People of Northwest Arkansas
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People of Northwest Arkansas
Robert Burns: How The Walton Family Foundation Plans For Growth In Northwest Arkansas
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Northwest Arkansas is growing fast. In this episode, we talk with Robert Burns of the Walton Family Foundation about what it takes to keep the region vibrant, welcoming, and prepared for the future.
We explore the foundation’s Home Region strategy through 2030 and what rapid growth means for our communities—from infrastructure, housing, and entrepreneurship to career pathways and the opportunities ahead for Northwest Arkansas.
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Local Or Local-ish
SPEAKER_04Danielle, how long have you lived in Northwest Arkansas?
SPEAKER_05It's a great question. I first lived in Asylum Springs. I came in 2005, left in 2007, came back in 2008, and have been here ever since. Moved to Bettonville in 2015. So almost 20 years. That's a you're practically a local. Practically over 20 years. Yeah. Not a local quite yet. It's really funny because I was just calculating like my time in California growing up in California versus my time in Northwest Arkansas. And when I turn 60, that means I'll have if I'm still living here when I turn 60, which I probably will, I will have lived in Arkansas one year longer than I lived in California.
SPEAKER_04Wow. I know that's not that far away. What makes you kind of a local, right?
SPEAKER_05Yes, you're independently a local. Local-ish.
SPEAKER_04Local 10 years.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, you are.
SPEAKER_04There's been a lot of changes since. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05What's funny is that our our listeners know this, and but our guest today doesn't know this. She thought she was only going to live here for two years. She committed to two years. I'll go for two. And then we're going back to Texas. Look at her. She loves Northwest Arkansas.
SPEAKER_04I do. And I will tell my family not to listen to this episode so that they don't hear that or tell them to start a little bit further.
SPEAKER_05Ten minutes in. They already know. There's no denying it. There's no denying it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
Meet Robert Burns
SPEAKER_04So we have a guest today, Robert Burns. He's the home region program director for the Walton Family Foundation.
SPEAKER_01Hey, good morning.
SPEAKER_04Good morning.
SPEAKER_05Good morning.
SPEAKER_04Thanks for coming in.
SPEAKER_01Happy to be here. Thank you for the invite.
SPEAKER_04We're excited to have you. How long have you been in the area?
SPEAKER_01Four and a half years now, coming up quickly on five.
SPEAKER_05All right. So would you consider yourself a local yet?
SPEAKER_01I feel to that question, this is home. Oh, I love that. That to me is what further around that question is like, this is home. Yeah. And I think local is just this interesting. Like how I think people have different variations on that. So even from where I grew up in North Carolina, people like, are you local? How long you live there? But I really feel like Northwest Arkansas is home.
SPEAKER_04North Carolina is one of those places I would definitely live. Yes.
SPEAKER_05If I hadn't live here, I would live there.
SPEAKER_04Or if I won the lottery and at a second home, it would be there. Oh, yes. I love Asheville.
SPEAKER_01Lots of people seem to. That's an area that comes up a lot.
SPEAKER_04Yes. Well, I only say that because I visited there, stayed at the Omni Grove. Oh, beautiful. And went to the Biltmore. Yes. Very cool. But there's lots of other great places too.
SPEAKER_01As there are in Arkansas, too. It's like I think there's a lot of cultural similarity between the two places too.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Yeah. I would agree. We really like to start our podcast out asking people, you know, like what brought them here, why they came, if they grew up here, like tell us about that experience. So seeing that you're not from Northwest Arkansas,
Why He Chose Northwest Arkansas
SPEAKER_05tell us about what brought you here. Why did you come? What do you love about it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I was living in DC, but my partner Chris and I both lived in DC. Prior to living in DC, we had lived in Kansas City, which is actually where we met. And we have a lot of family and friends in the Kansas City region. The reason for coming was there was a role that the foundation had open, and a recruiter at the time reached out regarding the role, which was wonderful.
SPEAKER_02That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01And as we started the exploration process, the proximity back to Kansas City, but also kind of knowing more about the area. I had spent time in Arkansas in the past in prior roles, liked the state. I will say I didn't know as much about Northwest Arkansas, but the more I read, the more I gathered, and just if we step back, this isn't that far ago, this was during COVID. So the first interviews for the role all took place over Zoom, like so many things in our lives at that point. And I remember distinctly the first time coming here in person and just being captivated by the place and continuously feeling like the people that we met also had such a firm tie to place, but also the kind of people that for us just had a high relatability. And that was the reason for the initial position and looking at the region and made the decision, and the organization made the decision fortunately. And we have now been here four and a half years, as I was saying, and we we really love it. But it comes down to me about the people. It is about the community, it's about the quality of the people here. There is incredible vibrancy in the region. I often will say to someone, I I think you're hard pressed to find a region that has more things going on in a region that's just slightly under 600,000 or over 600,000 people now, and and still has to me a very local culture. And I can speak more about that. But that's the origin going back was really the recruitment for this role.
