Chrissy Chatham is the Executive Director Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation. Since joining the grantmaking Foundation, she has navigated the philanthropic side of the equation bringing in her extensive career history serving in leadership positions of charitable nonprofit organizations. Chrissy has created a strategic roadmap that focuses on empowerment and knowledge, equitable access to oral healthcare, and systemic change and advancement. Her ability to quickly learn the oral health landscape together with her knowledge and understanding of nonprofit grant awards has led to transformational change in the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation.
Chrissy worked for charitable nonprofits for 20 years and has served in leadership positions since 2007. Chrissy spent the majority of her career working with human services missions helping children and teens with a focus on mental health, mentorship, and advancing education.
Chrissy’s professional fundraising career began as Special Events Coordinator at Youth Home, Inc., a psychiatric residential treatment facility for Arkansas youth and outpatient clinic for all. Since then, Chrissy served as Director of Major Gifts at Hendrix College, where she was responsible for 9 states and the eastern half of Arkansas. Following her time at Hendrix, she was named Development Director at Arkansas Respiratory Health Association for a brief period before the organization closed. Chrissy ultimately returned to Youth Home as Chief Marketing & Development Officer.
In her final charitable nonprofit role prior to joining Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation, Chrissy served as Chief Executive Officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas. In this role Chrissy brought the organization into national compliance, worked with staff to create key performance indicators, and restructured the organization after an unforeseen significant loss of funding.
Chrissy earned her MBA at UA Little Rock and Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hendrix College. She is a member of Leadership Greater Little Rock, Class 26 and served as chair of the Education Initiative Committee of the LGLR Alumni board. Chrissy is currently a board member for the Little Rock Diamond Foundation and serves on the City of Little Rock Commission for Children, Youth and Families. She has previously served on the board of directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Arkansas Chapter, Arkansas Chapter of the American Childhood Cancer Organization of America, and Leadership Greater Little Rock.
Chrissy and her husband, Jeremy, live in Little Rock, AR with their new rescue puppy, a standard poodle named Theo.
