Weaver Awards
Northwest Arkansas 2025
Congratulations to the 2025 NWA Weaver Awardees
Some people weave us together. They are the folks most people know and trust, those we count on to get neighbors together when we need to tackle a shared problem or get something done. They welcome everyone and connect us.
This year, we are celebrating 20 of them in Northwest Arkansas.
Why have Weaver Awards?
We all know neighbors who show up, again and again, to make our community better. They seem to know everyone. They inspire us to support each other. They see a need and fill it. They often don’t have big titles or receive grants for their work. We count on them and yet we rarely celebrate how important they are to us.
The NWA Weaver Awards celebrate and publicly recognize them so we all can learn and be inspired by their work. Each receives $5000 to advance their projects that weave a tighter community. A group of neighbors from Washington and Benton counties reviews applications and recommendations and selects 20 Awardees to receive this recognition.
The 2025 NWA Weaver Awards are run by a local initiative of neighbors called Weaving NWA, which runs several initiatives throughout the year to bring neighbors together and foster connection across NWA.
Weave: The Social Fabric Project created the Weaver Awards to honor neighbors who are serving their communities and creating emotional connection, lasting relationships, and a strong, inclusive social fabric. These weavers are showing us the way to heal the divides in our country and help us build trust in each other from the ground up.
Meet the Awardees
Malath Alarnosi
Fayetteville and beyond
Malath noticed that many immigrant and refugee women in town were experiencing loneliness and isolation, so she started Arabic Women for Women to help them find connection. She uses art therapy to help participants reconnect with their home countries while building new relationships with neighbors. She’ll use the Award to offer more experiences and new venues.
Reese Roberts
Fayetteville
After the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the restaurant industry in Fayetteville, Reese started the Fayette Independent Restaurant Alliance to bring restaurant professionals together in dialogue, community, and mutual support. She’ll use her Award to broaden awareness and expand membership across the Fayetteville area.
Nellie Beall
Fayetteville
When Nellie moved to NWA, she wanted to share the deep sense of community and connection she felt growing up in Malaysia. In 2014, she started Intersection NWA to walk alongside neighbors going through difficult times. Every Thursday, the community gathers to share a meal, stories, and meaningful relationships. Nellie will use her Award to continue meeting neighbors through food and connection.
Annie Keller
Fayetteville and beyond
Annie founded NWA Trans Night, a series of regular events, to address the loneliness and isolation faced by transgender and gender non-conforming folks. These events create spaces where folks can connect and flourish. She’ll use the Award to expand the programming, host more diverse gatherings, and create a network of mutual aid.
Courtney King
Elkins
Courtney is developing the Elkins Creation Station in rural Elkins to bring youth and their families together so they can experience the intersection of art and nature in their own hometown. She will use the Award to create a permanent space, expand her offerings, and bring more youth into the program.
Lauren Quetsch
Fayetteville and beyond
As a clinical psychologist, Lauren has seen the isolation experienced by families of neurodiverse children. She is building spaces based on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, an evidence-based intervention, where professionals and families come together and share resources, knowledge, and find connections. She will use her Award to expand these spaces of belonging.
Beatriz Segura
Rogers
Beatriz noticed that when people work with their hands and explore their creativity as a group, they de-stress and form friendships. She founded B Magic Craft Hands to teach the art of traditional Mexican embroidery to folks of all ages as a way to foster belonging and community. She will use her Award to expand the project into new community spaces.
Abby Hollis
Fayetteville and beyond
After art school, Abby came back to Fayetteville and joined Ozark Folkways, an organization that runs community-rooted programs that teach folk arts and fosters community through shared expression and place-based creativity. She will use her Award to expand free and low-cost programming so more neighbors can find connection through folk arts.
Lisa Bell Henson
Prairie Grove and Farmington
In the area where Lisa lives, aging folks lack access to spaces where they can congregate and be together. Many are also suffering from social isolation. As founder of the Whole Health Collective, Lisa is helping elderly folks connect with one another through movement therapy and holistic health. She will use her Award to secure a new space and get new equipment to continue their efforts.
Sarah Anyeith
Rogers and Bentonville
After the tornadoes destroyed large parts of Rogers, Sarah started hosting poetry workshops to help neighbors navigate their trauma and grief. These workshops naturally evolved into spaces for neighbors to express their creativity, foster connection, and find mutual support in one another. She’ll use her Award to expand these spaces and support local poets.