SPEAKER_05That's great. I love hearing you say those things and also experiencing them as someone who lives here. So it's really neat to say, okay, this is what we say about this region, but it's also lived experience. And I love how you keep talking about the people too. I mean, that's such a big part of what we do. It's the people of Northwest Arkansas, but the people really do make the place. You know, a lot of people say location, location, location, which location is really important. But I've loved to get to know so many people here, and it's such a such an awesome place to live with a great culture and a great community.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah. And so you've worked a lot with community development and local government, housing philanthropy. What connects all of that work for you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, a lot of the work that I've been privileged to do over time, and that was part of the beauty of this role, is that in home region, we focus on all of those things in some form or another. And I remember distinctly reading the description for the role, and I was like, wow, this is so many of the things that I love to do, and all in a position and at a foundation that I have tremendous respect for, which has only grown over time. We are a family-led foundation, which you don't run into as many family-led foundations, but that's that's one of the hallmarks of of the role. And it's been it's just been excellent in terms of the community and the people here.
SPEAKER_04That's awesome. So when when you were in DC, did you do a lot of community development there?
SPEAKER_01Yes, a lot of my roles in community development, and and and for a lot of listeners, community development's a big topic. So it includes the things you just talked about, but I've had the privilege of starting my career in local government and got to work in some different states, worked in nonprofit, both national and local, and have been an executive director at a nonprofit. I have had this is my third philanthropic stint, but a lot of that local government experience, the nonprofit experience, to me is really relatable to our partners. And our partners are nonprofits, they are local governments, they are school districts, they are community colleges, they're the folks around that are doing the work on the ground. And we're really fortunate here in northwest Arkansas to have some incredible partners that are on the ground doing the work. I should also say home region for us includes the Mississippi Delta. I was gonna ask about it. It's not just the work here in Northwest Arkansas, and there's a long commitment from the foundation to the Mississippi Delta, and the Delta has such incredible history in the state of Arkansas and the country as a whole.
SPEAKER_04Yes, and we know about that because of Allison, our guest that came on with Avol Productions. She made the film. Oh, yeah. Yeah, Alison. Alison De La Jusse. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, she did a remarkable film about the awesome film.
SPEAKER_04Yes, we loved it.
SPEAKER_05Really, I feel like that film really opened my eyes up to different things in the state that you just kind of forget about. It's like Northwest Arkansas and then Little Rock, Central Arkansas, and that's like all I know. And then that really just opened up, just like understanding like how much has happened. And then you know, being in Northwest Arkansas and being connected to people, you hear the little whisperings of things that are going on down in the Delta, and it's like there's so much happening down there that's to come, and that's it's really exciting to think about.
SPEAKER_01There is, and there's such a strong cultural identity there too. I mean, birthplace and home of the blues for this country, but just so many historical pieces to the country and to the state of Arkansas. But the other thing is just encouraging people to see more of the state. I mean, the state has incredible natural beauty. The fact that we are the natural state is aptly named in my mind. But no matter where I've traveled or where we've had the opportunity to go, and and we still haven't seen all of the state, but we've seen a lot of it, is to take those weekend trips on vacation and see other places that are in the state, but but constantly finding remarkable people and that sense of welcome that that I think is huge here in Northwest Arkansas, but it I find it in other parts of the state.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Same. I agree. I think it just the more you go to other places, the more that you're open to learning more about the state. It kind of breaks down those stigmas and those stereotypes that exist. You know, coming from California, I definitely moved here with a lot of stereotypes that have been broken down left and right, which I'm glad they have. And, you know, you get to be a part of that community and a part of that culture and a part of shaping what what the culture is going to be like around you.
Home Region Program Explained
SPEAKER_05I want to take a step back and just ask you to talk a little bit about what the Walton Family Foundation's home region program is and like what the vision is behind that, just so that our listeners and those that aren't aware of what it is can hear a little bit more about that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so the bigger picture is the foundation is composed of three programmatic areas. I'll briefly talk about all three because I think it gives you the listener a more holistic view of what we're working on. And it's fair to say that the foundation is one element of a much larger ecosystem that fortunately focuses a lot of attention and resources here in Northwest Arkansas as well as other parts of the state. But the the Walton Family Foundation at its core is a family-led foundation and was really founded as one of the principal ways that the family would continue to always give back.
SPEAKER_03I love that.
