Betty Bumpers was born in Charleston, Arkansas in 1925 and married Dale Bumpers in 1949. She has three children--Brent, Bill, and Brooke. Mrs. Bumpers was a former school teacher in Charleston and, during the 1970s, was the principal force behind the successful immunization program that raised Arkansas to number one in the country in percentage of pre-school and schoolage children who had been immunized against childhood diseases.

In 1982 Betty Bumpers and a group of like-minded women founded Peace Links in Little Rock, Arkansas. Mrs. Bumpers credits the founding of Peace Links to her daughter's fears about a nuclear catastrophe. These fears made Bumpers realize the danger of nuclear war is real. Her determination to work to eliminate the threat of nuclear war was strengthened by conversations with other women.

Peace Link's purpose is to reach new groups of people, particularly but not exclusively women, and help involve them in eliminating the nuclear threat. Relying on the principle of networking, Peace Links seeks to educate the public about nuclear war and through such activities as their U.S./Soviet Women's Exchange, promote dialogue between countries that may lead to alternative solutions to nuclear war. Peace Links backs no particular political candidate nor any particular legislation. Instead, it works through other organizations, such as churches, garden clubs, and professional organizations, to disseminate information so that people may act and vote intelligently on the issues of peace.