When Clinton School Online students Tara Mahend and Claude Mahend, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, enrolled in a summer grant writing course, the husband-and-wife duo set out to master the mechanics of securing resources to transform healthcare and recovery access in rural Arkansas.
Just a few short months later, their collaborative coursework yielded extraordinary real-world results: a two-year, $200,000 federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
The grant, awarded under HRSA’s Rural Health Network Development Planning Program, directly supports Project Triple 7—a nonprofit organization founded by Tara Mahend, where Claude Mahend serves as a key board member and strategic leader.
Together, Tara and Claude Mahend secured the award to reduce barriers to stability, health, and successful community reintegration for justice-impacted individuals, residents struggling with substance use disorders, and other underserved populations in Hot Spring County.
“It’s still a little surreal to me,” said Tara Mahend, a Malvern native and healthcare provider who has spent more than a decade working in correctional healthcare. “To get a federal grant on our first time submitting a grant was a major accomplishment. Being able to use federal resources to help develop solutions for needs in the community where I grew up is something I’m incredibly proud of.”
Turning Passion into Classroom Practice
The $200,000 award grew directly out of a summer grant writing course taught by Dr. Cheryl Chapman, an adjunct professor. Designed to equip Clinton School Online students with practical, end-to-end development skills, the course guides students through identifying appropriate funders, establishing community partnerships, and crafting competitive proposals.
“It was fun watching the students get excited about working with their partners and writing their grants,” Dr. Chapman said. “This was a strong group of students who were passionate and worked hard. Tara and Claude’s project is filling a critical need in our state for rural healthcare access.”
While Tara Mahend originally planned to target a smaller grant for her first attempt at grant writing, Claude Mahend recognized the potential of their vision and pushed the team to aim higher.
“Claude Mahend encouraged me to consider applying for the HRSA grant rather than limiting ourselves to a smaller opportunity simply because I was a beginner,” she said. “I took his advice and discussed it with Professor Chapman, who supported moving forward.”
Throughout the intensive summer session, Claude Mahend played a critical role in bringing the grant to fruition. In addition to contributing extensive research, strategic design, and writing to the Project Triple 7 HRSA proposal, Claude Mahend simultaneously developed a separate federal grant proposal during the course to support his own international nonprofit, GodUrWayUp, which delivers healthcare, education, and programming across 17 countries, mostly focusing on Cameroon, Nigeria, Zambia, and Ghana.
“Dr. Chapman was extremely graceful,” Claude Mahend said. “With her ability and coaching, she was a great facilitator for translating concepts to paper. It’s really brilliant to see the tangible results of that class in such a short time.”
The $200,000 HRSA planning grant will allow Project Triple 7 to build a collaborative, wraparound healthcare network in Hot Spring County, addressing systemic gaps in transportation, behavioral health treatment, and opioid use disorder resources.
“We aren’t here to reinvent the wheel,” Claude Mahend explained. “We want to create a wraparound system so if a person is affected by an issue, they can have support for recovery, employment, housing, and healthcare without having to leave the county to get resources.”
Tailoring Graduate Education to Real-World Impact
The couple’s success highlights a core strength of the Clinton School Online program: empowering working professionals to directly customize their graduate coursework around their existing careers, entrepreneurial ventures, and public service passions.
For Tara Mahend and Claude Mahend, every project in the MPS curriculum translates into immediate action. Both Tara Mahend and Claude Mahend are leveraging their Capstone field service projects toward the acquisition and operational development of a 92-bed inpatient facility for opioid and substance use disorder treatment in Hot Spring County.
Claude Mahend is driving the administrative and financial framework, while Tara Mahend is designing the clinical workflows across residential, intensive outpatient, and long-term care models. Meanwhile, Claude Mahend continues his studies toward a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), a degree program Tara Mahend previously completed.
“That has been my favorite part of this graduate program,” Tara Mahend said. “What I love is that everyone comes from a different background and sector. We’ve been able to take the coursework and tailor it to our passions and where we want to take our careers. Partnering with nonprofits we’ve founded has helped us advance our careers while simultaneously completing the degree.”
Claude Mahend shared that sentiment, describing the online program as a vital navigation tool for emerging leaders.
“A lot of people have the heart for public service, but sometimes they need a map to navigate through certain waters,” he said. “The Clinton School came into our lives at the right time to help us navigate those waters.”
Looking ahead, Tara Mahend and Claude Mahend remain actively engaged in looking for future funding opportunities to expand both Project Triple 7 and GodUrWayUp, equipped with the tools and confidence gained from their field service and online coursework.
“I think there are a lot of people who are doing public service work every day and don’t realize the bigger impact they are making,” Tara Mahend said. “I’m very proud and thankful to be able to go through this journey with my husband and use this education to create lasting change.”