SPEAKER_01And those three programmatic areas that we currently focus on are education, which is a national program, environment, which is international and domestic, and then home region, and home region is very place-based, very localized. So the home region program focuses on Northwest Arkansas, specifically Benton and Washington counties. And in the Delta, we focus on three counties, two of which are in Arkansas, Jefferson, and then Phillips County. And for city reference, for folks who may not know those counties, Jefferson County, the largest city is Pine Bluff. And then in Phillips County, Helena, West Helena is the largest. And then we have one county we work in in Mississippi, which is Kahoma County. The largest city there is Clarksdale. And the reason there's a large connection, an historic connection between Phillips and Cahoma, it's where one of the primary bridge crossings happens to cross the Mississippi River. So both of those are river-based counties, apropos for the Delta. But we focus on that, and we have a five-year strategy for both Northwest Arkansas and the Delta. We just recently launched our latest five-year strategy, which takes us through 2030. And an important aspect of that, I consider it, we consider it a living strategy because strategy is made, but also things change all the time, and we have to be able to adapt to that. But as we put together this strategy, it was really important as we got feedback for more than a year and a half, partners, local data that was already out there. As folks know, both regions are evolving quite a bit. So it's important to be able to respond to that. So we were able to capture that and and I think craft plans for both the Delta and Northwest Arkansas that are just their responsive to what's going on.
SPEAKER_05I think that's really important. I love that you say it's a living strategy. And I think that that is important for people to hear, to know that there's flexibility, that as we learn, as we grow in life and as we're doing work or whatever it is that we're working on, there's adaptability and opportunities to shift and pivot. I feel like we learned that a lot in 2020. Pivoting is a big, is a big factor in life of like, yes, this is what we want to happen, but we might have to make adjustments along the way. So yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And I think a big part of that for me is when I first moved here, I knew this place was exploding with growth. I just didn't realize how fast that was going to happen.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_04I feel part of it. I just things have just every day I'm like something new. Wow. There's just a lot of moving parts.
SPEAKER_05There are a lot of moving parts.
SPEAKER_01There are. I mean, we we currently are, if you look at different data sets, we're I mean, and we get a lot of superlatives as a region. And it seems like it's a constant flow. And that's that is
Rapid Growth And Real Pressures
SPEAKER_01incredible in so many ways. But we we're now the ninth fastest growing region in the United States based on metro areas. And you hear different stats of terms of number of people moving in northwest Arkansas a day, but I think we're roughly right around 36 people a day now. Okay. Give or take. And that's a net figure. Okay, I was wondering. I was wondering. It's projected to continue to grow over time. Yeah. And that also places a lot of pressures of growth on the region.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_05That helps me a lot hearing that number of 36 from an expert because I was just working on on some things for our magazine about how many people are moving here and just the aspect of wanting to be a resource for families. And so it's nice to hear that number is 36, not quite 40 yet, is the number that I had found. And so I was like, okay, 36 from the expert. Now I now I can change my slides. But like 36 people a day, that's a lot of people. A lot of people. And and it's kind of amazing. And when you see all the development that is happening and and trying, I'm sure it's just so hard to keep up with that, to keep up with those numbers.
SPEAKER_04So Oh yeah. And speaking of just the rapid growth, what gets you most excited about that? And then what what are the biggest challenges that we need to get right as we take in all these new people here?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I mean, I'll start with something we think about as the vision when it comes to Northwest Arkansas when we set the strategy, which is we continue to be the most vibrant and welcoming place in the country. Now that's I'm paraphrasing, but it's important to think about vibrant and welcoming, which I think are two hallmarks for this region. And the growth is something a lot of regions would envy in terms of what's occurring, what's happening. It brings job opportunities, it brings a vibrancy to the region, it brings curiosity from outside the region of all types and what's making it tick. And I think that certainly on its own, it leads to a lot of curiosity about what is it like to live here, or what is what's it like to live in the state of Arkansas. And I always think I always see myself as an ambassador to Northwest Arkansas and Arkansas and proudly telling people like what it is to live here. The other part of that is with growth comes challenges that might be related to people finding that the streets they've driven on for a few years are finding more traffic or more cars on those streets. So, how do you bring other options, whether it be cycling or pedestrian traffic, or increase our availability of regional public transit as an example? Or you may find, and you've read a lot about this recently in Northwest Arkansas, some cities having challenges around wastewater. That's a product of growth as well. And these challenges are things that we have the ability to solve in the future. So what's exciting to me is the challenges come with potential solutions and for potential for the region to work more effectively together as a region as opposed to separate cities. And we have a lot of history of that. Probably XNA, our airport, being one of the best regional examples when it was envisioned a few years ago. And now XNA, for multiple months, maybe even longer than a year, has surpassed Little Rock in passenger traffic. Wow. And is one of the top five fastest growing by passenger volume airports in the entire country. Wow. And that says a lot. A city that you mentioned earlier, Asheville is also in that. Oh, really? As of at least the last data set I saw. It's interesting to look at where that growth is happening. But I think that the bigger is there's a lot of positives that come with this. Yeah. Another challenge to me is I don't want the region as a resident, but as someone who believes this makes the region unique. I don't want it to lose its cultural identity. I don't want us to feel like another area that isn't relatable or where in my mind people watch out for each other in a way that they do here that I think is somewhat unique.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I saw someone post recently we, you know, with all the events that are happening in Northwest Arkansas from Bike Fest to Bentonville Film Festival and things like that. And somebody that I follow who's not from the area was like, and there's bikes everywhere, and they're not locked up. And it just made it just makes me giggle because, you know, whenever I go back to California, I forget like you better not put your purse down anywhere.
