Clark State Community College will be hosting local social service agencies and churches for a planning session on Monday, September 29, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the LRC building on the Leffel Lane Campus. The event will be facilitated by Monieca West from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and will focus on connecting Clark State students to resources in the Springfield community.
“Moneica is an expert in the field of supporting students living in poverty and building collaborations within communities to help these students succeed in an academic setting,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president, Clark State Community College. “It is our hope that we can bring together these community leaders who can identify, engage and leverage existing resources to help retain our students and ensure a sustainable and thriving place to live and learn.”
West is an experienced economic and community development professional. She has worked for the Arkansas Department of Higher Education since 2004 and is the program manager for the Carl Perkins federal program which funds career and technical education projects at the postsecondary level. She holds certifications as a Professional Community and Economic Developer and a Bridges Out of Poverty trainer.
West is currently chair of the board of directors of the American Indian Center of Arkansas and directs the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce youth leadership program. She has had extensive involvement with the Community Development Institute at the University of Central Arkansas as a student, class director, faculty member and advisory board member, and has written the Institute’s history.
She is past president of the North Little Rock School Board, past president of both the International Community Development Society and its Arkansas chapter, former chair of the Community Development Council, and the recipient of numerous awards for services to community organizations and public education, including the first Bill Miller Community Development Award recognizing her body of community development work in Arkansas.