Faculty

Daniel Hintz

is a nationally recognized placemaking strategist and catalytic urban transformation leader. As Founder of The Velocity Group, he has partnered with more than 70 communities across North America—advising cities, districts, tourism agencies, regional partnerships, nonprofits, foundations, developers, and private investors on downtown revitalization, activation, economic development, and destination strategy and execution. His focus on aligning land use, capital, governance, and community identity to unlock long-term prosperity bridges visionary planning with on-the-ground implementation. A certified Experience Economy Expert, Daniel brings a creative, interdisciplinary lens to his work. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film from the University of Colorado.

Mallory Bachus

brings twenty-five years of celebrated international practice as an urban designer to her role as the President of CNU, as well as a wealth of experience in nonprofit leadership, having served as a staff member, a special advisor, and on the governing boards of organizations making an impact through urban change. Mallory is accredited with the American Planning Association (AICP), the U.S. Green Building Council (LEED), and the Congress for New Urbanism (CNUA). She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Sustainable Urban Development from the University of Oxford, which is delivered in partnership with the King's Foundation for Building Community. Her original research on the intersection of historic preservation and social sustainability received honorable distinction and was included in CNU’s New Urban Research selection in 2019.

Egon Terplan

is CA FWD’s Regionalism Fellow and a Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies, focused on regional economic development and the future of cities. He previously served as Senior Advisor for Economic Development and Transportation in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, where he helped launch the “Regions Rise Together” initiative and the Community Economic Resilience Fund (California Jobs First). He has held leadership roles at SPUR and ICF International and has taught at UC Berkeley, Stanford, and other universities. Egon holds a Master of City Planning from UC Berkeley and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore College.

Heather Worthington

is Principal and COO at Urban3, bringing more than 20 years of leadership in local government. She previously served as Director of Long Range Planning for the City of Minneapolis, where she led the creation and adoption of the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan and advanced fiscal transparency through data visualization. Heather has also held senior leadership roles in Ramsey County — including Deputy County Manager — where she led major redevelopment initiatives, as well as city management positions in Falcon Heights and Edina, Minnesota. A past president of the Minnesota City/County Management Association and an ICMA Credentialed Manager, she is committed to strengthening communities navigating growth, change, and historic inequities.

Brad Lonberger

is an architect, urban designer, and “policy mechanic,” and Founder and Principal of Place Strategies, Inc based in Traverse City, Michigan. With more than 20 years of experience, he helps communities create walkable, authentic places by bridging municipal goals and private development to deliver thriving downtowns and neighborhoods. He has led master plans, corridor and historic district revitalizations, and mixed-use redevelopment initiatives nationwide, drafting more than 60 design and zoning ordinances. Brad advises cities on redevelopment strategy, infrastructure planning, and catalytic investment, aligning vision, policy, and financial feasibility to produce actionable results.

Matthew Avila

is a Director at Hunden Partners, North America’s leading destination development advisory practice. Mr. Avila advises clients on complex real estate and placemaking projects, guiding them from initial visioning through financial analysis and execution. His work informs deal negotiations, capital structuring, and development phasing, helping align public objectives with private investment to deliver financeable, market-driven projects. Matthew’s expertise spans mixed-use districts, hotels, sports venues, entertainment facilities, tourism destinations, attractions, convention centers, and other unique experiential assets. Avila is a key contributor to Hunden’s annual “State of the Industry” presentation for the Association of Luxury Suite Directors (ALSD) and has delivered the presentation at the ALSD International Conference. Matthew holds a B.S. in Finance with Real Estate Concentration from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Wes Craiglow

is Executive Director of ULI Northwest Arkansas, where he leads regional efforts to advance responsible land use, housing strategy, and cross-sector collaboration. He has guided signature initiatives including the ULI Place Summit, technical assistance panels, and housing and planning forums that convene public and private leaders to address real estate and growth challenges. Previously, Wes served as Director of Planning for the City of Conway, overseeing long-range planning and development policy. He is also a veteran of the Arkansas Army National Guard, where he served as a Battalion Commander and Brigade Executive Officer, bringing disciplined, mission-driven leadership to his civic work.