SPEAKER_04You better not I would lock my bike in Dallas and it would be gone locked left. I don't know how they got the lock. Yeah, but yeah.
SPEAKER_05And so there's definitely, there's definitely I I I think that that is valuable. So how do we keep the culture as we grow? Like, what do you what do you think about that? Like, what does that sure look like for you?
SPEAKER_01One of the elements, and I'll just point out one of the we have four different areas of strategy, but it gives
Keeping Culture While Welcoming Newcomers
SPEAKER_01me a chance to comment on one of those. And we call it finding community. And I the way I think about this and and we think about this holistically, and I would also add, we are fortunate. I have a a wonderful team in home region made up of folks that have specializations across different areas. And when we think about this finding community area, it's for somebody that just moved here yesterday. How do they find their people? How do they find a way to get involved? How do they feel like that strong sense of welcome? And that doesn't happen just automatically. And if you think about when you first move somewhere, sometimes it's by happenstance you meet like someone that's going to then introduce you to other people, and sometimes it might be harder than that. Yeah, I think it's particularly more difficult for someone who's relocated here, has a partner or spouse, and they're moving here from another place, they need to find community related to that. The other is that for folks who have lived here multiple generations, that they don't feel they've lost the ability to find community, that the growth isn't impacting, that they're finding the change is something that's impeding their ability to make those connections. Because at the core of this is as a country, as a as a world in many ways, we are fighting an epidemic of loneliness. And I think it's absolutely key that we don't lose sight of that. And the cultural piece here that I really fundamentally believe sets Northwest Arkansas apart is that people go out of the way to help each other. And I you can cross different categories with that, but I don't want us to lose that. So we want in finding community to make it easier to find places to volunteer, to become a board member, to find a public space where you can enjoy a concert or go to a farmer's market or a pop-up event that may just be happening. And I think we have incredible examples all across the region. And we really think about that a lot from a strategic sense. And credit to the cities and the school districts and others that are thinking about how do you create these third spaces where people can come together and you might have that accidental opportunity to meet someone. That wouldn't have happened otherwise.
SPEAKER_05So true. There are some really great third spaces in this area. I think just if you're listening to this, you know, go go find people. And if you're an introvert, find an extrovert and have them take you with them. Because I think so well.
SPEAKER_04I mean, that is why we're gonna be an extrovert. You can turn it on when it's necessary. But I feel for me, it's on all the time. I heard the difference is introverts are charged, feel charged when they're alone. Right. Extroverts feel charged when they're social. So that's how I figured out I might not be an introvert. So when I'm in huge social gatherings, I'm like, when my battery runs out, you will know. I'm like Irish goodbye. Gather me. And then my alone time is when I feel charged back up.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So you do need to find an extrovert if you're she's yeah, she gets me out. I talk to I talk to everyone.
SPEAKER_05It is a good mix. I I talk to everyone. I take after my dad.
SPEAKER_04But yes, but in all seriousness, seriousness, I love what you said about keeping the city how it is by solving the loneliness epidemic. Because I think if you feel supported, connected, then you won't go to other, you know, links or avenues or make certain choices, maybe if you have people there for you or you feel like you have someone you can count on. Yeah. And the community part is so important because I was like what you said. I I was a trailing spouse.
SPEAKER_01Sure, sure.
SPEAKER_04And I was 36 weeks pregnant with my second when I moved here. So I didn't have a lot of opportunity to make new film. Sure. I was pretty busy. So it took some time. And so I think it took me a solid two years to feel really grounded where I was, but I love it here. I don't want to go. I don't want to live anywhere else.
SPEAKER_05I love hearing you say that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Yes. So going back to what you said about transportation and infrastructure, that can sound a little abstract and housing as well. How do those investments affect someone's daily life that lives here?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So infrastructure, physical infrastructure is another one of the core areas of this strategy 2030,
Finding Community And Fighting Loneliness
SPEAKER_01as was the finding community one that I just spoke about. And infrastructure is a big category. It includes things like the roadways, it includes the side paths and trails, hard hard packed trails that many of us are able to use in Northwest Arkansas. It includes things like sidewalks that we can't take for granted about getting from point A to point B. It includes things that are I think a lot of people just take for granted that your ability to flush the toilet and that it's being treated somewhere, or that water is going to be high quality and out of your faucets all the time. It includes sanitation and recycling and things like that. It also includes elements like workforce housing. So it's a big category. It's probably the area we are going to be focusing the most resources on, just given the need in the region.
SPEAKER_04The workforce housing?
SPEAKER_01Well, just infrastructure generally. Yeah. So those areas are really important. We do, as a foundation, do we do a quality of life survey roughly every two to three years? And because of the importance and the the changes happening here in Northwest Circus, we're going to start doing that every year because it's great data. It's done with a with a third party and it's done across with an equal representation from Benton and Washington counties. And that data is really important to us. And when we did the last one, two things that came out in that that were not surprising, but really rose in a different way in people's minds were people's feelings about housing and attainability and then transportation. But when you broke out and you really got into it, it was about traffic. People feeling like they were waiting longer, things like that. Probably relatable to folks. I mean, I still think when you move from an area like DC, like we did, it this area has just incredible ability to get around. But it's all relative to where you move from. Or if you're from here, you've seen it change. Depends who you talk to about traffic. So it's all it's all relative, and it's also like where you're trying to go from to and at what time of day. So respect all of that. But the attention and trying to figure out how do those infrastructure resources keep pace with population growth, with demand, with amenities that are coming to the area. I mean, we are we are really fortunate to see all the things that are just happening around the region, the expansion of Crystal Bridges and the opening that's just happened over the last two weeks, or the Oz Trails bike park that just opened officially. Or like you go down to Fayville, like the Ramble, which is an amazing urban park. Yeah, it is, has really transformed a lot of the core section of Fayables. So Luther George Park in Springdale. So you can think about all of these amenities that have added, all of them in many ways, just adding to that high quality of life, but also putting as people move, just growth on infrastructure. And that's natural. It's not unique to Northwest Arkansas. It's a, you know, infrastructure is a national need.
SPEAKER_04Right. No, I've noticed that. When you brought up the sidewalks, that is something I've actually noticed the most that it's improved, at least where I live in the Centerton area. Going into Bentonville, you know, you see people trying to walk through where they haven't been built yet. And then when you see them being built, you're like, that's what a difference that makes if you were, you know, walking to work or I mean wherever you're going. Sure. I mean, no sidewalk if you have a bike, or you know, it's a little bit difficult.
SPEAKER_05But are you gonna ask him about the bike trails too coming into Centerton so you can read the body? Well, we had Gary Vernon on last time.
SPEAKER_04And I said, Gary, I live in Centerton and I feel I feel really left out, a lot of FOMO, because everyone's riding. All my friends in Bentonville are just hopping on the trail and going downtown to eat. And even Tom Hohen came on. He loved, you know, talking about how great that is. I'm like, we are literally out like on the buoy in the ocean. I feel like you cannot. And you don't want to bike on the windy road 72 West, because that put your life in danger. But he told us the Trailblazers is an organization that helps with that. So I'm hoping.
SPEAKER_05Well, and he also said that you need to talk to your neighbors.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, he did.
SPEAKER_05He did to give permission to get trails put out there.
SPEAKER_04But you know, I bet it's coming. I bet everything.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, you actually you hit upon something that's really important to remember, too, is like we have in Northwest Arkansas, in the two counties, we have 31 different cities, towns. It's wild, and they're all different sizes. And we have the the the big four, which folks think of Bentonville and Rogers and Springdale and Fayetteville. But if you look at where the growth, the population growth is happening, cities like Centerton, Tawnytown, Pea Ridge, Bella Vista, the growth, the population growth is really happening. So the connectivity between those places is really key. And you want people to be able to get around. So increased focus on fill in the blank about what those needs are. And as the cities grow, those cities and other cities in Northwest Arkansas is like what do they need in order to keep pace with their growth? And you know, all wonderful communities. I think one of the great things about Northwest Arkansas is that if you take each of those communities, yes, we have some things in common, but each of them has their own unique identity, history. And also, I think a lot of the communities now, Centerton's a good example, Pea Ridge, Elm Springs are thinking
Infrastructure That Shapes Daily Life
SPEAKER_01about like how do you create that downtown core? Some of them have historical cores, historic cores, and trying to to think about how and you're seeing signs of that in a lot of the communities. And to me, that also gets to that idea of space, like how do people come together and spaces and historically downtowns have always been that avenue, and it's great to see what I see is some of the renaissance happening for some of the communities and and the attention to that. I think um public officials really focused on planning and what is land use gonna look like in the future. And land use is one of those wonky terms too, but you break it out, it's like, well, literally, how does the city think about using its land? Whether that like how do you zone for it? And these are also terms that not everybody's familiar with. But the great thing about all the cities is if you want to learn more about what's going on, you can go to a plan commission meeting, you can listen or attend a city council meeting, you can go to a board of adjustment meeting. It's one of those that gets back to how do you find your community, how do you you're curious about what's going on. And right, as someone who spent a lot of time in local government, I think it's always good just to demystify that for yourself. Like exactly your your voice is an important voice.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I think it's so important to be actively aware, at least if you're not gonna be actively involved, but like actively aware of what is happening in your local government. I think that is so important. And I think it comes back to people need to be more curious. People need to be more curious, they need to seek out that information, look for it, find it. Because I think it's really easy to just be like, I'm just gonna live my life. I'm really busy, I'm doing these things I'm doing, and then I'm gonna complain about all the things that are going wrong because I don't know what's actually going on. Sure. It's so I mean I feel like that's the whole thing. And I don't know if that's just because like I'm you know older and more wise or whatever, but you know, you get to a place in life and you're like, oh, I actually probably should pay more attention to what's going on around me, and I should pay attention to what's going on in my town and my city and my county and this community. Because if I pay attention and I get involved, actively involved, or I get curious and seek out those answers, I'm gonna find that, oh, maybe this isn't what I thought it was. Right. People just like to grab it.
