Karen Whatley has been named chief legal officer for Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s office, and Jordan Burgess has been named to succeed her as director of legislative and agency affairs.
Whatley had been director of legislative and agency affairs since August 2018.
Burgess has been senior health policy adviser and liaison to the Arkansas Department of Human Services since May 2019.
Chris Barber, president and CEO of St. Bernards Healthcare in Jonesboro, and Curtis Barnett, president and CEO of Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Little Rock, are among six new members recently added to the board of directors of the Arkansas Research Alliance.
The other new members are Marty Casteel, former president and CEO of Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff; Charles Robinson, interim chancellor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville; Barbara Sugg, president and CEO of Southwest Power Pool of Little Rock; and Mary Ward, chief people officer at Acxiom of Conway.
Tony Van Pelt, safety and emergency management director for Conway Corp., has earned the Certified Utility Safety Professional credential with an endorsement in electric transmission and distribution from the Utility Safety & Ops Leadership Network of Crystal Lake, Illinois. Van Pelt joined Conway Corp. in 1985.
See more of this week's Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.
