The executives recognized in AMP’s list of 2021 Power Women in Banking were nominated by readers. In a male-dominated industry, their perseverance, hard work and expertise have propelled them to influential positions in Arkansas banking and finance. We’re proud to recognize them in this month’s issue.
Janice Acosta, SVP/Wealth Management Division Manager, Relyance Bank
Heather Albright,
President of Arkansas market, Bank of America
Natalie Bartholomew, CAO, Grand Savings Bank
(Bentonville)
Michele Beasley,
VP, Consumer Lending,
Telcoe Federal Credit Union
Charlotte Dollar
Charlotte Dollar,
SVP, Abaca (North Little Rock)
Dollar was Abaca’s first full-time hire in July 2019. Abaca provides financial services including banking, payments and lending to the underserved cannabis industry in Arkansas. Dollar joined with seven years of experience in mortgage compliance and now helps the North Little Rock firm navigate the growing business of medical marijuana. She holds a degree in anthropology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Tiffany Duhamel-Barger, Senior Private Banker/VP,
Arvest Bank (Little Rock)
Stephanie Edwards, SVP/Operations, Bank of England
Valerie Erkman
Valerie Erkman,
SVP/Chief
Marketing Officer,
Arkansas Federal Credit Union
Erkman has a history of working in the banking and telecommunications industries. She is skilled in e-commerce, lead generation and conversion, brand management, multichannel marketing, internal and external communications as well as coaching for excellence. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Natalie Evans
Natalie Evans
VP, Wealth Advisor
Bank OZK
Evans serves Bank OZK as a vice president and wealth advisor and has been with the bank since 2019. She previously worked for almost 14 years in estate and asset services for the American Cancer Society in Little Rock, and has been active with the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Arkansas Chapter. She is a 2004 graduate of Ouachita Baptist University.
Sandy Ferguson
Sandy Ferguson,
CFO,
Generations Bank
Ferguson serves as CFO for Generations Bank in Rogers, where she just celebrated her 40th anniversary with the bank. Starting in 1981 as a teller, Ferguson has continued to play a pivotal role working in every department throughout her career. Generations Bank is allowing Ferguson to lend her expertise to all facets of the bank while she also serves on the board of directors.
Jennifer Floyd, CAO, Home Bancshares/Centennial Bank
Elizabeth Glasbrenner, Co-founder/CEO,
Smiley Technologies
Natalie Hairston
Natalie Hairston,
SVP/Commercial Loan Officer,
Simmons Bank
Hairston has been with Simmons since May of this year after previously serving as a senior vice president and commercial loan officer for Bank OZK. She graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2007. She volunteers for Our House and has served on the board of the Junior League of Little Rock as treasurer and development vice president.
Charlestien Harris
Charlestien Harris,
Credit Counselor/Financial Coach, Southern Bancorp
Community
Partners
Harris serves as a financial coach and credit counselor. She is accustomed to helping individuals develop plans to get out of debt, start a business or buy a first home. Harris also teaches financial classes to the general public. She received a bachelor’s degree in home economics and fashion merchandising from Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge.
Sharon Ingram,
Assistant Vice President/RCA Manager/Project Manager,
U.S. Bank
Tanya Carter James,
SVP/Branch Administrator, Arvest Bank (Little Rock)
Ardella Lee
Ardella Lee, Director of Loan Operations,
Southern Bancorp
Lee was promoted to her current position of vice president for loan operations in September 2020. In this role, she manages all loan processing and administration for the $1.6 billion, nonprofit bank-holding company. She has worked in banking for more than 25 years and previously served as a loan operations officer. A Smackover native, Lee joined Southern Bancorp in 2001 after attending South Arkansas Community College.
Melody Martens
Melody Martens,
Bentonville Market President,
Signature Bank
Martens has served as market president for Signature Bank since 2013 and has had a hand in the banking industry for more than 27 years. Martens also serves as chair of Signature’s Bentonville board of directors and was named to Arkansas Money & Politics’ 2019 Power Women list. She is involved with Bentonville Garden Club, Excellerate Foundation and is a board member for City Sessions.
Nicole Matsoukas
Nicole Matsoukas,
SVP, IT/Strategic Initiatives,
Arkansas Federal Credit Union
Matsoukas has played a key role in the implementation of several major projects over the years that have assisted in driving the credit union forward. Most recently, she led the two-year conversion of the core banking system and played an integral role in various credit union mergers. She previously served as vice president of member service center operations, where she was responsible for the operations of the contact center and several branch locations.
