Forward Arkansas Welcomes Mindy Bowlin

Forward Arkansas has welcomed Mindy Bowlin to its team as a program fellow and consultant. With more than two decades in the education field, Bowlin will support school teams in the nonprofit’s LeARner Collective in scaling, sustaining and developing innovative solutions to improve student learning.

“As a long-time educator and former LeARner Collective participant, Mindy has a unique perspective on how to empower great teachers and leaders to reimagine learning,” said Ben Kutylo, president and CEO of Forward Arkansas. “Whether sharing best practices or offering counsel on stakeholder engagement, we know our partner schools will benefit from her creative thinking, collaboration and wisdom.”

Bowlin previously served as the principal and assistant principal of Pea Ridge Intermediate School. For nearly a decade, she was a classroom educator in the Pea Ridge School District, where she also served as a master teacher. A graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, Bowlin holds a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Arkansas Tech University. She earned her Ed.S. from Arkansas State University.

In May, Forward celebrated the culmination of Phase II of the LeARner Collective, a first-of-its-kind professional development initiative for Arkansas educators. During the 2024-2025 school year, school teams from eight districts in the Arkansas Delta and Northwest Arkansas benefited from personalized coaching, professional learning and cross-school collaboration. Phase II included two implementation pathways: continuation, grouped by focus area (targeted instruction, durable skills, positive behavior systems and teachers as leaders); and schoolwide transformation, a deeper, community-driven experience.