Board of Directors
For a staff listing, click here.
Anne O’leary-Kelly, Chair
Committees: Executive, DEIB Co-Chair
Anne M. O’Leary-Kelly is the William R. & Cacilia Howard Chair in Management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. She received her Ph.D. in Management from Michigan State University. Her research interests include the study of gender-related aggressive work behavior (sexual harassment, effects of intimate partner violence on the workplace) and individual attachments to organizations (identification and psychological contracts). Her work has appeared in, among others, the Academy of Management Review, the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of Management, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior. She has been a co-recipient of the Outstanding Publication in Organizational Behavior awarded by the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management and the Dorothy Harlow Outstanding Paper awarded by the Gender and Diversity in Organizations Division of the Academy of Management. She is on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, and Journal of Organizational Behavior. She has served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Management and as Chair of the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management.
Casey Hamaker, Secretary-Treasurer
Committees: Executive, Finance/Audit Chair, DEIB
Casey Hamaker joined the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation in 2014. The Foundation is a regional leader in philanthropy, and has had a tangible impact on arts, education, and healthcare in Northwest Arkansas. Prior to working at the Walker Foundation, she spent 5 years at Crystal Bridges Museum of American art as part of the construction and opening team. In addition to her career in non-profit accounting, Casey and her husband, Chris, are involved in Fayetteville real estate. Casey and Chris enjoy spending time with their adventurous sons, Eli and Jasper. Casey graduated from the University of Arkansas. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art history and a master’s in business administration. Casey moved to Fayetteville in 1995 and she was raised in Alaska and Indonesia.
Mark Henneberger, Vice Chair
Committees: Executive, Corporate Leadership Council Co-Chair
Born and raised in the Detroit, MI area, Mark is the Vice President of Shows & Events at Walmart, and has over 35 years of experience in the live and video production business.
His current responsibilities at Walmart include: Shareholders Meeting week activities, the Walmart US Year Beginning and Holiday Meetings, Milestone Meetings, Saturday AM Meetings, Walmart Television Studios, Northwest Arkansas LPGA Championship, and over 200 Walmart corporate meetings and events annually. He has global projects (live events, film, exhibits, and video) in over 30 states, Canada, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Germany, Japan, China, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
He served on the board of the First Tee of Northwest Arkansas from 2008-2012 and is a member of the Bentonville Breakfast Lions Club.
Mark is married to Sue, his wife of 27 years, and is the proud father of two daughters, Erin, 25, and Katie, 24.
Marti Sudduth, Vice Chair
Committees: Executive, Facilities, DEIB
Marti retired in 2009 from the University of Tulsa where she served for 24 years as Assistant Director and Lead Teacher of the Primary 2 classroom at University School. University School is a program for gifted children from age 3 through 8th grade located on the University campus. During her tenure there she co- authored seven books on art and architecture through the time periods. The SAILS (Student Active Interdisciplinary Learning Series) lead to two U.S. Department of Education Javits grants being awarded which gave the opportunity to train students, parents and teachers over a six year time period. Marti initiated and taught parenting classes for parents of University School students. She developed and directed a summer camp program for 7 weeks each summer. Camp Incredible was open to all students in the Tulsa area.
Marti was selected for Leadership Tulsa and interned on the Justice Center Board in 2003. She served for a number of years on the Boards of Oklahoma Association of Gifted, Creative, and Talented, Friends of Daycare, and still serves on the Jennifer Gibson Memorial Foundation Board. She served as president of OAGCT in 2003-2004 and received their outstanding service award in 2005. Marti was alumna advisor for the Tri Delta chapter at the University of Tulsa from 2006 until 2009. She also served prior to that as a member of their House Corporation. She has presented numerous times at state gifted conferences in Okl
Marti attended Baylor University, University of Tulsa, and graduated from Northeastern State University with a BS degree in Early Childhood Education. She did additional study with Jim Fay, Dr. Charles Fay, and Dr.
Foster W. Cline of Love and Logic Institute, Golden, Co. and Dr. Sylvia Rimm of The Family Achievement Clinic in Cleveland, Oh.
Marti and her husband of 40 years retired to Northwest Arkansas in 2009. They have two children, Jeremey Sudduth of Bentonville and Jennifer Sudduth of Oklahoma City, OK and three grandchildren Cooper, Harper, and Parker Sudduth.
