VCWoman Achieve 2025 Mentor Spotlight – Ar’Jillian Gilmer
Name: Ar’Jillian Gilmer | Business/Profession: Principal Education, Founder & CEO, Gilmer’s Learning Solutions
Please share a little about your background, personally and/or professionally.
I am a native of Arkansas, born and raised in Camden/Wynne. It is my privilege to be a wife and a mother of four wonderful children. Having been a teen mother, I proudly testify of how blessed I am to have had the tenacity and fortitude to overcome that statistic. I am a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Monticello and Arkansas Tech University. Since 2014, I have been in education full-time. It has been my extreme honor to serve the Little Rock Regional Chamber as an Ambassador, be an inaugural member and third place winner of the Woman Achieve program, successfully complete the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas’ Women’s Economic Mobility Hub Cohort 4, and serve as an Arkansas Department of Education-approved professional development provider. Under my leadership, Gilmer’s Learning Solutions has earned several other awards and recognition. My faith has been the catalyst for all things that I have accomplished over the last decade of my life.
Please share more about your current position and place of work. How have you grown professionally/personally in this role?
Currently, I am the Principal Educator, Founder, and CEO of Gilmer’s Learning Solutions. I solely began serving private clients in 2020 virtually from my home. By 2021, I added one contractor, increased our client roster to 15+ individual and organizational clients. Additionally, because of my education experience, I began serving the Arkansas Education Association as a professional development presenter. From that time to now, I have consistently been afforded more opportunities to grow my team of Learning Solutions Experts, found and operate a microschool, increase our physical space out of necessity, be selected as an inaugural fellow of the ASU Prep Microschool Founder Fellowship, and more. Due to the vast opportunities for growth I have taken advantage of, it has been paramount that I learn how to be present for my family and as a business leader simultaneously. In addition to these things, serving the youth and children in my church on a regular basis has resulted in my further discovery of ways to successfully balance the many facets of my life.
What drew you to being a mentor for an entrepreneurial group curated for non-men? How has being a woman or non-binary individual impacted your professional journey?
Being a mentor for an entrepreneurial group curated for women piqued my attention because of the success I have experienced as a member of such groups. Further, because women-owned small businesses make up almost half of all businesses in Arkansas but receive little of the funding provided to our male counterparts, I believe it is pertinent to share my experience and any resources I have with other women who intend to impact Arkansas economics in a meaningful way. Having collaborated professionally with other edupreneurers and women business owners generally, I have discovered that I sincerely enjoy growing with others as they flesh out their ideas and make them reality.
What are three things you enjoy doing outside of work?
What is your go-to piece of advice for professionals, entrepreneurs, or anyone looking to you for guidance?
My go-to piece of advice for professionals, entrepreneurs, or anyone looking to me for guidance is to do it scared.
What is a professional achievement that you are most proud of, and why are you proud of it?
A professional achievement that I am most proud of is the growth accomplished by the clients Gilmer’s Learning Solutions serves. If we never grow anymore, or if it all comes crashing down tomorrow, I will always be proud of our ability to help others grow academically, professionally, and economically.