The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas (WFA) was founded by women, for women in 1998. And 26 years after its launch, the organization continues to support the economic security of women and girls across the state through programs, research, grantmaking and more.
All of WFA’s work is targeted to meet the needs and address the vulnerabilities of specific groups, including its signature Girls of Promise conference.
“Our research found that eighth grade is the pivot point for girls to feel confident in pursuing a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) career,” WFA Communications and Development Coordinator Kennedy Kasten says, “so we launched our eighth grade Girls of Promise conference in response to this gap.”
To date, the event has introduced STEAM career paths to nearly 8,000 girls.
Another WFA program, the Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship, connects college-aged women of color with paid summer internships in STEAM-focused roles. According to Kasten, the program is now plugged in with nine leading STEAM companies and has resulted in 60 internships, eight full-time job offers and several internship extensions since 2021.
WFA supports Black women entrepreneurs through the Women’s Economic Mobility Hub. The initiative involves a six-month education and network program that includes a $5,000 unrestricted grant. Since launching in 2021, the program has seen 50 graduates with the WFA investing more than $250,000 in their businesses.
WFA’s Save10 program and finance clubs empower women on a personal finance level. Save10 encourages women to save 10% of their income for retirement with an estimated $191,520,000 of retirement savings committed since 2019.
“And we’re just getting started,” Kasten says.
Finance clubs offer women accessible resources for financial decision-making.
“Think ‘book club,’ but for talking about finances,” she adds.
And since 1999, the annual Power of the Purse luncheon has given the WFA a chance to raise funds, highlight its latest work, debut new initiatives and spotlight women who are making a difference in their respective fields and beyond. This year is no different.
At the 2024 event, Cathy Tuggle, Lenore Trammell and Dr. Nirvana Manning will be recognized for their outstanding work in philanthropy, business and public service, respectively.
“Our honorees are truly a power trio when it comes to their accomplishments across the state,” Kasten says. “They are extremely influential in a variety of career fields and communities all around Arkansas.”
Cathy Tuggle
Woman of the Year in Philanthropy
Cathy Tuggle, WFA’s Woman of the Year in Philanthropy, is focused on service throughout her career and beyond. Tuggle owns two companies, Apartment Hunters and Arkansas Suites, both real estate relocation services with a focus on making the process of moving less stressful for their customers.
“We’re very service-oriented, and I think that’s why I enjoy servant leadership,” she says.
Tuggle uses her expertise and resources to support WFA’s Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship Program. For the past four years, her company has assisted with furnished apartments for interns in both Little Rock and northwest Arkansas. In addition to offering discounts, Tuggle’s company has donated a furnished apartment annually. Beyond lodging, she and her team stay involved with the interns, helping them plug into the community and hopefully encouraging them to call Little Rock their home.
Apart from her direct support of the WFA, Tuggle has served on boards of organizations that support the community like AR Kids Read, Fifty for the Future and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
But when asked to reflect on why she is being honored this year, Tuggle chooses to focus on small, behind-the-scenes touches she infuses into her career and volunteer work.
“I think that I’m more like a connector, trying to bring people together,” she says.
But just her presence on a team can change the culture. She once joined a board that was, in her words, “a little stuffy.” Undaunted, Tuggle started hugging everyone before each meeting.
“And they sat back a little bit like, ‘Oh, we’ve got a hugger coming into our room.’ But now, 15 years later, in that boardroom, everybody’s hugging, everybody’s shaking hands and showing their true selves.”
Another of her trademark “small” but meaningful acts of service is that, throughout her 33-year career, Tuggle has always made it a point to acknowledge her friends’ and colleagues’ birthdays.
“I just want to try to bring a little bit of joy into everybody’s lives,” she says. “We’re all humans. We all want to love, and we just need to forget about the negativity and bring positivity, even if it’s just for a few minutes.”
Admittedly uncomfortable with the spotlight, Tuggle’s motivating mindset is one that’s increasingly hard to find.
“One day, I’d like to look back on all the different things that I’ve assisted in and volunteered for and say, ‘Hey, I was part of that.’ I don’t want to say that I did that, I want to say that I was a part of that.”
Lenore Trammell
Woman of the Year in Business
Lenore Trammell’s first encounter with the WFA was, in her words, “quite an introduction.” Last year, Trammell was honored as one of WFA’s Top 100 Women of Impact. As relatively new to the state — having only been an Arkansan for about a decade — the honor put WFA on her radar. But once the organization was in her sights, she was all-in on its mission.
“I was super excited to see what they’re doing in the community,” Trammell says. “Uplifting a girl uplifts the community. It has an amazing ripple effect, so I’m excited to be affiliated with them.”
She especially connects with the Save10 initiative. The encouragement for young women to make financially sound decisions through saving, investing and supporting small business dovetails with work she’s already involved with through her church and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
As WFA’s Woman of the Year in Business, Trammell is being honored for work at Big River Steel where she’s served as the chief administrative officer, chief compliance officer and general counsel since 2014. As an executive with an impressive array of titles, her work has been diverse, and she’s been a key player since Big River transformed a soybean field in Osceola to a steel mill on par with other businesses in the county.
