Northwest Arkansas Childrens Shelter

Our Board

Board of Directors

Alvis Washington

Board Member

Ash Eisa

SVP, Global Sourcing and Procurement, Walmart

Landon Taylor

Bank President/CCO/COO, First Western Bank

Jim Sliker

CEO, Central States Manufacturing

Jess Dinkla

Sales Director, The Hershey Company

Will Hanna

Director of Operations, Hanna Family Ranch

Amy Merryman

Manager, Whitaker Properties

Chris Lamson

Board Treasurer and Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy & General Manager Breeder's Choice, Central Garden and Pet

Dr. Curt Hedberg

Physician, Hedberg Allergy & Asthma Center

Emily Reynolds

Board President and Legal Counsel, Walmart

Mary Zettle

Board Secretary and Director of Sales, General Mills

State Sen. Bart Hester

Arkansas State Senator, District 1

Van Bakke

Board Vice President and Vice President Sales/Operations, Walmart Team PepsiCo

Jenny

Jenny fought her whole life to be free of abuse and neglect. She finally escaped that world and arrived at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter where she immediately began to thrive.

Read more about JennyImpact stories

Meet Jenny

Jenny fought her whole life to be free of abuse and neglect. She finally escaped that world and arrived at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter where she immediately began to thrive. For the first time in 17 years, she imagined living a normal life just like every other high school student. This included a wish to go to high school prom.

Casey, her case manager during her stay at the Children’s Shelter, shares:

“My heart is filled with so much joy! I got the privilege to go to prom with one of my kiddos from the shelter. No, it wasn’t a typical prom situation, but when a kiddo finally escapes abuse for the first time in 17 years, we do all we can to make it a perfect night for her. She is strong, resilient, courageous, unique, ambitious and unassuming. She inspires me and she is one of the million reasons I will never stop fighting for these kids. Prom night was a sweet reminder that no matter how many hard days we have to face, these special moments make every single hard day completely worth it. If these kiddos can endure years and years of abuse, then we can endure an infinite number of hard days. We have to, because they need us.”

Casey Krisell, Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter Case Manager

I rode on a tire swing for the first time!

Mitchell, age 10

The Shelter has truly given me hope to pursue my life to the fullest, put my past behind me, and move on to bigger and better things in life. The staff members, who I think of as family, have brought me to realize that I am valuable, strong and able to conquer anything I set my mind on.

Chelsea, age 13

I went to the on-site school which I liked because it gave me one-on-one time and that’s what I needed to help get my grades up and catch up on all my credits so I can graduate. I would like to thank all of the staff at the Shelter for making me and my son feel safe and taken care of.

Teresa, age 17