June 9, 2026 • 51 mins
Growth is a massive regional win, but unmanaged expansion quickly turns into a infrastructure and talent leak. As populations spike, civic leaders face the ultimate balancing act: keeping a booming economy running efficiently while protecting the unique social fabric that made people want to move there in the first place. We sit down with Robert Burns, the home region program director of the Walton Family Foundation, to discuss exactly how a world-class philanthropic organization strategically deploys capital to support sustainable growth across specific regions.
We get into the tactical execution of the foundation's newly released 2030 strategy, mapping out actionable approaches to physical infrastructure, career-connected learning, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Robert breaks down the importance of relationship density, showcasing how cross-industry collaboration keeps talent pipelines full in rapidly developing areas like Benton and Washington counties. We also dive into the operational mechanics of grant evaluations, discussing how key performance indicators and true stakeholder alignment transform high-level concepts into localized community development programs.
A scaling region requires more than just high-level economic theory; it takes massive investments in the literal nuts and bolts of municipal utilities, regional transport networks, and localized workforce upskilling. True community development happens when you look at the human element of growth, realizing that the individuals who live closest to a specific challenge are always the ones equipped with the most sustainable solutions. Viewers will walk away with a fresh systems-level framework for managing rapid community growth without diluting regional culture or identity.
If you care about regional economic development, strategic philanthropic grant making, and building sustainable civic pipelines, you will get a lot from this conversation. Subscribe to the channel and share this episode with someone working to build stronger, more inclusive local communities. For those watching, what unique strategy or grassroots initiative does your hometown use to welcome new residents while honoring long-standing traditions? Let us know in the comments.
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SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
This is Central to NWA, a UCA podcast.
I'm your host, Paul Gatling, andwe are bringing the University
of Central Arkansas to NorthwestArkansas.
Each episode, we will talk withleaders, alumni, and innovators
driving this region forward.
People who are shapingindustries and defining what is
next for our state.
(00:22):
Let's get started.
All right, we are back withanother episode of Central to
NWA UCA Podcast.
Paul Gatling here with you, andjoining us today is a good
friend of mine for our 15thepisode, Robert.
And we've got conversationsagain, we've got conversations
with um, you know, UCLA, UCAalums.
(00:44):
We've got about 4,000 in the twocounty area, but also people who
are not Central Arkansasgraduates, but they are business
and civic leaders here.
Uh and so Robert, you know, heis uh uh one of those people.
He's uh he's quietly uh involvedin a lot of important
conversations that are shapingnorthwest Arkansas.
Uh and he's here with us today.
Robert Burns, home regionprogram director of the Walton
(01:07):
Family Foundation.
Very exciting.
Thank you, Paul.
No, my pleasure.
Glad to see you and uh glad tobe invited.
Well, and I I should mentiontoo, he's also uh a friend.
You've been here about fiveyears now, right?
Yeah, a friend.
We see each other at, you know,maybe the farmers market or or
Blake Street, but he is alsosomebody that indulges me in and
that I could have a goodconversation about one of my
personal life passions, NorthCarolina Tar Heel basketball.
(01:30):
This is uh a guy that I couldtalk about the Tar Heels.
SPEAKER_01 (01:32):
That's right.
I think actually one of thefirst times I saw you, Paul, you
had a uh North Carolina shirton, and I said, Well, well,
what's that about?
And then you said it becauseit's not something I see here
that often.
And Paul knows this, but I Igrew up uh in North Carolina and
my father taught at UNC.
My mom worked at UNC, so I was adied-in-the-wol fan at that
point.
SPEAKER_00 (01:52):
That's all I needed to hear.
When you said that, I'm like,hey, I need to know this guy.
Absolutely.
He's he's talking my language.
So, well, Robert, you know,we'll get into uh, you know, a
lot of different things over thenext uh 30 or 40 minutes here.
But for people who do who maybeknow you or know of you, but may
not know exactly what you do forthe foundation, uh, what does
the home region program directoractually do?
(02:14):
Sure.
Um glad to be able just toexplain a bit of that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
Yeah.
So at I'll start with the biggerpicture is the Walton Family
Foundation uh is a family-ledfoundation, and and I have the
great honor and privilege ofworking with Walton family
members uh related to the workin home region.
And the foundation has threecore programmatic areas
(02:38):
education, which is national,environment, which is
international and domestic, andthen home region, all of which
have a director.
And I am fortunate to lead thehome region program.
I have a wonderful team, uh,wonderful committee that I work
with.
And in terms of the work of homeregion, it is focused on five
(03:01):
counties.
Uh, four of those counties arein Arkansas, and one is in
Mississippi, and I'll explain abit of that.
Okay.
We focused in northwest Arkansason the counties of Benton and
Washington.
And then we also have had along-standing commitment to the
Mississippi Delta.
And in the Delta, we focus onwork in Jefferson County, which
is Pine Bluff and many othersmaller cities, uh, Phillips
(03:22):
County, which is Helena, WestHelena, a number of other
smaller communities.
And then we crossed the river toKahoma County in Mississippi,
uh, City of Clarksdale, and someother communities as well.
And that history is longstandingbecause for folks that know that
geography, a bridge crosses theMississippi River there.
So there's a lot of commerce andconnection between those two
counties that it has made senseto do work in that region.
(03:46):
We have a strategy that focuseson Northwest Arkansas, and we
have a strategy that focuses onthe Mississippi Delta.
SPEAKER_00 (03:52):
Yeah.
Okay.
And we're gonna we're uh we'regonna get to all that and your
foundation work and the strategy2030 that's just been released.
We'll talk about that.
But first, I would really uhlove for our listeners and our
viewers here on the pod to learna little bit more about you and
your story.
We hit on it a little bit.
You're from North Carolina, yourparents uh were worked on campus
there in Chapel Hill.
(04:12):
But just uh, you know, where didyou grow up?
What was that environment like?
SPEAKER_01 (04:16):
Yeah, so I grew up um in the county where Chapel
Hill is located, called OrangeCounty.
But I look the way I like totalk about it is I grew up rural
because my family um had along-standing tradition of
having a small family farm.
We raised a very small herd ofbeef cattle.
And if you drew circles aroundthe house I grew up in, you
(04:37):
would hit cousins and uncles andfamily members.
So uh we worked together on thatfarm and and had that operation
for many years.
Um, I still, when I go back hometo North Carolina, that same
feeling exists.
A lot of my cousins andrelatives live very close to
that area.
And uh had the best of bothworlds because I had the into
(04:58):
the city and town of Chapel Hilland then the rural nature, but I
really credit the ruralatmosphere and very much have a
passion around rural Americatoo.
And that led me uh to somethingthat was really interesting.
My father, being a professor atUNC after I finished high
school, uh, didn't want eithermy sister or I to go to UNC
(05:21):
because that was where we grewup.
So I had the great uh fortune ofuh getting a scholarship and
going to Appalachian StateUniversity up in the mountains
in North Carolina.
And after graduation, um, I wasreally fortunate that I'd gotten
very interested in publicservice, public administration,
the work of nonprofits, um, somework in philanthropy.
(05:43):
And I uh went cross-country andwas accepted to a program at the
University of Kansas, which hasa really well-regarded master's
in public administrationprogram.
So I had that duality, um, andit gave me another like renowned
basketball program.
Uh I have since become a realfan of University of Arkansas
(06:04):
basketball, too.
So it follows me in manyrespects, and it's wonderful to
have that.
But I then worked uh for a whilein local government, um, worked
in some different localities,focused on city management, city
planning, and then uh made atransition to work in the
nonprofit sector.
And a lot of that work hasfocused for me on housing, um,
(06:28):
economic development, communitydevelopment, lending for small
business, entrepreneurism.
And then I also had work inphilanthropy during that time
with an organization thatgranted dollars for mostly
affordable housing around thecountry.
And then um I have a stint inthe private sector more recently
before coming to the WaltonFamily Foundation, where I was
(06:50):
working for Citigroup, based outof our DC office, and was
working for them on both thephilanthropic side and did some
work with Citi on their impactinvestment side.
And City being an internationalinstitution was eye-opening
because got to do some relatedinternational work, particularly
around microfinance and helpingdo some grant making there.
(07:11):
Um, we were very fortunate thatwhen the opportunity came about
and a recruiter reached outabout this job, I remember
reading the description and justit really resonated with me
because it was so many thingsthat I'd worked in and had
passion around and could reallyidentify with.
(07:31):
So that really started thecourse of working in um this
role and making that journey.
But we also, my partner Chrisand I really wanted to get back
to the heartland.
Uh, we had lived in DC for awhile.
We had lived in Kansas Cityprior to that, which is where
Chris's family is located.
And it was just a wonderfulopportunity to come back to a
(07:53):
region that that we hold dearand where we have a lot of
people that we relate to andfamily members that are just
north of here in the Kansas Cityregion.
SPEAKER_00 (08:02):
So yeah, you said it.
So many experiences, nonprofit,public service, personal
philanthropy, private sector,all of that that you're
passionate about.
What are what is the commonthread through all of those
experiences and through all ofyour resume up to this point?
SPEAKER_01 (08:17):
Yeah, to me, it's um, and I think this is one of
the themes I really hold outabout the foundation too, is
like access to opportunity.
I think so much of the work thatI've had the privilege to be
engaged in is about givingpeople access to things and
being a catalyst, whether Ithink of philanthropy as being
something that's trulycatalytic, that by the work that
(08:41):
we are privileged to do ismaking a grant and then being
able to then see the impact ofthat work to try to leverage
others um in the region to tojoin in that effort.
And we're really fortunate thatwe we live in a region that um
does have the ability to do thatfrom time to time.
SPEAKER_00 (09:02):
So you're contacted about this job in Northwest
Arkansas.
What was your you know theheartland, you know we're Kansas
City, obviously you've heard ofNorthwest Arkansas.
What was your um experience withNorthwest Arkansas up until that
point?
Had you ever been here?
Had you been there?
SPEAKER_01 (09:17):
Um I had been been to Arkansas, um, mostly around
the Little Rock area in thepast, but I lived in the St.
Louis area for a while and thenthe Kansas City area.
So the the closest I had come toNorthwest Arkansas was really
around Eureka Springs, a placethat had visited in the past and
obviously is very close by andwas captivated by its beauty and
(09:38):
kind of uniqueness as well as aplace.
Um, I knew of a lot of thethings happening in northwest
Arkansas.
I had followed the grows, hadread a lot of the material about
uh things that were happeninghere.
I remember when Crystal Bridgesopened, you know, now more than
15 years ago.
But um, it was a region thatkept appearing on list of best
(10:01):
places to live, uh, areas ofjust real vibrancy.
And I'm like, wow, this is anarea that I that was very
appealing.
And then I remember our ourfirst experiences in the region,
which is continue to this day,is just the quality of the
people.
And this is something I talkabout a lot, is just the the way
in which I think so many peoplehere honestly go out of their
(10:24):
way to help each other.
Um, and I think it crosses lotsof different lines, which I I
know from having lived in otherplaces, that's not something you
see everywhere.
SPEAKER_00 (10:36):
I call that um relationship density.
We talk about density all thetime, but it's not to me, it's
not the population, it's therelationship density where
there's so much crossoverbetween the Fortune 500 silo and
the nonprofit silo and thefounder silo and the startups,
and they're all wanting eachother to succeed for various
(10:58):
reasons.
And it feeds into that.
Uh, I want to help you succeed,but tell me what I can do to
help you.
Right.
Um, which, you know, I've alwayslived in Arkansas, I've lived
here half my life.
I don't know what it's likeother places, but you're saying
it's not like that in a lot ofplaces.
SPEAKER_01 (11:11):
Yeah, I don't, I think it is unique, and I I
think it's an important part ofthe culture here.
Um, it's something you'll hearthematically as we talk today,
but uh I feel as as stillsomebody who's uh really
embraced the area and love it.
I mean, we love it here and wetalk about it all the time.
