Biographical Sketches of Board Members

 

Tamra L. Cochran

Ms. Tamra L. Cochran graduated from the University of Arkansas with a B.S.B.A. in accounting with high honors.  She obtained her Juris Doctorate degree with honors from the University of Arkansas School of Law and an LL.M. in taxation from the University of Florida School of Law in Gainesville.  She worked for Croxton & Boyer (now Boyer, Schrantz, Rhoads & Teague) and Cochran & Croxton before opening her own firm.

Ms. Cochran owns a Law Office in Rogers, where she practices primarily in estate planning, probate, and taxation, with an emphasis on issues concerning the elderly.  She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Arkansas Bar Association, and the Benton County Bar Association.

Ms. Cochran was appointed to the Board in 2007 by ABA President Rick Ramsay for a five-year term that expires in September 2012.

 

Nate Coulter

Mr. Nate Coulter is a native of Nashville, AR.  He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College where he also obtained his Juris Doctorate degree.  He clerked for the Honorable G. Thomas Eisele of the U.S. District Court (E.D., Ark.), served as Assistant Legal Counsel to Governor Bill Clinton, and was formerly a partner at Wright, Lindsey & Jennings law firm in Little Rock.  Mr. Coulter is now a partner with the Little Rock firm of Wilson, Engstrom, Corum and Coulter and practices in the areas of personal injury, medical malpractice, commercial and business fraud, and real estate litigation.

Mr. Coulter is a member of the American, Arkansas and Pulaski County Bar Associations; the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association; the American Association for Justice; and the William R. Overton Inn of Court.  He is a past member of the Arkansas Bar Foundation Board of Directors and a past chairman of the Board of Governors of the Arkansas Bar Association.  He is currently a member of the Board of Central Arkansas Library System.

He was originally appointed to a one-year term on the Board as the designee of the President of the Arkansas Bar Association, Mr. Murray Claycomb, in 2002.  He was subsequently appointed by ABA President Tom Daily to a five-year term that expires in 2008.  Mr. Coulter currently serves as the Board’s President.

 

Richard C. (Dick) Downing

Mr. Downing is a graduate of the University of Arkansas School of Law.  He specializes in business law with an emphasis in commercial litigation, contractual disputes, arbitration, securities law, real estate, and administrative law.  He has published in his field and has been a presenter at numerous seminars.  Mr. Downing earned an “A” rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory.  He is a sole practitioner in Little Rock since 1983.  He previously was a partner in the firm Hardin, Grace & Downing in Little Rock and Napper, Wood, Hardin, Grace & Downing in North Little Rock.

Mr. Downing is active in the Arkansas Bar Association, where he served in the House of Delegates and of which he is a Tenured Delegate.  He is past president of the Pulaski County Bar Association and was its Lawyer of the Year in 1990.  He is a member of the American Bar Association (Litigation and Business Law Sections), the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Trial Lawyers Association.  Mr. Downing served on the Little Rock Planning Commission from 1997-2002 and as Chair in 2001-2002.  He served as Chair of the Little Rock Mid-Town Redevelopment Task Force and the Little Rock 2000 Task Force for the Future Image and Design Committee.  He is a member of St. Marks Episcopal Church and the Sierra Club.

Mr. Fred S. Ursery, President of the Arkansas Bar Association, appointed Mr. Downing as his designee to a one-year term on the Board through September 2005.  Mr. Glenn Vasser, as President of the Arkansas Bar Association, subsequently appointed Mr. Downing to a five-year term through September

2010.  Mr. Downing currently serves as Vice-President of the Board.

 

Conner Eldridge

A native of Lonoke and Augusta, AR, Mr. Eldridge graduated from Lonoke High School and then obtained a degree in English from North Carolina’s Davidson College.   During and after college Mr. Eldridge worked on several political campaigns and in government.  His experiences included interning in the White House under President Bill Clinton, working as now U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln’s assistant in her 1998 campaign, and working as a legislative aide to both Senator Lincoln and Congressman Marion Berry.  While working for Rep. Berry he handled agriculture, defense, foreign affairs, housing, and trade issues.

Following his time in Washington, D.C.,  Mr. Eldridge earned his Juris Doctorate magna cum laude from the University of Arkansas, where he was an editor of the Arkansas Law Review.  As a practicing attorney Mr. Eldridge assisted then Federal Judge G. Thomas Eisele in Little Rock in handling a variety of criminal and civil cases.

Mr. Eldridge currently works with Summit Bank, a $910 million asset bank headquartered in Arkadelphia, AR and with branches across South and Central Arkansas.   As the Chief Executive Officer of Summit Bank, he is the youngest  bank CEO in Arkansas.  Mr. Eldridge is active in community and state affairs, volunteering with several organizations including the United Way of Clark County, the Economic  Development efforts of Clark County, and the Democratic Party.

Governor Mike Beebe appointed Mr. Eldridge to a five-year term on the IOLTA Board through September of 2012.

 

James D. (J. D.) Gingerich

Mr. Gingerich is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, with highest honors in political science, of the University of Arkansas School of Law, and holds a Master of Laws in Commercial Law from the University of Bristol.  He is Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts of the Supreme Court of Arkansas, a position he has held since 1988.  Prior to that, Mr. Gingerich was University Counsel and a tenured Associate Professor of Political Science at UCA.

