Arkansas Money & Politics is proud to introduce its list of Influencers for 2024, those who inspire us all to reach higher, achieve more and improve things in our communities. Within this list, find leaders in the corporate, nonprofit and public-service spaces — people who provide jobs, feed the state’s economy and provide a hand up to those who need it.
The individuals on this list were handpicked by a blue ribbon panel, who culled hundreds of nominations down to the final listing. They represent not only the best of what they do, but the present and future leaders of our state, who work for the good of us all. As the state’s leading publication focused on the business, community and policy, AMP is proud to shine a bright spotlight on these outstanding achievers and their accomplishments.
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Charisse Childers
Executive Director
Arkansas Division of Workforce Services
Charisse Childers, Ph.D., was appointed by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2019 and reappointed by Gov. Sarah Sanders in 2023 to serve as the director of the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services. In this role, she oversees the state’s workforce system, which includes the division’s programs and grants. She previously served as the director of the Arkansas Department of Career Education from 2015 to 2019, and as the executive director of Accelerate Arkansas, a statewide group of business and education leaders dedicated to increasing the per capita income of Arkansas to the national average, from 2006 to 2015. The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services includes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act core programs and consolidates the Title 1-IV WIOA programs to ensure coordination among all core partner programs: youth, adult and dislocated worker services; the Arkansas Adult Education and Family Literacy Act programs; Wagner-Peyser Employment Services; unemployment insurance; the Division of Services for the Blind (Vocational Rehabilitation); and Arkansas Rehabilitation Services (Vocational Rehabilitation). Childers earned her bachelor, master and specialist degrees from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and a doctorate in public policy from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. With 30 years of work and personal experience in education, business, government, nonprofits and economic development, she has been recognized for her leadership at the state and federal levels, most recently being appointed to the Workforce Information Advisory Council of the U.S. Department of Labor.
