Beth Anne Rankin, Ed.D.
A native of Magnolia, Arkansas, Dr. Beth Anne Rankin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ouachita Baptist University with a double major in music and history and was selected as OBU’s Outstanding Senior Woman. Dr. Rankin went on to obtain a Master of Public Administration degree from Southern Arkansas University. After earning a doctorate in Leadership and Learning in Organizations from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education, Dr. Rankin was appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson to serve on the Arkansas State Board of Education.
Following her year of service as Miss Arkansas 1994, Beth Anne served as Governor Mike Huckabee’s policy advisor for the National Governors Association, Southern Governors Association, Council of State Governments, Capitol Hill and the White House. She coordinated the Governor’s Summit on Economic Development, served on both the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission and Arkansas Election Reform Study Commission, and collaborated with the U.S. Mint to chair the statewide initiative for the historical design of the Arkansas State Quarter, which led the nation in citizen participation.
As an entrepreneur and small business owner, Dr. Rankin was a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM), K12 music classroom teacher, composer, speaker, & radio co-host. She has been a featured guest on Fox Business Channel’s “Dave Asman Show” as well as “Huckabee.” As a former Associate Director of Development at Southern Arkansas University and Executive Director of the Arkansas 529 College Savings Plans, Dr. Rankin combined her love for education, financial literacy, and institutional advancement.
As an organizational consultant, Dr. Rankin incorporates the components of Improvement Science and partners with organizations to provide customized, data-driven, and client-centered expertise for strategic planning, program evaluation, organizational design, and leadership coaching.
As a volunteer, Dr. Rankin is Past President of Magnolia Arts where she serves as Musical Director, is currently Vice-President of P.E.O., a women’s philanthropic education organization, and is active on the Central Baptist Church music team, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, and teacher of the church’s Sunday School TV broadcast class.