Mr. Gingerich is a member of numerous professional associations including the Arkansas Judicial Council (Secretary/Treasurer 1988 to present), Conference of State Court Administrators (where he has served as Nominating Committee Chair, on the Board of Directors, the Education Committee and the Model Code of Conduct Committee), American Judicature Society, and the Arkansas Political Science Association.  He is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, where he has served on the Committee for a Modern Judiciary, the Dispute Resolution Committee, the Youth Education Committee, and the Legal Education Committee.  Mr. Gingerich is also the author of numerous publications that have appeared in the UALR Law Journal, The Arkansas Law Review, The Arkansas Lawyer, and the Midsouth Political Science Journal.

Mr. Gingerich has long been active in the Rotary Club in Conway and completed a term as District Governor, District 6170, of Rotary International.  He is interested in international development projects and has worked as a volunteer on projects in Kenya, Haiti, and Belize.

Mr. Gingerich has served on the IOLTA Board as the designee of the Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court since 1991 and is the Board’s Treasurer, a position he has held since 1996.

 

Karen K. Hutchins

Ms. Karen K. Hutchins earned a B.B.A. (majoring in Finance) from the University of Texas at Austin and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center.  Before moving to Arkansas Ms. Hutchins was a solo practitioner in Texas, concentrating in trust, wills, real estate, and oil and gas law.

Ms. Hutchins is the Executive Director of the Arkansas Bar Association, a voluntary bar with a membership in excess of 5,000 attorneys.  Prior to becoming the Executive Director, Ms. Hutchins was the Associate Executive Director of the Association and Director of Continuing Legal Education.

She is a member of the American, Arkansas, and Pulaski County Bar Associations, the State Bar of Texas, the National Association of Bar Executives, and the Arkansas and American Society of Association Executives.   Ms. Hutchins is also an Arkansas Bar Foundation Fellow.

Ms. Hutchins serves as a liaison from the Arkansas Bar Association pursuant to the Foundation’s By-Laws

 

James “Jim” Jansen

Mr. Jansen is a graduate of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with a B.S. degree in Business Administration.  He is Executive Director of Black River Area Development (BRAD) Corporation in Pocahontas and has served in that capacity for 40 years.  BRAD is a community action agency serving residents of Clay, Lawrence and Randolph Counties.  Among its programs are Head Start, Senior Citizens Centers, Section 18 public transportation, HUD housing, and energy and weatherization assistance.

Mr. Jansen serves on the Board of Kiwanis of Pocahontas and is a past President of that organization.  He is a member and past President of the Board of the Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association (ACAAA).  Mr. Jansen served 10 years as a member of the Walnut Ridge Public School Board, where he also was a past President.  He presently serves as a member of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Advisory Council and as a member of the Honorary Advisory Council of the National Center for Appropriate Technology.

Mr. Jansen was nominated to the Board by the ACAAA and was elected by IOLTA Board members to complete the term of Mr. Alan Bufford, through 2003.  In September of 2004 Mr. Jansen was appointed by Governor Huckabee to a term to expire in 2008.
 

 

Larry E. Kircher

Mr. Kircher is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University with a B.A. in Psychology/Sociology.  He has also completed some post-graduate courses in Business at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.  Mr. Kircher is President of Citizens State Bank in Bald Knob.  He is a 30-year employee of the bank and has served as its President since 1985. 

Mr. Kircher is State Chairman of the American Bankers’ Association, a past President of the Arkansas Bankers’ Association where he also serves on the Government Relations Committee, and is a Director of the Arkansas Community Foundation where he also serves on the Executive Committee and as Treasurer. He is a Trustee of Ouachita Baptist University, serving on the Executive Committee and as Chairman of the Finance Committee.  Mr. Kircher serves on the White County Advisory Committee for Harding University, is a Director and Treasurer of the Bald Knob Industrial Development Corporation, and is a Trustee of the Bald Knob Public Education Foundation, where he serves on the Grants and Awards Committee.

Governor Mike Huckabee appointed Mr. Kircher to the IOLTA Board in 1997 and subsequently appointed him to a five-year term that expired in 2007.  Mr. Kircher served as the Board’s liaison to the banking community and was President of the Board from September 2005 to September 2007.  He continues to serve as a volunteer on the Board in the capacity of Immediate Past President.

 

Freeman McKindra, Sr.

Mr. McKindra is a native of the Union Chapel community in Conway County, Arkansas.  He graduated from Arkansas A.M.& N. College in Pine Bluff (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) with a degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry.  He also studied the Art of Teaching at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and Community Development at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

During his work career Mr. McKindra was engaged in the practice and study of all phases of community and economic development.  He worked 15 years with the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, his last position serving as a Senior Program Officer.  He then worked part time for the UAMS College of Public Health as a community liaison.  His most recent projects were in the mid-south, working for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the Mid-South and the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.

