The Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce’s Community Development Division activates a diverse next generation of business and community leaders. We champion diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and we engage the right people at the right time to improve our quality of life with quality of place initiatives. This key focus area of our mission-work builds a vibrant, save and welcoming community.  It prepares leaders for future regional challenges.

Increasing Minority Representation in Leadership

The Chamber partners with EngageNWA, University of Arkansas IDEALS Institute, and other local Chambers to host and participate in a DEI Regional Cohort comprised of 15 small to mid-sized businesses. Some of our focus areas include creating cross-cultural dialogue, eliminating unconscious bias, creating more diverse boards and councils, and more.

We host quarterly Spanish Seminar Series educational opportunities targeting Spanish-speaking audiences about a wide range of helpful business topics, such as Starting a Business in Arkansas. Thus far in 2021, we have connected more than 25 minority-led businesses or entrepreneurs with the Chamber and helped them find professional services and assistance. We have also collaborated with Spanish-speaking businesses in areas such as taxes and accounting, law, and banking to provide training for more than 60 minority business owners.

Chamber staff has helped increase the number of people from diverse backgrounds in public positions with the City of Rogers, including a new bilingual librarian at the Rogers Public Library and a new minority member of the City’s Planning Commission. We also worked with local nonprofits to help recruit, attract and train diverse talent to their board of directors.

In July, Chamber SVP of Community Development Ross Phillips was one of 22 chamber leaders nationwide selected to participate in the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE)’s Fellowship for Inclusive Economic Growth Cohort. The program is designed to help chambers refine their inclusive economic recovery goals and ultimately help business associations nationwide build replicable programs and processes. Leaders selected to participate in the fellowship represent urban and rural communities from 18 states.

Activating a Diverse Population in Leadership Training

Northwest Arkansas Emerging Leaders (NWAEL) exists to connect and engage Northwest Arkansas young professionals through personal and professional development experiences. Membership is open to anyone in Northwest Arkansas that has a desire to get involved in the community, expand their leadership skills and become engaged in the program of work. NWAEL accomplishes goals that include:

• Infusing new talent with existing leadership to inspire them to action, actively seeking ways and means to give ready, willing and able future leaders the training and platforms required to transition them into long-term, impactful positions for our community.
• Linking parks, trails and people to provide, protect, develop and maintain parks, greenways and trails throughout the community and to promote public awareness of the benefits of green space.
• Providing avenues for dialogue and education about community issues as well as opportunities to become engaged in projects that will enrich the region through both Education and Downtown activities, offering members a platform to use Community Enrichment for any project or program that could benefit the community.
• Focusing on increasing sustainability in Northwest Arkansas and diverting recyclable material out of landfills, working towards zero waste throughout the community by volunteering to promote sustainable solutions for waste disposal and management.

Leadership Benton County (LBC) provides leadership training specific to regional issues facing the county and serves as the Chamber’s training ground for future leaders in Benton County. Goals of the 11-session program include identification and motivation of individuals with leadership potential, acquainting participants with community needs, challenges and opportunities, offering a forum for dealing with community issues and challenging future leaders to become involved with local issues and the process of decision-making.

Class participants meet monthly from January to September. Sessions focus on local and county government, education, economy, human services, health care, quality of life, state government, regional issues, and leadership skills and theories. LBC is currently having a call for applications! More information is available here.

As the Fall school year begins, the Chamber is working to improve graduation rates for minority students in the region through a Minority Mentorship and Empowerment Program and facilitating meetings with the public and parents of students to prepare the students to achieve success in the classroom. Staff participate in a mentor capacity for the Hispanic Leadership Council’s LatinX on the Rise Mentorship Cohort, reaching out to minority students and offering advice.

Working to Serve Underrepresented Groups in First Responder Workforce

The Chamber works with the Rogers Police Department to build trust in the minority community by establishing meetings via the Community Cohesion Project. We also assist the Rogers Fire Department in recruiting minority firefighters to broaden the representation in our EMS workforce.

The Police Department thus far in 2021 has hired four new minority officers and six new minority administrative positions.

Advocating for 287(g) Use at Jail Level Only with Benton County Sheriff’s Office

This controversial law has been found to lend itself to civil rights violations including racial profiling. The U.S. Justice Department has found that some localities participating in the 287(g) program have used their authority to commit large-scale pattern or practice constitutional violations.

There are currently two counties in the state of Arkansas actively using this program, Benton and Craighead. Washington County has had their program on hold since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the end of 2020, Sheriff Holloway of Benton County announced a change to the program. He made it clear that the Benton County Sheriff’s Office does not use the street model of the program, meaning field patrol officers cannot enforce immigration laws on the streets. The part of the program they are currently using is the jail model, and his office only screens detainees who have been arrested for violent crimes. The 287(g) program is voluntary and allows local law enforcement to identify detainees who might be in the country in violation of immigration laws. Every detainee brought to the jail is asked a set of questions, and federal immigration officials are notified if the answers indicate the person might be in the country illegally. The federal agencies then make a determination whether to detain the person for immigration violations.

The change was made to keep families of nonviolent arrestees together and has provided much-needed relief to the growing immigrant community in NWA.