Shannon Earls is a Founding Partner and President of Clark Contractors. At Clark, Shannon provides leadership and overall responsibility for building projects throughout pre-construction and construction. He is skilled at project estimating, value engineering, bid packaging, contract negotiation, and project oversight. Shannon has been a significant contributor to Clark Contractors’ expansive portfolio of hospitality building projects, which currently totals over 10.3 million square feet. With over 32 years of experience in the construction industry, Shannon has an extensive background in the economic analysis of building systems, cost modeling, and conceptual estimating.

Laneshift was founded in 2017 by Ryan Hale. Prior to this, Ryan worked for over five years at the center of the growth of Northwest Arkansas’ bike and pedestrian network as a staff member for the Walton Family Foundation. Through projects like the development of the Razorback Regional Greenway, the Back 40 mountain biking trail system in Bella Vista, and Lake Atalanta in Rogers, AR, Ryan gained valuable experience in the implementation of a robust bike and pedestrian system that continues to grow in size and connectivity. Ryan witnessed firsthand how investments focused on active mobility can transform communities. Experiences gained while working at both the regional and project level helped serve as a springboard for the launch of Laneshift. BIO AT A GLANCE: • Former Community Banker • 5+ years with the Walton Family Foundation as lead program officer for development of bike and pedestrian infrastructure in Home Region • Team captain-University of Arkansas Razorbacks - 1998 Football • Member of New York Giants-1999-2000-Superbowl 35

Lori became a partner at Jennings+Santa-Rita Architects in Fayetteville, AR in 2015. She served as the 2019 AIA Arkansas President, is a founding member of Women in Architecture Arkansas, and is currently working with the AIA National Strategic Council as the Arkansas representative. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas in 2005, Lori was appointed to the City of Fayetteville Environmental Action Committee and, over the years, has been involved in various non-profits throughout the state. Lori’s dedication to the profession of architecture and community service were recognized by the AIA Arkansas 2018 Emerging Professional Award. She was also included in the Northwest Arkansas Business Journals 40 under 40 in 2015 and featured in the Women Make Arkansas publication by Et Alia Press in 2019. Lori enjoys being involved in various outreach initiatives using her craft to engage with others on the subjects of architecture and equity.

Jake Newell is most passionate about developing creative core urban projects.?He?has a background in single family, multifamily, and mixed-use developments. He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Business prior to pursuing a career in construction management and then transitioning into development with the launch of his company Newell Development. In 2018 he launched Wheelhouse Real Estate Management, the property management firm responsible for managing his portfolio of rentals. Jake has been involved in the residential growth of Northwest Arkansas for the past 18 years. His?extensive background in acquiring, developing, and selling unique infill properties has had a proven impact on real estate development throughout the region. Jake says he is most proud of his work when he sees his clients leading active lifestyles and interacting with the outdoor space around them- walking, biking, or gathering with friends outdoors – all of that plays into his company’s mission of “Curating Place”. In his life outside of work, you'll likely find Jake in the outdoors riding or running one of Bentonville’s trails, or spending time with his wife?Jennifer, and sons Joseph and John.

Shayan graduated from University of Arkansas and joined Hight Jackson in 2010. He became vice president in the firm in 2017, and became a partner in January 2020. His key projects are the Lobby Dome Addition to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Bachman Wilson House reconstruction on the grounds of Crystal Bridges, Northwest Arkansas National Airport Skybridge, and Arkansas Arts Academy High School. Shayan is actively involved in our community and is a member of the Bentonville Rotary Club, United Way’s Young Leader Society, and USGBC Arkansas West Branch. Shayan serves as Membership Chair of Urban Land Institute Northwest Arkansas.

Tanya Mims has been the Fayetteville Community President at First National Bank of NWA since 2018. She previously worked for Arvest Bank from 1997 until 2018. She graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1993 with a B.S.B.A. in Finance and Real Estate and the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado in 2022. Her community involvement includes the Junior League of NWA, Peace at Home Family Shelter, Christian Life Cathedral Executive Board Member since January 2022, Leadership Fayetteville class XXXII, Arkansas Fair Housing Commissioner since 2019, University of Arkansas Mentor for the Future Women Business Leaders Program since January 2021 and Director on the Steele Crossing Board since November 2021. During her career with Arvest bank, Tanya won the Sales of Service award from 2000-2003, 2009, 2011, and from 2013-2017. She was in the AMC Best of the Best from 2009-2017 and earned the Certified Mortgage Planner Designation in 2003. She was also an honoree of the Class of 2020 Women in Business from Talk Business and Politics. She enjoys hiking and biking with her husband and two sons, sharing the FNBNWA community driven spirit with surrounding neighbors and is an avid Razorback fan.