And uh we've had lots ofvisitors come who it's their
(11:34):
first time ever in the state ofArkansas, and then of course the
first time in northwestArkansas.
And I love when people comeback.
Um, we have a recent examplewhere friends came to visit
about a year and a half ago, andnow their daughter's going to go
to graduate school.
Sure.
Uh, because they becamecaptivated with the region.
They went out um and did uh rockclimbing, hit some of the
(11:57):
trails.
Uh, and and I just I think thosethings um really are contagious
to the region.
SPEAKER_00 (12:03):
I love to ask people like that, uh, well, you know,
what was your preconceivednotion of coming here before you
came here and then ask themafter they've been here a while,
how does that square with whatyou thought it is?
And it's always just you knowmind blown and the eyes are
open.
It's like not what I thought,and and that sort of thing.
Does this feel like home now foryou and Chris?
Yes, it does.
SPEAKER_01 (12:21):
Yeah.
And I I I just think about thatwhen we were coming back.
We were recently coming backfrom uh a family wedding, and it
was just like you when you geton that plane to come back,
you're like, I'm coming home.
Yeah, you know, this is home.
I really value the community,the relationships we have built
here.
And I really identify withsomething you were saying, and
(12:41):
Paul is I I think it isincumbent on all of us here is
to do our best to connect peopleto each other.
Um and I I just think that'ssuch an important part of the
social fabric of this country,but especially sets apart this
region.
SPEAKER_00 (12:57):
Right.
All right, home.
Let's stay on that word there.
Um, home region, one of thethree pillars you talked about.
What does the home region umactually mean inside the
foundation?
You know, we geography,geographically you described it.
What does the home region workmean?
SPEAKER_01 (13:12):
Yeah.
So we uh you just you mentionedthis a little bit earlier.
We launched a new five-yearstrategy.
Uh, we've been uh going publicwith that in the last two to
three weeks and gives a chancetoday to talk a bit more about
it.
But um, every five years thefoundation goes through, and I
think it's a healthy exercise.
Like, what are we working onnow?
(13:33):
What do we need to adapt?
It's a very robust discussionwith our stakeholders.
It involves our partners, itlooks at data uh from around the
region, including the Delta.
And then we look at areas thatwe need to focus on.
So we recommitted um to Bentonand Washington counties, given
everything that's occurring herein this dynamic region.
(13:55):
And we also recommitted to thework in the Delta, the three
counties.
We, in the last strategy, we hadexpanded to Jefferson County.
So Jefferson was a new countyfor us, and we've seen some
really heartening work therehappening.
So we have said we're gonnacontinue that work in Jefferson
Phillips and Cahoma County.
So our strategy for each um inNorthwest Arkansas and the Delta
(14:19):
are different, and they reallyare uh they're curated to each
of those regions, and I think ina very responsible way, looking
at the needs of each region.
SPEAKER_00 (14:30):
So I was reading it, um, you know, it's a big
document, but I was kind ofperusing it and reading it and
getting ready for ourconversation today.
And uh, and a phrase that stoodout to me was, you know, learn,
earn, and thrive close to home.
What what does that phraseactually mean in in practical
terms in practice?
SPEAKER_01 (14:46):
Yeah.
So I'll I'll talk about thatfrom the perspective of uh what
I think is incumbent in the planitself.
So I'll I'll talk about theareas we focus on in this plan.
So if you think about the visionin the plan for Northwest
Arkansas, it's that this regionis the most vibrant and
welcoming in the U.S.
And that's something that Ithink we are, and we want to
(15:11):
continue to be and live up tothat in the future.
And for that effort, um, we lookat four areas of focus.
The first of those is physicalinfrastructure.
Given the growth in the region,the demands on our
infrastructure, whether that bea sidewalk, a road, a sewer line
are increasing.
(15:31):
So focusing on that.
The second is around this ideaof um connected communities,
finding community.
How do people who have livedhere multiple generations find
ways to engage volunteers, boardservice, meet each other, have
that connectivity?
How do people who are movinghere within the last week find
(15:52):
that same sense of welcome?
How does the community worktogether to bring folks
together?
Um, how do you create space likein a park or a farmer's market
or any type of gathering in theregion where people can come
together and maybe there's anaccidental connection with
somebody, or you may be talkingto somebody from a community
(16:15):
that you had not thought youmight run into and have those
accidental connections, whichare really important.
The country is facing um asignificant challenge with
loneliness.
And I think these are measuresthat help combat that.
I don't worry as much aboutNorthwest Arkansas in that way,
but I think we always have tothink about how do people
(16:35):
connect.
SPEAKER_00 (16:36):
I've um the accidental connections that I
call collisions, and I'vereferenced that before, and I've
ref I've said before, and I'llkeep saying again, I think that
is one of the unique thingsabout our uh region of Northwest
Arkansas is that the people thatare here and are out.
And um, you know, uh a podcast Isaw, New Road Capital Partners,
(16:57):
um, Stefan Stearns was on itwith Matt Waller a couple years
ago, and they were talking, youknow, and he came from
Manhattan, you know, moved here.
And um, and so Matt was tellinghim, you know, how do you
explain to your friends backhome about, you know, one, why
you came here, you know, andwhat's it like there, and how
would you describe it?
And he said something that stuckwith me, and I've said it on
this podcast before.
(17:18):
He, he, he, his parallel wasNorthwest Arkansas is like your
freshman year of college.
Everybody has come here and theyjust want to meet people, and
they're trying to meet people.
And they're saying, Hey, whereare you from?
You know, what do you do?
What brought you to NorthwestArkansas?
And that's that really kind ofstuck with me because that's
that's kind of the way it is, isthat because we do have so many
people coming here from all overthe world, uh, even more and
(17:41):
more, and they just want to, youknow, meet people uh and and
make a network.
So I think that's what's one ofthe things that makes our region
unique.
SPEAKER_01 (17:48):
Yeah, and I appreciate it because I think
it's it's really kind of you'rehitting upon something that I
think we need to be curiousabout each other.
And that's part of what what Ihear you saying there, and and
uh I appreciate him saying that.
Yeah.
And I'll I'll finish out by justsaying the two other areas of
focus for us are aroundentrepreneurism and uh growing
out further the entrepreneurialum ecosystem that exists here
(18:11):
that really to me is founded onuh the principles of a lot of
the companies that have grown uphere.
And this region has reallybirthed a lot of entrepreneurs
over the years and now are someof the biggest companies,
biggest company in the world.
And then we've got a reallyrobust and growing
entrepreneurial ecosystem thatuh we want to find ways to
(18:33):
continue to grow that.
We know that capital is asignificant need, um, no matter
what any region in the middle ofthe country in the heartland has
done, that all a lot of thecapital is really aggregated on
east and west coast.
And uh we can do more to bringthat here.
And I think there's goodevidence of it.
And the last one that I'll speakabout is the uh career-connected
(18:57):
learning.
So, how do students in K-12, howdo adults find pathways to jobs
that they love, that they canearn in?
And it gets back to this idealike, how do you thrive?
If you put all of these thingstogether, we think it makes both
for a high quality of life, butalso allows an individual and a
family to thrive.
(19:18):
Is it every ingredient?
No, but these are reallyessential ingredients to a
region that is gonna thrive inthe future.
SPEAKER_00 (19:26):
So let's stay right there then.
You talk about essentialingredients, Dan.
And one thing we talk about alot at UCA is um you know,
workforce and talent developmentand talent pipelines.
So, what what do um employersand civic leaders, what are they
looking for right now?
What did they need more of?
What do, what, what, what sortof things do we need to prepare
students for right now?
SPEAKER_01 (19:46):
Yeah, we we had done a study that actually is on our
material on our website a fewyears ago that talked about
looking at the the districtsthroughout Northwest Arkansas.
And there's a multipledistricts, and of course, we
have wonderful public schooldistricts, we have great charter
schools and private schools andparochial schools across the
(20:07):
region.
But when you looked at whatstudents were afforded, many of
the schools were still indexingvery highly on ag related forms
of uh career education.
We still are a really robust agregion, so I'm not taking away
from that.
But when you look at thatcompared to career need, uh, our
(20:28):
increased need, like a lot ofregions, is in medical
professionals.
And that includes everythingfrom nurses to allied health
professionals to respiratorytherapists.
SPEAKER_00 (20:39):
UCA, UCA, UCA.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (20:41):
And I and I and I think part of that too is like
how do you train those nextgeneration?
Technology is an incredibleneed.
The hospitality sector hasundergone tremendous growth here
and probably will in the future,given the number of tourists
coming here, the number oflocals throughout the state that
are finding their way toNorthwest Arkansas, the growth
(21:03):
in our hospitality industry isfueling that.
So I think you're gonna continueto see some of that that
transition occur.
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
Yeah, and we and to you want to make sure you're
training for the jobs that are ajob today, but it's still gonna
be a job in five years.
And does our curriculum matchthat?
Right.
Are we are we are we preparingstudents for the jobs that are
coming?
SPEAKER_01 (21:23):
So exactly it it means too that folks that may be
in a role now, but they dream ofanother role in the future have
the ability to upskill, to lookat other ways to increase their
skill level.
So maybe they're doing somethingnow, but they desire to be a
welder, they desire to be anurse, or they desire to work in
one of the local restaurants.
(21:44):
The great thing here is that youcan find those pathways and you
can find them in ways thatenable you to get there fairly
quickly.
SPEAKER_00 (21:52):
And so it sounds like one of the challenges is to
make sure that, you know, we'rea fast growing region,
obviously, but to make sure theopportunity grows.
Alongside the region itselfbecause it's changing so
rapidly.
And that's one of the thingsthat uh my work is focused on
that we want to do is to makesure we have um we're we're
finding opportunities for ourgraduates and our students in
Northwest Arkansas, one of thefastest growing, most dynamic
(22:16):
regions in the country.
So is that a challenge that yourwork touches on as well?
SPEAKER_01 (22:20):
It does.
I mean, I think it's it's ittouches on multiple areas like
that, which is I I say that veryoften, exactly what you said.
I said, Yeah, I think a studentor an adult would be hard
pressed to find a region that'sgrowing as dynamically as this
region.
We know that from data.
We know that from the growth inthe region, but the future to me
(22:41):
is just very bright in NorthwestArkansas.
I also think this area of focusmeans for a kid who is coming
through school now, um, and thisis something we are focused on
too, is how do you expose kids,whether they be in the Delta or
here in Northwest Arkansas, tomake them curious about career
(23:01):
pathways?
Um, we know from a lot ofresearch that the the way a kid
finds out about jobs is usuallythe people they meet early on as
a kid.
Could be through church, itcould be through family, it
could be through your parents,but that influences what you're
exposed to.
So the further you can exposekids to here's some
(23:21):
possibilities, and then they getto high school and they get to
actually try some of thesecareer fields out.
We have some amazing programshere in Northwest Arkansas that
enable you to do it.
Um, that's great.
And I think the other thing,I'll just say this is you talk
to some of the students who havegone through some of the high
school programs.
And to me, one of the biggestbenefits is they they take that
(23:43):
program for a year and they findout, you know, I'm not sure I
want to do that.
I got this experience.
Now I'm gonna try another careertrack.
And I think that's a beautifulthing.
Uh, I wish, you know, you lookback and I'm like, wow, I wish I
had some of those opportunities.
Going back in high school, um, Ilove what I get to do now, but I
think it's just awesome thatkids get to be exposed and get
(24:06):
to actually do work.
They go out in the field, theyactually get jobs in these
fields that they think theymight want to work in.
SPEAKER_00 (24:14):
What did you think you wanted to do when you were
15, 16 years old?
Did you have a thought in yourhead of this is a direction I
think I want to go?
SPEAKER_01 (24:21):
You know, I at that age, I think I was really
interested, and I I still amfascinated by design and
architecture.
So I didn't go that direction,but when you think about cities
and planning and design, I thinkthere is a lot that goes into
that.
Um, so that that's somethingthat always had resonated with
me and still does.