Brett Biggs
Committees: Finance/Audit
Brett Biggs is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Walmart. He is responsible for all finance functions as well as Global Business Services. Brett held the roles of Chief Financial Officer for Walmart International, Walmart U.S., and Sam’s Club. He has also served as Senior Vice President, International Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions and Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance. Brett was also the Senior Vice President, Operations, for Sam’s Club. Prior to joining Walmart in 2000, Brett held various M&A and corporate finance positions with Leggett & Platt, Phillips Petroleum Co., and Price Waterhouse. Brett is involved in various civic functions including serving on the Board of Directors for MANA, a nonprofit group focused on acute malnutrition in African children, and he serves on the Walton Arts Center Board. Brett recently joined the Board of Trustees of the National Urban League and also serves as Walmart’s corporate representative on the McCombs School of Business Advisory Council at The University of Texas. Within Walmart, he serves on the Walmart Foundation Board as well as being an executive sponsor for the Hispanic/Latino Resource Group. Brett graduated Summa Cum Laude from Harding University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and received an MBA with Honors from Oklahoma State University. He serves in various advisory roles at Harding University. Brett and his wife, Kara, have two daughters and live in Rogers, Arkansas.
Jody Dilday
Committees: DEiB
Jody Dilday serves as Director of Development for Arkansas Community Foundation. In that role, she has been tasked with establishing an enhanced presence for the Community Foundation in NWA, as well as leading Development efforts in Benton, Carroll, Washington, Crawford and Sebastian counties. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, she has 18 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector. Most recently, she served for 10 years as the Executive Director of the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas where she led a successful $3 million campaign for endowment. Jody is a founding member of Womenade of Northwest Arkansas and a graduate of Leadership Fayetteville. She has served on the board of directors of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Nonprofit Alliance, the NWA Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and is a past president and active member of Northside Fayetteville Rotary Club. Jody was included in the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list in 2010, was a finalist for the Arkansas Business Awards Nonprofit Executive Director of the Year in 2015, and was recently recognized by her peers as the 2017 Outstanding Fundraising Executive by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Northwest Arkansas Chapter. Jody and her husband Mark have three children and are active members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
Nate Hodne
Committees: Executive, Corporate Leadership Council
Laura Jacobs
Committees: Facilities
Mervin Jebaraj
Committees: Facilities
Judith McKenna
Committees: Corporate Leadership Council, Finance/Audit
Judith McKenna, President and CEO – Walmart International
Judith McKenna is president and chief executive officer of Walmart International, a fast-growing segment of Walmart’s overall operations. She leads more than 6,200 retail units and 777,000 associates across 27 countries.
Prior to being named president and CEO of Walmart International, Judith served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Walmart U.S. Judith led the company’s 1.5 million associates and operations for its 4,600 U.S. stores. Her passion for teaching and training led to the development of the Walmart U.S. Academy Stores program, which trained a quarter of a million people in the first year. Under her tenure, Judith launched Online Grocery Pickup in more than 1,100 U.S. stores and led the integration of technology and processes in the business. Previously, Judith served as executive vice president of strategy and development for Walmart International, responsible for international strategy, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, integration and global format development.
Earlier in her Walmart career, she held the position of chief operating officer for Asda Stores Ltd – one of the largest subsidiaries of Walmart International. Her role included leadership of retail operations, logistics and eCommerce. Before being appointed COO of Asda, she served as the company’s chief financial officer for more than 10 years.
A long‐time champion of diversity and inclusion, Judith has chaired Walmart’s council responsible for the company’s global women’s strategy. She’s also a passionate advocate for lifelong learning, driving initiatives that help create the company’s workforce of the future. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Judith was named to Fortune’s list of 50 Most Powerful Women.
Judith graduated with a law degree from Hull University in England before earning her Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales accounting qualification at KPMG. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate in law from Hull University.
Charles F. Robinson
Committees: Facilities
Cal Rose,
Committees: Finance/Audit, DEIB
Cal Rose is a corporate and transactional attorney at Wright, Lindsey & Jennings in Rogers. His practice encompasses an extensive range of business-related legal matters, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and real estate transactions. Cal earned an LL.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law and regularly advises clients on legal and tax issues relating to entity formation, corporate governance, private-equity and capital raises, executive compensation, securities and a wide range of other business-related matters. He also has extensive experience in advising individuals, 501(c)(3) corporations and other tax-exempt organizations in applying for, obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status and works with several non-profits in Northwest Arkansas. Cal graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arkansas School of Law. Prior to law school, he attended Hendrix College, where he was a member of Hendrix’s NCAA basketball team and holds the school’s all-time 3-point record.
