Dr. Joyvin Benton is a social justice champion committed to creating equitable spaces. Her passion for justice ignited in sixth grade when she and her twin sister organized a petition and led a sit-in to protest girls being excluded from playing basketball at recess. This formative moment set the tone for her career in advocacy and equity-building.
Currently, Dr. Benton serves as a Program Officer for the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation, supporting underserved communities across South Arkansas and the Arkansas Delta. In this role, she connects organizations with critical resources and is dedicated to increasing state and national funding for communities often overlooked in philanthropic efforts. She works to build the capacity of these organizations and leverages her relationships to connect them with new funding opportunities.
Dr. Benton earned her Ph.D. from Rutgers University, specializing in systems and education policy. While at Rutgers, she honed her evaluation expertise by assessing local, state, and national programs. She believes robust evaluation and research are key to building strong organizational infrastructure, a philosophy she applies in her work with local nonprofits to strengthen their evaluation frameworks.
Her introduction to the nonprofit sector began as Development Director at the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, where she led fundraising efforts from grassroots donations to securing large grants. She further refined her nonprofit leadership skills as Director of Operations for the W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute at Princeton University, where she managed operational strategies and supported the institute’s mission of empowering scholars.
Dr. Benton’s leadership has been widely recognized. In 2017, the Little Rock Young Nonprofit Professionals Network named her among the Top 20 Emerging Nonprofit Leaders. In 2018, she was one of only twelve professionals nationwide selected for the Independent Sector Next Generation Fellowship, deepening her insights into the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. The following year, she participated in the American Express Leadership Academy Global Summit, where she connected with leaders from around the world. In 2020, she completed Leadership Arkansas, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the state’s economic and political landscape.
Above all, Dr. Benton finds her greatest joy in spending time with her husband and their vibrant four-year-old twin daughters, who inspire her commitment to building a more just and equitable future.