And I think that honestly is oneof the things that also sets
(24:42):
Northwest Arkansas and the stateof Arkansas art is that we have
so many wonderful examples ofdesign in the region.
And and I think it hasinfluenced um the tasteful
nature of a lot of design yousee in the region.
Yeah, you know, you even go backto like Faye Jones and his work
in the region and the influencenot only he had on Arkansas, but
(25:04):
on the country as a whole.
SPEAKER_00 (25:06):
Yeah, we you know, Fayevil, you know, can be, you
know, described as a cradle ofdesign, a cradle of architecture
going to A.
Jones and now up until today.
And yeah, we we probably takefor granted the you know the
architecture that we're seeingcome to life, even in just
Bentonville.
And um, you know, I'll give youyou can put your architecture
hat on for a minute.
You've seen the you've seen theuh Crystal Bridges expansion.
(25:28):
How would you describe it?
SPEAKER_01 (25:29):
Uh magnificent.
I for folks that have been tothe museum, uh, I just highly
encourage them to go out anddiscover what the expansion
means and what a what a gift tothe region.
And the fact that it's soexpansive now.
And to me, the museum itself,the design is part of the
(25:52):
natural beauty and the settingis part of the natural beauty.
I love how that space is boththe outside and the inside.
Um, and the fact that it'sanother really good example to
me of a space that draws peopletogether.
Um, and and I know from even myown personal experience, you're
(26:12):
exposed to art that that you mayhave never been exposed to or or
not had the opportunity to seein the past.
And it's so thoughtfully done.
So highly encourage folks to tobe able to go and see that.
And um, you can say that aboutthe buildings that have been
built up adjacent to it, the newwhole health institute.
If folks haven't checked thatbuilding out, built by local
(26:34):
school, local architects, themedical schools, um, the
amazing, just even the trailsand the structure that that
connect all these places.
I I I don't take that, I don'tthink a lot of people take it
for granted, but I think it'seasy to kind of look at it and
just it's such I have suchgratitude, such appreciation for
(26:54):
that space.
SPEAKER_00 (26:55):
Yeah.
And uh one thing that peopleshould realize that maybe they
don't, I mean, that there arepublic elements to all of those
spaces, right?
The Heartland Whole HealthInstitute.
There's a coffee shop in there.
There's a lobby, the firstfloor, go in.
You know, the Alice Walton uhSchool of Medicine,
public-facing elements of that,coffee shop, second floor, walk
and explore certain areas of thecampus because that's what they
(27:17):
were designed to be.
Exactly.
So, yeah, I mean, you know,access, bringing that, you know,
I've lived here, moved here in2001, and 10 years later we've
got this, you know, billiondollar, multi-billion dollar
museum.
I'd never had much of anexposure to art.
And so um, it was right there inmy front door, five minutes
away.
And now I try not to take it forgranted.
And of course, uh I can't waitto see the the expansion myself
(27:39):
because uh it's um truly goingto be I I you know, I think you
know, a museum 15 years on isgonna have more design elements,
right?
More more uh evolution of ofwhat's possible there.
So yeah, that's it's fun stuff.
All right.
Well, let's talk about your homenow, Northwest Arkansas.
You've considered it home.
You've had a you know front rowseat to the growth here the last
(27:59):
five years.
What has been the biggest changemaybe that you've seen in the
past five years, or or maybewhat excites you um most about
where Northwest Arkansas isheaded?
SPEAKER_01 (28:08):
Yeah, I I think the the biggest not change, it's
more of a constant is just thethe pace of growth.
Uh growth is a is a constant.
Um I would prefer to have growthas a region.
I think a lot of regionscertainly are envious of that
(28:28):
kind of growth, and growth hasto be balanced in many ways.
And I think overall the regionhas been thoughtful about that.
Um, the other thing that just isthe amazing variety across the
region of key anchors that haveopened during that five years.
You you just spoke about some ofthose, but if you go and you
(28:50):
look at some of the the workhappening at Fayetteville and
the work happening in Springdaleor Rogers or uh Pea Ridge,
Centerton, Prairie Grove, youlook around the region, there is
just an amazing variety ofthings occurring here as the
community builds and grows.
And and that we're not just weare a region.
(29:11):
And I appreciate the fact folksthink about this as a region,
and each community has its ownunique identity, but we can work
together as a region, whichtakes me to your your second
point, which is like what itexcites me about the future.
To me, it's there's multiplethings, but the ability to
really work together as aregion, to think about services
(29:32):
that we may not offer regionallynow that makes sense to come
together and and work as aregion so that we can continue
to have the highest quality oflife possible and that folks
feel that and experience it on adaily basis.
The other thing that excites meis because of the work going on
(29:55):
and the ongoing development ofso many things, it's just the
dynasties of the area, the factthat um there are so many things
happening that are exciting on afairly regular basis that people
get to experience and the factthat we continue to draw folks
from outside of the region, andwe continue to have a very
(30:17):
strong, large group of folksthat have grown up here.
And I think I like that balance.
And that excites me about thefuture as folks grow.
Um, I I also get the sense thatmore and more folks are deciding
to stay, uh, which I think isgreat for the region.
And that makes a difference interms of the stability of the
(30:38):
region.
SPEAKER_00 (30:38):
That's one of to me, that is the biggest um uh change
in my time here, 25 years here,is that when I moved here,
people moved here for work.
I moved here for work, I movedhere for a job.
Okay.
Most people they moved toBentonville or Northwest
Arkansas at large for a job.
Now people are choosing to movehere uh for their life.
They're choosing to move herebecause um they have the uh
(31:01):
ability to work from whereverthey want to work.
But I want to live here where uhI like mountain biking, I like
the art scene, I like um theculinary scene, I like the
startups, yeah, buzz.
Well, you know, whatever thereason is, they're they're
choosing to move here for areason other than work.
And to your point, that's umthat's why we're attracting and
(31:22):
continue to attract people fromliterally all over the world.
SPEAKER_01 (31:24):
Yeah, no, I I think well said, I when I when I talk
to a lot of folks, you probablyhave the experience too.
People will talk about it's notthat they they had a job here,
they were drawn by the qualityof life.
They came as a visitor, and Ioften say it's like the third
visit seems to be the charmsometime where people make that
decision.
SPEAKER_00 (31:44):
Yeah, can I see myself living there right?
SPEAKER_01 (31:46):
But next a time or two, right?
And I I just think um we arestill um, even though yes, cost
of of certain things has gone upin the region, we're still an
affordable place to live whenyou compare us to other parts of
the country.
And you leave NorthwestArkansas, and there's just so
(32:06):
much incredible natural beautyin the state that you just can
go very close by to experience,or you can be in downtown
Springdale or downtownBentonville and walk and be on a
trail in five minutes.
That's pretty uncanny.
SPEAKER_00 (32:22):
Yeah, I I don't want it to come across uh from this
year that certainly there areit's not without challenges.
And growth is going to bringchallenges, but I I believe that
Northwest Arkansas is handlingthose challenges better uh or
maybe more efficiently thanother fast growing regions of
the country.
You may have an opinion aboutthat too.
SPEAKER_01 (32:42):
Yeah, I think we're uh, you know, some of the recent
data shows the ninth fastestgrowing region in the country,
and uh the projections show thatthat's going to continue in the
future.
And certainly we have citiesthat are some of them most fast
growing in the state ofArkansas, and sometimes in the
United States, um, it does bringchallenges, and and those I
(33:03):
think can be managed over time.
Folks certainly have read aboutsome of the challenges around uh
infrastructure, sewer peopleexperience some transportation
challenges from time to time.
But I appreciate the work thatthe region's already doing to
get ahead of some of thesethings or to catch up on some of
them.
Um, and I think that bodes wellfor the future and the way the
(33:25):
region has come together aroundthe need for these types of
career pathways that I wasreferring to, and how do we meet
the needs for the future?
And I think it's important onany of the career pathways that
you think about what does thegrowth and adoption of AI mean
in certain pathways.
And I think overall there's anincredible opportunity there for
(33:47):
folks going back to the upskillidea that as folks might
transition or think about otherpossibilities, like there's a
whole array of things out therethat people will still uh
potentially be able to do andmaybe have be curious about.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:01):
I want to talk about a program that um is supported
by the Walton Family Foundation.
As we talk about, you know,rapid growth in Northwest
Arkansas, particularly Bentonand Washington counties.
You're going to need more um uhcivic leadership, more people
who want to be involved as civicleaders, more people who want to
be devolved as communitydevelopers.
Um UCA's community developmentpipeline program.
(34:24):
Uh, again, supported by theWalton Family Foundation uh
funding, and it's designed tohelp prepare the next generation
of um economic developmentleaders, community leaders.
Uh, our second cohort of that.
It's a three-year program, oursecond cohort starts this
summer.
Um, what attracted the WaltonFamily Foundation to that
program and to be involved inthat initiative?
SPEAKER_01 (34:45):
Yeah, I and I will say that some of that initial
investigation has certainlypreceded my tenure at the
foundation.
Um what what and I have been tothe institute, actually taken
part in a day there and got towork with Shelby, who's the
director.
And I think uh you've got somereally extraordinary talent
there.
What I like about it, it's acohort model.
(35:08):
So the folks that are going fromNorthwest Arkansas, they're a
cohort.
They will be in this program forthat term.
They will also get exposed tofolks throughout the state that
are facing some of the samechallenges.
They might be different, butgrowth may appear differently in
another part of the state or adifferent context.
And they get to bring back thelessons they learned.
(35:28):
But I there's a lot ofrelationship building that
occurs among that cohort.
And I got to see, I mean, thishas been out there publicly, UCA
has talked about it.
The cohort this time just is tome outstanding.
I mean, I have the privilege ofknowing some of those folks.
I had nothing to do with thembeing accepted.
But when I saw that they hadapplied, I was like, and been
(35:50):
accepted, I was like, that'sfantastic because they represent
a variety of communities aroundthe two counties, uh,
neighborhoods, variety ofexperience.
But I already know that thesesome of these folks express
curiosity about how they can bemore engaged.
Um, and to me, it's exciting tosee these folks together.
And community development to meis also about that first word is
(36:13):
like, how do you developcommunity?
And community takes on multipleaspects.
But when you talk aboutengagement and like, how do I
get involved?
How do I help others to getinvolved?
And that can be going back tothe idea of uh finding
community.
How do you become a bettervolunteer?
How do you help people findvolunteer opportunities?
(36:34):
How do you maybe um find outlike what's going on locally
within your city or your countyand just be able to stay engaged
around that?
SPEAKER_00 (36:43):
That's why I think this initiative is very, and
again, you know, I've been to umUniversity of Central Arkansas
about two years now.
I knew very little about the CDIprogram.
Uh, I've learned a lot moreabout it in the last two years.
Uh, P.
Ridge, mayor, Nathan C.
Big advocate for that.
We've talked about it.
Um, but it's talking about whenwe talk about career pathways
(37:04):
for students and just foranybody in general and community
development, uh, I think it'simportant to intentionally
develop talent in that space.
And like you, I had a lot ofpeople, you know, ask me when I
was, you know, promoting theprogram Apply, apply.
They asked me, do you think Ishould apply for that?
I mean, I'm I'm this, I'm not athis.
I've never seen myself.
I said, yes, communitydevelopment takes uh everybody.
(37:26):
And so uh, yeah, when we, youknow, and not me, but when our
Center for Community EconomicDevelopment uh put out our 25
members of our cohort, uh, saw alot of familiar names and a lot
of people.
I thought, yeah, this makesgreat sense.
So yeah, excited to kick thatoff later this summer uh and and
see what kind of skills and whatkind of qualities uh those those
(37:46):
folks can bring back uh to theircommunity here in Northwest
Arkansas.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (37:50):
I mean, going back to something you asked about,
like they learn aboutinfrastructure.
They learn about like somethings that you know can hear
that term, and you're like,well, what does infrastructure
mean?
And they're like, they'regetting in the the nuts and
bullets.
