Lori Griffin has thoroughly enjoyed making a difference for students over the last 28 years. She earned a Masters in Educational Leadership from Arkansas Tech University. She began her career teaching first grade in Alma and served as counselor for two years. She served as principal of Elgin B. Milton Primary in Ozark for 9 years, where the school was honored as the first Professional Learning Communities Model School in Arkansas.  In 2012 she was designated as an Arkansas Master Principal. She served as principal of Ballman Elementary in Fort Smith from 2013-2021, where they received the AR PLC Pilot Project Grant and was honored as a PLC Model School in February of 2020. She serves on the Arkansas Dept. of Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Southern Regional Education Board. In 2019, she received the Arkansas Educational Office Professionals Administrator of the Year Award and the Becky DuFour Scholarship Award. This year, she will begin a new adventure as the Fort Smith Public Schools Director of Elementary Education.