Cal has been recognized as a “Rising Star” in the areas of business and corporate law, securities and corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and tax law by Mid-South Super Lawyers. He is a graduate of Leadership Fayetteville and was recognized as a member of the 2017 Forty Under 40 class by the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. Cal also serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Arkansas School of Law and teaches classes related to business law. Cal lives in Fayetteville with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two dogs, Cotton and Atticus.
Barbara G. Taylor
Committees: Executive, Facilities
Barbara Taylor retired in 2010 from the University of Arkansas where she was Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources. She came to the University in 1974 after teaching English literature and women’s studies for nine years in Wisconsin.
Barbara served two terms on the Washington County Quorum Court and was on the board of directors of the Washington County Economic Opportunity Agency and its delegate to the Regional Transit Authority. She was a member of the City of Fayetteville Citizens Advisory Committee on Wastewater Treatment, a founding board member for the Northwest Arkansas Rape Crisis Center and the Project for Victims of Family Violence (now Peace at Home Family Shelter), board member and president of the Washington County League of Women Voters and of the Rotary Club of Fayetteville and has chaired the Governmental Relations Committee of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. She was a board member of the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the National Conference on Community and Justice (later Just Communities.) She is currently on the boards of the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association, the Beaver Watershed Alliance, and several other local non-profits. At the state level, Barbara is a past board president of the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She has served on the board of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas and was program chair for Arkansas Women: Accomplishments, Realities, Expectations and an Arkansas delegate to International Women’s Year. She was a board member and two-term president of the Arkansas Humanities Council and a member of the Southern Humanities Media Council.
She has been on a number of regional and national boards of professional organizations including the Women’s Caucus for the Modern Languages, the National Women’s Studies Association, the American Association for Affirmative Action and the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, which she served as national president.
Barbara has a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of New Hampshire and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow; all of her degrees are in English literature. She is married to Forrest D. Goddard and has four children and three grandchildren, all of whom play musical instruments and enjoy the arts.
Megan Timberlake
Committees: Corporate Leadership Council Co-Chair
Matt Trantham
Committees: Facilities Chair
Matt Trantham joined the University of Arkansas in 2008 as the senior associate athletic director for internal operations. He oversees all Razorback facilities and events.
With this role, Trantham is overseeing the Razorback Athletics Facilities Master Plan unveiled in October 2011. Active projects within the Facilities Master Plan are the $23 million Jerry and Gene Jones Family Student-Athlete Success Center and $25 million Basketball Performance Center set to be completed in August 2015. He is also facilitating the Market and Cost Analysis on a future expansion of the North End Zone in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, expansion of Women’s Swimming Locker Room and new video board projects at Bud Walton Arena, Baum Stadium, Bogle Park and Randal Tyson Track Center.
Other projects supervised have been the men’s and women’s golf locker room expansion in the Fred and Mary Smith Golf Training Center in 2015, $9 million Fowler Family Baseball & Track Training Center in 2013, $40 million Fred W. Smith Football Center in 2013, $4.6 million installation of new video displays at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback stadium prior to the 2012 season, expansion of Razorback soccer team facilities in 2011, the $1.3 million installation of synthetic playing surface and $1.2 million installation of ribbon boards at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback stadium in 2009 and the $2.5 million renovation of Bud Walton Arena in 2008.
Prior to joining Arkansas, Trantham began his career in Intercollegiate Athletics with the University of Oklahoma in July 1999 as the promotions director for the athletic department where he worked with all 20 of OU’s teams. He was named assistant athletic director for event management in 2004 and was promoted to associate athletic director in 2006.
Prior to joining the Sooners, Trantham worked five seasons in professional sports with Washington Sports & Entertainment in Washington, D.C. Trantham earned his bachelor’s of science degree in business management from Centenary College in 1990 and a master’s degree in sports management from the United States Sports Academy in 1998.