SPEAKER_00 (38:02):
They're gonna find out what it works out.
SPEAKER_01 (38:03):
And they get to see it in action.
Yeah.
And uh that's a that's greatbecause you get to be exposed to
it.
And uh it's easy to I think it'seasy for all of us to take some
of that for granted, like thefact that you turn on a faucet
and water comes out that's goodquality, or you flush a toilet
and you know that that's goingsomewhere that's gonna be taken
(38:23):
care of.
But I I think these areessential things because they're
they're essential to the growthof a region, but it's great that
somebody wants to understandthat more.
SPEAKER_00 (38:32):
Yeah, we've got to have them, right?
I mean, it's gotta have it.
Yeah, I gotta have that,especially in a place growing
this fast.
But uh yeah, I just we uh UCA uhdefinitely appreciate the Walton
Family Foundation support forthat.
Uh I've come to call that one ofour uh flagship initiatives at
the university, the our CDIcohort.
I think it's that important.
And uh uh I'm I'm really lookingbeing forward to being more
(38:54):
involved in Bree in the secondcohort uh this time around.
We appreciate the thepartnership.
SPEAKER_01 (38:58):
And I I like one of the things that I I never take
for granted at at the foundationis we are benefited from working
with a a wide variety ofwonderful nonprofit partners,
dedicated board members here inuh Arkansas, as well as
municipalities, schooldistricts, uh community college,
(39:20):
um higher learning.
And it just is it's great to beable to work with these
partners.
That's that's the essentialingredient, too.
We can't do this work withoutthe works of the partners.
SPEAKER_00 (39:31):
Partnership is important.
Absolutely.
Partnership is always important.
I'm gonna go back to somethingyou said earlier about, you
know, we a phrase that we use,not just you use, but you hear a
lot, you know, vibrant,inclusive community.
We want Northwest Arkansas to bethose things.
Uh, and it gets used, uh, thatterm gets used a lot.
Um, what does that actually meanto you?
What is when you hear thatphrase, vibrant and inclusive?
SPEAKER_01 (39:51):
Yeah.
And I think of it um that thatwe it goes back to the nature of
the culture here that I think isjust really important is the
aspect of welcoming.
Like how I don't care if if youlived here for multiple
generations or you moved hereyesterday.
It's like, how do you feelwelcome to the region?
(40:12):
And that can take multipleforms.
You could help a stranger outwith something that's that seems
fairly benign, but it'ssomething that makes a
difference in their life thatday.
Or you speak to somebody thatjust potentially you have no
idea who they are, but it's thatone interaction, and you may
lead to a conversation down theline.
(40:33):
But how do you extend thatwelcoming?
How do people be curious abouteach other?
How do people really break downwhat might be perceived as
boundaries or differences and becurious about each other?
I think that's the that's one ofthe key ingredients.
And the other part is like thevibrancy to me is about all of
(40:54):
the things we talk about inrelation to strategy.
It also includes the educationsystems that we are fortunate to
have here, the employers, thejob growth.
I mean, the access to naturalbeauty and outdoor recreation
and uh recreational facilitiesand sports teams, the things
(41:15):
that I think make a regionvibrant.
And I, you know, I think here inthe region is there's so many
things going on on a daily basisand so much on a weekend,
especially this time of year,that um I hope people are able
to go out and discover it.
That it makes folks want to goout and learn more about the
(41:38):
place they live in, and alsomakes them want to learn about
the places that are just downthe road.
Um, I I do think it's veryimportant that as the region
grows, that people want andspend time in other communities
in addition to the one they livein.
And I appreciate like the senseof identity, the uniqueness of
(41:59):
each community, but we are aregion and we have to be sure
that we appreciate how um eachof those communities contributes
to really being a full, robust,vibrant region.
SPEAKER_00 (42:11):
Right.
And uh speaking from somebodythat lives here, one of the
first places that you shouldexplore just right down the
road, the University of CentralArkansas, right?
SPEAKER_01 (42:19):
Yeah, two and a half hours away.
Yeah, no, I mean, I do think I Ilike one of the things I've
loved about uh Arkansas, and andChris and I have done this a
fair amount is just getting outto see other parts of the state
and and discovering, you know,wonderful people, the absolute
beauty of the Delta, um, thebeauty of the mountains that we
(42:40):
have here in the state ofArkansas, um, the places that
are just so convenient to getto.
And I I think, you know, yousaid something earlier.
I think a lot of people, whenthey come here, they don't know
much about Arkansas.
Nothing past Fayetteville.
Exactly.
And they and but they I lovethat first day and people's eyes
get wide.
And and you they heard theexpression is like, I I just
(43:00):
didn't realize.
I didn't know.
I didn't know.
I did not know.
Um, and that to me istransformative, and it it
happens a lot.
Yeah.
Um, and then I love when peoplecome back.
SPEAKER_00 (43:10):
Yeah, and you know, I'm I'm pretty active on
LinkedIn, as you know, and Ishared something the other day
that Rex Nelson had writtenabout in the Democrat Gazette
over the weekend, an essay justabout the town of El Doreto in
South Arkansas.
And you know, most people thatare in Northwest Arkansas, you
know, myself included, I don'tknow that much about El Doreto,
but somebody that's been livingin Ohio all their life and moves
(43:31):
to Arkansas, they've never heardof El Dorado in all the exciting
things that are happening fivehours away in South Arkansas,
because you don't hear SouthArkansas like you hear Northwest
Arkansas.
And so, yeah, to your point, youknow, get out and and see what
the rest of our state has tooffer because uh there's a
there's a lot of growth and alot of exciting things happen in
(43:52):
each region of Arkansas.
SPEAKER_01 (43:54):
There really is.
I just think it's uh it's it'slike uh critical.
The one one other thing I'd I'dlove to do is like you Meet
people and they'll say, youknow, oh, they they grew up in a
certain place.
I always just want to knowwhere.
And I've gotten so many times Ican at least identify the
counties.
There's 75 counties in thestate.
Um, I'm still growing that skillto kind of know where some of
(44:15):
these places are.
But let's say I'm going close byto where they grew up.
I want to see that communitybecause they've talked about it.
Or, you know, kind of get aflavor for, oh, yeah, this is
where so-and-so grew up.
So you get an image of like whatthat's like and what that
community is like.
SPEAKER_00 (44:30):
Do you know where Bald Knob, Arkansas is?
I do.
Yeah.
Oh my goodness.
You win you win a prize at somekind.
Yeah.
That's where I grew up.
Okay.
Uh through the eighth grade.
My mother was a school teacherat UCA graduate.
Yeah, yeah.
And after the eighth grade, uh,my and my twin sister, uh, she
got a job in Bryant.
So we moved to Bryant.
Okay, all right.
(44:50):
So we went nine through twelvein Bryant.
But yeah, born and raised in inBald Knob, Arkansas.
Yeah.
And at one time, strawberrycapital of the world.
SPEAKER_01 (44:57):
I didn't realize that part of it.
But yeah, you know, and I I'velived in Missouri on a couple of
different occasions.
So you get to know some of theMissouri, uh, like Arkansas,
even though Missouri has KansasCity Metro and Springfield area
metro, Columbia, St.
Louis, Missouri's really a ruralstate, small towns and a lot of
natural beauty, too, right onour doorstep.
SPEAKER_00 (45:19):
All right.
So now, project or the strategy2030 has been out.
Been where I would imagineyou've been working on that
since the day after Strategy2025 was uh was was released.
And I'm sure it took a long timeto put together.
Where does your focus turn now?
Where does the work turn now?
What's the tangible day-to-dayfor you?
SPEAKER_01 (45:36):
Yeah.
Well, you know, we at the heartof what we do is we are grant
makers.
So we've been very active makinggrants, working with partners
and having conversations likethis with our partners.
I mean, I will say uh we well,we were talking to partners in
advance of making the publicrelease.
We didn't want our partners toto be taken by surprise of any
(45:59):
of the uh the plan itself.
We wanted them to have a chanceto, we really value that
relationship.
And I I really want philanthropyto be transparent and
approachable.
I think approachability is justabsolutely key.
And I think our team does a goodjob of that.
And I think certainly influencedby the approachability of uh of
(46:21):
the folks we work with and for.
And I think that about theregion, but now it's
implementation, it's putting theplan into action.
It's also as you put it inaction, like what do you learn
from that?
Like you one of the things we dowith each of our grants is we
set forth uh a set of outputsand outcomes, and that's
(46:41):
generated at first by theprospective grantee.
They actually start working onthat, and then usually it's an
exchange about what that lookslike.
So every grant gets anevaluation.
Um, we look at key performanceindicators and we want to make
sure that the results are there,and that should be able to
really tell a story going backto that vision of a vibrant and
(47:04):
welcoming place is like how doesthis all feed into that vision
of Northwest Arkansas?
SPEAKER_00 (47:10):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (47:10):
But now we're in that implementation stage.
Um, we're also interested in umthe kind of connections.
I I feel like a huge part ofthis role is making connections.
And and when we can play a roleas a convener, that's a really
important aspect that I think wecan play.
And we want to be neutral inthat regard, but sometimes just
(47:33):
bringing partners together for aconversation can be very
fruitful to help them kind ofdiscover ways in which they
might be able to work togetheror they might be having common
challenges.
SPEAKER_00 (47:44):
I also feel like in your job and your role, making
connections is important, but Ialso feel like just listening,
just listening and workingtogether and building
relationships is a huge part ofyour job.
It's a huge part.
SPEAKER_01 (47:56):
I I think it's um and I and I get that every day.
I'm I'm listening for I I hadthe privilege and and this
happens a lot is meeting folksum over this past weekend.
It was their first time comingto Northwest Arkansas.
And I I always just ask them, Isaid, well, give me your give me
your impressions, and um I liketo learn from them and like what
(48:18):
do they note, what do they see,what are their takeaways, and uh
always offer a chance to tofollow up when it's appropriate.
But I do think that listening isabsolutely key because you learn
from everybody.
They don't say anything aboutthe traffic first thing, do
they?
No, no, you know what?
That's a honestly, that is ararity.
(48:39):
I will tell you what a lot ofpeople will say, because so many
people are are flying in, theywill talk about the quality of
the Uber and Lyft drivers, andthey will talk about the folks
that are, I think they may besome of the best um uh
ambassadors to the regionbecause I constantly hear this.
It happened multiple times overthe weekend when people were
(48:59):
speaking about it.
But I do think it's uhcritically important.
One of the things we say at thefoundation, and I it's really
resonated with me because itmakes sense, and this is a
principle that I live by is thefolks that are closest to a
challenge have the bestsolutions.
So if you want to know how tosolve something, that's where
you're gonna find very oftenyour best answer.
SPEAKER_00 (49:22):
Yeah, awesome.
Okay, great point.
Uh, final question for you, justuh, you know, kind of a magic
wand question, which we talkabout implementation of the
goals and the outline ofstrategy 2030.
If you've got a magic wand, ifthings have happened less like
you wanted to go in 10 years,what does success look like in
Northwest Arkansas?
SPEAKER_01 (49:39):
Yeah, I that we continue to be uh a vibrant
region that's still seeing umgrowth occurring, that the
culture still is is strong andas welcoming as it has been in
the past, that people feel avery strong sense of
connectivity and that theanchors that have continued to
(50:01):
be uh thriving and growing herecontinue to do just that.
Um, I'd like to see us in thatvision of the future work
together across multiple otherareas of regional work.
I think we have excellentexamples now.
To me, the airport is one of thebest examples of the region
coming together.
We can replicate that in anumber of other ways.
(50:24):
And to me, working together as aregion is how we're gonna grow
and thrive together.
Um, it's just incumbent to beable to do that, to be able to
sustain the growth.
And the other thing is just likewe continue to be uh a job
engine, that growth continues tohappen in that regard, and that
we continue to be a place thatuh is a standout in the country
(50:47):
as a place that gets umattention from others about the
things we're doing well and whatother folks can learn from.