SPEAKER_04I'm like, well, I guess it's no neighborhood. She's walking around her neighborhood with like everyone. We're getting a bike, we're getting a bike trail. You want me to go be in downtown Ventonville? Gotta work on this. We're gonna do this.
SPEAKER_05Give them a little bit of your property. You're gonna go first.
SPEAKER_04A little bit. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Oh my goodness. Well, think speaking of property and homes and and just some of the stuff that you're doing, housing is such a major focus throughout your career, what's going on here in Northwest Arkansas right now, too. So, what do you wish people like what do you wish more people understood about the role housing plays in a thriving community? Sure.
SPEAKER_01And I I just break it out to kind of I think something that's relatable to no matter if you're a renter or an owner or where and or wherever
Regional Growth Beyond The Big Four
SPEAKER_01you live, but the idea that you have home to come to, that it's a place that you feel you can let your guard down when you're home, that it's a place that you feel like, okay, I can afford this. And ideally, it's it feels like it's close to where I need to be on a daily basis, and that could vary by person. So, as I mean, we have benefited as a region because housing for residents here, the prices have gone up. So folks are seeing significant appreciation when it comes to housing and land values, and that's across Northwest Arkansas, but it also has a constraint when it comes to can someone who's moving here or someone whose child is moving back to the region, which I hear fairly frequently, just having trouble finding that first place to rent or potentially that idea of homeownership, which is still one of those pivotal moments for someone in their lives. So as we think about workforce housing, it's increasing that availability of units that can be rented to individuals at a rate that helps meet their ability to live and be able to pay rent, but also homeownership in a similar way. A lot of the focus so far has been on rental, and we are very fortunate as a region. We have some very good nonprofit organizations that are working to address that situation. That's great. And there's some really good examples where organizations have expanded into starting to do more affordable housing or workforce housing related work. And we have a regional organization, groundwork, which is out of the Northwest Arkansas Council, which has helped significantly raise awareness about the need for workforce housing, not just in Northwest Arkansas, but across the state. And sometimes that awareness, but you think about the folks that that work on a regular basis, whether that be a a nurse or a firefighter or someone just starting out at Walmart or someone in the hospitality industry, making sure that those individuals can find a place to live that that fits their needs and also is affordable. Because it's not just, as we all know, it's not just the housing costs, it's the transportation cost, it's your insurance, it's everything else that adds up. And to keep vibrant, you want a you know, you want to have a variety of folks being able to move here on a regular basis.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. There's a lot of murmurings that go around about that. It's a hard, that's a hard topic. That is a hard. Yeah. I mean, I think of just even like where my husband and I live in Bettonville with our kids, and our house has appreciated a significant amount. We live right on, like literally our backyard and our side yard is right where the new health, the health center that is being built in Bettonville. And so we our property values have gone up significantly. But we also think about like, okay, like if we were to sell, like, could we still stay in Bettonville? You know, like if we sell, like, and so those are lots of thoughts that people are having. And and I think that it's it's valuable to have these conversations, you know. Sometimes they're hard, but a lot of times I think going back to what you were saying earlier about even like government is just like demysticizing that all the things that we think we know and being more curious and understanding like what's happening. And so hearing that there are nonprofits and organizations, I think are valuable for people to hear that and for us to have these conversations of hey, there's work being done. There's work being done so that there can be more affordable housing in this area, because that is a thing that people are scared of. And you come here and you move here and you're so excited to live here, and then you're like, wait, can I afford to still live here? You know, housing-wise. And so, and so having those conversations is really important and really valuable. And the and to know that they're being thought about is is so important too, and that there's work being done about it, not just like, oh, we have a problem, I don't know how we're gonna fix it, but like actively seeking out that.
SPEAKER_01So and I think like good there's good opportunities where as some of the I mean, folks followed, maybe here in Bentonville off of i Street, there's a project that's being built right now focused on teachers by the Accelerate Foundation, which is a local organization that has certainly expanded its focus on housing. But as that project develops, I think people also could be curious about like, well, what makes that work and why is that important? I think it's kind of clear you you need teachers, you need teachers to be able to have a place to live that's close to home.
SPEAKER_04Oh, sure. And the teachers, we talked about first responders, hospitality, and also entrepreneurs. Yes, absolutely. So does your foundation work with uh trying to open avenues for entrepreneurs as well?
