Governor Sanders Announces Personnel Changes

Josh Stewart currently serves as a policy advisor for Governor Sanders where he works on issues including tourism, outdoor recreation, administrative rulemaking, and technology. Some of Stewart's major policy accomplishments have been the state's acquisition of Blanchard Springs and the issuance of Arkansas' first statewide rules around AI usage in state government.

Stewart was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Josh graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2021 with a degree in Criminology and graduated from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Bowen School of Law in 2024.

Zach Jacobs currently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Arkansas Department of Education in Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' administration, where he works at the intersection of education policy, executive leadership, and external and intergovernmental affairs.

Previously, Jacobs was Deputy Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia under Governor Glenn Youngkin, helping advance statewide education priorities and operational strategy. His background also includes leading state and federal government relations for the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and serving on Capitol Hill as a Senior Legislative Assistant focused on appropriations, agriculture, education, energy, and national security policy. He began his career at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Office of Congressional Relations under Secretary Sonny Perdue.

A native of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and a proud first-generation college graduate, Jacobs earned a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management and National Security and Foreign Affairs from Virginia Tech and a Master of Arts in Strategic Communications from Liberty University.

Heather Patterson currently serves as the Governor's Director of Advance & Coalitions. Previously, she worked as Connection Director for Fellowship Bible Church, where she was responsible for the weekly coordination and management of hundreds of volunteers, and executed events that included up to 6,000 individuals. She is an Arkansas native and grew up in Northeast Arkansas. She graduated from Arkansas State University in 2011 and Liberty University in 2017. She and her husband now live in Little Rock with their three daughters.