HIGH PROFILE: Easter Seals Arkansas CEO Elaine Eubank

A tenacious champion for the elderly, Elaine Eubank continues with a second career assisting the developmentally disabled.

“In my life, things don’t always work out the way I’d planned them, and that’s usually a good thing.” -Elaine Eubank
“In my life, things don’t always work out the way I’d planned them, and that’s usually a good thing.” -Elaine Eubank

If Elaine Eubank’s life had a theme, it might be “Life is unexpected.” As she says, “In my life, things don’t always work out the way I’d planned them, and that’s usually a good thing.”

That’s true in her personal and professional lives, where she always assumed she would be a social worker — and single.

That was until her early 30s, when she met fellow University of Arkansas at Little Rock alumnus Alfred Williams. Now, after 31 years of marriage, she says, “Alfred is the love of my life, and I can’t imagine living without him.”

And despite early plans to be a social worker, she quickly found herself steered into the administrative side of service, working for more than 20 years as the head of CareLink and, now, as chief executive officer for Easter Seals Arkansas.

Taking life’s unexpected twists and turns and adapting to follow along is a lesson she first learned from her maternal grandmother, Claire Knight.

“She was so resourceful,” Eubank says. “Her motto was ‘Life is what you make it.’”

The Knights were dairy farmers in North Little Rock who had to start over twice when they lost their farm to flood and then to fire before eventually losing the homestead to imminent domain during the construction of Interstate 30.

“They had been through so many hard times. I can’t imagine working as hard as they worked and having to start over again like they did,” Eubank says.

The tenacity and perseverance she learned from her grandmother has enabled her to be a tireless supporter of people who can’t stand up for themselves. And the very people she has helped — the elderly and people with disabilities — have reinforced those values of flexibility and determination.

Eubank grew up in North Little Rock and attended North Little Rock High School, where her interests were centered on music. “I was a very mediocre guitar and piano player. The thing I was better at — I used to sing a lot in choirs and ensembles, with friends, church groups.”

That church was Pike Avenue Baptist Church in North Little Rock and it was through that church that she first found an affinity for what would become her life’s work. When she was about 16, the church did a survey of residents at Silver City Courts, a housing project nearby, to see what services the church might provide to residents. “I don’t know if I did it all or just a lot or most of it, but it was a lengthy process,” Eubank says.

The experience opened her eyes.

“I had the opportunity to meet and visit with lots of people, and even though my family was not at all affluent, still, we had everything that we needed. It just exposed me to how fortunate I was and made me want to work for something I believed in and try to make a difference,” she recalls.

No one in Eubank’s family had attended college, but with the support of her parents, she went to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and earned a bachelor’s degree in social work.

It was her goal to become a hands-on social worker, and for the first few years after college, that’s just what she did. But then the state health department offered her the opportunity to train for and try working in an administrative capacity and she, unexpectedly, “kind of found my love there.”

She had never pictured herself in that role, since her focus was on service. As an administrator, she learned that, particularly in a small, interconnected state like Arkansas, she could do a lot of good and have a lot of impact. “For one person who’s really committed and tenacious, it’s a great chance to make a difference for people.”

MANY A MASTER

While some may find it too much of a challenge to work as director of an organization — answering to an ever-changing board of directors — Eubank sees it a different way. “It’s a really great opportunity to have a different boss every year,” she says.

In fact, she learned the constant turnover in boards and volunteer leaders is “one of the best parts of my job,” as the different people bring a variety of perspectives and talents to the table.

A large portion of her administrative career was spent as chief operating officer at CareLink, a nonprofit assistance program for the elderly. It provides respite care, a Meals on Wheels service, counseling, activities and other assistance programs for aging Arkansans over a six-county area from its base in North Little Rock.

After 22 years leading CareLink though, “I felt like I had done or tried to do everything I knew to do and felt like they needed somebody fresh,” Eubank says. Her intention had been to downsize, to go to a less-demanding job. But, once again, things didn’t work out the way she’d expected.

At the same time Eubank was preparing CareLink for the transition in leadership, another nonprofit was experiencing a major shift of its own. The longtime leader of Easter Seals, Sharon Moone-Jochums, had decided to retire.

Rick Fleetwood, who was on the CareLink and Easter Seals boards, and others asked Eubank if she would be interested in the position. Despite her plans to scale back, she agreed to take a look.

“I was totally seduced by how inspiring the people we serve are,” she says.

Easter Seals provides a long list of services to people with disabilities and their families. There are therapists, schools, job training programs, counseling services and dozens of other programs for people from newborns to the elderly. In some ways, it was the same sort of work she had already been doing, but for a much wider age range.

“Elaine knew she still had something to give,” Fleetwood says. “[She] still wanted to make a difference.”

And, he says, it’s a mission accomplished.

“It’s so hard to fill the shoes of someone who’s been there 26 years,” he says of Moone-Jochums. “Elaine jumped right in there. She took control. She corrected some things that needed to be corrected. We’ve been so blessed.”

To hear Eubank tell it, she has been blessed in return. After more than two decades of working primarily with senior citizens, she now gets the chance to help all ages. “Every morning, I walk through the preschool,” she says. “It’s really thrilling to see the extent to which the therapists and the special education teachers just change people’s lives. Just watching the kids progress from where they start to where they’re ready for public school is an amazing gift every day.”