SPEAKER_01A lot. I I think at the core, Northwest Arkansas has been and continues to be a region where entrepreneurs can thrive, and our
Workforce Housing And Why It Matters
SPEAKER_01goal is really to make sure that environment continues, but also like what are the missing elements for an entrepreneur? And you're giving me a good chance to we talked about infrastructure, that's one of our key areas of focus in the strategy. The next was that finding community. The third is entrepreneurship. So entrepreneurship, you look at the big companies that are here now, all founded by entrepreneurs. So we have a long history of entrepreneurship here. And we fund what are called entrepreneurial support organizations, groups that help entrepreneurs find capital, find others like them, create spaces for entrepreneurs to thrive. It includes some of the spaces around the communities where entrepreneurs can find their space. It includes programs that introduce entrepreneurship to elementary school kids as an idea. Because you think about it, elementary school is one of the places you first starting to think about a career, maybe in the future.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I don't, I mean, as a kid, I never heard about entrepreneurship in the classroom, but now kids can. And that's that's pretty cool that we're able to do that. It includes programs that in the upper levels of of the K-12 system expose folks and enable them to become entrepreneurs. And it it connects very closely to our fourth area of strategy, which is around career pathways and career-connected learning, so that individuals, as we grow, we have a lot of needs. Sectors, the number one need in Northwest Arkansas is around medical, and that's likely only going to grow in the future given investments. But it's also a factor a lot of the countries facing with aging population and the need for medical professionals of all sorts. But programs like the night program in the K 12 district, which helps juniors and seniors explore multiple career pathways, whether that be in construction technology or medical or entrepreneurship, includes program in the Rogers School District. It includes things like Upskill, which is a program here in Northwest Arkansas that helps anybody really who would like to go into the medical profession go into that profession and almost has a hundred percent placement rate. And one of the huge benefits of that program is many individuals see significant wage growth because they're moving from a field that may get a lower salary, but moving into a field that enables them to build assets over time.
SPEAKER_05That's so fantastic.
SPEAKER_04That's good to know. As I have two daughters interested in the medical profession, we'll see if that sticks.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04See if as of now.
SPEAKER_01They're probably good professions to consider.
SPEAKER_04Good professions to consider. Yes.
SPEAKER_01I love it.
SPEAKER_04My oldest that's 12 is dead set on going to Duke. I love it. And being a doctor. I was like, well, let's not just put all your eggs in one basket. Like have some other colleges you want to look at.
SPEAKER_05I love that she's cheap. She's made drawings.
SPEAKER_04I have Duke drawings and flags all over my house. I don't know where this came from.
SPEAKER_05I never went to Duke, but I wonder if it has something to do with that. Her asthma journey and stuff. Maybe, yes.
SPEAKER_04But I mean, it is a great area because you have what the two colleges and then a medical. It's a great yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's my that's my hometown area, so I know it know it well.
SPEAKER_04But I told her now we have a medical school here. Yes. So you don't have to leave, which, like you were saying, as is really exciting part about everything that's happening and everything that the foundation is working on because wow, I see that when you talked about Ignite, I hear about that all the time. I can't wait for my daughters to be a part of that and to get that experience. And we actually considered that when considering some other private or charter schools, which those schools are great.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we have great options on education.
SPEAKER_04But I love that public school has that, and I feel like they can also get a very complete education and career launch.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. I mean, you hit upon something that's really important. We have we're blessed to have like incredible education here, the K-12 public schools, the private schools, the charter schools, the parochial schools. I mean, we have a variety and enables folks to be able to look at them and say, well, what's the right fit for my child? And what's the right fit for my family? And and I don't think any of us can ever take that for granted.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And that's the number one thing I get asked. I was literally just on a flight from San Diego back to north northwest Arkansas. I didn't know it was an entire flight of pretty much people coming for Associates Week. Oh, yeah. And so everyone was asking me all kinds of questions.
SPEAKER_03You little expert.
SPEAKER_04I really was the I was the brand ambassador for living in this person from California. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_05That's so amazing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I really was, but they all want to know about schools.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So anyway.
