In February, Excellerate Foundation announced Brad Sikorski would be taking over as its president and chief executive officer. The regional organization directs its efforts on addressing the most pressing needs of Northwest Arkansas, focusing on social services, housing and education.

Sikorski replaced Jeff Webster, who served in the role for six years and is remaining as an executive advisor with the organization through early 2026. Prior to his work with Excellerate, Sikorski served as chief financial officer for Walton Enterprises in Bentonville. He also previously served on Excellerate’s board.

As the new leader of an organization dedicated to supporting the needs of Northwest Arkansas’ citizens, The Bentonville Bulletin asked Sikorski about his views on Bentonville’s greatest needs, his vision for the future and the steps he plans to take to address the region's most pressing challenges.

What do you feel are some of Bentonville’s most pressing issues that affect residents’ quality of life?

For Bentonville, specifically, I think the cost of workforce housing is the most pressing issue facing residents today. The fact that Bentonville is an amazing place to live is no longer a secret. That has meant a lot of people moving to the area putting a strain on the housing stock, and, in turn, housing prices. This has made it difficult for teachers, police officers, firefighters, city workers, etc., to live in the community in which they serve.

As NWA continues to grow at a fast rate, in what ways would you like to see Excellerate focus its future efforts?

One of the things that drew me to Excellerate is that they are not afraid to take the lead or a coordinating role on some of the biggest challenges facing our community today. I would like to see us continue to take on that role alongside organizations such as the Northwest Arkansas Council, other philanthropic organizations, the school district, our local colleges and universities, as well as local government to tackle some of those challenges. Over the next few years, I think tackling workforce housing and providing non-traditional students opportunities to get credentialed in fields such as health care to more fully participate in the labor market are two areas we will continue to focus on.

We’ve been following the McAuley Place affordable housing development. What’s the latest on the project?

We are excited to share that we have received the Notice to Proceed and construction began! The entire project is still on track to be completed by the end of 2026. 

The last president/CEO of Excellerate is quoted as saying, “Nowhere is the affordable housing crisis more prevalent in the region than in Bentonville.” In what ways do you think Bentonville could tackle its housing issues?

There were some wonderful recommendations and plans for action made by the Bentonville Housing Affordability Workgroup and ultimately lined out in Project ARROW. We fully support those recommendations and hope that the city will enact them soon. 

Besides McAuley Place, what Excellerate project do you think has made or will make a significant impact in the Bentonville community?

I am also very excited about the work that our Upskill NWA team has embarked on. This initiative is broader than just Bentonville; to date, we have helped over 380 non-traditional students get trained in the health care field. This program has helped fill a critical shortage of workers in that space and has enabled graduates to achieve an average increase in annual salary of over $30,000 per year prior to them joining the program.

What Excellerate project are you most excited about at the current moment?

Currently, the Bentonville Teacher HOMES program at McAuley Place. This project will enable employees of Bentonville Schools the opportunity to live in single-family cottages while building equity towards the down payment of a more traditional home. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such program of its kind in the U.S.

If someone had never heard of Excellerate, what would be the main thing you would like them to understand about the organization? 

We are a bit of a unicorn in that we are a traditional grant-making organization, but also an operating foundation that combines the strengths of social services, business and philanthropy. As a result, we have a very strong track record of driving change and getting things done. We focus on hard-working families who serve their communities but still struggle to make ends meet. Our strategic pillars are social support, housing and education, with major initiatives in workforce housing, job upskilling, and driving efficiency and impact in the delivery of social services.