Senator Linda Chesterfield represented the citizens of Pulaski county for 20 years, as a senator representing Little Rock and North Little Rock for 14 years and as a representative for six years. She was elected to the Senate in November 2010 and sworn in January 2011.
She was a tireless advocate for public schools and teachers. As a senator she rose to become vice chair of the Senate Education Committee and Minority Whip.
“Education and economic growth are inextricably intertwined as we move forward in Arkansas to reach our full potential as a state,” she once said.
Senator Chesterfield sponsored legislation for a tax exemption for single parents with two or more children; to expand Pulaski Technical College and for other two-year colleges; and to establish funding of Historic Black Colleges and Universities. She is as strong supporter of women’s health, improved maternal health and expanded access to medical care in under-served areas.
When legislators created new agencies or commissions, she made sure that its membership represented a diversity of cultural backgrounds.
Senator Chesterfield is a retired teacher with more than 30 years of classroom experience teaching 7th, 8th and 9th graders. She is a past president of the Little Rock School Board and the Pulaski County Association of Classroom Teachers. She also served two terms as president of the Arkansas Education Association.
As a board member of the National Education Association, she is the only Arkansan to have been elected to its Executive Committee.
Senator Chesterfield was the first African-American graduate of Hendrix College, and went on to earn her M.S.E. from Ouachita Baptist. She was awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters from Shorter College and Philander Smith College, and also has received the Legacy Award from the American Association of University Women.
A native of Hope, Arkansas, she and her husband Emry are members of the First Missionary Baptist Church of Little Rock, where she serves as chair of the Mission Society and is a member of the Deaconess Board.
