Samantha Black Menley was recently named the new Community Coordinator for the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church 200,000 More Reasons initiative. She is a recent graduate of the Clinton School of Public Service, where she received her Masters in Public Service.
Samantha’s experience includes an internship with Heifer International where she helped create and facilitate a discussion around food insecurity for the 40 Under 40 Forum at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute. She completed her Capstone with 200K More Reasons this past spring.
Samantha received her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, where she was active in the A-State Wesley Foundation serving in a variety of roles including a year-long stint as Assistant Director. She was a founding student volunteer for the Bread of Life Mobile Food Pantry.
“I am so excited to accept the role as Community Coordinator for 200K More Reasons! I am thankful for the opportunity to connect with churches across the Conference and see first-hand the variety of ways congregations are answering the call of 200K More Reasons. I believe this position fulfills my calling as a public servant and a United Methodist. There’s nothing better than the United Methodist connection and I am looking forward to expanding my network to new friends and colleagues around Arkansas,” shared Menley.
“My goal for this position is to equip churches with the resources and connections to expand their ministries to go beyond feeding and include literacy and family stability aspects. I am looking forward to walking alongside churches as they discover the best ways to further spread God’s love in their communities,” she added.
Samantha is a cradle United Methodist and grew up in Fort Smith and is still a member of Cavanaugh UMC, where she stays active with their online worship and ministries.