Breanne Davis
State Senator District 25, Arkansas State Senate
About me: I’ve been married to my husband John-Paul for 18 years. We have four children: Riley (15), Darby (12), Blaze (10) and Everly (4). We attend Fellowship Bible Church in Russellville.
I was elected to the Russellville School Board in 2009, serving for nine years before being elected to the State Senate in 2018. In 2019, I was named the Arkansas Mother of the Year by American Mothers.
Over the years, I’ve volunteered with human trafficking survivors, been open as a respite foster family, volunteered for my local pregnancy center, traveled internationally to work with Syrian refugees, coached U8 girls soccer and volunteered on numerous local, state and federal campaigns. I’m a graduate of Arkansas Tech University and a proud Russellvillian.
Lives in: Russellville • Works in: Little Rock
Best Career Advice: Always be teachable. No one cares for a know-it-all, and no one actually knows it all. If you’re open to learning and receiving constructive feedback, you’ll learn a lot about yourself, others and life, not just your career.
Lesson Learned the Hard Way: Saying “no.” In my 20s, I gave away so much time to commitments that weren’t the best use of my time, which ultimately kept me from having more time for the things I loved volunteering for. If you don’t respect your time, don’t expect anyone else to.
Proudest Moment of Impact: Securing $3.4 million to ATU’s base funding. We are wildly underfunded, which hurts our students, 93% of which come from Arkansas. While that amount was so helpful, we are still inequitably funded to the tune of around $15 million, so there’s still hard work ahead on this issue.
Call to Action: There is always so much work to be done in every community. I wish keyboard warriors would become community heroes. There are organizations in every community trying hard to find volunteers. Instead of complaining about your community on social media, get out and be part of the solution. Be a problem solver.
TOP 100 WOMEN OF IMPACT IN ARKANSAS 2023
A Women’s Foundation of Arkansas Initiative