About Us

The Leadership Foundation for Women (LF4W) is a non-profit organization, formed in 2018, whose ultimate mission is to equip women to succeed. LF4W will fulfill this purpose by providing professional development and educational opportunities for women. Specifically, LF4W seeks to:

educate women about leadership and opportunities for personal growth;
foster professionalism and integrity in women;
encourage networking and professional relationship building among women;
provide a forum for professional development of women.

Board of Directors

Kandi Hughes

Chair

Kandi Hughes

Kandi Chitman Hughes is an attorney at Southwest Power Pool. With over a decade of legal practice, Ms. Hughes joined SPP in 2016 after serving as the Associate General Counsel at the University of Central Arkansas and as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Little Rock.

Cindy Boyle

Treasurer

Cindy Boyle

Cindy Boyle leads the national cybersecurity practice at BKD, a national accounting and advisory firm. A native Arkansan, Cindy is based in Little Rock but serves clients across the country.

Barbara Sugg

Barbara Sugg was elected president and CEO of Southwest Power Pool in January 2020. In her current position, she is responsible for ensuring SPP achieves its mission and goals and serves on the board of directors.

David Avery

David Avery oversees internal and external communications and corporate philanthropy. He joined Windstream in 2006 as director of corporate communications and previously served as staff manager of corporate communications at Alltel Corp.

Jana K. Law

Jana K. Law is Senior Counsel in legal regulatory at Entergy Services, LLC in Little Rock, Arkansas. Prior to joining Entergy in 2018, Ms. Law was a partner at the Roberts Law Firm, where she was the director of the firm’s public utility and regulatory practice, as well as practiced in complex litigation.

Madhvi Patel

Dr. Madhvi Patel is a board certified physician and currently works as a hospitalist at St.Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock. She is also the medical director and owner of EveryskinMD skincare clinic and medical spa, also located in Little Rock.

Gwen Haniff

Gwen Haniff retired after an illustrious 24-year career in operational Leadership at Southwest Airlines. Prior to SWA, Gwen spent 20 years at Southern California Kaiser Permanente Hospital. The past 14 years, she served as Southwest Airlines Station Leader at Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport in Little Rock, AR.

Annette Holbert

Annette Holbert is an IT manager at Southwest Power Pool (SPP). She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Science and spent a number of years as a software developer and team leader at Acxiom Corporation before moving to Southwest Power Pool in 2008.

Charles Blake

Charles Blake is a political scientist, strategist, civil servant, and skilled communicator.

Kelly Carney

Kelly Carney, SPHR is the Vice President, Human Capital and Chief People Officer for Southwest Power Pool, where she oversees the human resources and learning and development teams.

Debi Lowtharp

Debi Lowtharp serves as Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Delta Dental of Arkansas.

Past Board Members

We thank our past board members for their time and contributions to the mission of LF4W.

Catherine Bays, CFRE

Catherine currently serves as the Chief Development Officer for the Museum of Discovery. She is a strong supporter of the arts and advocacy for children and women leadership platforms.

Sharon Davis

Sharon Davis is the Founder and CEO of Strategic Technologies Corporation ( 1993) and Strategic Continuity Services (2005). As a native of Jonesboro, Arkansas, she attended Arkansas State University and the University of Mississippi with degrees in journalism.