WRF Announces Starshine Summit

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation announced it will partner with Reimagine Arkansas this summer to host a summit discussing the power of narratives on social justice and equity.

The Starshine Narrative Summit is scheduled for June 30 at The Robinson Center in downtown Little Rock. It will feature speakers including nationally-recognized bestselling authors, politicians and business leaders.

Keynote speakers include:

• Rev. Cory Anderson, chief innovation officer at WRF
• Former state Sen. Joyce Elliott
• New York Times bestselling author Ayana Gray
• Dr. Carmen Rojas, president and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation
• State Sen. Clarke Tucker
• Harvey Williams, co-founder and CEO of Delta Dirt Distillery

“The Starshine Narrative Summit will center those closest to the challenges and solutions to build a collective vision for the future that works for everyone,” Sara Bishop of Reimagine Arkansas said in a news release. “By bringing together artists, advocates, funders and legislators, we believe we can tap into the imaginative power needed to write a bold new narrative for Arkansas.”

The free event comes after the Rockefeller Foundation launched the H.E.A.L. Narrative Lab last fall. The $1.08 million initiative is aimed at helping six nonprofits shift the public conversation about how everyday Arkansans can thrive in the state.

“We are thrilled to facilitate an opportunity for grassroots advocates and community-based organizations to come together for a day of thought-provoking discussions, hands-on workshops and inspiring speakers,” Rev. Shantell Hinton-Hill, senior equity officer at the Rockefeller Foundation, said in the release. “ We aim to collaborate and create a bold new roadmap and narrative that prioritizes the voices of Arkansans and shifts perceptions, behavior and policy to build more equitable futures.”