SPEAKER_00 (50:54):
Yeah, I think working together is um if it's
not imperative, it is extremelyimportant, I think, to our
future in the next five, 10years and even beyond.
So all right, great.
Robert, um really appreciate theconversation.
Clay, you here.
Thank you, bro.
Yeah, I will I will see youaround Bentonville, maybe at the
farmers market.
Sounds great.
Sounds great.
Well, I really appreciate theopportunity and thanks for
(51:15):
having me on.
All right, good stuff.
And that is it for this episodeof Central to NWA.
As always, we appreciate youtuning in.
Until next time, go Bears.
That's it for this episode ofCentral to NWA, a UCA podcast.
I'm Paul Gatling, SeniorDirector of Northwest Arkansas
Engagement for the University ofCentral Arkansas.
(51:35):
Be sure to subscribe to the showand follow UCA on all the
appropriate social media.
I'll see you next time onCentral to NWA.
This is Central to NWA, a UCA podcast.
I'm your host, Paul Gatling, andwe are bringing the University
of Central Arkansas to NorthwestArkansas.
Each episode, we will talk withleaders, alumni, and innovators
driving this region forward.
People who are shapingindustries and defining what is
next for our state.
(00:22):
Let's get started.
All right, we are back withanother episode of Central to
NWA UCA Podcast.
Paul Gatling here with you, andjoining us today is a good
friend of mine for our 15thepisode, Robert.
And we've got conversationsagain, we've got conversations
with um, you know, UCLA, UCAalums.
(00:44):
We've got about 4,000 in the twocounty area, but also people who
are not Central Arkansasgraduates, but they are business
and civic leaders here.
Uh and so Robert, you know, heis uh uh one of those people.
He's uh he's quietly uh involvedin a lot of important
conversations that are shapingnorthwest Arkansas.
Uh and he's here with us today.
Robert Burns, home regionprogram director of the Walton
(01:07):
Family Foundation.
Very exciting.
Thank you, Paul.
No, my pleasure.
Glad to see you and uh glad tobe invited.
Well, and I I should mentiontoo, he's also uh a friend.
You've been here about fiveyears now, right?
Yeah, a friend.
We see each other at, you know,maybe the farmers market or or
Blake Street, but he is alsosomebody that indulges me in and
that I could have a goodconversation about one of my
personal life passions, NorthCarolina Tar Heel basketball.
(01:30):
This is uh a guy that I couldtalk about the Tar Heels.
SPEAKER_01 (01:32):
That's right.
I think actually one of thefirst times I saw you, Paul, you
had a uh North Carolina shirton, and I said, Well, well,
what's that about?
And then you said it becauseit's not something I see here
that often.
And Paul knows this, but I Igrew up uh in North Carolina and
my father taught at UNC.
My mom worked at UNC, so I was adied-in-the-wol fan at that
point.
SPEAKER_00 (01:52):
That's all I needed to hear.
When you said that, I'm like,hey, I need to know this guy.
Absolutely.
He's he's talking my language.
So, well, Robert, you know,we'll get into uh, you know, a
lot of different things over thenext uh 30 or 40 minutes here.
But for people who do who maybeknow you or know of you, but may
not know exactly what you do forthe foundation, uh, what does
the home region program directoractually do?
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Sure.
Um glad to be able just toexplain a bit of that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
Yeah.
So at I'll start with the biggerpicture is the Walton Family
Foundation uh is a family-ledfoundation, and and I have the
great honor and privilege ofworking with Walton family
members uh related to the workin home region.
And the foundation has threecore programmatic areas
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education, which is national,environment, which is
international and domestic, andthen home region, all of which
have a director.
And I am fortunate to lead thehome region program.
I have a wonderful team, uh,wonderful committee that I work
with.
And in terms of the work of homeregion, it is focused on five
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counties.
Uh, four of those counties arein Arkansas, and one is in
Mississippi, and I'll explain abit of that.
Okay.
We focused in northwest Arkansason the counties of Benton and
Washington.
And then we also have had along-standing commitment to the
Mississippi Delta.
And in the Delta, we focus onwork in Jefferson County, which
is Pine Bluff and many othersmaller cities, uh, Phillips
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County, which is Helena, WestHelena, a number of other
smaller communities.
And then we crossed the river toKahoma County in Mississippi,
uh, City of Clarksdale, and someother communities as well.
And that history is longstandingbecause for folks that know that
geography, a bridge crosses theMississippi River there.
So there's a lot of commerce andconnection between those two
counties that it has made senseto do work in that region.
(03:46):
We have a strategy that focuseson Northwest Arkansas, and we
have a strategy that focuses onthe Mississippi Delta.
SPEAKER_00 (03:52):
Yeah.
Okay.
And we're gonna we're uh we'regonna get to all that and your
foundation work and the strategy2030 that's just been released.
We'll talk about that.
But first, I would really uhlove for our listeners and our
viewers here on the pod to learna little bit more about you and
your story.
We hit on it a little bit.
You're from North Carolina, yourparents uh were worked on campus
there in Chapel Hill.
(04:12):
But just uh, you know, where didyou grow up?
What was that environment like?
SPEAKER_01 (04:16):
Yeah, so I grew up um in the county where Chapel
Hill is located, called OrangeCounty.
But I look the way I like totalk about it is I grew up rural
because my family um had along-standing tradition of
having a small family farm.
We raised a very small herd ofbeef cattle.
And if you drew circles aroundthe house I grew up in, you
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would hit cousins and uncles andfamily members.
So uh we worked together on thatfarm and and had that operation
for many years.
Um, I still, when I go back hometo North Carolina, that same
feeling exists.
A lot of my cousins andrelatives live very close to
that area.
And uh had the best of bothworlds because I had the into
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the city and town of Chapel Hilland then the rural nature, but I
really credit the ruralatmosphere and very much have a
passion around rural Americatoo.
And that led me uh to somethingthat was really interesting.
My father, being a professor atUNC after I finished high
school, uh, didn't want eithermy sister or I to go to UNC
(05:21):
because that was where we grewup.
So I had the great uh fortune ofuh getting a scholarship and
going to Appalachian StateUniversity up in the mountains
in North Carolina.
And after graduation, um, I wasreally fortunate that I'd gotten
very interested in publicservice, public administration,
the work of nonprofits, um, somework in philanthropy.
(05:43):
And I uh went cross-country andwas accepted to a program at the
University of Kansas, which hasa really well-regarded master's
in public administrationprogram.
So I had that duality, um, andit gave me another like renowned
basketball program.
Uh I have since become a realfan of University of Arkansas
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basketball, too.
So it follows me in manyrespects, and it's wonderful to
have that.
But I then worked uh for a whilein local government, um, worked
in some different localities,focused on city management, city
planning, and then uh made atransition to work in the
nonprofit sector.
And a lot of that work hasfocused for me on housing, um,
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economic development, communitydevelopment, lending for small
business, entrepreneurism.
And then I also had work inphilanthropy during that time
with an organization thatgranted dollars for mostly
affordable housing around thecountry.
And then um I have a stint inthe private sector more recently
before coming to the WaltonFamily Foundation, where I was
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working for Citigroup, based outof our DC office, and was
working for them on both thephilanthropic side and did some
work with Citi on their impactinvestment side.
And City being an internationalinstitution was eye-opening
because got to do some relatedinternational work, particularly
around microfinance and helpingdo some grant making there.
(07:11):
Um, we were very fortunate thatwhen the opportunity came about
and a recruiter reached outabout this job, I remember
reading the description and justit really resonated with me
because it was so many thingsthat I'd worked in and had
passion around and could reallyidentify with.
(07:31):
So that really started thecourse of working in um this
role and making that journey.
But we also, my partner Chrisand I really wanted to get back
to the heartland.
Uh, we had lived in DC for awhile.
We had lived in Kansas Cityprior to that, which is where
Chris's family is located.
And it was just a wonderfulopportunity to come back to a
(07:53):
region that that we hold dearand where we have a lot of
people that we relate to andfamily members that are just
north of here in the Kansas Cityregion.
SPEAKER_00 (08:02):
So yeah, you said it.
So many experiences, nonprofit,public service, personal
philanthropy, private sector,all of that that you're
passionate about.
What are what is the commonthread through all of those
experiences and through all ofyour resume up to this point?
SPEAKER_01 (08:17):
Yeah, to me, it's um, and I think this is one of
the themes I really hold outabout the foundation too, is
like access to opportunity.
I think so much of the work thatI've had the privilege to be
engaged in is about givingpeople access to things and
being a catalyst, whether Ithink of philanthropy as being
something that's trulycatalytic, that by the work that
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we are privileged to do ismaking a grant and then being
able to then see the impact ofthat work to try to leverage
others um in the region to tojoin in that effort.
And we're really fortunate thatwe we live in a region that um
does have the ability to do thatfrom time to time.
SPEAKER_00 (09:02):
So you're contacted about this job in Northwest
Arkansas.
What was your you know theheartland, you know we're Kansas
City, obviously you've heard ofNorthwest Arkansas.
What was your um experience withNorthwest Arkansas up until that
point?
Had you ever been here?
Had you been there?
SPEAKER_01 (09:17):
Um I had been been to Arkansas, um, mostly around
the Little Rock area in thepast, but I lived in the St.
Louis area for a while and thenthe Kansas City area.
So the the closest I had come toNorthwest Arkansas was really
around Eureka Springs, a placethat had visited in the past and
obviously is very close by andwas captivated by its beauty and
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kind of uniqueness as well as aplace.
Um, I knew of a lot of thethings happening in northwest
Arkansas.
I had followed the grows, hadread a lot of the material about
uh things that were happeninghere.
I remember when Crystal Bridgesopened, you know, now more than
15 years ago.
But um, it was a region thatkept appearing on list of best
(10:01):
places to live, uh, areas ofjust real vibrancy.
And I'm like, wow, this is anarea that I that was very
appealing.
And then I remember our ourfirst experiences in the region,
which is continue to this day,is just the quality of the
people.
And this is something I talkabout a lot, is just the the way
in which I think so many peoplehere honestly go out of their
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way to help each other.
Um, and I think it crosses lotsof different lines, which I I
know from having lived in otherplaces, that's not something you
see everywhere.
SPEAKER_00 (10:36):
I call that um relationship density.
We talk about density all thetime, but it's not to me, it's
not the population, it's therelationship density where
there's so much crossoverbetween the Fortune 500 silo and
the nonprofit silo and thefounder silo and the startups,
and they're all wanting eachother to succeed for various
(10:58):
reasons.
And it feeds into that.
Uh, I want to help you succeed,but tell me what I can do to
help you.
Right.
Um, which, you know, I've alwayslived in Arkansas, I've lived
here half my life.
I don't know what it's likeother places, but you're saying
it's not like that in a lot ofplaces.
SPEAKER_01 (11:11):
Yeah, I don't, I think it is unique, and I I
think it's an important part ofthe culture here.
Um, it's something you'll hearthematically as we talk today,
but uh I feel as as stillsomebody who's uh really
embraced the area and love it.
I mean, we love it here and wetalk about it all the time.
And uh we've had lots ofvisitors come who it's their
(11:34):
first time ever in the state ofArkansas, and then of course the
first time in northwestArkansas.
And I love when people comeback.
Um, we have a recent examplewhere friends came to visit
about a year and a half ago, andnow their daughter's going to go
to graduate school.
Sure.
Uh, because they becamecaptivated with the region.
They went out um and did uh rockclimbing, hit some of the
(11:57):
trails.
Uh, and and I just I think thosethings um really are contagious
to the region.
SPEAKER_00 (12:03):
I love to ask people like that, uh, well, you know,
what was your preconceivednotion of coming here before you
came here and then ask themafter they've been here a while,
how does that square with whatyou thought it is?
And it's always just you knowmind blown and the eyes are
open.
It's like not what I thought,and and that sort of thing.
Does this feel like home now foryou and Chris?
Yes, it does.
