Marta Loyd

Marta Loyd has always been a bridge builder and found her perfect workspace on Petit Jean Mountain as the CEO and executive director of the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute.

The institute serves as a meeting place and sponsor for civic, educational and other organizations to solve problems. Loyd, 60, was the vice president of advancement for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith for 12 years before joining the institute in 2014.

“Working at the institute falls right in line with my values,” Loyd said. “I’ve always believed in dialogue across differences. I’m a peacemaker and problem-solver by nature, so at the institute our mission is to continue Winthrop Rockefeller’s legacy of collaborative methods of problem-solving. It is very rewarding work. We bring people together at the lovely setting on the mountain and guide them through some very complex issues.”

Loyd said her proudest achievement is helping the institute receive a $100 million endowment from the Rockefeller Charitable Trust in 2018 that will guarantee the institute’s work in the future. That will allow Loyd and her staff to continue to help organizations like the rural health working groups solve critical problems in the state.

The institute has hosted the Rural Health Summit the past three years. “It’s a real crisis. There are six counties in Arkansas that don’t even have a physician,” Loyd said. “We brought people together who have never been together before. I feel really proud about that. There is a network where there wasn’t one before.”

Loyd said she and the other nonprofit executive finalists don’t do what they do for outside recognition, but she does like the attention she can bring to the institute and the work it does.

“The thing I’m most proud of in my six years at the institute is helping to crystalize and refine the mission, and helping build the organization to make it sustainable and make an impact on the world,” Loyd said.

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