I am a native Texan yet grew up in AR for the large majority of my childhood years until moving back to TX in my latter high school years. I attended Baylor University (B.A. - Psychology/Sociology) and University of Houston - Clear Lake (M.A. - Behavioral Science/Criminology). I have over 18 years of experience in the criminal justice system, 16 of which I served as a juvenile probation officer. I began my career in TX, then moved to Phoenix, AZ in the early 2000s where I worked for Maricopa County Juvenile Probation as a JPO Supervisor for several years. I was blessed with the opportunity to return to AR in 2016 so that I could be close to family. Prior to my current role at the University of Arkansas, I served as the Investigator for Washington County Office of the Public Defender. I began working at the University in the Fall 2022 in the role of Title IX/Equal Opportunity Investigator for the Office of Equal Opportunity, Compliance and Title IX.

I am most excited to serve on the Staff Senate as a way to not only expand my contribution to the University beyond my role as an Title IX/EO Investigator, but to utilize my knowledge and skills I have built throughout my career to look at various areas/situations objectively, fairly and advocate for the right's of every staff member here at the University of Arkansas.

My name is Kara Karstedt, I have worked for the university for six years. During my tenure, I have held roles in IT Services as the Executive Assistant to the CIO for the past year, from 2013 to 2019 in Business Services and the College of Engineering. As a member of the university’s staff, you are a member of the university team.

As an advocate for our staff, I would be proud to have the opportunity to serve and play an active role in positively influencing the quality of our campus community. Becoming a staff senate member would allow me to become a servant leader to our staff across campus, serve others, and help our university achieve its goal of employer of choice while meeting new peers with the same excitement and passion that I have for our staff members.

Hello! My name is Wayne Bell, and I currently serve as the Deputy Coordinator for the Office of Title IX. I have been involved with Staff Senate since 2001. In that time, we have had numerous challenges and opportunities. When I began my time with Staff Senate, we were still deep in Covid. However, since that period, we have had great success in advocating for an interim remote work policy and advocating for the Chancellor selection. We also successfully relocated the Staff Picnic to a more central location on campus.

Recently, in my role as chair of the Internal Affairs Committee, I have been influential in drafting the Resolution in support of our teammates who fear outsourcing. It is my strong belief that Staff Senate must support every single staff member at the University. I would ask for your vote to continue the work that I have done. I look forward to making sure that I advocate for you.