SPEAKER_01 (12:21):
Yeah.
And I I I just think about thatwhen we were coming back.
We were recently coming backfrom uh a family wedding, and it
was just like you when you geton that plane to come back,
you're like, I'm coming home.
Yeah, you know, this is home.
I really value the community,the relationships we have built
here.
And I really identify withsomething you were saying, and
(12:41):
Paul is I I think it isincumbent on all of us here is
to do our best to connect peopleto each other.
Um and I I just think that'ssuch an important part of the
social fabric of this country,but especially sets apart this
region.
SPEAKER_00 (12:57):
Right.
All right, home.
Let's stay on that word there.
Um, home region, one of thethree pillars you talked about.
What does the home region umactually mean inside the
foundation?
You know, we geography,geographically you described it.
What does the home region workmean?
SPEAKER_01 (13:12):
Yeah.
So we uh you just you mentionedthis a little bit earlier.
We launched a new five-yearstrategy.
Uh, we've been uh going publicwith that in the last two to
three weeks and gives a chancetoday to talk a bit more about
it.
But um, every five years thefoundation goes through, and I
think it's a healthy exercise.
Like, what are we working onnow?
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What do we need to adapt?
It's a very robust discussionwith our stakeholders.
It involves our partners, itlooks at data uh from around the
region, including the Delta.
And then we look at areas thatwe need to focus on.
So we recommitted um to Bentonand Washington counties, given
everything that's occurring herein this dynamic region.
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And we also recommitted to thework in the Delta, the three
counties.
We, in the last strategy, we hadexpanded to Jefferson County.
So Jefferson was a new countyfor us, and we've seen some
really heartening work therehappening.
So we have said we're gonnacontinue that work in Jefferson
Phillips and Cahoma County.
So our strategy for each um inNorthwest Arkansas and the Delta
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are different, and they reallyare uh they're curated to each
of those regions, and I think ina very responsible way, looking
at the needs of each region.
SPEAKER_00 (14:30):
So I was reading it, um, you know, it's a big
document, but I was kind ofperusing it and reading it and
getting ready for ourconversation today.
And uh, and a phrase that stoodout to me was, you know, learn,
earn, and thrive close to home.
What what does that phraseactually mean in in practical
terms in practice?
SPEAKER_01 (14:46):
Yeah.
So I'll I'll talk about thatfrom the perspective of uh what
I think is incumbent in the planitself.
So I'll I'll talk about theareas we focus on in this plan.
So if you think about the visionin the plan for Northwest
Arkansas, it's that this regionis the most vibrant and
welcoming in the U.S.
And that's something that Ithink we are, and we want to
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continue to be and live up tothat in the future.
And for that effort, um, we lookat four areas of focus.
The first of those is physicalinfrastructure.
Given the growth in the region,the demands on our
infrastructure, whether that bea sidewalk, a road, a sewer line
are increasing.
(15:31):
So focusing on that.
The second is around this ideaof um connected communities,
finding community.
How do people who have livedhere multiple generations find
ways to engage volunteers, boardservice, meet each other, have
that connectivity?
How do people who are movinghere within the last week find
(15:52):
that same sense of welcome?
How does the community worktogether to bring folks
together?
Um, how do you create space likein a park or a farmer's market
or any type of gathering in theregion where people can come
together and maybe there's anaccidental connection with
somebody, or you may be talkingto somebody from a community
(16:15):
that you had not thought youmight run into and have those
accidental connections, whichare really important.
The country is facing um asignificant challenge with
loneliness.
And I think these are measuresthat help combat that.
I don't worry as much aboutNorthwest Arkansas in that way,
but I think we always have tothink about how do people
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connect.
SPEAKER_00 (16:36):
I've um the accidental connections that I
call collisions, and I'vereferenced that before, and I've
ref I've said before, and I'llkeep saying again, I think that
is one of the unique thingsabout our uh region of Northwest
Arkansas is that the people thatare here and are out.
And um, you know, uh a podcast Isaw, New Road Capital Partners,
(16:57):
um, Stefan Stearns was on itwith Matt Waller a couple years
ago, and they were talking, youknow, and he came from
Manhattan, you know, moved here.
And um, and so Matt was tellinghim, you know, how do you
explain to your friends backhome about, you know, one, why
you came here, you know, andwhat's it like there, and how
would you describe it?
And he said something that stuckwith me, and I've said it on
this podcast before.
(17:18):
He, he, he, his parallel wasNorthwest Arkansas is like your
freshman year of college.
Everybody has come here and theyjust want to meet people, and
they're trying to meet people.
And they're saying, Hey, whereare you from?
You know, what do you do?
What brought you to NorthwestArkansas?
And that's that really kind ofstuck with me because that's
that's kind of the way it is, isthat because we do have so many
people coming here from all overthe world, uh, even more and
(17:41):
more, and they just want to, youknow, meet people uh and and
make a network.
So I think that's what's one ofthe things that makes our region
unique.
SPEAKER_01 (17:48):
Yeah, and I appreciate it because I think
it's it's really kind of you'rehitting upon something that I
think we need to be curiousabout each other.
And that's part of what what Ihear you saying there, and and
uh I appreciate him saying that.
Yeah.
And I'll I'll finish out by justsaying the two other areas of
focus for us are aroundentrepreneurism and uh growing
out further the entrepreneurialum ecosystem that exists here
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that really to me is founded onuh the principles of a lot of
the companies that have grown uphere.
And this region has reallybirthed a lot of entrepreneurs
over the years and now are someof the biggest companies,
biggest company in the world.
And then we've got a reallyrobust and growing
entrepreneurial ecosystem thatuh we want to find ways to
(18:33):
continue to grow that.
We know that capital is asignificant need, um, no matter
what any region in the middle ofthe country in the heartland has
done, that all a lot of thecapital is really aggregated on
east and west coast.
And uh we can do more to bringthat here.
And I think there's goodevidence of it.
And the last one that I'll speakabout is the uh career-connected
(18:57):
learning.
So, how do students in K-12, howdo adults find pathways to jobs
that they love, that they canearn in?
And it gets back to this idealike, how do you thrive?
If you put all of these thingstogether, we think it makes both
for a high quality of life, butalso allows an individual and a
family to thrive.
(19:18):
Is it every ingredient?
No, but these are reallyessential ingredients to a
region that is gonna thrive inthe future.
SPEAKER_00 (19:26):
So let's stay right there then.
You talk about essentialingredients, Dan.
And one thing we talk about alot at UCA is um you know,
workforce and talent developmentand talent pipelines.
So, what what do um employersand civic leaders, what are they
looking for right now?
What did they need more of?
What do, what, what, what sortof things do we need to prepare
students for right now?
SPEAKER_01 (19:46):
Yeah, we we had done a study that actually is on our
material on our website a fewyears ago that talked about
looking at the the districtsthroughout Northwest Arkansas.
And there's a multipledistricts, and of course, we
have wonderful public schooldistricts, we have great charter
schools and private schools andparochial schools across the
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region.
But when you looked at whatstudents were afforded, many of
the schools were still indexingvery highly on ag related forms
of uh career education.
We still are a really robust agregion, so I'm not taking away
from that.
But when you look at thatcompared to career need, uh, our
(20:28):
increased need, like a lot ofregions, is in medical
professionals.
And that includes everythingfrom nurses to allied health
professionals to respiratorytherapists.
SPEAKER_00 (20:39):
UCA, UCA, UCA.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (20:41):
And I and I and I think part of that too is like
how do you train those nextgeneration?
Technology is an incredibleneed.
The hospitality sector hasundergone tremendous growth here
and probably will in the future,given the number of tourists
coming here, the number oflocals throughout the state that
are finding their way toNorthwest Arkansas, the growth
(21:03):
in our hospitality industry isfueling that.
So I think you're gonna continueto see some of that that
transition occur.
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
Yeah, and we and to you want to make sure you're
training for the jobs that are ajob today, but it's still gonna
be a job in five years.
And does our curriculum matchthat?
Right.
Are we are we are we preparingstudents for the jobs that are
coming?
SPEAKER_01 (21:23):
So exactly it it means too that folks that may be
in a role now, but they dream ofanother role in the future have
the ability to upskill, to lookat other ways to increase their
skill level.
So maybe they're doing somethingnow, but they desire to be a
welder, they desire to be anurse, or they desire to work in
one of the local restaurants.
(21:44):
The great thing here is that youcan find those pathways and you
can find them in ways thatenable you to get there fairly
quickly.
SPEAKER_00 (21:52):
And so it sounds like one of the challenges is to
make sure that, you know, we'rea fast growing region,
obviously, but to make sure theopportunity grows.
Alongside the region itselfbecause it's changing so
rapidly.
And that's one of the thingsthat uh my work is focused on
that we want to do is to makesure we have um we're we're
finding opportunities for ourgraduates and our students in
Northwest Arkansas, one of thefastest growing, most dynamic
(22:16):
regions in the country.
So is that a challenge that yourwork touches on as well?
SPEAKER_01 (22:20):
It does.
I mean, I think it's it's ittouches on multiple areas like
that, which is I I say that veryoften, exactly what you said.
I said, Yeah, I think a studentor an adult would be hard
pressed to find a region that'sgrowing as dynamically as this
region.
We know that from data.
We know that from the growth inthe region, but the future to me
(22:41):
is just very bright in NorthwestArkansas.
I also think this area of focusmeans for a kid who is coming
through school now, um, and thisis something we are focused on
too, is how do you expose kids,whether they be in the Delta or
here in Northwest Arkansas, tomake them curious about career
(23:01):
pathways?
Um, we know from a lot ofresearch that the the way a kid
finds out about jobs is usuallythe people they meet early on as
a kid.
Could be through church, itcould be through family, it
could be through your parents,but that influences what you're
exposed to.
So the further you can exposekids to here's some
(23:21):
possibilities, and then they getto high school and they get to
actually try some of thesecareer fields out.
We have some amazing programshere in Northwest Arkansas that
enable you to do it.
Um, that's great.
And I think the other thing,I'll just say this is you talk
to some of the students who havegone through some of the high
school programs.
And to me, one of the biggestbenefits is they they take that
(23:43):
program for a year and they findout, you know, I'm not sure I
want to do that.
I got this experience.
Now I'm gonna try another careertrack.
And I think that's a beautifulthing.
Uh, I wish, you know, you lookback and I'm like, wow, I wish I
had some of those opportunities.
Going back in high school, um, Ilove what I get to do now, but I
think it's just awesome thatkids get to be exposed and get
(24:06):
to actually do work.
They go out in the field, theyactually get jobs in these
fields that they think theymight want to work in.
SPEAKER_00 (24:14):
What did you think you wanted to do when you were
15, 16 years old?
Did you have a thought in yourhead of this is a direction I
think I want to go?
SPEAKER_01 (24:21):
You know, I at that age, I think I was really
interested, and I I still amfascinated by design and
architecture.
So I didn't go that direction,but when you think about cities
and planning and design, I thinkthere is a lot that goes into
that.
Um, so that that's somethingthat always had resonated with
me and still does.
And I think that honestly is oneof the things that also sets
(24:42):
Northwest Arkansas and the stateof Arkansas art is that we have
so many wonderful examples ofdesign in the region.
And and I think it hasinfluenced um the tasteful
nature of a lot of design yousee in the region.
Yeah, you know, you even go backto like Faye Jones and his work
in the region and the influencenot only he had on Arkansas, but
(25:04):
on the country as a whole.
SPEAKER_00 (25:06):
Yeah, we you know, Fayevil, you know, can be, you
know, described as a cradle ofdesign, a cradle of architecture
going to A.
Jones and now up until today.
And yeah, we we probably takefor granted the you know the
architecture that we're seeingcome to life, even in just
Bentonville.
And um, you know, I'll give youyou can put your architecture
hat on for a minute.
You've seen the you've seen theuh Crystal Bridges expansion.
(25:28):
How would you describe it?
SPEAKER_01 (25:29):
Uh magnificent.
