Our Staff
Billie Jean, Executive Director
BJ Woods brings an array of knowledge, skills and experiences to her role at The Village Place. Billie earned her Juris Doctorate degree from Saint Louis University School of Law and her Master of Public Service degree from the University of Arkansas, Clinton School of Public Service. In an effort to stay abreast of issues affecting the nonprofit sector and to sharpen her nonprofit management skills, she is currently enrolled in a Nonprofit Certification Program through Johns Hopkins University. Billie is committed to ensuring that TVP is poised to innovate, compete, appropriately scale and succeed.
Board of Directors
Naomi Cottoms, Board President
Ms. Naomi Cottoms is Executive Director of Tri-County Rural Health, which serves communities in Arkansas’ Phillips, Monroe, and Lee counties through programs that address health care, affordable housing, racial disparities, and community empowerment. TCRHN connects rural communities to health care, saving thousands time, money and resources, and employing more than 30 people. Under Naomi’s leadership, TCRHN, which started with three counties in Arkansas, expanded to 15 counties. Naomi has been the Executive Director for over 20 years and has extensive knowledge and experience working with various underserved populations in Arkansas.
Dr. Billy Thomas, Board VP
Dr. Billy R. Thomas M.D., M.P.H., is the former and first Medical Director of the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center. He is a Professor of Neonatology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and former Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion in the Center for Diversity Affairs (CDA). Dr. Thomas earned his Medical Degree at UAMS in 1980. He completed his internship and residency training in Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences/Arkansas Children’s Hospital. He subsequently completed a fellowship in Neonatal/Perinatal medicine at Case Western Reserve/Metropolitan General Hospital and later received a Master’s in Public Health from the Tulane School of Public Health. In addition to his clinical responsibilities he teaches and mentors students, residents and junior faculty. His primary goal of increasing institutional diversity through the recruitment and retention of minority and underserved students and faculty.
Dr. William Schafer, Board Treasurer
Dr. Stephen Schaefer is the former Executive Director of Development for Corporations and Foundations in the Office of Institutional Advancement and Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Schafer has over twenty years of experience in senior level organizational advancement leadership. He has gained expertise in strategic planning, fund-raising, comprehensive campaign design & management and insight into all aspects of nonprofit institutional development, public and private. Dr. Schafer has served as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, as a member of the Board of Trustees of Bethune Cookman University, Daytona Beach, Florida, where he chaired the Board Development Committee and later served as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Bethune Cookman University. He also was the founding Director of Development in the Office of Development for the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension, in Little Rock.
Ms. Sarah Facen, Advisory Board- Community Organizing Strategist
Ms. Sarah Facen is an actively involved parent, adopted mother, grandmother, foster grandmother, and advocate. Her role in the lives of many children has encouraged involvement wherever she believes a difference could be made to assure that our community becomes a better place for our children. She has served in the Little Rock Community and the Little Rock School District as a community organizer, public school volunteer, and officer in the Parent Teacher Association. She has been a member of several community groups in Little Rock and has served extensively as an advocate in the LGBTQ community. She has also implemented several programs that deliver services to people living with HIV/AIDS and provide HIV/AIDA education. Recently, she has served as a community advisor for the Translational Research and Medical Clinics North and South at UAMS.
Tamaya Walker-McClendon, Advisory Board
Mrs. Tamaya Walker-McClendon is the Founder and President of Sisters and Suitcases, an international social travel network that creates travel experiences globally. Tamaya has mastered the art of curating responsible travel experiences by collaborating and working with local vendors so that the dollars spent go directly to locals. She has traveled to thirteen countries and used her communication, networking, and strategic planning skills to cultivate relationships, create worldwide brand visibility, forge partnerships and provide unique travel experiences for her clients. Prior to starting Sisters and Suitcases, Tamaya worked as a professional educator for sixteen years in various areas of education, ranging from Early Childhood Education to Higher Education. She worked as a regional coordinator for Arkansas State University and managed and developed staff. Tamaya has been recognized as an innovator and community change-agent.
