Kristen Collier Wright B.A.’98, J.D.’01 joined the Arkansas Alumni Association National Board of Directors in July 2019 and has served as board treasurer since 2021.
An Arkansas native, Wright graduated from Forrest City High School in 1994 before attending the University of Arkansas, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with honors from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law.
After law school, Wright worked as a litigation attorney for two firms in Memphis, Tennessee — Husch and Eppenberger and Bass, Berry and Sims. In 2012, Wright went to work for AutoZone as assistant general counsel and general counsel and oversaw AutoZone’s legal department, government affairs, corporate communications, and community relations.
Wright was AutoZone’s first female senior vice president, secretary, and general counsel. She was the founder of the AutoZone Women’s Initiative, and in 2017, Wright was selected as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women.
Wright retired from AutoZone in 2023 to be home with her two children, Collier and Syble, as they finished their senior years of high school, ending her 23-year law career.
“We are excited to have Kristen serving as Treasurer of our National Board of Directors. She is a committed alumna, parent, and donor,” said Brandy Cox Jackson M.A.’07, Ph.D’23, associate vice chancellor and executive director of the Arkansas Alumni Association. “Her service to the board has brought depth and strength to our work, while her belief in the University of Arkansas can also be seen in her support of her two children as current students and her family’s recent contributions to the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange.”
As a student, as an alumna, and as a member of the alumni board, Wright’s heart has always gravitated toward the study abroad experience. As an undergraduate, she traveled to Japan and England. Wright and her husband, Marshall, recently established an endowed scholarship in the Graduate School and International Education. In honor of Kristen’s unwavering commitment to students, the study abroad office has been named the Kristen Collier Wright Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange. Read more about the story here.
Wright is a member of the Chancellor’s Society, the Razorback Foundation, and the Cardinal & White and Towers of Old Main giving societies. She is a life member of the Arkansas Alumni Association.
