Administration
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An Arkansas native, Mr. Walker has a rich background in business and public service.  In addition to majoring in business at Philander Smith and the University of Arkansas - Little Rock, he has started and managed two successful businesses.

Mr. Walker began his public service when he was elected as a justice of the peace on the Pulaski County Quorum Court.

He then served eight years in the Arkansas House of Representatives and eight years in the state Senate.  He most recently served on the Arkansas Parole Board. 

Mr. Walker and his wife, Sharon, have one daughter, Alyson.

Mr. John L. Davidson is a native of Arkansas and joined the Department of Career Education in October 1999. He earned an Associate’s degree in Science from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, an Master of Arts degree  in Vocational Education and an Arkansas District and Building Administrator Certification from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Mr. Davidson's teaching career began in 1973 as an agriculture instructor for the Sheridan School District.  From 1975 to 1984, he was an agriculture and chemistry instructor for the Lead Hill School District, and later became principal.

Mr. Davidson also served as principal of Eureka Springs High School from 1984 to 1990 and moved in 1990 to Fayetteville, where he was Director of the Fayetteville High School West Campus Technical Center, considered a model program for meeting the diverse needs of high school students. 

Mr. Davidson presently serves as Board Chair of the National Partnership for Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security, and Board Chair of the Multi-state Academic and Vocational Curriculum Consortium. He is a board member of the National Career Academy Coalition, and a Commissioner on the Pygmalion Commission, and the Governors Commission for Alternative Education. Mr. Davidson also works with the Arkansas Department of Education serving as a member of the State Special Education Advisory committee, and the State Professional Development Cabinet.

Mr. Davidson and his wife, Carolyn a retired school counselor, have three adult children, Shawn, Richey, and Elizabeth, and three grandchildren.

Commissioner Robert P. Treviño was born in Warrington, Great Britain.  He holds a BA in political science from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and a master's in public administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. While in graduate school, he was the recipient of the Arkansas City Manager Association Scholarship and the LULAC National Education Scholarship. 

Mr. Treviño currently serves as the commissioner of the Arkansas Rehabilitation Services division of the Arkansas Department of Career Education. Before joining ARS  in October 2005, he served as the policy advisor for economic development to Gov. Mike Huckabee.  Mr. Treviño has also served as the city manager administrative coordinator for Little Rock.

Mr. Charlie Brown is a native of Arkansas and has been in the education field for 37 years.  He began his teaching career in the Cushman School District and later became principal of the high school and the Superintendent at the former Desha School District in Independence County.  Mr. Brown graduated from Arkansas College (now Lyon College) with majors in Business Administration and Social Studies.  He also holds a master's degree from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

Mr. Brown and his wife, Janie, have two children, Natasha and Patrick, and two granddaughters, Taylor and Tristan.

Ms. Deborah H. Germany, an Arkansas native,  joined the Department of Career Education in 1983. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in English in 1975 and a master of arts degree in American literature in 1977 from the University of Oklahoma. She also earned a master’s of applied psychology in 1999 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

During her tenure with the Department of Career Education, Ms. Germany has served twice as communications director, the position she now holds, and as organizational development manager. She has served as an adjunct English instructor in two-year colleges in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas and also worked in the financial aid office at the University of Oklahoma. Prior to moving home to Arkansas in 1983, she worked two years as a newspaper reporter in Shreveport, Louisiana.   

Ms. Germany has one son, Colin.

 

Mrs. Sandra Porter, originally from Missouri, joined the Department of Career Education as Program Manager for Business/Marketing Technology in June 2004.  She earned a B.S. Degree in General Business Education from Missouri Southern State University in 1979 and a Master of Education in Vocational Education from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1991.   

Mrs. Porter began her 25-year teaching career in 1979 as a business instructor in Carl Junction, Missouri.  After moving to Arkansas in 1985, she served as Director of Students at the Draughon's School of Business in Little Rock for two years.  In 1987, she was a business instructor at McClellan High School in Little Rock.  From 1989 to 2004, she taught business at Bryant High School.

Mrs. Porter and her husband, Mike, have three daughters, Denise, Sheri and Cathie.

 

Mrs. Sonja Wright-McMurray was born in Goldsboro, NC.  She became an Arkansan after her father’s retirement from the United States Air Force in 1984.  Mrs. Wright-McMurray joined the Department of Career Education as Associate Director for Arkansas Works in October 2009.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.  Mrs. Wright-McMurray also earned a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from Drake University.

Mrs. Wright-McMurray began her career as a Career Instructor with the Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) program at the University of Arkansas in 1996.  After completing her Master’s degree from the University of Arkansas, she began working at the University of Central Arkansas as a Project Coordinator for Career Services and Cooperative Education in 2001.  

In 2002, Mrs. Wright-McMurray moved to Des Moines, IA where she was employed by Simpson College as an Academic Advisor for Upward Bound.  In 2004, she was promoted to Director of Simpson College Upward Bound.  Mrs. Wright-McMurray returned to Arkansas in 2007 to accept a position at the University of Central Arkansas as Director of Minority Student Services.

Mrs. Wright-McMurray and her husband, Julian, have one son, Jace.

 

Ms. Pamela Ligon Harris is responsible for the agency’s Human Resources and Staff Development functions.  A native of Chicago, Illinois, Ms. Harris earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Administration from Chicago State University.  Since relocating to the Little Rock area, she has served as business director for then-Secretary of State Sharon Priest and as Training and Human Resources Manager for the federal bankruptcy court.

Ms. Harris joined the agency in her current position in September 2007.  She is responsible for recruitment and hiring activities, payroll processing, benefits administration, employee relations, record keeping and reporting, and staff training.  Ms. Harris is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management.