Tippi McCullough is a lifelong Arkansan. She has dedicated the last thirty-two years of her life educating young people. Tippi was moved to action when she was fired from her teaching job after marrying her longtime partner.

She was quickly hired by the Pulaski County Special School District and then Central High School where she currently teaches English. After traveling around the South speaking out for the LGBT community at Human Rights Campaign events in Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans, and Dallas, she was elected president of the Stonewall Democratic Caucus of Arkansas where she advocates for equality and works to elect LGBT and ally candidates. Tippi is a member of the State Committee of the Democratic Party of Arkansas; she was appointed as a member of the Party’s Affirmative Action Committee and Executive Committee. In 2016, she ran a successful campaign to serve as a delegate to the historic Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Tippi was elected chair of the Democratic Party of Pulaski County in January of 2017.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas awarded Tippi, and her spouse Barbara, with the 2014 Champions of Liberty Award and was honored by the Young Democrats of Arkansas with the Lifetime Member Award in 2017.

In addition to speaking engagements, Tippi also penned an article for the HRC magazine; she has also performed an autobiographical story for NPR’s Tales From the South. She was chosen as a person of the year by the Arkansas Times in 2013. Tippi was honored to speak at the historic Women’s March at Arkansas’s State Capitol in January 2017.

Tippi is an active in her neighborhood, community, and school. She currently serves as the vice-president of the Hillcrest Resident’s Association. Overcoming great obstacles, Tippi stepped up to co-chair an imperiled Hillcrest Merchants Association’s HarvestFest in 2016. The event was a tremendous success. Bringing in scores of new volunteers, Tippi helped the 2016 event become the most successful HarvestFest ever. She currently serves as the chair of HarvestFest 2017. She also serves as a Little Rock Education Association Building Representative at Central High School. Tippi sponsors the Central HS Young Democrats, Feminist Alliance, and the Gay/Straight Alliance.

Prior to her teaching career, Tippi graduated from Ouachita Baptist University where she was awarded a basketball scholarship. At Henderson State University, Tippi earned her MSE in English from Henderson State University.

She has taught and coached in Northwest, Northeast, and Central Arkansas. Tippi made history as the first woman to serve as president of the Arkansas High School Coaches Association where she also served on the Girls All Star Committee and Executive Committee.

Tippi volunteers and serves on numerous boards in her community. In addition to her work with the Human Rights Campaign, Hillcrest Resident’s Association, the Democratic Party of Pulaski County, and the Stonewall Caucus, she is the co-chair of Pridecorps LGBT Youth Center, serves on the Kaleidoscope Film Festival Advisory Committee, and is active in her church, First United Methodist Church downtown where she serves on the Staff Parish Relations Committee.

She and her wife, prosecutor Barbara Mariani have made their home in District 33 for eighteen years.