Advisory Board Member
Kandi Hughes
Kandi Hughes, Vice-Chair for the Central Arkansas Water Board of Commissioners, has served as an attorney for Southwest Power Pool’s Corporate and Legal Markets and Regulatory Policy departments since 2016. Prior to joining Southwest Power Pool, Kandi served as the Associate General Counsel at the University of Central Arkansas and as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Little Rock. Kandi, a former intern with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington, D.C., received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy Studies with a concentration in Health Policy from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s William H. Bowen School of Law and her Master of Business Administration at the University of Central Arkansas. Currently, Kandi is pursuing an LLM in Energy and Natural Resources from the University of Oklahoma’s College of Law.
Kandi’s professional affiliations include membership in the Arkansas Bar Association where she is a former member of the Governance Committee, the Arkansas Bar Commission on Diversity and a member of the Class of 2015 Leadership Academy. Kandi is also a member of the American Bar Association, the American Water Works Association, the National Black MBA Association, the Pulaski County Bar Association, William R. Overton Inn of Court, Corporate Counsel Women of Color, and Arkansas Women in Power.
Kandi’s civic affiliations include membership on the Duke University Alumni Admissions Advisory Committee, the Junior League of Little Rock, where she received the New Member of the Year Award in 2015, a parent volunteer with the Girls Scouts of America, legal counsel for the PEARLS Foundation, and a member of the Greater Little Rock Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Commissioner Hughes has been an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated for over 16 years and is the current president of the Chi Eta Omega chapter.
In addition to serving on the CAW Board of Commissioners, Kandi’s public service includes being a former member of the Little Rock School District Community Advisory Board and a former board member of the Arkansas Foodbank.
Kandi is a member of the Tendaji Community Development Corporation Board of Directors. She is a proud graduate of the Little Rock Regional Chamber’s Leadership Greater Little Rock Class XXXI and a member of Saint Mark Baptist Church, where she is a member of the Personnel Committee and volunteers within the Legal Group.
Kandi was recently recognized in Arkansas Business’ Arkansas 200, a group of Arkansans who influence the way we live, learn, and do business in the state of Arkansas. She is also the 2018 recipient of the Irma Hunter Brown Women’s Leadership Award given by the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus.