Senator Linda Pondexter Chesterfield

Linda Pondexter Chesterfield has devoted her life to education, public service, and the pursuit of justice. Born on September 13, 1947, in Hope, Arkansas, she was raised by her mother, Earnestine Pondexter, whose resilience and sacrifice left an indelible mark. She also drew strength from her grandmother, Ophelia Logan, who worked in the fields before becoming an elementary school cafeteria manager and, at the age of 63, a certified nursing assistant. Working alongside her grandmother in the fields as a child instilled in Chesterfield the determination and sense of purpose that would define her life.

A 1965 honors graduate of Henry Clay Yerger High School, Chesterfield was among the nation’s first National Achievement finalists. That same year, she was recruited to Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, where she and fellow student Emily Johnson of Little Rock helped to desegregate the campus. In 1969, she became Hendrix’s first African American graduate, earning a degree in history and political science. She later received a master’s degree from Ouachita Baptist University and pursued additional studies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Central Arkansas.

Chesterfield began her teaching career at Little Rock’s Hall High School, where she introduced the school’s first Black History Month observance. She later joined the Pulaski County Special School District, and over the course of thirty years in the classroom, she became a trailblazer in education leadership: the first African American woman elected president of both the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Arkansas Education Association, and the only Arkansan ever elected to the nine-member National Education Association Executive Committee. She also made history as the first teacher-member of the Little Rock School Board, where she served two terms as president.

Her commitment to service extended naturally into public office. In 2003, Chesterfield was elected to the ArkansasHouse of Representatives, serving three terms. She chaired key committees on K–12 education, aging, children and youth, and legislative affairs, and co-sponsored the legislation establishing Juneteenth as a state holiday. In 2010, she was elected to the Arkansas Senate, where she served four terms. Her leadership included chairing the Transportation, Technology, and Legislative Affairs Committee; sponsoring the two-cent sales tax that funded vital road and bridge improvements; and advancing salary equalization for Senate staff as chair of the Efficiency Committee. She twice served as Assistant President Pro Tempore of the Senate, each time appointed by Republican leaders, and also led the Arkansas Legislative Council Policy Committee with bipartisan support.

While she takes pride in her legislative achievements, Chesterfield considers her most enduring accomplishment to be her decades as an educator, shaping the lives of generations of Arkansas students. She and her husband, Emry, are the proud parents of six children and the grandparents of 14. Chesterfield lives guided by a simple mantra that reflects the heart of her journey: “I’m just trying to matter.”