Drayton, senior director of development for the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences; Courtney Goode, foundation project specialist; Riley Matheny, director of branding and creative services; and Erica Ruble, director of operations and finance. 

TECHNOLOGY 

Mainstream Technologies recently hired Jon Dor as its finance director and controller. In the newly created position, Dor will be responsible for ensuring the financial health of the organization and includes monitoring cash flow including payroll, accounts receivable and accounts payable; ensure the timely filing of tax returns; and provide financial data to management to facilitate their decisions. 

Dor received a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and most recently worked for the Museum of Discovery. He served as chief financial officer for the past eight years. He also worked six years at the Arkansas Bar Association as its director of finance and administration. 

Steven Strain was recently promoted at Mainstream to manager of data center and facilities. In this role, he will continue to serve as a subject matter expert for Mainstream’s top customers and assume the additional responsibility of overseeing the Mainstream data center, facilities, and IaaS infrastructure. 

UTILITIES 

Conway Corp Chief Marketing Officer Crystal Kemp was named Marketing Executive of the Year by the National Content & Technology Cooperative.  

Kemp joined Conway Corp in 2000 as its marketing and communications coordinator. She was promoted to marketing and public relations manager in 2010. She was promoted to her current role in 2018. 

Water Systems Engineer 2 Stephen Hogan recently earned his grade 4 water treatment operator certification from the Arkansas State Board of Health. The requirements for this certification include more than 96 hours of classroom training and passing an exam. 

Hogan began his career with Conway Corp in November. 

Jennifer Brannon was recently promoted to lead customer service specialist. In the new role, she will continue to provide customer service and supervise customer service specialists in the lobby.  

Brannon joined Conway Corp in 2021 as a customer service specialist. She won Conway Corp’s Customer Service Award in 2023, which recognizes an employee who is dedicated to improving customer satisfaction. 

Kody Miller was recently promoted to wastewater plant superintendent. He will manage the comprehensive operations and maintenance of stationary mechanical equipment at the Tupelo Bayou Wastewater Plant. He will also oversee the plant’s employees and schedules and ensure the efficient functioning of water pumping stations to ensure successful treatment and provide essential utility services to Conway residents and businesses. 

Miller started at Conway Corp in 2018 as a wastewater plant operator apprentice and was promoted to plant maintenance worker later that year. Last year, he was promoted to chief plant operator. 

Chad Sayers was recently earned his broadband premises installer certification from the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers and was promoted to telecom installer 1. The certification is one of the top levels of achievement for installer technicians in Arkansas. 

Sayers was hired at Conway Corp in 2023 as an installer trainee.