The Brent Renaud Foundation — Built By a Community of Generous Donors

As we celebrate the launch of the Brent Renaud Foundation, we would like to acknowledge and extend a heartfelt thank you to the people who made it possible—our donors; each of whom the Foundation would not exist without.

Our donors are a community of individuals who hold true to Brent’s vision that you must enter peoples’ lives with profound respect, humanity, and humility to be able to truly tell their stories. It’s this unique approach and commitment to authentic work that the Foundation was formed to maintain.

Long before the Foundation was formed, Thear Suzuki had the opportunity to experience this approach to life first-hand when she met Brent during her time at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Thear and Brent formed a life-long friendship while participating in the Inter-Community Experience (ICE) program, where they and other students lived together in a Habitat for Humanity home and mentored at-risk children in the Garrett Park neighborhood.

Brent told Thear, “ICE did more for me than I did to help those kids, ICE shaped my worldview on race, poverty and the American dream, and put me on a career path dedicated to those issues.”

Today, Thear serves as Fundraising Chair for the Brent Renaud Foundation and has personally pledged $25,000, as well as donated an original watercolor of Brent (pictured below) by artist Scott Bodell, who has also committed to signing and numbering prints for the Foundation.

The painting will be entered in the Mid-Southern Watercolorists – 52nd Annual Juried exhibition, March 3rd – April 28th, 2023.

We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the following whose commitment to authentic storytelling and mentorship made this possible. Because of you, Brent’s legacy will impact more lives through the Brent Renaud Foundation. 

Foundation Partners

Arkansas PBS; University of Arkansas Journalism Department of Ethics 

In-Kind Donors

Thoma Thoma, Fennell Purifoy Architects, Tim Snyder – Apfel Snyder International 

Renaud Brother Donor (Donations $1,000 plus)

Matt Bell, Eva Ferguson, Mary Vose, Tom & Ellen Fennell, Linda Laughlin 

Barbara Bluestone, Harry Cheatham, Thear Suzuki, Chris & Brandi Huebner, Jeremy Levy, Bass and Bell lNC., Jennifer Lee, Tim Hicks, Yesenia Reyes, Carrie Goldman, Andrew Lewis

Katrina Baker, Athanasia Syrengelas, Gene & Linda Pfeifer, Brady & Betty Anderson

Kitty Clay Stone & Robert N. Bernhard. 

Executive Producer Donor (Donations $500 plus)

The Anthony School Family, Vivian Tsai, Steve Garfield, Linda Formann, Lisa Ruff

Tammy Blackford, Mark Sullivan, Wayne Pan, Keith Maitland, Pat T Patterson

Tim Cullen, Patty & Frank O’Mara, Loren Burlando – Dateline NBC

Ed & Julie Justis & Betsy Credaire, Leslie Tanquary and Jeff Newton. 

Producer Donor (Donations $200 plus) 

Richard Lawren, Jimmy & Kelly Thompson, Chuck & Becky Spohn, Vicky Morris

Bracey Rogers, Alexis Freeman, Tracey Doi, Mylinh Luong, Michael McNeill, James Chin

Tom Peterson, Diana Mao, Jeff Gay, Charles Zook, Jamila Thompson, Carla Polaszek, Debbie Teague, Michael Rey, Jennifer Jao, Chadwick Rodgers, Jeff Mease,Catherine Baker  

Diana Sperrazza, Jim Renaud, Minnijean Brown, Spirit Tawfiq, Jimmy & B.J. Moses, Beth Eaton, Kathy Qualls, Jim & Kathy Johnson & Family, Ann Blackman Putzel, Karen Barnwell, The Anthony School – PreK 4 – Ms. Michele’s Class. 

The Editor Donor

Christina Johns, Leslay Choy, Sarah Marston, Kelly Lasseigne, Jean Seidel, Martha Alexander, Ginger Collins, Chris Beavers, Malleri Rhodes, Suzanne Leslie, Zack Pate, Jared Gibbens, Jean Seidel, Tom Formann, Patrice Habich, Elizabeth Moore, Cesar Caballero, Kaori Suzuki, Jenny Holt, Linda Garrelick, Stephen Formann, Todd and Kathy Rice, John Brown, Marilyn DeMoss, Emily Maness, Kimberly Paige, Renata Huang, Jessica Valadez, John Seibert, Tim and Shay Rafferty, Tiffany Fredericks, Eileen Makoff, Samantha Deluca

