The College of Education and Health Professions recently announced its 2025 Outstanding Departmental Alumni Award winners.

Reginald J. "Reggie" Miller, Tracy Bair Pate, Josh Vest, Kayla D. Scott-Arce, Nicole A. Wilkins and James "Lynn" Woodworth will all be honored at a banquet on March 7 to celebrate their accomplishments.

"Each of these recipients is significantly influential in their chosen health or education profession," said Dean Kate Mamiseishvili. "Their commitment to improving people's lives is inspiring. We look forward to recognizing all they have achieved."

Outstanding Alumni, Department of Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy

Tracy Bair Pate, MS, CCC-SLP, Listening and Spoken Language Specialist/Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist, is the program coordinator for The Listening Center at Arkansas Children's Hospital. The center is an evaluation, therapy and consultation program designed to develop listening and spoken language skills for children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing. For the past 30 years, she has worked exclusively with this population.

Pate's responsibilities include working directly with families to educate and empower them on issues related to hearing loss. She consults with early intervention professionals and school districts statewide to educate them on interventions for students using all types of hearing technology. She provides direct speech-language therapy and telehealth sessions to families as well. She also uses a telehealth format to consult with and educate other professionals who are serving the deaf and hard-of-hearing population. Pate guest lectures for speech-language pathology graduate students and audiology students in doctoral programs across the state.

Pate received certification to practice auditory-verbal therapy in 1998, placing her in a select group of highly qualified individuals specifically trained to teach listening and spoken language to young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She has served as a mentor to several listening and spoken language specialists as they were and are currently going through the certification process.   

Outstanding Alumni, Department of Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods

Reginald J. "Reggie" Miller joined GE Vernova as chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer in February 2024. He collaborates with employees, coaches leaders and advocates for employee resource groups.

Miller's career has spanned a variety of disciplines, including supply chain, merchandising, international project management and human resources. Most recently, he led diversity, equity and inclusion at global food retailer McDonald's and global outdoor, activity and workwear brands company VF Corporation. Before that, he held roles as a diversity and inclusion leader at Walmart; a diversity, inclusion and talent acquisition leader for Tyson Foods; and an instructor and faculty administrator for the University of Phoenix. Miller is also a U.S. Army veteran and served as a supply sergeant with deployments to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

Miller holds a bachelor's degree in education-human resource development and a master's degree in education-workforce development from the U of A College of Education and Health Professions and an MBA from Webster University. He also serves on several external boards, including the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, Camber Outdoors, Paradigm for Parity, NC A&T State University Business College Advisory Council and Diversity MBA.

Miller and his wife, Jennifer, have three children, a son and twin daughters, and they reside in Chicago.

Outstanding Alumni, Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Josh Vest graduated from the U of A College of Education and Health Professions Master of Arts in Teaching program in May 2009. He began his career as an English teacher at Bentonville High School. In the classroom, he worked to establish a creative, student-centered learning environment. Vest was a three-year ARTeacher fellow, working with the U of A, Crystal Bridges and Walton Arts Center to expand arts integration in the classroom. His students' work in arts integration was displayed at Crystal Bridges and the U.S. Department of Education. 

Vest moved into an administrative role in 2019. He was tasked with building Bentonville Virtual School for students in grades 5-12 while leading the 7-12 alternative school, Gateway ALE. He led the online program through the pandemic and increased Gateway ALE's graduates and post-secondary graduates. In 2022, Vest made the transition to the elementary level, becoming the principal of Cooper Elementary. At Cooper, Vest and the team created Cooper Academies, a program that exposed students to the various career pathways offered within Bentonville Schools. Academies included culinary arts, aviation and flight, medical skills and more. Cooper Academies created connections to the broader school community, allowing students to experience hands-on learning from and alongside high school students and community professionals. 

In 2024, Vest moved to Happy Hollow Elementary in Fayetteville to be closer to his family. His wife is a registered nurse in the Fayetteville Public Schools, and his two children, Croxton and Ella Jane, attend Fayetteville schools.

Outstanding Alumni, Department of Education Reform

James "Lynn" Woodworth is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and the lead researcher for the Tectonics Project, which supports the public by providing access to complex data sets in a manner that is aligned with the needs of the general public.

Woodworth has spent most of his career working in education. He recently completed a term appointment as the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), where he was responsible for overseeing operations, planning, staffing, budgeting and publications. Woodworth served as a member of the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy and its subcommittee on the American Community Survey, on the steering committee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee and as the senior statistical official for the U.S. Department of Education.

Before joining NCES, Woodworth worked as lead quantitative research analyst at the Center for Research on Educational Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University. Prior to his work at CREDO, he served as a distinguished doctoral fellow in the U of A College of Education and Health Professions' Department of Education Reform, where he earned a doctorate in education policy. His areas of research include charter schools, online education and education finance. Woodworth also holds a master's degree in educational leadership and a bachelor's degree in music education. He was a public high school teacher for 11 years before pursuing a research career. A veteran, Woodworth spent six years as a cryptologic linguist in the U.S. Marine Corps. 

Outstanding Alumni, Eleanor Mann School of Nursing

Kayla D. Scott-Arce is a compassionate and dedicated registered nurse with over five years of experience in providing high-quality patient care. Specializing in rehabilitative nursing and clinical informatics, she is committed to improving patient outcomes through evidence-based practices, personalized care and collaboration with multidisciplinary healthcare teams.

After earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the U of A College of Education and Health Professions, Scott-Arce continued her career at Mena Regional Health System, where she gained extensive experience in rehabilitative nursing as the director of inpatient rehab and clinical informatics. Throughout her career, she has worked in the ICU, medical/surgical, OB/nursery, ER and case management, demonstrating flexibility and proficiency in handling diverse patient populations.

A firm believer in continuing education, Scott-Arce regularly attends professional development courses, workshops and conferences to stay updated on the latest advancements in healthcare. She is also an instructor for basic life support courses to train and certify healthcare providers in effective CPR.

In addition to providing exceptional patient care, Scott-Arce is deeply committed to fostering a positive environment for patients, families and coworkers. She exhibits strong communication and interpersonal skills, advocating for patients' needs and providing emotional support in times of crisis.

Scott-Arce's dedication to healthcare is exemplified by the outcomes of the patients she cares for and her ongoing passion for learning and growing within the profession.

Outstanding Alumni, Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation

Nicole A. Wilkins currently serves as the director of athletic training education and Chapman clinical assistant professor at The University of Tulsa. Wilkins received her Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology and a minor in health from the University of Texas-San Antonio, her Master of Science in Athletic Training from the U of A College of Education and Health Professions and her Doctor of Education degree from the University of St. Augustine.

In addition to her role at The University of Tulsa, Wilkins holds several leadership positions at the state, district and national levels in athletic training. Her research interests include psychosocial issues in healthcare, leadership and mentoring best practices, interprofessional and collaborative practice in healthcare, and the impact of the social determinants of health in athletic healthcare specifically related to concussion diagnosis and treatment. 

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About the College of Education and Health Professions: The College of Education and Health Professions' six departments prepare students for a wide range of careers in education and health, including teaching, nursing, counseling, educational leadership and policy, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, public health, exercise science, and many more. The college has approximately 360 faculty and staff members, serves more than 6,000 students and supports over 20 research and service units. Guided by the WE CARE strategic plan, the college strives to advance impactful research that improves people's lives, increase transformative learning opportunities for its students, engage in meaningful partnerships across Arkansas and beyond, and embrace a culture of caring that empowers people to thrive in all aspects of life.