Jaime Izurieta

architect, designer, and author is the founder of Storefront Mastery, a multilingual boutique creative agency helping downtowns, BIDs, and Main Street organizations turn strategic public investment into visible, high-impact transformation. Working closely with district managers, the firm identifies high-potential businesses and leads storefront upgrades that elevate brand presence, increase foot traffic, and reshape the district’s narrative. Based in Montclair, New Jersey, Jaime and his award-winning team partner with place management organizations to activate meaningful relationships between local businesses and their communities.

Marshal Shafkowitz

is Executive Director of Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food at Northwest Arkansas Community College. With more than 40 years of experience in culinary education and the restaurant and hospitality industries across the U.S. and Europe, he has built a career grounded in both craft and teaching. Prior to joining Brightwater in 2019, he served as Executive Dean of the Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute at the City Colleges of Chicago and held leadership roles with Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America. Throughout his career, Chef Shafkowitz has traveled extensively, cooking internationally — including during the 1996 Olympics — and has prepared meals for dignitaries such as the Royal Family of Spain and the Clinton family.

Rob Apple

brings more than 25 years of experience across technology, brand strategy, business development, and hospitality, with leadership roles at Acxiom, Tyson Foods, Disney, and DreamWorks Animation. As co-founder and former CEO of Ropeswing Hospitality, he built and led a 200+ person organization, launching ten hospitality concepts including restaurants, event venues, bars, and private clubs. He now leads Owner/Operator Hospitality, partnering with developers to create place-based concepts that integrate experience, design, and operational strategy from vision through execution.

Chef Matt Cooper

is the founder and chef of Conifer and Ryn in Northwest Arkansas, where his cuisine is rooted in local sourcing, seasonality, and community connection. Formally trained at Le Cordon Bleu, he previously helped lead acclaimed restaurants including Cache in Little Rock and The Preacher’s Son in Bentonville before launching Conifer in 2022. Conifer quickly gained national recognition, earning James Beard Award honors as a 2024 Semi-Finalist and 2025 Finalist for Best Chef: South. In 2025, he opened Ryn, an immersive farm-to-table tasting experience located at Sun Painted Farm. Chef Cooper’s work reflects a deep commitment to place, product integrity, and bringing people together around the table.

Maryam Ahmed

is a Napa-based food and wine entrepreneur and founder of Maryam + Company, where she designs impact-driven brand and educational programs at the intersection of sommeliers, chefs, sustainability leaders, and media. She is the creator of Field Blends, an immersive travel experience exploring emerging voices in wine and agriculture, co-founder of the Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum and serves on the Executive Leadership Board for UC Davis Viticulture & Enology. She been recognized as a Wine Enthusiast Future 40 Tastemaker, received the 2023 Impact Award from the Wine & Culture Festival, was listed as one of the Imbibe 75, and nominated for the Social Visionary Wine Star Award in 2022. She is also a cast member on SOMM TV, a published writer, public speaker, and a partner at Napa-based cooking education company, PLAYTE Kitchen.

J. Scott King

is a business, design, and management executive and consultant with more than 30 years of experience spanning strategy, retail and brand development, experience design, placemaking, product innovation, and supply chain leadership. Known for integrating vision with execution, he builds adaptable business models and experiences that align people, process, and purpose to drive long-term value. Scott most recently served as Chief Business Development Officer and Chief Experience Officer at Runway Group, leading strategy across people, places, and products. Previously, he was Executive Director of Strategy at frog, where he guided innovation and experience strategy for global brands. He has also founded and led multiple ventures, bringing entrepreneurial leadership and systems thinking to diverse industries.

Eric Kronberg

is known as a “zoning whisperer,” specializing in decoding complex zoning ordinances to make great projects possible. As a principal at Kronberg Urbanists + Architects — a multidisciplinary design studio integrating architecture, urban design, policymaking, and real estate development to make neighborhoods better — he leads pre-development strategy to unlock each site’s highest potential. Through his work with the Incremental Development Alliance, the Congress for the New Urbanism, the Georgia Conservancy, and the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, Eric has been a steadfast advocate for walkable, bikable communities. A longtime neighborhood leader in Atlanta’s Edgewood community, he has served in roles including President and Zoning Chair, championing thoughtful, community-driven redevelopment.

