Grace Rains, Tiffany Henry join the Conductor in Conway

The Conductor, a public-private partnership between the University of Central Arkansas and Startup Junkie Consulting, announced that Grace Rains and Tiffany Henry will join its leadership team as the Director of Operations and Rural Director, respectively.

“The Director of Operations and the Rural Director are both pivotal additions to the Conductor team, and we are thrilled to expand our team with these two amazing thought leaders and visionaries,” said Kim Lane, the Executive Director of the Conductor. “In under three years, the Conductor has exponentially increased its footprint, its breadth of offerings and its impact. This expansion of our team marks another exciting milestone for the Conductor and the entrepreneurs we serve.”

Rains will guide the strategy and execution of Conductor and Makerspace events and programming, and will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Conductor. In her former role, Rains worked in business development and physician recruitment at Conway Regional Health System, where she served as a Physician Recruiter. Rains also has a background in marketing and event management.

Henry will lead the Conductor’s rural outreach strategy, where she will collaborate with entrepreneurs and stakeholders to expand the Conductor’s reach to its 11-county footprint, which includes Cleburne County, Conway County, Faulkner County, Johnson County, Logan County, Lonoke County, Pope County, Pulaski County, Van Buren County, White County, and Yell County.

Henry will pilot the Conductor’s programming in each area and manage the Conductor’s rural ecosystem development around the state. Prior to joining the Conductor, Henry oversaw the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute’s community and leadership development program, Uncommon Communities, which helps grow citizen leaders to be the positive changes they want to see in their communities. She is the former chair of the Economic Vitality Committee for Main Street Russellville and serves on the Steering Committee for Local Foods Local Places, a United States Environmental Protection Agency initiative that helps revitalize communities using local food systems.

“The growth of the Conductor is exciting for so many reasons,” Lane said. “We are creating new job opportunities in Central Arkansas, and in doing so, we are significantly expanding our potential to reach students, makers and entrepreneurs in new and innovative ways. This expansion will lead to an even stronger and more activated entrepreneurial and small business community in the region, and thus even more opportunities for job growth and economic empowerment. Our growth begets growth in very impactful ways.”