Forty Under 40: Erin Turner Hogue

As senior manager of the Walmart Foundation’s NWA Giving program, Erin Turner Hogue puts her years of experience in fundraising to work on the other side of the equation.

Before, Hogue focused on bringing people together and meeting needs directly, but the potential for long-term impact is what drew her to the foundation, she said.

“Now, I’m doing that same type of connecting. I’m a strategic partner on the other side,” tasked with “understanding the community’s needs and connecting that to our corporate and philanthropic goals,” Hogue said.

“The greatest thing about what I do is I get to go into these organizations that are doing really tough work, day in and day out. I get a glimpse into their world and play a small role in achieving their mission, meeting that need or closing that gap,” she said.

Hogue has been with the Walmart Foundation a little more than a year.

Before that, she was director of development at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville for two years. From 2007 to 2014, she worked in fundraising at the University of Arkansas, first for the College of Education and Health Professions and later for the Office of Student Affairs.

After earning a degree in political science/history from Ouachita Baptist in 2004, the Arkadelphia native moved to Washington, D.C.

There, she was state legislative assistant for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, earned a master’s in public affairs from George Washington University and worked as executive assistant to Congressman Mike Ross. She then returned to Arkansas and worked on his re-election campaign.

Hogue teaches a night class in history at the UA and recently earned her Ph.D. in the subject.