The Arkansas Alumni Association Announces New Board Members

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The newest members of the Arkansas Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors began serving their three-year terms as part of the board’s Class of 2018 on July 1. Four additional board members – Bill Kerr, Kenneth Biesterveld, Teena Gunter and Sharon Hunt – have been selected to serve their second three-year terms, with Biesterveld chosen as the board’s treasurer.

National Board of Directors Class of 2018

Kristen Allbritton B.A.’04

Allbritton graduated with a journalism degree and moved to New York City to pursue a Master of Science in journalism at Columbia University. She served as the public relations and proofreading chair for the New York Review of Magazines. Allbritton currently works as a senior administrative associate for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. While at the U of A, she served as executive vice president for the Alpha Delta Pi sorority and has previously served on their Alumnae Association as directory chair. She also served as vice president of programs for the Student Alumni Board during her time on campus. Allbritton served as president of the Dallas Chapter of the Arkansas Alumni Association and under her leadership, the chapter grew to engage record numbers of alumni, break fundraising records and establish the chapter’s first Endowed Scholarship Award.

Dustin McDaniel B.S.P.A.’94

The Honorable Dustin McDaniel became the 55th attorney general of Arkansas in 2007 and was sworn in to his second term in January 2011 after being re-elected with strong support across the state. He served in that position until January 2015 and now practices law at McDaniel, Richardson & Calhoun, PLLC. McDaniel graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in public administration and was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He was involved in numerous campus organizations and served in several leadership positions. McDaniel served as a uniformed patrol officer with the Jonesboro Police Department before earning his law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law. He practiced law at his family’s practice, McDaniel and Wells in Jonesboro before being elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2004.

Kristin Kaufman B.S.B.A.’83

Kristin Kaufman of Dallas is the founder of Alignment Inc., a unique consultancy formed in 2007 to help individuals, corporations, boards of directors and other similar groups find alignment within themselves and their organizations. Kaufman brings 25 years of corporate experience to bear, including executive positions at Hewlett-Packard, Vignette Corp. and the United Health Group. Kaufman has actively supported the University of Arkansas since she graduated with a degree in business administration. She has been an active member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumnae association since 1984 and has served on the board for both the association and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. She was a member of the 2007 class of Leadership Texas, which consists of the top 100 leaders in the state of Texas. Kaufman’s first book, Is This Seat Taken? Random Encounters That Change Your Life, was released in 2011. Her second book in the series, Is This Seat Taken? It’s Never Too Late to Find the Right Seat, was released in January.

Drake McGruder B.S.B.E.’06 M.S.E.’12

Drake McGruder began his involvement with the Arkansas Alumni Association as vice president for outreach programs on the Student Alumni Board. He remained active with the Alumni Association after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biological engineering and a master’s degree in engineering. McGruder was instrumental in helping to revive the Fort Smith Chapter of the Arkansas Alumni Association and provided leadership and guidance as a member of the Young Alumni Board. He most recently served on the Campaign Arkansas committee. McGruder is also involved in community service with the United Way and was a Day of Caring project leader. He also has served on the U of A College of Engineering Advisory Board. He currently works for The Kraft Heinz Co. as the safety, security and environmental manager and was named to the Arkansas Business 2015 class of “40 Under 40.”

Charles Redfield B.S.B.A.’89

Charles Redfield is an executive vice president of merchandising for Sam’s Club/Wal-Mart Stores Inc., originally joining Sam’s Club in 1988 as a cashier. He has held various leadership positions for Sam’s Club. Redfield was a member of Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s “40 under 40” class of 2007. He is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, the Walton College Alumni Society and has been a speaker for Sam M. Walton College of Business events, including the M.B.A. Alumni Reconnect 2013. Redfield is a major supporter of the Boys & Girls Club in Benton County and served as the co-emcee at the 2014 Youth of the Year celebration. Redfield also actively supports Arkansas Children’s Hospital and was keynote speaker at the 2014 Color of Hope Gala.

Ashley Whisenhunt Harris B.A.’95

Ashley Whisenhunt Harris currently works as vice president for Mitchell Communications Group in Fayetteville, serving a wide variety of clients in marketing, public affairs and politics. At the University of Arkansas she served in leadership positions within student organizations and volunteering in student recruitment activities while earning a Bachelor of Arts with a focus in journalism. Her professional career began on Capitol Hill, where she worked for an Arkansas congressman. While living and working in Washington, D.C., Harris served on the chapter alumni board and assisted in coordinating many events. After relocating to Little Rock, she joined and served in the Capital Chapter of the Arkansas Alumni Association. She later worked for the U of A for more than a decade in student recruitment, student leadership development and alumni relations. Harris has remained active in the Arkansas Alumni Association and has also been active with other alumni organizations such as the Lemke Journalism Alumni Society and the Kappa Kappa Gamma House and Alumni Board.