Linda Locke, Bryan Formann, Sharon Gamsin, Stacie Ruff, Michelle Johnson, Christine Appleton, Wendy W. Balckburn, Susan Melton, Viviane Ajarrista, Sarah Cearley, Annie Norris

Diana Billings, Barbara Hoffman, Stacey Curzon, Paige Murphy, Mollie Birch, Pamela O’Neal

Bob McMahon, Robin Powers, Marian Paquette, Kathy Pyle, Art Kinnaman, Leslie Peacock

Denise Funk Molen, Allison Keller, Josh Miller, Suzanne Beard, Elizabeth Perez, Chris Lynch

Hye Yu, Sophie Ho, Tim Snyder, Sarah Willamson, Dava Renaud, Mary Barbara Adams

Meyling Ortiz, Trent McBride, Cortney Allison, Tim White, Julia Wada, Zubair Faiz

Dianne Solis, Vu Pham, April Ambrose, Walker Bass, Felix Suen, Judy Adams, Kay Simon

Fang Yang, James Wallis, Sara Massana, Emese Boone, Peggy Marshall, Lisbeth Fabiny

James Larakers, Richard Jones, Thanhtam Dinh, Pratt Remmel Jr., Mona Dyer, Asher Dorlester, Brian Adams, Rebecca Gibbs, Mary Storey, Karina Escamilla, Paola Morrongiello

Julia Taylor, Eric Herrera, Keri Pape, Mark Woodall, Katlee Freasier, Sarah Thibault Jones, Lynda Voorhees Davis, David Fitzpatrick, Melissa Wender, Jennifer Everhart, Brian Leavell

Mark Falzini, Courtney Blann, UALR School of Social Work – Kapp, Sarah K. Stern, Jennifer Sodini, Ruth Prophet, Loralie Ogden, Nita Patel, Orlando-Anthonio Carrillo-Jimenez, Sarah Moore, Shannon Boshears, Elliot Taylor, Lyndsey Burr, Steve Rosen, Kadea Metara, Ana Steenholdt, Bonnie Nickol, Ava Azizi, Michael St. Jacques, Jenny Hassibi, Brenna Randolph 

Leila Lederer, Mandy McEwen, Johanna Schroeder, Michelle Sing, Laura Aguero, Fritz & Sheryl Dickmann, Karen Beckwith, Donald Miller, Daiyana William, Erika Allen Anderson, Alma Villacorta, Victoria Brown, Naomi Mizoguchi, Sarah Richarson, Ryoya Terao, Hye-Jung Park, Kathryn Baker, Megan Busbee, Greg Goldsborough, Victoria Libertore, Jeff Plunkett, Janet Korenblat, Amanda Gee, Marsha Clark, Leila Atkin, Jimmy Tran, Badiki Ebenja, Frank Van Riper, Patricia Dickmann, Joanna Ridgway, Ruth Kaplan, Margaret Burks, Mary Morgan Berry, Girls on the Run Central Arkansas, Denyse Medlenka, Stephen Spanel, Jude Dochery

Bethany Hays, Elizabeth Wenger, Kathleen Clark, Heather Apple, Barbara Levy, Tandy Miller

Thomas Coulter, Anna Sugimoto, Meredith Hawkins, Maria Clayton, Fei Guo, Trey Hesari

Sandra Hubbard, Diane Pickman, Nancy Clevenger, Jan and Randal Hundley, Andrea & Glen Blakney, Linda Cowan, Donnie Oglesby, Mark and Laura Doramus, Mary Ellen Richards

Sam and Marilyn Hummelstein

Linda Barnes, Stephanie & David Arnold, Dr. Linda Parker & Erica Parker, Jennifer Petray/Tyra Reid, Skip & Billie Rutherford, Tom Bonner, Rod & Erin Lorenzen

John & Linda Fordyce, Terry Rasco, Renee Sauerwin, Jack & Dolores Raisch, Julia Watt

Fred & Linda Vanhook, Jason Woody, Jeff Woody, Lenore M. Arent, Linda Shearer, Brown Rogers & Co, LLC, Cherry H. Light, Nancy Milbourn, Matthew Mitchell, Vicki Curtis, Michael Scott, Shelley Ann Dattilo, Justin Nickels, Robert Elkins, Cecilia Garcia, Kyle Furman, Jeremy Evans, Shannon Bosh, Bracey Rogers, Kaeti Hinck, Kristin Carr, Jonathan Wardlaw, Richard Lin, Yoshiaki Nohara.  

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To make a donation in honor of Brent’s legacy and to support educational scholarships and mentoring for young, aspiring journalists, click here.