LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Dec. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF) has completed a series of key leadership decisions that fortify its governance, operational continuity, and long-term mission trajectory. With the future direction clarified and executive leadership secured, the Foundation enters 2026 with strengthened alignment and renewed confidence in its ability to drive generational impact across Arkansas.
In recent months, the WRF Board has demonstrated a collective resolve rooted in trust, clarity, and shared purpose. Through thoughtful deliberation, principled stewardship, and an unwavering commitment to the Foundation's founding values, board members have converged around a unified vision for what comes next. This cohesion has not been accidental—it reflects a governance culture that prioritizes transparency, thoughtful succession, and the belief that leadership is not merely positional, but directional.
The Board's engagement throughout this process has been characterized by the spirit of positivity and forward motion. This clarity of leadership sends an unmistakable signal to partners and investors across Arkansas: the Foundation is not shifting course — it remains focused on the future. These leadership decisions—affirmed by the Board of Directors—reflect the Foundation's ongoing commitment to ensuring that its structure, stewardship, and strategic capacity match the scale of its mission. The Board has finalized the identification of its next Chief Executive Officer and selected two additional leaders for service on the Board, reinforcing the Foundation's depth of expertise and broadening its ability to accelerate statewide opportunity.
"The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation stands on more than five decades of possibility-thinking," said Cedric Williams, Board Chair of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. "By strengthening our leadership infrastructure, we are not merely preparing for the future — we are building it. Arkansas deserves institutions that evolve with courage, clarity, and conviction, and WRF remains steadfast in that charge. Our leadership alignment ensures that we remain laser-focused on expanding opportunity for ALICE families across Arkansas — the hardworking residents who power our communities yet remain constrained by systems that were never designed with them in mind. Their resilience fuels our resolve. This is how we honor Governor Rockefeller's charge — not with rhetoric, but with results."
As part of this leadership alignment, Dr. Sherece West-Scantlebury shared reflections on the Foundation's journey and future trajectory: "It has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life to serve the people of Arkansas through the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation," said Dr. Sherece West-Scantlebury, outgoing Chief Executive Officer. "From my first day, I understood that this role was never about a title — it was about the trust, tenacity, and transformative possibility at the heart of this institution. Our team has worked with urgency and conviction to expand economic mobility and dismantle barriers that hold ALICE families back. Their resilience has shaped my leadership and sharpened our mission. As I complete my tenure, I do so with pride in what we have built and confidence in what comes next. The Foundation's leadership alignment reflects both continuity and courage — a readiness to meet Arkansas's challenges with innovation, integrity, and impact. WRF's next chapter is not a departure from its past, but an acceleration of its promise. Leadership is temporary. The mission is not."
Because of this alignment, WRF can now execute with the precision and pace this moment demands. With leadership now unified, the Foundation is positioned to:
This moment represents an organizational turning point — one grounded not in transition, but in strategic readiness. The Foundation's governance, leadership, and strategy are now calibrated for the work ahead, ensuring that Governor Winthrop Rockefeller's enduring belief in possibility continues to fuel statewide transformation.
About the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation exists to ensure that every Arkansan has the opportunity to thrive. Building on Governor Rockefeller's legacy of innovation, equity, and civic imagination, the Foundation invests in ideas and initiatives that dismantle barriers, build community power, and transform the systems that shape people's lives.
Learn more at https://www.wrfoundation.org/.
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SOURCE Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
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