I for folks that have been tothe museum, uh, I just highly
encourage them to go out anddiscover what the expansion
means and what a what a gift tothe region.
And the fact that it's soexpansive now.
And to me, the museum itself,the design is part of the
(25:52):
natural beauty and the settingis part of the natural beauty.
I love how that space is boththe outside and the inside.
Um, and the fact that it'sanother really good example to
me of a space that draws peopletogether.
Um, and and I know from even myown personal experience, you're
(26:12):
exposed to art that that you mayhave never been exposed to or or
not had the opportunity to seein the past.
And it's so thoughtfully done.
So highly encourage folks to tobe able to go and see that.
And um, you can say that aboutthe buildings that have been
built up adjacent to it, the newwhole health institute.
If folks haven't checked thatbuilding out, built by local
(26:34):
school, local architects, themedical schools, um, the
amazing, just even the trailsand the structure that that
connect all these places.
I I I don't take that, I don'tthink a lot of people take it
for granted, but I think it'seasy to kind of look at it and
just it's such I have suchgratitude, such appreciation for
(26:54):
that space.
SPEAKER_00 (26:55):
Yeah.
And uh one thing that peopleshould realize that maybe they
don't, I mean, that there arepublic elements to all of those
spaces, right?
The Heartland Whole HealthInstitute.
There's a coffee shop in there.
There's a lobby, the firstfloor, go in.
You know, the Alice Walton uhSchool of Medicine,
public-facing elements of that,coffee shop, second floor, walk
and explore certain areas of thecampus because that's what they
(27:17):
were designed to be.
Exactly.
So, yeah, I mean, you know,access, bringing that, you know,
I've lived here, moved here in2001, and 10 years later we've
got this, you know, billiondollar, multi-billion dollar
museum.
I'd never had much of anexposure to art.
And so um, it was right there inmy front door, five minutes
away.
And now I try not to take it forgranted.
And of course, uh I can't waitto see the the expansion myself
(27:39):
because uh it's um truly goingto be I I you know, I think you
know, a museum 15 years on isgonna have more design elements,
right?
More more uh evolution of ofwhat's possible there.
So yeah, that's it's fun stuff.
All right.
Well, let's talk about your homenow, Northwest Arkansas.
You've considered it home.
You've had a you know front rowseat to the growth here the last
(27:59):
five years.
What has been the biggest changemaybe that you've seen in the
past five years, or or maybewhat excites you um most about
where Northwest Arkansas isheaded?
SPEAKER_01 (28:08):
Yeah, I I think the the biggest not change, it's
more of a constant is just thethe pace of growth.
Uh growth is a is a constant.
Um I would prefer to have growthas a region.
I think a lot of regionscertainly are envious of that
(28:28):
kind of growth, and growth hasto be balanced in many ways.
And I think overall the regionhas been thoughtful about that.
Um, the other thing that just isthe amazing variety across the
region of key anchors that haveopened during that five years.
You you just spoke about some ofthose, but if you go and you
(28:50):
look at some of the the workhappening at Fayetteville and
the work happening in Springdaleor Rogers or uh Pea Ridge,
Centerton, Prairie Grove, youlook around the region, there is
just an amazing variety ofthings occurring here as the
community builds and grows.
And and that we're not just weare a region.
(29:11):
And I appreciate the fact folksthink about this as a region,
and each community has its ownunique identity, but we can work
together as a region, whichtakes me to your your second
point, which is like what itexcites me about the future.
To me, it's there's multiplethings, but the ability to
really work together as aregion, to think about services
(29:32):
that we may not offer regionallynow that makes sense to come
together and and work as aregion so that we can continue
to have the highest quality oflife possible and that folks
feel that and experience it on adaily basis.
The other thing that excites meis because of the work going on
(29:55):
and the ongoing development ofso many things, it's just the
dynasties of the area, the factthat um there are so many things
happening that are exciting on afairly regular basis that people
get to experience and the factthat we continue to draw folks
from outside of the region, andwe continue to have a very
(30:17):
strong, large group of folksthat have grown up here.
And I think I like that balance.
And that excites me about thefuture as folks grow.
Um, I I also get the sense thatmore and more folks are deciding
to stay, uh, which I think isgreat for the region.
And that makes a difference interms of the stability of the
(30:38):
region.
SPEAKER_00 (30:38):
That's one of to me, that is the biggest um uh change
in my time here, 25 years here,is that when I moved here,
people moved here for work.
I moved here for work, I movedhere for a job.
Okay.
Most people they moved toBentonville or Northwest
Arkansas at large for a job.
Now people are choosing to movehere uh for their life.
They're choosing to move herebecause um they have the uh
(31:01):
ability to work from whereverthey want to work.
But I want to live here where uhI like mountain biking, I like
the art scene, I like um theculinary scene, I like the
startups, yeah, buzz.
Well, you know, whatever thereason is, they're they're
choosing to move here for areason other than work.
And to your point, that's umthat's why we're attracting and
(31:22):
continue to attract people fromliterally all over the world.
SPEAKER_01 (31:24):
Yeah, no, I I think well said, I when I when I talk
to a lot of folks, you probablyhave the experience too.
People will talk about it's notthat they they had a job here,
they were drawn by the qualityof life.
They came as a visitor, and Ioften say it's like the third
visit seems to be the charmsometime where people make that
decision.
SPEAKER_00 (31:44):
Yeah, can I see myself living there right?
SPEAKER_01 (31:46):
But next a time or two, right?
And I I just think um we arestill um, even though yes, cost
of of certain things has gone upin the region, we're still an
affordable place to live whenyou compare us to other parts of
the country.
And you leave NorthwestArkansas, and there's just so
(32:06):
much incredible natural beautyin the state that you just can
go very close by to experience,or you can be in downtown
Springdale or downtownBentonville and walk and be on a
trail in five minutes.
That's pretty uncanny.
SPEAKER_00 (32:22):
Yeah, I I don't want it to come across uh from this
year that certainly there areit's not without challenges.
And growth is going to bringchallenges, but I I believe that
Northwest Arkansas is handlingthose challenges better uh or
maybe more efficiently thanother fast growing regions of
the country.
You may have an opinion aboutthat too.
SPEAKER_01 (32:42):
Yeah, I think we're uh, you know, some of the recent
data shows the ninth fastestgrowing region in the country,
and uh the projections show thatthat's going to continue in the
future.
And certainly we have citiesthat are some of them most fast
growing in the state ofArkansas, and sometimes in the
United States, um, it does bringchallenges, and and those I
(33:03):
think can be managed over time.
Folks certainly have read aboutsome of the challenges around uh
infrastructure, sewer peopleexperience some transportation
challenges from time to time.
But I appreciate the work thatthe region's already doing to
get ahead of some of thesethings or to catch up on some of
them.
Um, and I think that bodes wellfor the future and the way the
(33:25):
region has come together aroundthe need for these types of
career pathways that I wasreferring to, and how do we meet
the needs for the future?
And I think it's important onany of the career pathways that
you think about what does thegrowth and adoption of AI mean
in certain pathways.
And I think overall there's anincredible opportunity there for
(33:47):
folks going back to the upskillidea that as folks might
transition or think about otherpossibilities, like there's a
whole array of things out therethat people will still uh
potentially be able to do andmaybe have be curious about.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:01):
I want to talk about a program that um is supported
by the Walton Family Foundation.
As we talk about, you know,rapid growth in Northwest
Arkansas, particularly Bentonand Washington counties.
You're going to need more um uhcivic leadership, more people
who want to be involved as civicleaders, more people who want to
be devolved as communitydevelopers.
Um UCA's community developmentpipeline program.
(34:24):
Uh, again, supported by theWalton Family Foundation uh
funding, and it's designed tohelp prepare the next generation
of um economic developmentleaders, community leaders.
Uh, our second cohort of that.
It's a three-year program, oursecond cohort starts this
summer.
Um, what attracted the WaltonFamily Foundation to that
program and to be involved inthat initiative?
SPEAKER_01 (34:45):
Yeah, I and I will say that some of that initial
investigation has certainlypreceded my tenure at the
foundation.
Um what what and I have been tothe institute, actually taken
part in a day there and got towork with Shelby, who's the
director.
And I think uh you've got somereally extraordinary talent
there.
What I like about it, it's acohort model.
(35:08):
So the folks that are going fromNorthwest Arkansas, they're a
cohort.
They will be in this program forthat term.
They will also get exposed tofolks throughout the state that
are facing some of the samechallenges.
They might be different, butgrowth may appear differently in
another part of the state or adifferent context.
And they get to bring back thelessons they learned.
(35:28):
But I there's a lot ofrelationship building that
occurs among that cohort.
And I got to see, I mean, thishas been out there publicly, UCA
has talked about it.
The cohort this time just is tome outstanding.
I mean, I have the privilege ofknowing some of those folks.
I had nothing to do with thembeing accepted.
But when I saw that they hadapplied, I was like, and been
(35:50):
accepted, I was like, that'sfantastic because they represent
a variety of communities aroundthe two counties, uh,
neighborhoods, variety ofexperience.
But I already know that thesesome of these folks express
curiosity about how they can bemore engaged.
Um, and to me, it's exciting tosee these folks together.
And community development to meis also about that first word is
(36:13):
like, how do you developcommunity?
And community takes on multipleaspects.
But when you talk aboutengagement and like, how do I
get involved?
How do I help others to getinvolved?
And that can be going back tothe idea of uh finding
community.
How do you become a bettervolunteer?
How do you help people findvolunteer opportunities?
(36:34):
How do you maybe um find outlike what's going on locally
within your city or your countyand just be able to stay engaged
around that?
SPEAKER_00 (36:43):
That's why I think this initiative is very, and
again, you know, I've been to umUniversity of Central Arkansas
about two years now.
I knew very little about the CDIprogram.
Uh, I've learned a lot moreabout it in the last two years.
Uh, P.
Ridge, mayor, Nathan C.
Big advocate for that.
We've talked about it.
Um, but it's talking about whenwe talk about career pathways
(37:04):
for students and just foranybody in general and community
development, uh, I think it'simportant to intentionally
develop talent in that space.
And like you, I had a lot ofpeople, you know, ask me when I
was, you know, promoting theprogram Apply, apply.
They asked me, do you think Ishould apply for that?
I mean, I'm I'm this, I'm not athis.
I've never seen myself.
I said, yes, communitydevelopment takes uh everybody.
(37:26):
And so uh, yeah, when we, youknow, and not me, but when our
Center for Community EconomicDevelopment uh put out our 25
members of our cohort, uh, saw alot of familiar names and a lot
of people.
I thought, yeah, this makesgreat sense.
So yeah, excited to kick thatoff later this summer uh and and
see what kind of skills and whatkind of qualities uh those those
(37:46):
folks can bring back uh to theircommunity here in Northwest
Arkansas.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (37:50):
I mean, going back to something you asked about,
like they learn aboutinfrastructure.
They learn about like somethings that you know can hear
that term, and you're like,well, what does infrastructure
mean?
And they're like, they'regetting in the the nuts and
bullets.
SPEAKER_00 (38:02):
They're gonna find out what it works out.
SPEAKER_01 (38:03):
And they get to see it in action.
Yeah.
And uh that's a that's greatbecause you get to be exposed to
it.
And uh it's easy to I think it'seasy for all of us to take some
of that for granted, like thefact that you turn on a faucet
and water comes out that's goodquality, or you flush a toilet
and you know that that's goingsomewhere that's gonna be taken
(38:23):
care of.
But I I think these areessential things because they're
they're essential to the growthof a region, but it's great that
somebody wants to understandthat more.
SPEAKER_00 (38:32):
Yeah, we've got to have them, right?
I mean, it's gotta have it.
Yeah, I gotta have that,especially in a place growing
this fast.
But uh yeah, I just we uh UCA uhdefinitely appreciate the Walton
Family Foundation support forthat.
Uh I've come to call that one ofour uh flagship initiatives at
the university, the our CDIcohort.
