Profiles

A directory of Profiles for Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Awards

Forty Under 40: Roxana Buck

Roxana Buck has 21 years of mortgage banking experience, starting in the industry after graduating from Rogers High School. She began in 2003 at Simmons Bank. After five months as…

Forty Under 40: Dr. Gary Berner

Dr. Gary Berner comes from a family with a long history in healthcare. His grandfather was a pediatrician, his father was a physician and his mother was a nurse practitioner….

Forty Under 40: Maggie Benson

Maggie Benson has been a standout performer as a lawyer, from her days in private practice in Arkansas to her career as an in-house lawyer at Tyson Foods. While in…

Forty Under 40: Rick Barry

Rick Barry recently took on a new role at NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC), giving him a chance to put his education and work experience to use making NWACC run…

Forty Under 40: Juan Bahena

Juan Bahena believes that every day he wakes in the morning is a day to celebrate, and he wants people throughout the region to get to celebrate, too. That’s part…

Jeff Allison’s greatest success was buying Bordinos Restaurant in 2020, 45 days before the COVID-19 pandemic, and surviving. He made it through with government assistance programs, pivoting to try new…

Forty Under 40: Abel Albarran

Abel Albarran is making his mark on the legal community in Northwest Arkansas with honesty, directness and empathy. As a partner with Albarran & Joyce, Albarran, who is bilingual and…

Forty Under 40: Brooke Allen

Brooke Allen’s nonprofit career started at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas after working as a pre-K teacher for three years. “I felt like I wasn’t making a difference,”…

Women in Business: Debbie Creek

Residence: Springdale Education: B.S.B.A., accounting, University of Arkansas; MBA, John Brown University Professional background: Creek joined Harps in 2006 as controller and helped oversee day-to-day financial operations during the company’s…

Women in Business: Ashley Pifer

Residence: Fayetteville Education: B.S., civil engineering, Ph.D., civil engineering, University of Arkansas Professional background: After completing her doctoral work at the University of Arkansas, Pifer joined engineering firm Garver in…

Women in Business: Jaclyn House

Residence: Rogers Education: University of Arkansas (attended) Professional background: After more than a decade working in merchandise support in the corporate sector, House pursued a media career. She joined KNWA/KFTA…

Women in Business: Amanda Ragar

Residence: Rogers Education: B.S.B.A., finance and marketing, University of Arkansas Professional background: Ragar co-founded her first company in 2005 with the launch of a Scotts LawnService franchise. In 2016, the…

Women in Business: Tamara Phillips

Residence: Fayetteville Education: NA Professional Background: Phillips has over four decades of experience in the banking industry and played a pivotal role in establishing two banks from their inception. In…

Women in Business: Jennifer Welch

Residence: Gentry Education: NA Professional background: With nearly 20 years of experience in Northwest Arkansas, Welch closed over 200 residential sales worth nearly $60 million in the past five years….

Women in Business: Emily Ironside

Residence: Fayetteville Education: B.A., mass communications, Lindenwood (Mo); M.A., communication, University of Arkansas Professional background: Ironside joined The Jones Center in the spring of 2023. That followed a decade of…

Women in Business: Jessica Hester

Residence: Rogers Education: B. Arch., University of Oklahoma; M.S., design research, University of Michigan Professional background: A Northwest Arkansas native, Hester leads the largest solely woman-owned design firm in Arkansas….

Women in Business: Jamie Jeter

Residence: Centerton Education: B.S., psychology, Abilene Christian University Professional background: Since joining Outdoor Cap in May 2011, Jeter has worked in numerous sales and product development roles. She’s led the…

Women in Business: Krista Langston

Residence: Fayetteville Education: B.B.A., MBA, Harding University Professional background: Over the past three years, Langston has been executive director of community programs at the Institute of Community Health Innovation at…

Fast 15: Erin Thomas

Erin Thomas led public communications for Ronald McDonald House’s (RMH) $3.5 million capital campaign to build an 11-bedroom house in Fort Smith and got it done in two years. Her…

Fast 15: Jackson Mendenhall

Fort Smith native Jackson Mendenhall is one of the rare people who know what they want to do before graduating college and where they will do it. He graduated from…