Trantham and wife Kristen are parents of two sons, Will and Davis, and two daughters, Morgan and Paige.
Lia Uribe
Committees: DEIB Co-Chair and Facilities
Lia Uribe is associate chair and associate professor of music at the University of Arkansas department of music, and principal bassoonist of SoNA (Symphony Orchestra of Northwest Arkansas) and APO (Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra). Dr. Uribe maintains an active career as a chamber musician, orchestral player, and artist-teacher. She has performed in venues and festivals in Colombia, Spain, Canada, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Finland, Argentina, Germany, Ecuador, Greece, Venezuela, Japan, Peru, England, and the United States, including solo and chamber recitals recitals at several IDRS (International Double Reed Society) conferences, organization in which she also serves as part of the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) sub-committee. Lia performs and tours on regular basis with the Lyrique Quintette, woodwind quintet in residence at the University of Arkansas. With them she published in 2018 the album "Arrivals and Departures: Music of the Americas".
Her research is centered in Latin-American, Latinx, and historically marginalized music and composers. As an advocate for new works, Lia Uribe has premiered and commissioned numerous works for the bassoon. In 2019, Dr. Uribe was awarded an Artists 360 grant to foment the creation and preservation of bassoon pieces written by minority composers. Lia Uribe has been a guest artist-teacher at The PRIZM Music Camp & International Chamber Music Festival in Memphis, TN, a festival that features a diverse faculty of renowned international musicians working with a diverse group (gender, race and socio-economic) of over one hundred students from the greater Memphis area.
Besides her music making, Dr. Uribe is passionate about inclusiveness, representation, and diversity in the arts. In 2017 she was a fellow for the NALAC (National Association of Latino Arts a Cultures) Leadership Institute, a week-long rigorous program in arts management and leadership development that delivers innovative and practical strategies that lead to successful business practices in the arts. She was selected to participate in the 9th Annual NALAC Advocacy Leadership Institute in 2019, a 2-month virtual preparatory curriculum which culminated in a 3-day intensive training in Washington D.C., focused on building arts advocacy skills and arts policy shaping on the national and international stage. In January of 2019 she was invited to join the biennial Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Symposium for young women bassoonists from the Americas as a panelist, speaking of her work and its impact on people and communities; recently she became part of the MQVC team, where she will further DEI initiatves.
Dr. Uribe’s work with the community connects her endeavors as a scholar with that of artists and art leaders in her surroundings. Since 2018 Dr. Uribe has worked as a facilitator for Artist INC, a Mid-America Arts Alliance professional development program for artists. She is a member of the Walton Arts Center Board of Directors where she co-chairs the DEIB board committee. In the spring of 2020 Lia was elected member of the University of Arkansas Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences DEI Council. Most recently, she was invited to join the Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange (CACHE) advisory board. CACHE, formed in 2019, acts as the central regional agency committed to connecting, supporting, and developing Northwest Arkansas’ arts and culture communities, including individual artists, non-profits, creative industries, municipalities, and philanthropies.
Lia writes and hosts Sound Perimeter for KUAF 91.3, a weekly segment dedicated to diverse voices in and around music that airs on Thursdays during Ozarks at Large. Her most recent team project RefleXions Music Series is funded by the University of Arkansas Chancellor’s Grant for the Humanities and Performing Arts Initiative, and sponsored by the J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences, the Department of Music, and KUAF 91.3. RefleXions is conceived as a celebration of music, musicians, advocates, and audiences, as a series of events that foster creative justice and diversity through opportunities to reflect, learn, grow, change, and teach.
Originally from Cali, Colombia, Lia Uribe earned a bachelor’s degree in bassoon performance from Conservatorio de Música de la Facultad de Artes, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, followed by an artist residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada. Dr. Uribe also holds a Masters of Music from the University of Arkansas and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Kansas.
Scott Varady
Committees: Finance/Audit
Scott Varady serves as the newly appointed Executive Director and General Counsel for the Razorback Foundation.
Varady has served more than 19 years with the University of Arkansas’ Office of the General Counsel including his role as Associate General Counsel. Varady was a member of the University’s Executive Committee and was responsible for developing and implementing University legal strategies and advising the Chancellor, the University’s Executive Committee, senior-level administrators (Provost, Deans and Department Chairs), faculty, and staff, on all University legal matters. Varady also coordinated the legal operations of the Fayetteville office with the General Counsel of the UA system.
Prior to joining the University, Varady worked as an Associate at Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. in Little Rock with a focus on commercial litigation. Prior to joining the Mitchell Firm, Varady worked as an Associate with the firm of Swidler & Berlin, Chartered, in Washington, D.C., where his practice focused on telecommunications, environmental insurance recovery litigation and general litigation.
Varady also served as a staff member for former Senator Dale L. Bumpers on the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee and for former Representative Bill Alexander. Varady received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1993, graduating magna cum laude, and he was inducted into The Order of the Coif, and was a member of The Tax Lawyer law journal.
Prior to attending law school, Varady received a Master of Science in Foreign Service while concentrating in international business diplomacy, finance, and trade from Georgetown University in 1988, where he also earned the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence.
A Little Rock native, Varady earned a B.A. with Honors in Political Science from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in 1985. Varady is admitted to practice in Arkansas, the District of Columbia, the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Varady and his wife, Melissa, have two children, Nathan, a senior mechanical engineering major at MIT who is a captain of the MIT football team, and Emily, a freshman in the Honors College who is majoring in international studies and is a member of Tri Delt at the University of Arkansas.
Tony Waller
Committees: Corporate Leadership Council, DEIB
Tony Waller is Senior Director, Constituent Relations for Walmart in Bentonville, AR. In his position he sets strategy for driving reputation, augmenting outreach opportunities and maximizing social investments in diverse and multicultural communities. His portfolio includes the African American, Hispanic, Asian American & Pacific Islander and Native American communities as well as Women, People with Disabilities and Millennials. Tony joined Walmart December 2006. Prior to joining Walmart, Tony worked for State Farm Insurance Companies in Bloomington, IL. In his last position with State Farm® Tony served as Assistant Director of Community Alliances in Corporate Communications and External Relations. He was responsible for all external efforts in multicultural communities as well as all efforts in Auto Safety, Disaster Preparedness, Community and Economic Development, and Financial Education. Serving is extremely important to Tony. He has always been taught that to give real service you must add to the world something that can’t be bought or measured with money. He currently serves as Chair of the NAACP ACT-SO Advisory Council. His passion for the empowerment and advancement of women, has led him to serve on the Board of Trustees of Center for Asian Pacific American Women and on the Board of Directors of the National African-American Women’s Leadership Institute. With both of these organizations he is the first male ever selected to serve. In addition, Tony sits on the Board of Trustees of the Ron Brown Scholar Program and the Advisory Council for Northcentral University’s School of Business. In 2017 Tony was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Black Child Development Institute. In 2000 Tony became the first recipient of the Spirit of Democracy Emerging Leaders Award, presented by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. The award is given to individuals for their work in the promoting of civic participation. Also in that year, he was the recipient of the Leadership Award of the National Association of Black County Officials for his contributions to the community. In July 2002 and 2010 Tony was the recipient of the Donald H. McGannon Award, the highest distinction given by the National Urban League to a corporate individual in recognition of one’s efforts in the community. Tony is the only individual who has been given this honor twice. In 2011 Tony was the recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the Jessie Banks Foundation for his work in disadvantaged communities. In 2012 Tony received the MLK Day Special Merit Award from the National Action Network as well as the Merge Award from The Merge Organization for being an example of integrating his faith with all of his endeavors and for his commitment to uplifting, inspiring and empowering others. In 2017 the American Indian College Fund honored Tony by ceremonially draping him with a blanket, a symbol of respect and admiration of the Native American community. He also was given the Made Man Award by 100 Black Men of Washington, DC. The award celebrates men who inspire and educate underserved men. Tony is a strong supporter of the arts, and serves on the Board of Directors and the Corporate Advisory Council of the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, AR. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for the AR Fashion and Arts Council. A graduate of the University of Virginia, he is a diehard WAHOO. He remains very active with The University and served on the board of the Walter N. Ridley Scholarship Fund, named after its first African-American graduate. In addition, he is a passionate collector of African-American art & sculpture, antique watches, vintage cufflinks, eyewear, children’s story books and quotes. Shoes however are his kryptonite. Tony strives to live each and every day by the words of his mother, Barbara Jean Motley Waller, “Keep flowing with The River for The River knows exactly where It is going.”