Staff

Brandy Osmus

Executive Director

Amanda Apple

Development Director

Amber Lacewell

Community Engagement and Education Director

Ashley Washington

Accounting & Finance Manager

Tawnya Klingman

Shelter Manager

Rachael Schmidt

Programs Manager

Travis Baker

Thrift Store Manager

Executive Director

Brandy Osmus

brandy@nwaws.org

Brandy came to the NWAWS after spending over 15 years at Walmart. She leads with passion, intelligence, and wisdom. Brandy frequently uses the phrase “We are better together,” and she values collaboration with partner organizations to ensure our clients are receiving the best care and service.

Development Director

Amanda Apple

amanda@nwaws.org

Amanda joined the NWAWS team in March 2023. She loves being able to share the NWAWS story with supporters in the community and get individuals and organizations engaged in supporting survivors of abuse. Amanda shares, “The opportunity to give back to an organization that helped me and my son over two decades ago is an incredible privilege. I can never quite adequately articulate how incredibly grateful I am to have had the support that I did that I can’t think of a better way to give back by assisting others on their journey than raising funds and awareness throughout NWA.” In her free time, Amanda loves to read and listen to audiobooks, catch up on her favorite shows, and foster raccoons. Yes, you read that right.

Community Engagement and Education Director

Amber Lacewell

alacewell@nwaws.org

Hello, my name is Amber, and I first started working at the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter in 2012. I started as a bilingual advocate and have transitioned positions and landed where I am now. My favorite thing about the NWAWS is our awesome team and our amazing clients whose stories add fuel to my fire every day. In my free time, I like to get crafty with DIY projects, I enjoy cooking, and I love to spend time outdoors. My three kids also keep me pretty busy. Thank you for being invested in our work!

Accounting & Finance Manager

Ashley Washington

ashley@nwaws.org

Ashley is originally from Fort Smith, AR and has lived in the NWA area for 8 years. She loves being a mom to three children. She graduated from John Brown University in 2014 and comes to NWAWS with 15+ years in finance, non-profit, county, & federal experience. She looks forward to bringing her experience along with an eagerness to learn and all the smiles to NWAWS.

Shelter Manager

Tawnya Klingman

tklingman@nwaws.org

Tawnya has worked for the NWAWS for over 5 years, starting out as an advocate. She always lends a listening ear, helps clients and other staff members with problem solving, and is dedicated to seeing the individuals who come to us for shelter succeed.

Programs Manager

Rachael Schmidt

rschimdt@nwaws.org

With over 11 years of experience, Rachael is creative in how she serves our clients and brings them fun and joy through classes, movie nights, excursions to NWA’s many attractions, and so much more. As a former Children’s Advocate at the NWAWS, Rachael still interacts with the kids in shelter and supervises our current Children’s Advocate and Family Advocate.

Thrift Store Manager

Travis Baker

travis@nwaws.org

Travis has been around thrifting his whole life and has a family connection to the NWAWS Thrift Store—his aunt used to work at the store and Travis spent a lot of his youth helping out as well. He joined the team in early 2022 and is passionate about Loving People no matter what and Encouraging others to do the same. When not working at the store, you can find Travis spending quality time with his loved ones or maybe taking a nap dreaming of fresh air, pumpkins, and fall leaves.