Yet no accomplishment brings her more pride than supporting southern Mississippi County.
“I think, in a lot of respects, I am probably the heart of Big River. I handle the things that impact the community most specifically,” Trammell says.
Her unofficial title as “heart of Big River” is made tangible through her work as president of Big River Steel Cares, the company’s nonprofit arm. The organization hosts backpack drives, sponsors camps for local kids and, in its signature event, provides community members with everything needed for a Thanksgiving meal. Her strong connection with the community even made it possible for Big River Cares to jump in to provide a new playground when a local Head Start program needed a new place for kids to play.
“Those are the kind of things that really do help to make you more than a business in the community — you’re a partner in the community.”
As a woman in business, Trammell makes it a point to build relationships with and support other women. She was able to do just that when she submitted the name of a fellow mom and local physician to interview for a position at Big River. Her recommended candidate got the job and has served as the medical director for several years.
“It wasn’t enough for us to just bring jobs to the county,” Trammell says, “we also wanted to take some of the people who were here and see what we can do to provide them with opportunities. We were able to do that, and I’m very pleased that we were able to help her business in that way.”
Trammell is also focused on supporting girls interested in STEAM careers.
“We don’t see a lot of women in higher roles in organizations, and certainly not in the steel industry. I will say that I am super, super honored to be recognized because if nothing else, it tells some little girl who is interested in the way that cars are made, in manufacturing, in engineering, in some of these fields that are typically very male dominated, that there are women out there doing it and being very successful in it,” Trammell says.
“I hope that what the WFA does in terms of highlighting women in roles that are kicking butt helps to encourage our next generation of women leaders. Don’t give up. It’s not always going to be easy, but it’s always going to be worth it.”
Dr. Nirvana Manning
Woman of the Year in Public Service
Dr. Nirvana Manning’s day job puts her in the position to impact women’s lives every day.
She is an OB-GYN by trade and also serves as the chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Services (UAMS), as well as the director of women’s health services.
“Everything that deals with women and health falls underneath my umbrella at UAMS in some way, shape or form,” she says.
But in 2021, Manning multiplied her impact by getting involved with grant work. Her first legislative project focused on expanding access to contraception in Arkansas in the immediate postpartum period.
“It was hard to get for women because some insurances weren’t covering it, mainly Medicaid, and over 50% of the population that delivers in the state of Arkansas is Medicaid,” she says.
Working with UAMS, she received an 18-month pilot grant to collect data. After 12 months, she had enough research to present to the legislative body, and through her work, Act 581 was passed, ensuring health care providers are reimbursed by Medicaid for conception during postpartum.
“While I love, love, love my clinic and taking care of my patients one-on-one, this was an ability for me to now help women on a much larger scale.”
Encouraged by the grant’s success, Manning’s advocacy work hasn’t slowed down since, especially on the Maternal Mortality Committee for the state of Arkansas.
“We’re number 5-0 out of 50 states in terms of maternal mortality,” Manning says, “so I have been doing tons of advocacy with regard to how we can help improve that.”
Her work includes teaching every delivering hospital different emergency care for women, supporting rural hospitals and bringing more midwives, OB-GYNs and family medicine OBs to the state.
Manning has also helped increase access and quality of puberty education for girls across the state. When her oldest son first encountered a puberty lesson in school, he shared his concern about the lack of knowledge from his fellow students. His experience inspired Manning to research sex and puberty education in Arkansas.
“I found out that puberty education in our state was just hit or miss,” she says. “Some schools did it, some schools didn’t do it at all. Some schools did it in eighth grade, where I would argue that the ship has sailed for most people.”
That’s when she got the idea for Girlology, a puberty seminar designed for girls ages 8-13 and a caregiver. Manning partnered with two pediatric gynecologists to deliver a medically accurate course on girls’ bodies and the changes they should expect.
“I think in the first couple, we were building trust in the community. Just like, what are you teaching our children? Is this going to be okay? And then after that, it kind of blew up,” Manning says.
And while she requires no advertising to quickly fill all 500 seats, Manning knows the true value is starting conversations between girls and their caregivers.
“Now they know they have a trusted person they can go to for their issues.”
Unsurprisingly, WFA’s work for women and girls resonates with Manning, who had the opportunity to speak at a Girls of Promise event.
“It gave me chills,” she says. “This is everything I love and believe in. Take these young girls, show these amazing careers that they can be a part of and they can see people like them in these positions. They know this is not unattainable.”
POWER OF THE PURSE
Benefiting the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas
Oct. 2, 11:30 a.m. | Statehouse Convention Center
Info: womensfoundationarkansas.org
PHOTOGRAPHY
JASON MASTERS
HAIR & MAKEUP
LORI WENGER
CLOTHING, BAGS
B.BARNETT
FLORALS
TIPTON & HURST