SPEAKER_05Oh, for sure, they want to know about schools. Definitely, I mean, because like when the state is looked at as a whole, it doesn't have the greatest track record for you know where we sit in the in the country for education. And so it's really important to say it's gotten a lot better. It's gotten a lot better. And the region that we're in is is really thriving. There's a lot of things happening across the board. I know, you know, we're getting close to running out of time. So we have just a couple other couple more questions for you. I would love to talk a little bit about, you know, growth alone isn't the goal, you know, and what does success look like for Northwest Arkansas? Just, you know. 10 years from now. What is that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I I go back to something I think is really important. If we think about the words vibrant
Entrepreneurship And Career Pathways
SPEAKER_01and welcoming, that this region continues to be that, and that uh we find that the the balance between being able to keep up with the infrastructure needs and the needs of a growing region, and then it it it continues to respond and we become I think we're quite adaptable as a region. The other thing that is uh is key is that I go back to the example of the airport, that rather than a lot of things being occurring just at a city level, that the cities are increasingly finding ways to work more together as a region, putting together regional solutions. And I I know that's sometimes not easy because every city also has a responsibility to its own residents. So I have I have a lot of admiration for folks that go into public service, and folks have to be responsive to that. But I think it's incumbent that we just try to figure out how to work more effectively as a region. It has great payoffs. We've looked at this in other regions around the country. There's some really good examples about where that can occur, and there's a lot of effort underway right now to be a part of that. But I think all the things we've talked about is that those areas continue to thrive and that we continue to adapt. Like what there's gonna be an emerging need down the line of things that we have to. So to give you an example that's probably relevant to folks right now, you think about infrastructure. So, what's the impact now of AI on some of the infrastructure work? So there's some very fascinating things going on in the municipal sector about ways that it makes the processes potentially work even better that could be afforded. But are there tools out there that can be more effective, more efficient that enable teams to work together better?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that definitely is definitely valuable to get every that would be hard. I think that would be hard bringing all the regions together.
SPEAKER_04I think everything you're talking about something a lot, it's a lot of hard work. But worth it. But it feels like you can see the effects of everything you've talked about, the programs in the daily life. I felt it before. Yeah. Like with my family and school programs and just living here for the past 10 years. So lots of good work. I'm so glad that you came on to share everything that you're doing because there's so many arms of outreach in at the foundation.
SPEAKER_01Right, right. And I'll just encourage folks before before we conclude. We do have a really robust website and a lot of the materials on there, our strategy is on there. We are an invite-only foundation, so we we do operate that way. Don't we don't do competitive applications, et cetera. But I go back to we have a lot of really wonderful partners here in Northwest Arkansas and in the Delta that we have the good fortune to working with. But if you're curious, go on the site, take a peek, you'll you'll learn a lot. There's some great materials, reports. Also, just be curious about what's there and feel always feel free to reach out.
SPEAKER_04And I'm curious on a personal level, where's your next weekend trip in Arkansas? Well, you don't have to say, you know, but what where are you going?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. So I I'm probably gonna spend some greater time in what I would describe as the the further part of the southeast delta. But I've spent a lot of time in the Delta region, particularly in the what we would call the northeast area and kind of the core, but I haven't spent as much time in the southeast area of the Delta. So that's probably it's already on the calendar.
SPEAKER_04So you're gonna ride your bike all the way there, like the documentary.
SPEAKER_01Probably won't be as ambitious as the folks that I have lots of respect for in Allison's documentary and having driving there, yes. Yeah, I have the good privilege of knowing them, but what I have there is a wonderful trail that's been been developed, and a lot of it's open called the Delta Heritage Trail, which covers and it's gonna fully open later on in the year, most likely. And it it's a wonderful opportunity to see the Delta from a different perspective. So I have biked in the Delta, would like to do more of that, but that's the other thing is like there's so many wonderful ways to cycling opportunities around the state increasingly, which is great.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yes. I went on my first mountain bike uh trail ride at Slaughter Pen. It was so fun. I think I've caught the bug until I wrecked. But last question for you what's your favorite part about Northwest Arkansas?
SPEAKER_01It goes back to something earlier on. It's real always for me an easy question to answer. It's the people, yeah. It is the we have, you know, personally a wonderful community of people we've been afforded the opportunity to know. And I always feel like our own community is always expanding. Like I'm constantly meeting folks that have just moved here, and I want them to feel the same way that that we feel right now. So I I take it upon myself to try to make those connections early on. But it is by far, and if I am traveling somewhere else, and we love having visitors from outside the region. We have three good friends coming in two weeks from DC. It's their first visit. They already know some of the things they want to see, but one of the things I always want them to do is meet our friends here. Yeah, that they they'll get a flavor for what makes this place unique, but the people are core. Yeah, I agree.
SPEAKER_05Agreed. Yes, we definitely agree.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so thanks so much for coming on and tell our listeners where your website and where they can find more information about.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it's really easy to just find the Walt and Family Foundation on the web and you know, do a search and certainly find that. And it'll show you all of the programs,
Success By 2030 And Closing
SPEAKER_01but there's a section specifically for home region, and you can go directly to that is probably your best route.
SPEAKER_04All right. Thanks so much, Robin Keith. You're welcome.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for having me on.
SPEAKER_04Hey, thanks so much for listening today. If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing to the podcast so you never miss an episode. You can also follow us on Instagram at People of NWA. Thanks so much.
SPEAKER_00People of Northwest Darkenstable with the two Danielle's produced by me, Brock Short of Brock Entertainment. Please rate, review, and like us on any podcast platform where you listen. For more information about today's guests and the show, please check the show notes. Thanks for listening.