How expanding childcare access strengthens Arkansas’ workforce

Last week, the third annual Excel by Eight Foundation’s Collaborative Summit took place in Little Rock. The event brought together business leaders, chambers of commerce and heads of nonprofits. It wasn’t designed to find instant solutions to a wide-ranging problem but to expedite conversations among groups to work toward solutions. The meeting wasn’t open to the press. Still, afterward, Steve Cousins, the board chair of El Dorado-based SHARE Foundation, and Brandom Gengelbach, the president and CEO of the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, spoke with Ozarks at Large.