OUR LEADERS

Committed to the Cause

ERIC HOLLOWAY

Board President

J. Eric Holloway is Principle Engineer of Holloway Engineering, Surveying and Civil Design. Growing up on the Bayou, Eric explored its many acres on horseback. Eric has seen tremendous urban development along the Bayou over the years and is passionate about preserving White Oak Bayou's resources for the benefit of all. He can frequently be seen walking his dog on the Bayou trails and photographing wildlife. The majority of wildlife photos on this website were taken by Eric.

KELLY FRENCH

Executive Director

Kelly's first love is teaching. An educator for over 30 years, she has designed environmental education programs for C.A. Vines 4-H Center, Ferncliff Presbyterian Camp, Heifer International, The Native Way Wilderness School, and the Arkansas Children's Museum. She resides in Maumelle with her partner Webb Sanderson.

KELLIE WALL

CEO, Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce

Kellie Wall, IOM is the CEO of the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Board of Directors for the LRAFB Community Council and the Camp Robinson/Camp Pike community council and recently joined the White Oak Bayou Wetlands Conservancy Board of Directors. She is a graduate of the 2022 Leadership Arkansas Class.

CHAD GARDNER

Maumelle City Council Member

Chad has been a resident of Central Arkansas for over 20 years and has lived in Maumelle since 2013. He is a 1999 graduate of Harding University in Searcy, AR where he received his Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Professional Sales. Chad owns and operates an insurance consulting firm, Benefit Concepts of Arkansas, where he manages employee benefit plans for business clients. Chad currently serves on the Maumelle City Council and was first elected in January of 2019.

RON HARRIS

North Little Rock City Council Member

Owner of Summerwood Inc. Custom Home Builders since 1997, Ron continues to be excited about Public Service and improving the quality of life for families. Ron has been a North Little Rock City Council Member since 2016.

Patrick A. Isbell

Foreman, North Little Rock Parks & Recreation

Patrick A. Isbell is a lifelong North Little Rock native. He is a 1992 graduate of North Little Rock High School and a proud dad of two grown boys. Starting with North Little Rock Parks & Recreation in 1999, Patrick has worked his way up from maintenance worker, to becoming the first Foreman of the Dept, overseeing the maintenance of 35 North Little Rock neighborhood parks including Burns Park.

CHRISTY WARD

Owner of Rock Solid Shredding

Christy Ward was born and raised in North Little Rock and is a Mount St. Mary Academy alumna. She has been married for 35 years to her husband Jeff and they have two grown boys, Tanner and Bryce. She currently resides in Maumelle and is the owner of Rock Solid Shredding along with her husband; she handles the accounts receivable/payable side of the business. Christy really loves spending time outdoors doing yardwork, walking, hiking, running, riding mountain/road bikes, kayaking, fishing and especially bird/wildlife watching.

SCOTT GRUMMER

Director of Planning & Permits, City of Maumelle

Scott previously served as Executive Director of the Downtown Little Rock Community Development Corporation, City of Conway Planner and Chair of the Lake Conway Point Remove Watershed Alliance. As Director of Planning and Permits for the City of Maumelle, he is spearheading the Maumelle Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail Master Plan. A devoted conservationist, Scott loves to kayak on White Oak Bayou with his wife.

DUSTIN WELCH

Engineer, Holloway Engineering

Dustin has been a Central Arkansas resident all his life and currently resides in historic Marche. He is a 2023 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, AR where he received a Bachelor’s of Civil and Construction Engineering as well as an Associate’s of Construction Science. Dustin worked as a
City Engineer for the City of North Little Rock and part-time at Snyder Environmental as an Environmental Intern. As a City Engineer, he oversaw engineering design review of commercial
developments, oversaw the street maintenance program to create solutions for failing infrastructure, and provided daily oversight for projects happening within the city. As an Environmental Intern, he creates environmental site assessments for a variety of clients and properties helping to ensure the public is protected from exposure to hazards. Dustin currently works for Holloway Engineering.

ADVISORS

GREG PHILLIPS

Senior Managing Consultant, Alliance Technical Group

Greg Phillips is a Senior Scientist with the environmental consulting firm Alliance Technical Group. He is a certified watershed manager with over 20 years of experience in water resources projects including key interest areas such as watershed management, Wetland Science, stream protection and restoration, water quality modeling and aquatic community bioassessment. He has been the lead technical team member for his firm on the White Oak Bayou wetland management project. His team has contributed rapid wetland assessment data, developed a wetland bioassessment screening tool, evaluated stream channel erosion affecting the wetlands and worked with the City of Maumelle and local stakeholders to complete the White Oak Bayou Wetlands Management Plan.

BOB WENNER

President of BMG Inc.

Bob is the former Director of Real Estate and CFO of Wolf River Conservancy in Memphis, TN. He is an experienced Chief Financial Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry. He is a strong finance professional with a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Busines Management from Harding University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) focused in Accounting from Louisiana Tech University.

JIM NAREY

FOUNDER

The late Jim Narey, was one of the key promoters and founders of the White Oak Bayou Management Program. As the former Director of Planning with the City of Maumelle, he was there when the US Army Corps of Engineers approached the city in the mid 2000’s tasking them with protecting the wetlands. I have heard him give the speech many times where he describes the tone from the Corps as something like this….”We want you to protect and manage the wetlands but we don’t have a plan to do it or any money to help you." In spite of not being given much direction, Jim found some technical experts (Wetland Consultant’s, Inc) to help him with the science and they set out to determine what needed to be done. This began a process where Jim lead the City of Maumelle through procurement of several EPA Wetland Program Development Grants that he administered and that ultimately funded over a million dollars worth of education, assessment, planning and management efforts that culminated in a Wetland Management Plan in 2017. During all these years Jim served on the Steering Committee and sat in on many Technical Advisory Committee meetings to ensure the important tasks were accomplished. After the completion of the management plan, Jim was the catalyst that helped form the White Oak Bayou Wetlands Conservancy, a non-profit entity that now manages the efforts in White Oak Bayou. Without Jim’s tenacity, resilience, and commitment, we would not be where we are today. Thanks Jim!