THEY SHALL HAVE JOBS

Right now, her major focus is on creating and improving programs to help teenagers and young adults make that difficult transition from high school to adult life and to support them beyond. While life expectancy for many people with disabilities has grown, services have struggled to keep pace.

“Programs that used to be adequate for adults, that they were going to be in for maybe six or seven years, are totally inadequate now,” she says. So, Easter Seals is working to provide more opportunities and programs to carry its clients through adulthood. And one of the newest opportunities comes courtesy of a partnership with Eubank’s alma mater, UALR.

“We have a center that serves 150 adults a day,” she says. “Any time we go out there and do a focus group and say, ‘What would you like more of?’ They all yell, ‘Jobs!’ It’s what they want more than anything on earth but only about 30 percent of people with disabilities have jobs.”

Eubank had kept up her association with UALR, in part thanks to her husband, who at one time served as president of the alumni board.

UALR Vice Chancellor for Advancement Christian O’Neal has worked closely with Williams and Eubank over the years. He says: “Alfred is Elaine’s biggest fan and Elaine is Alfred’s biggest fan. When you have one involved, you typically have the other one involved.”

Eubank approached O’Neal about the possibility of starting a program, and he was quick to champion the idea on up the line.

“You have to respect that when Elaine brings something forward, it has been well thought-out,” O’Neal says. “It’s going to have definite impact and it’s going to benefit the community.”

This past school year marked the first for Academics, Community, Career Development and Employment — a two-semester program for adults with disabilities that works in conjunction with the university’s College of Education and Health Services. Easter Seals clients learn employment readiness skills through classes and on-campus jobs. While they’re in the program, Easter Seals clients are full-fledged UALR students.

“They can tell everybody that they’re going to college like their brother or sister,” Eubank says. “They’ve got full student privileges for ballgames and for hanging out on campus.” At the same time, UALR students serve as mentors and buddies for the Easter Seals students.

NEW TIMES, NEW

CHALLENGES

There are more programs in the works, such as a new transition program for high school students and a plan to increase home care for people with disabilities. They’re also taking over the Academy at Riverdale, a private school for kindergarten-12th grade that was founded by Lisenne and the late Winthrop P. Rockefeller.

Her role at Easter Seals leaves little time for volunteering but Eubank does stay involved with the UALR Alumni Association, which gave her its Distinguished Alumni Award last year. “That was really meaningful because of being the first person in my family to go to college,” she says.

Dempsey Bakery owner Paula Dempsey, Eubank’s childhood friend, says, “I think for what she does and the reason she’s so good at it is she is such a caring, compassionate person and an advocate for people who can’t speak for themselves.”

Despite Eubank’s busy schedule, she finds time to be outdoors or on the water, spending time with her husband and friends like Dempsey.

“She’s very humble,” Dempsey says. “She’s never looking for attention or for everybody to know what she does. She’s a lot of fun. She’s a happy person. When she comes in [to my bakery], we’re silly best friends.”

The last few months, Eubank has been faced with a more insidious life twist. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, a scare that, luckily, was not as dire as it could have been. “I was very fortunate in that it was detected really early,” she says. She dodged chemotherapy but had to undergo radiation. “That made my journey a lot easier than most people.”

After being officially released from the oncology surgeon earlier this month, she’s raring to get back to her work at Easter Seals. There is, however, some concern on her part for what the future holds.

“There’s never been a scarier time,” she says. “We are talking about so many different cuts. I don’t think people realize the magnitude of some of what’s being discussed.” It’s going to take working with state legislators and congressmen to carry the group’s mission forward.

Regardless of what happens politically and financially, Easter Seals Arkansas has a leader who will fight for her clients.

Says Fleetwood, “How she sees things, all things are possible. She never backs down from a challenge or a project. It can be done. Somehow, through magic or the grace of God, she gets it done.”

“Passion and perseverance,” Eubank adds. “I think that describes my idea about what I’ve given. I really care about the missions and really have worked tenaciously to try to make a difference.”

SELF PORTRAIT

Elaine Eubank

DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: July 25, 1953, Little Rock

FAMILY: husband Alfred Williams, children Heather and Grainger and three grandchildren

LEAST FAVORITE CHORE: It’s on my mind because I did it all weekend: cleaning the pollen off of outdoor spaces. It’s always so exciting to get everything all cleaned up for summer, but it’s a nasty job.

MENTOR: my grandmother, Claire Knight

HOBBIES: I like everything to do with being outside and being around water.

TALENT I WISH I HAD: I always wished I was a dancer.

WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I WANTED TO BE a dancer.

IN 10 YEARS, I’D LIKE TO BE learning lots of new things. Lots of traveling and having lots of new experiences.

ONE WORD TO SUM ME UP: advocate

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“One thing I’ve learned is that God takes care of nonprofits. When you need a resource, the resource appears.” - Elaine Eubank

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Elaine Eubank, chief executive officer of Easter Seals Arkansas, shares a laugh with an adult client at the Easter Seals Adult Training & Wellness Center.

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