Payton Arnett is a graduate of Spoon River College and Western Illinois University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education. She brings five years of experience in elementary education across both private and public sectors, along with four years of entrepreneurial experience as a small business owner.  Payton has always been passionate about helping young people grow their confidence, creativity, and real-world skills, so she is very excited to implement those competencies during her second year of facilitating the Spoon River CEO class. She currently resides in Havana, Illinois with her husband Cody. Born and raised in Fulton County, she believes small businesses are the heartbeat of small communities and feels it is an honor to work with local students that have the ability to leave a lasting impact on the next generation in the Spoon River area.