Mr. McKindra worked in Africa, Asia and more than fifteen states in the United States, practicing and studying  community and economic development.  He participated in an experimental two-year teacher training program at Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C. that was the foundation for the Urban Teacher Corps.  He trained VISTA Volunteers and assisted ACTION Volunteer efforts in Arkansas, resulting in the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Senior Companions Program (SCP), and Foster Grandparents Program (FGP).  He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Pakistan, where he taught science to pre-medical students.

Mr. McKindra serves on the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Human Development Corporation, the Board of Professional Counseling Associates, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, The National Conference for Community Justice, and the Tri-County Health Network.

Governor Mike Huckabee appointed Mr. McKindra to the Board for a term that expired in September 2004.  The Governor then appointed him to a full five-year term to expire in September of 2009.

 

James A. (Jim) Ross, Jr.

Mr. Ross attended Hendrix College and the University of Arkansas.  He earned his law degree at the University of Arkansas followed by service in the Navy JAG.  He is in the general practice of law in Monticello, Arkansas, where he continues the law firm founded by his father.  Mr. Ross is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association and serves as the co-chairperson of the Committee for a Modern Judiciary. 

Mr. Ross was initially appointed by Arkansas Bar Association President Ron Harrison to serve as his designee through September of 2001. Sandra Cherry, then President of the ABA, appointed him to a full five-year term that expired in 2006.  ABA President Glenn Vasser appointed him to a second five-year term that expires in September of 2011.

 

Gwendolyn L. Rucker

Ms. Rucker earned her Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and her Juris Doctorate from the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock.  She earned her B.A. in Political Science from Spelman College in Atlanta.

Ms. Rucker presently works as a staff attorney for the Arkansas Supreme Court Office of Professional Conduct.  She worked as a judicial law clerk for the Arkansas Court of Appeals for five years and has experience teaching criminal procedure pre-trial process at UALR Bowen School of Law.

Ms. Rucker is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association (House of Delegates member, Long Range Planning Committee, and Chair of the Young Lawyer’s Section), the W. Harold Flowers Law Society, the National Organization of Bar Counsel, the UALR Alumni Association, and the Spelman College National Alumni Association.

She was appointed to a one-year term on the IOLTA Board (through September 2008) by ABA President Richard L. Ramsay as his designee.

 

Frank B. Sewall

Mr. Sewall graduated from Dartmouth College with an MBA with a concentration in labor relations and banking.  He obtained his J.D. degree from Emory University School of Law in 1974.  Since 1991 he has worked as Senior Counsel, Regulatory, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.  Prior to that, he served as associate and assistant Counsel at National Old Line Insurance Company and as Chief Counsel at the Arkansas Insurance Department.  He was a commissioned Officer in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps from 1968-1972.

Mr. Sewall is a member of the Pulaski County Bar Association, where he served as President in 1988.  He is also a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, serving in the House of Delegates from 1983-86 and again from 1990-92.  He served as Secretary/Treasurer of that organization in 1994.  He is a member of the American Bar Association, Corporate and Insurance Sections, and is a Fellow of the Arkansas Bar Foundation.  Mr. Sewall is a member of the Saint Thomas More Society of Arkansas, serving as President in 2003.  He served on the Board of VOCALS from 1992-2002 and as Chair from 1997-99.

Mr. Fred Ursery, President of the ABA, appointed Mr. Sewall to a five-year term on the Board beginning in September 2004 continuing through 2009. 

 

Margaret M. Staub

Ms. Staub earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.  She has served as Executive Director of Mid-Delta Community Services, Inc. (MDCS) in Helena since 1970.  MDCS is a nonprofit educational and charitable organization with funding of approximately $5,000,000 and 200 staff members.

Ms. Staub has served on the Eastern Arkansas Workforce Investment Board, the Eastern Arkansas Enterprise Community Board, and the Arkansas Community Action Association Board.  She has been a volunteer with the Chamber of Commerce, Omega Little Brothers, and Freedom for Youth.

Ms. Staub previously served on the Board from 1997-2001 and served as Vice-President.  Governor Mike Huckabee appointed her to the Board with a term through 2008.  Governor Mike Beebe reappointed her to a second five-year term through September 2012.

 

Anna Via

Ms. Via attended Arkansas Tech University and majored in Business through her junior year.  She also took business classes at Petit Jean Vo-Tech, basic computer programming at Capital City Business College, the Laubauch Method of Teaching Reading at ATU, and is a certified HUD Housing Counselor through Catholic University.  Ms. Via is Community Programs Director at Arkansas River Valley Area Council.  She has worked at ARVAC since 1983.

Ms. Via has served on the FEMA Board (Logan, Perry, Scott, Johnson, Polk, Pope, Yell, and Franklin Counties), the Single Parent Scholarship Board, the Arkansas Hunger Coalition Board and the AAA Advisory Board.  She is a member of TEA Coalition, Interagency on Homeless Committee, Yell County Literacy Committee and the River Valley Red Cross, where she served as Chapter Chair.  She also completed an internship with the National Community Action Foundation. 

Governor Mike Huckabee appointed Ms. Via to the IOLTA Board in 1998 and reappointed her to a full term in 2000.  Governor Huckabee appointed her to a final five-year term through September 2010.

 

This Page Was Last Updated July 2008