A group of more than one hundred young professionals tuned in to the Sixth Annual NWA Young Professional Summit on Friday, November 5. The Summit formed in 2016 when the Northwest Arkansas Emerging Leaders organization and Rotary Clubs of NWA realized the need to create a leadership summit for young professionals in Northwest Arkansas.

Summit Focused on Three Areas of Development
This year’s theme was IGNITE YOUR PASSION with sessions focused on discovering personal success, strengthening professional prosperity, and turning passion into philanthropic actions that help Northwest Arkansas thrive.

Walmart’s Tony Waller Kicks It Off
The Summit kicked off with Tony Waller, Vice President of Constituent Relations and Racial Equity for Walmart. Serving is extremely important to Tony, as he has taught that to give real service you must add to the world something that cannot be bought or measured with money. He currently serves as Chair of the NAACP ACT-SO Advisory Council. His passion for the empowerment and advancement of women has led him to serve on the Board of Trustees at the Center for Asian Pacific American Women. Tony strives to live each day by the words of his mother, Barbara Jean Motley Waller: “Keep flowing with The River for The River knows exactly where It is going.”

Tony asked simple questions like who are you outside of your job? Do you want to build your legacy? then explained the steps that we must take to both recognize and embrace our own gifts, while overcoming the challenges that everyone must face.

The Ideals Team Talks Inclusion
Another main session featured The Ideals Team from the University of Arkansas. The team talked about how we can start to move beyond diversity and how we can be more inclusive both in the workplace and our personal life.

Other Sessions
Young Professionals were able to tune in to several breakout sessions of their choice throughout the Summit. Some of the sessions included lessons on Leadership, Personal Branding, Diversity and Inclusion, Managing a Startup, Navigating Conversations, Service Learning, Gaining Influence Within Your Community, and Making Connections at the Local Level.

If you were not able to attend this year’s NWA YP Summit, don’t worry! Click here to find out how you can receive on-demand access to all the sessions.