Tanner Weeks is a principal and co-founder of EDG. He is a native of Arkansas and resides in North Little Rock. As a landscape architect, he appreciates the value of public space and expresses his design strengths in urban infill and adaptive re-use projects. Tanner is also a licensed contractor; this knowledge allows him to explore creative design ideas while understanding the notion of constructability and how design solutions impact our urban fabric and natural environment. He follows the idea that an individual’s experience, in a well-designed space evokes emotion that is memorable and should be celebrated. Unique experiences have the power to influence one’s trajectory in life. This belief reinforces the fact that good ideas, good people, and making good memories are critical to the world around us. Tanner’s compassion for others paired with a sensible dose of humor helps build relationships and allows him to find the best in people.

Aaron Burkes is CEO of the Northwest Arkansas National Airport, a position he took in 2018 after four years as president of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority. He is a member of the Transportation Industry Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and a member of the Arvest Bank Benton County Board of Directors. Burkes previously represented eastern Benton County in the Arkansas House of Representatives, served as executive director of a five-county regional planning commission, and worked in banking and real estate development for over 20 years. Burkes earned a bachelor’s degree in natural science from the University of Arkansas, a master’s degree in economics from Clemson University and a law degree at Baylor University. He is a licensed attorney and contractor.

Leveraging his unconventional and varied professional background, Daniel offers an unorthodox approach to identify and activate a client ’s unique DNA of Place™. He served as Executive Director of Fayetteville Downtown Partners, where he produced the Fayetteville Arts Festival, structured the formation of the Fayetteville Arts Council, co-wrote the initial Fayetteville Public Art Policy, crafted the state’s first municipally formed Arts District in downtown Fayetteville and changed state BID law to include the arts as a fundable line item, among other projects. He went on to serve as Executive Director of Downtown Bentonville, Inc., where he managed and facilitated economic development, experience design and marketing for the 1,768-acre downtown district. Growing the non-profit downtown association from two to seven employees, expanding organizational revenue by 300%, directly recruiting over $50 Million in downtown investment and producing 400+ events that generated over 750,000+ visitors to downtown, his work fostered a growing art, entertainment, culinary, and entrepreneurial scene which has earned national attention. Since starting the Velocity Group in 2014, he has worked on a wide variety of projects all over North America, including downtown master plans, regional economic development initiatives, branding and marketing strategies, private development projects and tenant programming, event production, art and cultural initiatives, restaurant and hospitality concepts, public outreach and engagement, and public policy work. Daniel is a nationally recognized thought leader in experience design, economic development, and systems thinking. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business and presented at TEDx, Tyson Foods, Walmart, American Institute of Architects, Arkansas Municipal League, Congress for New Urbanism, American Association of Landscape Architects, Sarkeys Southwest Regional Leadership Forum, National Town Builder Association, International Economic Development Council, and many others. In addition, he is the editor for the annual statewide magazine Block, Street, and Building: New Urbanism in Arkansas published by the Arkansas Times. In 2008, he earned an Experience Economy Expert certification from Joseph Pine and Jim Gilmore, whose thoughts on the rising consumer value of experience and authenticity were listed by TIME magazine as a Top 100 Idea Changing the World. Daniel holds a BFA in Film from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Alison Jumper is the Director of Parks, Natural Resources, and Cultural Affairs for the city of Fayetteville, AR. She is responsible for oversight of parks planning, recreational services, natural resource and open space stewardship, cultural arts planning and implementation, special events and attractions within the City’s Parks system. Jumper is a licensed landscape architect and holds a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. She spent three years with Runway Group where she led the completion of Osage Park and Coler Mountain Bike Preserve in Bentonville, Ark. Prior to Runway Group, she worked at the City of Fayetteville first as a park planner before being promoted to park planning superintendent, where she was responsible for managing the Park Planning and Urban Forestry Division. Jumper played instrumental roles in planning and completing park master plans and capital projects, including neighborhood parks, Kessler Mountain Regional Park and numerous downtown streetscape renovations.

Chris Baribeau, AIA, is the Principal Architect of modus studio, a progressive design collective based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Since its inception in 2008, modus has created a broad range of influential, sustainable, and place-making projects. Together with their companion fabrication lab modus shop, the firm bridges the profession with architectural, graphic, prototyping, and fabrication work. Craft in the hand of design and making is at the core of their design vocabulary, used to create architectures founded in a think, make, do process. Chris draws daily inspiration from his place, the threshold between the natural and man-made world of the Ozarks. He is an advocate of conscious observation as inspiration for design and views the world around him as an unwritten instruction manual for living. He believes that architecture can inspire all people in a personal, practical, and sustainable way. People deserve good space and good buildings, derived from good ideas.

John developed Entegrity’s Northwest Arkansas office in 2012 and has worked in a variety of capacities including Energy Services, Sustainability, and Business Development. Currently, he serves as Vice President – Business Development. Signature projects include the University of Arkansas’ campus-wide energy project, Tulsa Public Schools energy retrofit, Lawrence, KS Public Schools Phase I and II bond initiatives, and a variety of corporate energy projects in Tulsa and Northwest Arkansas. John also serves on Entegrity’s Leadership Team. John is a graduate of the University of Arkansas’ College of Engineering and the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs. He is a licensed professional engineer and a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction. Previously, John worked as an environmental engineer in the Chesapeake Bay and Mississippi River delta watersheds, as a policy analyst for the City of Austin, TX and served as the City of Fayetteville’s Sustainability Director.

John McCurdy is a Rogers native currently employed with the City of Rogers as the Director of Community Development overseeing city planning and major construction projects. Mr. McCurdy graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Math, Science, and Engineering, and retired from active duty on March 31st, 2016 at the rank of Colonel. During a 5-year break in service in the 1990s, John was a retail Brand Manager at Tyson Foods, and Director of Retail Sales and Marketing at Simmons Foods. During his military career he was an instructor pilot in T-37, T-41, T-1, C-5, and RQ-4 aircraft. He was the Director of the Dover Air Force Base Command Post on 9/11, and oversaw immediate actions taken at Dover and around the world during the days that followed. He commanded the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, conducting intelligence and surveillance operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa; as well as natural disaster and drug interdiction operations throughout the world. He later commanded the joint, international 738th Air Expeditionary Advisor Squadron in Kabul, Afghanistan during 2010, and oversaw the establishment of all formal training programs to support the newly formed Afghan Air Force. Upon redeployment, he was assigned to the Air Force Academy to establish an unmanned aerial vehicles training program, served as the Director of Research for the Dean of the Faculty, and then retired as the Director of the Air Force Center for Character and Leadership Development. He is a Command Pilot and the recipient of the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and the Legion of Merit. Mr. McCurdy accepted his current position with the City of Rogers following a 1-year stint as a private contractor advising the United Arab Emirates regarding leadership and professional development programs. He is accredited in city planning with the Congress for the New Urbanism and holds a Master’s degree in strategic planning.

Jeremy Hudson is CEO of Specialized Real Estate Group in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a company focused on developing and managing walkable, healthy, and sustainable multifamily communities. He has developed over 1.3 million SF of apartment buildings completed or under development that are registered for LEED certification, including the award-winning Eco Modern Flats.

Ward Davis is a founding partner of High Street Real Estate & Development, a real estate company focused on urban and New Urban properties in vibrant, growing cities and towns. He formerly served as the Chief Executive Officer of The Village at Hendrix, a 112-acre traditional neighborhood in Conway, Arkansas. Prior to that he led the acquisitions team for Medical Properties Trust, a public real estate investment trust (REIT), and was a corporate finance investment banker for Stephens Inc. Ward previously served as President of the National Town Builders Association, a national trade organization for leading developers of economically, socially and environmentally sustainable neighborhoods and town centers. Ward has a BA in Economics from Davidson College, a General Course Diploma in Economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science, and an MBA from The University of Virginia.