Women’s Foundation of Arkansas announces 2025 Power of the Purse honorees

The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas (WFA) announced Monday (March 31) its 2025 Power of the Purse honorees and event co-chairs. The 27th annual luncheon will take place at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

Power of the Purse is WFA’s signature fundraising event, honoring Arkansas women whose leadership is opening doors and setting the pace for progress. The foundation was created in 1998 by 100 Arkansas women who broke barriers.

This year’s honorees include:

Woman of the Year in Business – Elizabeth Burns Anderson is senior vice president of Farmers Bank & Trust and executive director of the Farmers Bank Foundation. A fifth-generation banker and Magnolia native, she is a champion for rural development, education and public service. She serves on the boards of the Arkansas Community Foundation, The CALL and the Arkansas State Police Foundation, where she is board president. She also leads the Lonoke School Board and was recently appointed to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Board’s Little Rock Branch.

Woman of the Year in Public Service – Gayatri Agnew is senior director and head of the Accessibility Center of Excellence at Walmart, where she leads efforts to build a culture of disability inclusion. She also serves on the Bentonville City Council, focusing on growth, infrastructure and access to opportunity. A former state legislative candidate and advocate for working families, Agnew blends corporate and civic leadership to create meaningful change.

Woman of the Year in Philanthropy – Dr. Sherece West-Scantlebury is a respected philanthropic leader known for her commitment to expanding opportunity and building a more prosperous future for all. From her early work as a housing advocate in New York City to leadership roles at major foundations across the Southeast, she has spent her career championing lasting solutions to some of the country’s most pressing challenges. Before joining the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, she served as the founding CEO of the Foundation for Louisiana and held leadership roles at the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The 2025 event will be co-chaired by two former Miss Arkansas titleholders whose service continues to shape their careers and communities:

Cori Keller is a physician liaison with Baptist Health and a doctorate of healthcare administration student at Oklahoma State University. A native of Stuttgart, she placed in the top 10 at Miss America and now advocates for heart health through her work with the American Heart Association.

Ebony Mitchell is director of external affairs for the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association. She served as Miss Arkansas 2022 and has spent nearly a decade raising awareness about online safety for children and educators. Mitchell also serves on the Arkansas 250 Commission and remains a leading voice for public service and advocacy.

“Our 2025 honorees and co-chairs reflect the progress we’ve made and the future we’re building,” said Anna Beth Gorman, CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas. “They are leading in ways that create lasting change — not just for themselves, but for the women and girls coming next. For more than 25 years, we’ve believed in the power of being first, and in the responsibility to ensure no one is the last.”

To learn more about sponsorships, tables or tickets, visit womensfoundationarkansas.org/power-of-the-purse.

Founded in 1998, the mission of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas (WFA) is to ensure economic security for Arkansas women and girls through collaboration and focused philanthropic investment. Through grant making, research, and the Girls of Promise and Women Empowered initiatives, the WFA is investing in solutions that allow women and girls to move up the economic ladder and reach their fullest potential.

The WFA is the only statewide foundation that focuses solely on women and girls in Arkansas.