Phil Eich

is the founder of Storyville, a multimedia storytelling agency dedicated to helping communities see themselves differently. A former teacher turned full-time storyteller, Phil interviews, writes, photographs, films, and produces content that highlights the people and organizations shaping Saginaw, Bay County, and beyond. His documentary-style approach — centered on authentic, quote-driven narratives — first gained traction marketing his twin brother’s guitar business before evolving into partnerships with Riverfront Saginaw and the City of Saginaw, where his work has helped reshape civic storytelling and community pride. Through every project, Phil’s mission is simple: help people feel seen, heard, and valued — one story at a time.

Bernice Radle

is Executive Director of Preservation Buffalo Niagara and founder of Buffalove Development, a real estate firm focused on revitalizing vacant and underutilized properties in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Her work blends historic preservation, urban design, energy efficiency, and affordability to strengthen neighborhoods. Her renovation projects have been featured on HGTV and in the New York Times, and she received the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Peter H. Brink Award. A former Vice Chair of Buffalo’s Zoning Board of Appeals and Senior Faculty with the Neighborhood Evolution, Bernice is a national advocate for smallscale development and zoning reform. She holds a degree in Urban Planning from Buffalo State College.

Monte Anderson

is President of Options Real Estate Investments Inc., a firm focused on building sustainable, incremental neighborhood development in Southern Dallas and Northern Ellis counties. A nationally recognized advocate and practitioner of incremental development, he frequently speaks and teaches on cultivating local neighborhoods. Monte has led award-winning projects including Tyler Station, the Texas Theatre, Belmont Hotel, and Main Station Duncanville. His recent work includes the transformation of Wheatland Plaza and the fully leased Beckley Settlement in South Dallas. A former Duncanville City Council member, he is founding President of the North Texas CNU chapter and co-founder of the Incremental Development Alliance and Neighborhood Evolution.

Hannah Cicioni

has over 12 years of experience in commercial real estate and development, Hannah Cicioni is a seasoned leader in the Northwest Arkansas real estate landscape. As Owner and Commercial Executive Broker of CRD Real Estate & Development, she has helped guide projects that support growth and revitalization across the region's downtown districts. Hannah's work spans adaptive re-use conversions for hospitality-driven developments, multi-tenant mixed-use redevelopments, and ground-up housing projects. She brings a strategic, execution-minded approach that helps investors, owners, and developers make confident decisions backed by real-world development experience. Deeply invested in the community—especially Downtown Rogers—Hannah is actively involved through owning multiple businesses and development projects, with a focus on long-term value and responsible growth.

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 Ocer 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.

Matthew Petty

designs and builds tools that help cities solve big challenges — especially housing. A pioneer of pre-approved building programs, he has worked with more than two dozen communities nationwide and created the Incremental Development Alliance’s code stress-testing process that sparked meaningful infill reforms. In Fayetteville, Arkansas, Matthew was elected to the City Council four times, serving nearly 13 years and authoring land use and public health reforms including accessory dwelling units, pocket neighborhoods, food trucks, new zoning designations, traffic calming, and COVID budget measures. He also developed a mixed-use walkup project in downtown Fayetteville and has received support from the NEA, Knight Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, and the Congress for the New Urbanism.

Danny Collins

is an entrepreneur and experience strategist, founding 37 North Expeditions and serving as Director of Experience at Ecological Design Group (EDG), where he leads the integration of experiential programming and outdoor activation into landscape architecture and civil engineering projects. Through the strategic partnership between EDG and 37 North, Danny helps ensure outdoor spaces are not only well-designed, but thoughtfully programmed and fully brought to life. He previously worked in architecture and development, including on Hudson Yards with Kohn Pedersen Fox, and serves on the Board of the Arkansas Governor’s Natural State Initiative.

