Professional Staff
The Little Rock Regional Chamber's 16-member management team possesses the second highest percentage of Certified Chamber Executives (CCE) of any Chamber in the nation.
In addition to his service on the United States Chamber of Commerce's Committee of 100, Jay Chesshir, CCE (President & CEO) is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) Executive Committee and Board of Directors.
In its 25th anniversary issue, Arkansas Business named him one of Arkansas's "25 for the Future." For their economic development accomplishments on behalf of the region, Southern Business & Development magazine named Chesshir and Joey Dean (Vice President, Economic Development; Executive Director, Metro Little Rock Alliance) among the "Top Ten People in the South Who Made a Difference."
Judy Knod's (Director, Administration) 25 years of service in the profession (all at the Little Rock Regional Chamber) were honored at the 2008 ACCE convention in Pittsburgh.
The Chamber staff has four graduates of the Institute for Organization Management (IOM) - Jay Chesshir, Judy Knod, Gary Newton and Kathy Perez Hester (Manager, Member Development) - and four graduates of the University of Oklahoma /Economic Development Institute (OU/EDI) - Jay Chesshir, Joey Dean, Kristi Barr (Director, Business Retention & Expansion) and Gary Newton - giving it one of the highest percentages of Institute and Economic Development Institute graduates of any Chamber in the nation.
Newton is also a member of the Association of Film Commissioners International.
For more information, Jay Chesshir, CCE (President & CEO), 501.377.6002.
Jay Chesshir, CCE* **
President & CEO
501.377.6002
Gary Newton, CCE* **
Executive Vice President
501.377.6007
Joey Dean**
Vice President, Economic Development;
Executive Director, Metro Little Rock Alliance
501.377.6006
Will Whiting
Vice President, Advocacy
501.377.6005
Todd Mills
Vice President, Media & Information Technology
501.377.6003
Judy Knod*
Director, Administration
501.377.6004
Janie Wayne
Director, Finance
501.377.6009
Kristi Barr**
Director, Business Retention & Expansion
501.377.6017
Kathy Perez Hester*
Manager, Member Development
501.377.6016
Carmen Parks
Manager, Small Business & Diversity
501.377.6013
Mollie Merry Campbell
Manager, Talent Development
501.377.6014
Melinda Carelock
Manager, Sponsor Development
501.377.6010
Amy Longo
Receptionist (1st Floor)
501.377.6028
Susan Miller
Receptionist (2nd Floor)
501.374.2001
Amy Britt
Member Recruiter
501.377.6022
CCE, Certified Chamber Executive
*Graduate, Institute for Organization Management
**Graduate, University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute