Kelly Hale Syer named executive director of Downtown Springdale Alliance

The Downtown Springdale Alliance has hired Kelly Hale Syer as its new executive director, the nonprofit announced in a press release on Monday (May 1). She will replace Misty Murphy, who is resigning.

Syer has 25 years of experience, most recently as director of development at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. Before that, she was director of development at Symphony of Northwest Arkansas from 2000 to 2003, advertising manager of the food service division at Tyson Foods until 2006 and senior manager of public affairs at Cox Communications for about 10 years, according to her LinkedIn page.

She started her career with roles at Wal-Mart Stores and the University of Arkansas and her experience includes positions in public relations, marketing, recruitment, community affairs, event planning and fundraising, according to the press release.

“On behalf of the board of the Downtown Springdale Alliance, I want to congratulate Kelly Syer on becoming our new executive director,” Heather Chilson, chair of the DSA board, said in the press release. “Kelly has a wealth of experience in the community relations and communications fields in Northwest Arkansas and is well respected by everyone who knows her. We are excited about her joining our team to help further the cause of revitalizing downtown Springdale.

“I also want to thank Misty Murphy for everything she has done for nearly two years at DSA.  She has been great in this job and will be missed, but we expect her to continue as a volunteer contributor to our efforts,” Chilson said.

In the executive director role, Syer will be tasked with “providing creative leadership, vision and management to support continued development and vibrancy of both downtown Springdale and the organization itself, advance downtown initiatives, craft the overall downtown experience and generate transformative ideas for the district,” according to the release.

Syer will take a leadership role in the implementation of the city’s infrastructure improvement plan of the Downtown Master Plan and will advocate for and provide project management for urban development projects, according to the release.

“It is a true honor to accept the role as Downtown Springdale Alliance’s executive director,” Syer said in the press release. “I have watched with excitement the passion and many concerted efforts local residents and community leaders have invested in Springdale’s downtown. Building upon the organization’s existing energy and momentum of bringing people together to celebrate the city’s rich history while creating engaging new traditions is a key to Springdale’s future growth, and I can’t wait to be part of it all.”