I think it's that important.
And uh uh I'm I'm really lookingbeing forward to being more
(38:54):
involved in Bree in the secondcohort uh this time around.
We appreciate the thepartnership.
SPEAKER_01 (38:58):
And I I like one of the things that I I never take
for granted at at the foundationis we are benefited from working
with a a wide variety ofwonderful nonprofit partners,
dedicated board members here inuh Arkansas, as well as
municipalities, schooldistricts, uh community college,
(39:20):
um higher learning.
And it just is it's great to beable to work with these
partners.
That's that's the essentialingredient, too.
We can't do this work withoutthe works of the partners.
SPEAKER_00 (39:31):
Partnership is important.
Absolutely.
Partnership is always important.
I'm gonna go back to somethingyou said earlier about, you
know, we a phrase that we use,not just you use, but you hear a
lot, you know, vibrant,inclusive community.
We want Northwest Arkansas to bethose things.
Uh, and it gets used, uh, thatterm gets used a lot.
Um, what does that actually meanto you?
What is when you hear thatphrase, vibrant and inclusive?
SPEAKER_01 (39:51):
Yeah.
And I think of it um that thatwe it goes back to the nature of
the culture here that I think isjust really important is the
aspect of welcoming.
Like how I don't care if if youlived here for multiple
generations or you moved hereyesterday.
It's like, how do you feelwelcome to the region?
(40:12):
And that can take multipleforms.
You could help a stranger outwith something that's that seems
fairly benign, but it'ssomething that makes a
difference in their life thatday.
Or you speak to somebody thatjust potentially you have no
idea who they are, but it's thatone interaction, and you may
lead to a conversation down theline.
(40:33):
But how do you extend thatwelcoming?
How do people be curious abouteach other?
How do people really break downwhat might be perceived as
boundaries or differences and becurious about each other?
I think that's the that's one ofthe key ingredients.
And the other part is like thevibrancy to me is about all of
(40:54):
the things we talk about inrelation to strategy.
It also includes the educationsystems that we are fortunate to
have here, the employers, thejob growth.
I mean, the access to naturalbeauty and outdoor recreation
and uh recreational facilitiesand sports teams, the things
(41:15):
that I think make a regionvibrant.
And I, you know, I think here inthe region is there's so many
things going on on a daily basisand so much on a weekend,
especially this time of year,that um I hope people are able
to go out and discover it.
That it makes folks want to goout and learn more about the
(41:38):
place they live in, and alsomakes them want to learn about
the places that are just downthe road.
Um, I I do think it's veryimportant that as the region
grows, that people want andspend time in other communities
in addition to the one they livein.
And I appreciate like the senseof identity, the uniqueness of
(41:59):
each community, but we are aregion and we have to be sure
that we appreciate how um eachof those communities contributes
to really being a full, robust,vibrant region.
SPEAKER_00 (42:11):
Right.
And uh speaking from somebodythat lives here, one of the
first places that you shouldexplore just right down the
road, the University of CentralArkansas, right?
SPEAKER_01 (42:19):
Yeah, two and a half hours away.
Yeah, no, I mean, I do think I Ilike one of the things I've
loved about uh Arkansas, and andChris and I have done this a
fair amount is just getting outto see other parts of the state
and and discovering, you know,wonderful people, the absolute
beauty of the Delta, um, thebeauty of the mountains that we
(42:40):
have here in the state ofArkansas, um, the places that
are just so convenient to getto.
And I I think, you know, yousaid something earlier.
I think a lot of people, whenthey come here, they don't know
much about Arkansas.
Nothing past Fayetteville.
Exactly.
And they and but they I lovethat first day and people's eyes
get wide.
And and you they heard theexpression is like, I I just
(43:00):
didn't realize.
I didn't know.
I didn't know.
I did not know.
Um, and that to me istransformative, and it it
happens a lot.
Yeah.
Um, and then I love when peoplecome back.
SPEAKER_00 (43:10):
Yeah, and you know, I'm I'm pretty active on
LinkedIn, as you know, and Ishared something the other day
that Rex Nelson had writtenabout in the Democrat Gazette
over the weekend, an essay justabout the town of El Doreto in
South Arkansas.
And you know, most people thatare in Northwest Arkansas, you
know, myself included, I don'tknow that much about El Doreto,
but somebody that's been livingin Ohio all their life and moves
(43:31):
to Arkansas, they've never heardof El Dorado in all the exciting
things that are happening fivehours away in South Arkansas,
because you don't hear SouthArkansas like you hear Northwest
Arkansas.
And so, yeah, to your point, youknow, get out and and see what
the rest of our state has tooffer because uh there's a
there's a lot of growth and alot of exciting things happen in
(43:52):
each region of Arkansas.
SPEAKER_01 (43:54):
There really is.
I just think it's uh it's it'slike uh critical.
The one one other thing I'd I'dlove to do is like you Meet
people and they'll say, youknow, oh, they they grew up in a
certain place.
I always just want to knowwhere.
And I've gotten so many times Ican at least identify the
counties.
There's 75 counties in thestate.
Um, I'm still growing that skillto kind of know where some of
(44:15):
these places are.
But let's say I'm going close byto where they grew up.
I want to see that communitybecause they've talked about it.
Or, you know, kind of get aflavor for, oh, yeah, this is
where so-and-so grew up.
So you get an image of like whatthat's like and what that
community is like.
SPEAKER_00 (44:30):
Do you know where Bald Knob, Arkansas is?
I do.
Yeah.
Oh my goodness.
You win you win a prize at somekind.
Yeah.
That's where I grew up.
Okay.
Uh through the eighth grade.
My mother was a school teacherat UCA graduate.
Yeah, yeah.
And after the eighth grade, uh,my and my twin sister, uh, she
got a job in Bryant.
So we moved to Bryant.
Okay, all right.
(44:50):
So we went nine through twelvein Bryant.
But yeah, born and raised in inBald Knob, Arkansas.
Yeah.
And at one time, strawberrycapital of the world.
SPEAKER_01 (44:57):
I didn't realize that part of it.
But yeah, you know, and I I'velived in Missouri on a couple of
different occasions.
So you get to know some of theMissouri, uh, like Arkansas,
even though Missouri has KansasCity Metro and Springfield area
metro, Columbia, St.
Louis, Missouri's really a ruralstate, small towns and a lot of
natural beauty, too, right onour doorstep.
SPEAKER_00 (45:19):
All right.
So now, project or the strategy2030 has been out.
Been where I would imagineyou've been working on that
since the day after Strategy2025 was uh was was released.
And I'm sure it took a long timeto put together.
Where does your focus turn now?
Where does the work turn now?
What's the tangible day-to-dayfor you?
SPEAKER_01 (45:36):
Yeah.
Well, you know, we at the heartof what we do is we are grant
makers.
So we've been very active makinggrants, working with partners
and having conversations likethis with our partners.
I mean, I will say uh we well,we were talking to partners in
advance of making the publicrelease.
We didn't want our partners toto be taken by surprise of any
(45:59):
of the uh the plan itself.
We wanted them to have a chanceto, we really value that
relationship.
And I I really want philanthropyto be transparent and
approachable.
I think approachability is justabsolutely key.
And I think our team does a goodjob of that.
And I think certainly influencedby the approachability of uh of
(46:21):
the folks we work with and for.
And I think that about theregion, but now it's
implementation, it's putting theplan into action.
It's also as you put it inaction, like what do you learn
from that?
Like you one of the things we dowith each of our grants is we
set forth uh a set of outputsand outcomes, and that's
(46:41):
generated at first by theprospective grantee.
They actually start working onthat, and then usually it's an
exchange about what that lookslike.
So every grant gets anevaluation.
Um, we look at key performanceindicators and we want to make
sure that the results are there,and that should be able to
really tell a story going backto that vision of a vibrant and
(47:04):
welcoming place is like how doesthis all feed into that vision
of Northwest Arkansas?
SPEAKER_00 (47:10):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (47:10):
But now we're in that implementation stage.
Um, we're also interested in umthe kind of connections.
I I feel like a huge part ofthis role is making connections.
And and when we can play a roleas a convener, that's a really
important aspect that I think wecan play.
And we want to be neutral inthat regard, but sometimes just
(47:33):
bringing partners together for aconversation can be very
fruitful to help them kind ofdiscover ways in which they
might be able to work togetheror they might be having common
challenges.
SPEAKER_00 (47:44):
I also feel like in your job and your role, making
connections is important, but Ialso feel like just listening,
just listening and workingtogether and building
relationships is a huge part ofyour job.
It's a huge part.
SPEAKER_01 (47:56):
I I think it's um and I and I get that every day.
I'm I'm listening for I I hadthe privilege and and this
happens a lot is meeting folksum over this past weekend.
It was their first time comingto Northwest Arkansas.
And I I always just ask them, Isaid, well, give me your give me
your impressions, and um I liketo learn from them and like what
(48:18):
do they note, what do they see,what are their takeaways, and uh
always offer a chance to tofollow up when it's appropriate.
But I do think that listening isabsolutely key because you learn
from everybody.
They don't say anything aboutthe traffic first thing, do
they?
No, no, you know what?
That's a honestly, that is ararity.
(48:39):
I will tell you what a lot ofpeople will say, because so many
people are are flying in, theywill talk about the quality of
the Uber and Lyft drivers, andthey will talk about the folks
that are, I think they may besome of the best um uh
ambassadors to the regionbecause I constantly hear this.
It happened multiple times overthe weekend when people were
(48:59):
speaking about it.
But I do think it's uhcritically important.
One of the things we say at thefoundation, and I it's really
resonated with me because itmakes sense, and this is a
principle that I live by is thefolks that are closest to a
challenge have the bestsolutions.
So if you want to know how tosolve something, that's where
you're gonna find very oftenyour best answer.
SPEAKER_00 (49:22):
Yeah, awesome.
Okay, great point.
Uh, final question for you, justuh, you know, kind of a magic
wand question, which we talkabout implementation of the
goals and the outline ofstrategy 2030.
If you've got a magic wand, ifthings have happened less like
you wanted to go in 10 years,what does success look like in
Northwest Arkansas?
SPEAKER_01 (49:39):
Yeah, I that we continue to be uh a vibrant
region that's still seeing umgrowth occurring, that the
culture still is is strong andas welcoming as it has been in
the past, that people feel avery strong sense of
connectivity and that theanchors that have continued to
(50:01):
be uh thriving and growing herecontinue to do just that.
Um, I'd like to see us in thatvision of the future work
together across multiple otherareas of regional work.
I think we have excellentexamples now.
To me, the airport is one of thebest examples of the region
coming together.
We can replicate that in anumber of other ways.
(50:24):
And to me, working together as aregion is how we're gonna grow
and thrive together.
Um, it's just incumbent to beable to do that, to be able to
sustain the growth.
And the other thing is just likewe continue to be uh a job
engine, that growth continues tohappen in that regard, and that
we continue to be a place thatuh is a standout in the country
(50:47):
as a place that gets umattention from others about the
things we're doing well and whatother folks can learn from.
SPEAKER_00 (50:54):
Yeah, I think working together is um if it's
not imperative, it is extremelyimportant, I think, to our
future in the next five, 10years and even beyond.
So all right, great.
Robert, um really appreciate theconversation.
Clay, you here.
Thank you, bro.
Yeah, I will I will see youaround Bentonville, maybe at the
farmers market.
Sounds great.
Sounds great.
Well, I really appreciate theopportunity and thanks for
(51:15):
having me on.
All right, good stuff.
And that is it for this episodeof Central to NWA.
As always, we appreciate youtuning in.
Until next time, go Bears.
That's it for this episode ofCentral to NWA, a UCA podcast.
I'm Paul Gatling, SeniorDirector of Northwest Arkansas
Engagement for the University ofCentral Arkansas.
(51:35):
Be sure to subscribe to the showand follow UCA on all the
appropriate social media.
I'll see you next time onCentral to NWA.
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