Anna Lee Powell

age: 29 | Executive Director of UAHT Foundation & Institutional Advancement | University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana

In her role as Director of Institutional Advancement, Anna Lee Powell leads the Institutional Advancement Office in promoting and developing the U of A Hope-Texarkana brand, which includes managing the Marketing and Communications Department. “I utilize and establish public and private partnerships to continually develop our brand and increase services, opportunities, and programs in the Hope and Texarkana area. As the UAHT Foundation Director, I am responsible for scholarship generation and advancing opportunities for higher education,” Anna Lee explains. “It is important to me, as a first-generation college student, to help offer equal opportunity to higher education through private and public scholarships. Because of scholarships and a part-time job, I was able to graduate without student loans. Starting without student debt was the leg up I needed as a young graduate, and I hope to make this opportunity available to other students through my role in the UAHT Foundation.”
Anna Lee serves on several local boards, including the United Way of Hempstead County and Southwest Arkansas Arts Council. She is Vice President of the Hope-Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce, and an ex-officio of Hope Junior Auxiliary. She also recently completed the second of three years at the Community Development Institute.

Best piece of advice:

“WHEN I STAND BEFORE GOD AT THE END OF MY LIFE, I WOULD HOPE THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE A SINGLE BIT OF TALENT LEFT BUT COULD SAY I’VE USED EVERYTHING YOU GAVE ME.” – ERMA BOMBECK

Finding a steal deal or a really good bargain is what Anna Lee looks forward to when she is not working. When asked what her greatest personal achievement has been, Anna Lee answers, “Flipping a 30-year-old house with my husband, Colby, and my dad in only three months was a huge personal accomplishment for me.”

For now, Anna Lee’s focus is on promoting U of A Hope-Texarkana to those she meets and helping students achieve a quality higher education. For the future, she hopes to continue to enrich this community and region through volunteerism and engagement.

Name something about you that very few people know:

“In college, I was featured in the reality TV show ‘Not Your Ordinary Beauty Pageants’ on TLC about Festival Pageants across the United States.”