Dear John,
This month, young state lawmakers from across the South gathered in Bentonville, Arkansas for Future Summit South: Future in Focus — not to debate divisions, but to bridge them. Over three days, they reimagined what collaborative leadership can look like.
The summit opened at Topgolf, where conversation and laughter replaced name tags and podiums — a reminder that curiosity sparks connection, and connection fuels vision. |
From there, Bentonville became a living classroom. At the Walmart Home Office, lawmakers explored the future of work — one where culture, design, and intentional investment strengthens communities.
At Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, they explored how creativity and place-making can inspire civic identity and renewal. (Fun moment: Sen. Tiara Mack, a Prenatal-to-Three Fellow, spotted herself in a photograph from her rugby days at Brown University!) |
In plenaries and bill-share sessions, lawmakers swapped lessons and ideas with honesty and vulnerability — turning trust into collaboration and fresh legislative vision.
Between site visits and shared meals, one question guided every conversation: What does it mean to keep the future in focus? |
That same spirit continued as Prenatal-to-Three Fellows joined Arkansas Future Caucus Co-Chairs Representative Aaron Pilkington (R) and Representative Ashley Hudson (D) to explore how bipartisan policymaking is transforming maternal and infant health.
Earlier this year, Arkansas passed the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act. This bipartisan effort expanded access to maternal care and set a new standard for future-focused reform. In Bentonville, Prenatal-to-Three Fellows saw that policy come to life. |
They met with advocates and experts in a roundtable moderated by Lori Fresina of the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers, discussing how to turn evidence-based ideas into action and build bipartisan momentum.
Visits to the Helen R. Walton Children's Enrichment Center and the Heartland Whole Health Institute offered powerful examples of innovation at work — from early childhood education to whole-person health. |
Across both gatherings, one message was clear: when leaders keep the future in focus, they choose connection over division, curiosity over conflict, and vision over stalemate.
While Washington stood still, these lawmakers were already moving forward — building trust, sharing ideas, and shaping a future defined not by gridlock, but by possibility. Onwards,
Future Caucus |
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