Sam Ash
Fayetteville and beyond
As a member of the NWA Transcends Task Force, Samson is bringing together neighbors to spaces where they can share, listen, and imagine a Northwest Arkansas where people of all genders are cherished in their full humanity. They will use their Award to create more spaces for neighbors to deepen relationships, counter isolation, and promote mutual care.
Caitlin Livingston
Rogers
As a transplant to NWA, Caitlin was missing the parenting and women’s groups that were common in Louisiana. She created a parenting hub at the Wellnest that holds educational and social events for mothers, parents, and teens to build relationships with one another. She will use her award to expand awareness and offer new types of programming.
Khalid Ahmadzai
Fayetteville and beyond
Khalid’s upbringing in Afghanistan was deeply rooted in community. After relocating to the United States, Khalid opened Rumi Afghan Rugs to share that culture of connection with his neighbors through Afghan art and traditions. He will use his award to organize oral storytelling gatherings where neighbors can find a space for connection.
Shaheen Lokhandwala
Fayetteville
Shaheen noticed that entrepreneurs in the creative industries in NWA often lack the support to flourish. She started Mix Mingle Innovate to help creative entrepreneurs connect, collaborate, and share resources to build sustainable businesses. She’ll use her Award to host gatherings where they can share experiences, build relationships, and connect with the larger community.
Amber Perrodin
Springdale
Amber comes from a long line of storytellers from Springdale who taught her that stories bring folks together. She created the Ozark Story Project to collect recipes, oral histories, poems, and portraits from local folks as a way to foster a deeper sense of community. She will use her Award to offer a new series of community storytelling and food-centered gatherings.
Rhonda Ellis
Fayetteville and beyond
As a professional workplace coach, Rhonda understands that our work wellbeing is inseparable from our community wellbeing. She helps businesses in Washington county create more connected workspaces, where folks can build relationships with one another and feel a sense of belonging at work and elsewhere. She’ll use her Award to reach more businesses in NWA.
Julia Paganelli Marin
Fayetteville
As a writer and a teacher, Julia knows that stories can help bring people together. She started Bee Balm Arkansas, a community writing program, to help folks develop a deeper understanding of themselves, empathy for one another, and stronger relationships across the community. She’ll use the Award to support and expand Bee Balm’s programming.
Jason Maxwell
Centerton
Jason and his wife initially started a food pantry as a way to give back to the community. However, when they realized the depth of food insecurity in NWA, they created Farm2Families to bring neighbors together to provide food to those in need and offer everyone a place to be seen, heard, and loved. They’ll use the Award to reach more folks in the community.
K. Angel Horne
Fayetteville and Rogers
While living in Austin, K. Angel attended CreativeMornings, a space where folks meet for breakfast, get to know new people, and learn about creative ideas and businesses. When she moved to Fayetteville, she organized the CreativeMornings Outings program where neighbors can cultivate deeper connections wile exploring the region. With her Award she’ll expand the Outings model.
Jessica McClendon
Fayetteville and beyond
A few years back, Jessica brought a sewing machine to her classroom and saw her students connect with each other around this art form. She has expanded since and is inviting neighbors of all ages to learn and sew together, creating a supporting environment that fosters relationships. She’ll use her Award to offer classes to more folks in the community.
The Advisors
A local advisory group, made up mainly of Northwest Arkansas community advocates, chose the Awardees. These are people who know the spirit of the community and its neighborhoods. They care about weaving a strong social fabric and they know what it takes.
Lacey Bailey
Director Excellerate Foundation
Irma Chavez
Daniel Bennett
Professor of Political Science, John Brown University
Marson Nance
Director of Philanthropy, Northwest Arkansas Land Trust
Denice Nemec
Community Advocate
Karen Wageman
Maria Lanning
Community Advocate + Relocation Consultant
Charli Bradshaw
Podcaster and Media Entrepreneur
Mike Spivey
Katie Lausin
Community Advocate NWA Food Bank
Kelly Dundon
Social Worker and Community Advocate
Theresa James
Mental Health Professional
April Kennedy
Lyssie Koscheski
Community Advocate
Contact Us
If you have questions about the Awards, want to partner, or have issues using this website, let us know. If you want to learn more about weavers across the US, visit weavers.org