Crystal Walton
Ms. Walton holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Arkansas State University and is a Certified Public Manager (CPM). She started her career with the Department of Human Services (DHS) in January 2006. During her time with DHS, she has held positions with the Division of County Operations as program eligibility specialist, program eligibility supervisor, program coordinator, and county administrator. She also worked in the Division of Disability Services as DHS program administrator and currently works in the Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance as DHS division manager for the Office of Community Services (OCS). In addition to her professional work, she enjoys traveling, reading autobiographies, hot summer days outside with her family, listening to 90s music, and listening to motivational speakers, which enrich her viewpoint while keeping her fair and consistent.
Debora Inman
Ms. Inman received her bachelor's degree from Texas Wesleyan University. She earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas, Bowen School of Law, class of 2005. She began her legal career at the Pulaski County Prosecutor’s Office, serving as a deputy prosecutor for almost 8 years. After that, Ms. Inman's DHS career began in the Office of Chief Counsel, assigned to child welfare cases. She represented DCFS for several years until 2018, when she was asked to take on the role of forensics administrator. From 2018 to 2024, she oversaw the Forensics program for DHS. In 2024, she moved into her current role as an assistant director for aging.
Elizabeth Pitman
Ms. Pitman has a law degree from the University of Little Rock, Bowen School of Law, and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Bozeman College of Public Health. She has worked in and around health law and policy since graduating in 2009. Her experience includes serving as the deputy general counsel for the Arkansas Department of Health, as assistant director for the Division of Developmental Disabilities, and as the deputy director for DMS before taking over as director in 2021.
Janet Mann
Arkansas Department of Human Services Secretary Janet Mann has over 20 years of experience in healthcare and healthcare finance. Ms. Mann, who also serves as state Medicaid director, has worked in the public and private sectors for multiple states and clients, and previously served as the DHS deputy secretary for programs. She also served as division director for the agency's Division of Medical Services, overseeing the Medicaid operations before and during the beginning of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency until April 2021. She also served as DHS’s chief financial officer for a year in 2017. In addition, Ms. Mann was a deputy administrator for Medicaid in Mississippi during Governor Haley Barbour’s administration, 2006-2010. Ms. Mann has worked in the private sector, focusing on healthcare, and the public sector for several entities throughout her career, but most recently at Horne LLP in Ridgeland, Mississippi. While consulting, she worked closely with other states implementing public policies and programs in areas of program integrity, managed care, audit and compliance, and financial processes. Ms. Mann holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Alabama and is a Certified Public Accountant. Janet has been married to Doug for over 30 years and has two grown children, Sydney and Will.
Jay Hill
Mr. Hill serves as the director of the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services, overseeing programs that promote the health, safety, and independence of older Arkansans and adults with disabilities. His division also supports and funds mental health and substance abuse treatment across the state. Mr. Hill began working at DHS at the Arkansas Health Center in 2006, becoming its director in 2011. In 2017, he accepted his current position. Prior to joining DHS, Mr. Hill worked in management for several large private corporations and served as a special agent in the United States Secret Service. He is a 1994 graduate of the University of Central Arkansas with degrees in history and political science. Mr. Hill and his wife, Mandy, have four children.
Jennifer Brezee
Ms. Brezee is a director for the Department of Human Services (DHS), currently over the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS). DDS manages all DHS services for Arkansans with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (IDD), which include eligibility for the Community and Employment Support Waiver (CES Waiver) and the Autism Waiver, five Human Development Centers (HDCs), CES Waiver Provider certification, and several grant-funded programs. The DDS team also provides administrative support for the following Medicaid Programs, including Early Intervention Day Treatment (EIDT), Adult Developmental Day Treatment (ADDT) programs, Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), and habilitative services under PT/OT/Speech. Before joining DHS, Ms. Brezee held leadership positions in two of the existing four PASSEs. She had been working alongside Medicaid and DHS for 15 years before officially joining the DHS team in 2024. Ms. Brezee is a Licensed Certified Social Worker with the state of Arkansas.
Jonathan Bibb
Mr. Bibb is the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ social services administrator at the Division of Medical Services. His experience includes leading in the areas of public health, career and technical education, and serving people with disabilities. Mr. Bibb has been with DHS since May 2022.
