Board of Directors

U.S. Senator Mark Pryor, Honorary Board Member

On January 7, 2003, Mark Lunsford Pryor was sworn in as Arkansas’ 33rd senator.  Since arriving in Washington, Pryor has worked with both Democrats and Republicans to put partisan differences aside and pass meaningful legislation for our nation. During the 109th Congress Pryor joined thirteen of his colleagues, 7 Democrats and 7 Republicans, and formed the “Gang of Fourteen.” This bipartisan group worked to neutralize a political meltdown in the U.S. Senate. These efforts have resulted in building the types of relationships necessary to be an effective legislator in the Senate.

Senator Pryor is one of the few Senators to serve on six committees. As a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee he is working to prepare Arkansas to meet the transportation, technology and communications challenges we will face in the 21st century.

Pryor continues to serve on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee where he works with the Department of Homeland Security to protect the nation from the threat of domestic terrorism. He also fights to ensure that local governments, especially in rural America, are given the training and resources they need to keep their communities safe.

As a member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Senator Pryor proudly promotes the interests of those enterprises he calls “Arkansas’ economic backbone.” He has worked to bolster minority business ownership, increase investment in rural areas and ensure that those who live on Main Street share in the financial successes of Wall Street.

In addition, Pryor serves on the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Ethics Committee.

Pryor was first elected to public office in 1990 as a member of the Arkansas State House of Representatives. In 1998 he was elected Arkansas’ Attorney General, making him the youngest chief law-enforcement officer in the nation. Pryor proved early on in his career that people matter more to him than politics. He worked with and listened to all interests to help make Arkansas a better place to live, work and raise a family. Pryor worked with Democrats and Republicans to toughen laws against drunk drivers, enact legislation to protect children on the Internet, prohibit unwanted telemarketing calls, and helped put in place the Morgan Nick Alert System, which helps to locate missing and exploited children.

Pryor was born in Fayetteville on January 10, 1963 and grew up in both Arkansas and the Washington D.C. area. He received a B.A. in History and his law degree from the University of Arkansas and worked in private legal practice for over ten years. He and his wife, Jill, have a son and a daughter, Adams and Porter.

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