Christine Morrison
Christine Morrison,
President of
Mortgage Lending, Signature Bank
Morrison began her banking career in 1990 and was a founding member of Signature’s startup in 2004. A University of Arkansas alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in communications, she is a graduate of Leadership Springdale, a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Northwest Arkansas and the NWA Board of Realtors. She also is past president of Altrusa International of Springdale and Executive Women’s International.
Amber Murphy,
Customer Relationship Manager, First Financial Bank (El Dorado)
Marnie Oldner
Marnie Oldner,
CEO, Stone Bank
Oldner has worked with banks nationwide as a managing principal at DD&F Consulting Group. A business and accounting graduate of Cal State-Fullerton, Oldner was a CPA with Price Waterhouse Coopers in Newport Beach, Calif., before moving to Arkansas. She currently serves on the board of the Arkansas Bankers Association and is a member of the Federal Reserve’s 8th District Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council as well as the Federal Reserve’s National Advisory Council.
Cathy Hastings Owen, Chairman, Eagle Bank
Andrea Parnell
Andrea Parnell,
Chief People
Officer,
Southern Bancorp
Parnell oversees talent acquisition and retention strategies in alignment with Southern Bancorp’s values-based approach to banking. She has developed and implemented performance management, succession planning and career development programs and early in her career focused on merger and acquisition activities.
Karla Payne,
CFO, Arvest Bank
Beth Presley, VP, Marketing,
Arvest Bank (Fort Smith)
Carrie Price
Carrie Price, SVP/Chief
Marketing Officer, First Community Bank (Batesville)
Price oversees marketing in Arkansas and Missouri for First Community. She joined the bank in January after spending more than 16 years with Southern Bancorp. At Southern, she served as senior marketing officer for Arkansas and Mississippi, as assistant vice president and as marketing director. She graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2004.
Lori Ross
Lori Ross,
Arkadelphia
President,
Citizens Bank
Ross has served as president of Citizens Bank’s Arkadelphia operations since 2016. She previously served as Arkadelphia market president for what was then Bank of the Ozarks, as senior vice president and lending officer for Summit Bank in Arkadelphia and as commercial lender for Southern Bancorp. She graduated from Henderson State in 2001 and earned her MBA from Union University in 2005.
Erin Simpson,
Executive Vice President/Chief Risk Officer, Encore Bank
Carole Smith
Carole Smith,
Senior Vice
President/
Commercial
Banker,
Simmons Bank
Smith leads business development for the Central Arkansas market and previously managed a $100 million commercial loan portfolio. She served as chairman for UA Little Rock’s College of Business Advisory Council and as president and chairman for Leadership Greater Little Rock’s Board of Trustees. A University of Arkansas alumnus, Carole holds master’s degrees in business and banking from the UA and Southern Methodist University.
Sandy Straessle
Sandy Straessle,
SVP, Retail Banking, Stone Bank
Prior to joining Stone Bank in 2016, Straessle had 15 years of banking experience at Regions Bank where she served as senior vice president for retail administration and group branch manager over seven Little Rock locations. A Little Rock native with a degree in interdisciplinary studies from UA Little Rock, she is a graduate of Leadership Arkansas, a member of the Arkansas Women Executives organization and a board member for Junior Achievement of Arkansas.
Donna Townsell,
SVP, Director of Investor
Relations, Home Bancshares/Centennial Bank
Lorrie Trogden
Lorrie Trogden,
President/CEO,
Arkansas Bankers Association
Prior to serving as president and CEO of the Arkansas Bankers Association, Trogden worked for 10 years as the associate executive director for the Arkansas Bar Association and for eight years in human resources for Acxiom and Alltel. Trogden serves as a board officer for the Arkansas Society of Association Professionals, Arkansas Capital Corporation and the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. She also serves on the boards of Economics Arkansas and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.
Christie Turner,
First State Bank (Fayetteville)
Tara Walker,
Bank of Little Rock
Wendy Von Kanel
Wendy Von Kanel,
Central Region President,
Southern Bancorp
Based in Helena-West Helena, Von Kanel oversees the community development bank’s operations across 12 markets and 17 branches in Arkansas and Mississippi. A Phillips County native, Von Kanel joined Southern Bancorp in 1998 as a mortgage loan processor, rising to market president in 2018 and regional president in 2019.
