Alice L. Walton, Founder

Philanthropist Alice Walton is deeply committed to the advancement of art and wellness. She founded the Alice L. Walton Foundation to increase access to arts, improve education, enhance health and well-being, and advance economic opportunity. In 2011, she opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas to expand access to art in the Heartland. Based on the museum’s success, she formed Art Bridges Foundation in 2017 to expand access to American art across the nation.  

Alice’s transformative experiences in the arts led to an interest in wellness, and how art, nature, and the spaces around us shape and improve our lives. In 2019, Alice established Heartland Whole Health Institute, a non-profit organization that puts a whole health approach at the center of the broader health care system to address the current health care crisis. In 2021, she founded Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, which will offer a four-year, medical degree-granting program (pending accreditation) that integrates traditional medical education with the arts, humanities, and whole health principles. New buildings for the institute and school are under construction on the Crystal Bridges campus and slated to open in 2025, fulfilling Alice’s vision of integrating art and wellness.

Background

Alice’s career has been focused on finance, and she was an equity analyst for First Commerce Corporation, founded an investment banking firm, and served as vice chairman at Arvest Bank Group, overseeing trusts and investment activities.

She was the inaugural chairperson for the Northwest Arkansas Council and played a major role in the development of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, which opened in 1998.

Alice holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Trinity University and an honorary Doctor of Arts and Humane Letters from the University of Arkansas.

For more information, visit AliceLWaltonFoundation.org