Kalene Griffith

has served as President and CEO of Visit Bentonville since 2005, guiding the city’s rise as a premier destination for cycling, arts, and culinary tourism. Under her leadership, Bentonville embraced the brand “Mountain Biking Capital of the World™,” leveraging unparalleled trail accessibility to build an internationally recognized outdoor recreation economy. Her destination strategy has driven record-breaking annual impact — exceeding $41 million in event-driven economic activity and growing — while advancing a comprehensive master plan centered on infrastructure, accessibility, and sustainable community integration. She was named Arkansas Tourism Person of the Year in 2022 and appointed to the Arkansas State Parks and Tourism Commission.

Ryan Hale

has called Northwest Arkansas home for more than 35 years and has dedicated his career to strengthening the communities he serves. A former Team Captain of the Arkansas Razorbacks Football Team, he went on to spend time with the New York Giants, contributing to their Super Bowl XXXV run, before beginning his professional career in community banking. As a Program Officer with the Walton Family Foundation, Ryan helped shape the region’s bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, advancing landmark projects such as the Razorback Regional Greenway, the Back 40 trail system, and the redevelopment of Lake Atalanta. In 2017, he founded Laneshift, an active transportation consulting firm focused on creating connected, livable communities, which later became a division of Crafton Tull to expand its integrated planning and engineering impact.

Scott Jordan

is a Principal at Civitas, an urban design and landscape architecture firm dedicated to shaping cities for the better by blending nature and urban life. Scott has led many of Civitas’ most complex and transformative projects including Calgary’s St. Patrick’s Island, the North Embarcadero waterfront in San Diego, the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan, Balboa Park’s Master Plan, and the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park in Raleigh. His recent work includes a vision plan for the Jones Center Campus in Springdale, Arkansas, reinforcing his belief in authentic community engagement and the power of listening. Scott’s award-winning work has been recognized nationally, and he is a frequent lecturer and speaker at universities and design conferences. He holds a Master of Landscape Architecture and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Manitoba.

Joe Nickol

grew up in a small Pacific Northwest resort town in the 80s and 90s — an upbringing that sparked his lifelong fascination with walkable neighborhoods and the way people live. His journey has taken him through South Bend, Rome, Pittsburgh, and now Cincinnati, deepening his commitment to building great places rooted in human-scale design. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Architecture, Joe brings more than 20 years of experience leading master plans for some of the nation’s most successful district development and revitalization projects across 25 states and seven countries. Formerly a studio director at Urban Design Associates and Director of Development Strategy at MKSK, he co-founded YARD & Co. in 2018 and authored The Neighborhood Playbook. Joe is a cofounder of CNU-Midwest, a frequent national lecturer, and a contributor to Public Square, Planetizen, and Strong Towns.

Kevin Wright

is Co-Founder and Principal of YARD & Company, a national urban design and growth studio that partners with cities, neighborhoods, funders, developers, and community organizations to turn bold ideas into real places that work for people. Working in over 20 states, Yard builds comprehensive strategies that include place planning, activation, and experience design — from neighborhood streets and public spaces to district-scale revitalization — always guided by the voices and needs of the people who live there. Kevin’s approach blends design, development strategy, and community-driven activation, ensuring that places are not only well designed but also programmed to thrive socially and economically over time.

Stephenie Smith

is the co-founder and managing partner of Sophic Solutions and a recognized authority on operationalizing equity, executive project management, organizational design, and operational improvement. With more than 20 years of experience, she focuses on aligning nonprofit policy with community investment and leading large-scale organizational transformation. Stephenie is also a community leader and advisor who advances revitalization through strategic partnerships and innovative programs. A former Graduate Adjunct Professor specializing in operationalizing equity, her work is grounded in a social work background and a commitment to addressing poverty, oppression, and advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. She has served on several local government commissions, boards, and national committees and is a graduate of Fisk University and the University of Tennessee College of Social Work.

Sandy Wright

is a transformational leadership coach with more than 40 years of experience in organizational development, capacity building, startups, and nonprofits. She serves as a trusted advisor to corporations, government agencies, and small businesses, helping leaders unlock vision, strengthen teams, and drive meaningful growth. As an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Sandy specializes in guiding transition, scaling bold ideas, and aligning purpose with measurable results. Her clients include managers from Hewlett- Packard, Mars/Wrigley and other international corporations, as well as entrepreneurs and emerging leaders across diverse industries.