Martina Smith
Ms. Smith serves as the director of the Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance. In this role, she oversees the Office of Long-Term Care, which regulates and surveys long-term care facilities; the Office of Community Services, which certifies and licenses assisted living facilities and other providers; and the Office of Performance and Engagement, which is comprised of the complaint, FOIA, and quality assurance units. Ms. Smith earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Arkansas State University. Martina has served DHS in additional capacities, including as dependency-neglect attorney, Adult Protective Services attorney, and privacy officer. Prior to coming to DHS, Martina worked for the Tennessee Department of Human Services as an administrative hearing official.
Melissa Weatherton
Ms. Weatherton received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Arkansas in 2001 and her law degree from the William H. Bowen School of Law in 2005. In October of that year, she began work at the Arkansas Department of Human Services as assistant deputy counsel handling child welfare and adult abuse and neglect cases. She has also served as deputy counsel, managing attorney, and assistant director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS). Since 2015, Ms. Weatherton has served as director of DDS and is responsible for oversight of Arkansas’s five Human Development Centers and community-based services to 70,000 clients annually. In addition, she oversees division-wide compliance, policy, and procedures and represents DDS as legislative liaison. She is dedicated to serving Arkansas families who have a loved one with a developmental or intellectual disability or delay and recognizes the importance of providing them with an array of service options.
Paula Stone
Ms. Stone is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 25 years of experience in the Behavioral Health field. She worked as a mental health therapist and directed community-based programs in Arkansas before leaving the state to work in Florida, California, and New Jersey. Her experience in several areas of the country, managing behavioral health clinics, and working for a managed care organization gave her an opportunity to experience varied systems and service structures. Ms. Stone joined the AR Department of Human Services (DHS) in 2009 and has served in various roles within the Division of Behavioral Health Services and the AR Medicaid program, leading projects for Children's System of Care, prevention, and recovery programs. Paula currently serves as the Director of the AR DHS Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, responsible for integrated service delivery across multiple funding streams, including AR Medicaid, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) block and discretionary grants, and the Arkansas State Hospital.
Sarah Schmidt-Spharler
Ms. Schmidt-Spharler serves as the deputy director of the Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance. Sarah has over 15 years of experience with home- and community-based waiver programs, direct service providers, and state government (both in Arkansas and Texas).
Shelley Ruth
Ms. Ruth is a healthcare quality and organizational leadership professional with over 20 years of experience in quality improvement, program management, and behavioral health inspections. As manager of outreach services at AFMC, she oversees multidisciplinary teams and ensures compliance with state and federal contracts. Ms. Ruth holds a master's degree in industrial-organizational psychology, a bachelor's degree in health administration, and is a Certified Dementia Practitioner. Her expertise spans healthcare quality, behavioral health inspections, and patient-centered medical home initiatives, where she has led large-scale provider inspections, quality reviews, and data validation processes that directly impact patient care outcomes. She is also an active member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the National Association for Healthcare Quality, the Golden Key International Honour Society, and the National Society of Leadership and Success. Her career reflects a strong foundation in both healthcare administration and organizational psychology.
Susan Morrow
Ms. Morrow serves as the OCS licensure and certification manager with the Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance. She has played a pivotal role in launching the Division’s enterprise licensing system. She has 20 years of experience working with DHS. This has included experience in investigations with the Division of Children and Family Services, inspecting and licensing programs with the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, and overseeing inspections and licensure/certification with the Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance.
Tabitha McNulty
Ms. McNulty is the deputy director of the PASSE and Medicaid Behavioral Health Services within the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health at the Department of Human Services. Prior to this position, Ms. McNulty was an attorney practicing within the child welfare arena. She spent approximately 10 years representing DHS as a trial and an appellate attorney across the state in dependency-neglect matters. She also spent almost 10 years representing parents on appeal in mostly termination of parental rights cases. Ms. McNulty grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas but graduated from Marion High School. She attended the University of Arkansas where she received a bachelor's degree in political science and minored in communications. Ms. McNulty graduated from the William H. Bowen School of Law with her law degree. She is married to Kelly McNulty and has three children: Max, Maggie, and Henry. When she is not working, her time is spent at all of her children’s various sporting events and volunteering in her community.
