Profiles

A directory of Profiles for Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Awards

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…

Fast 15: Michaela Day

Michaela Day relocated from central Illinois to southwest Arkansas at the age of 8, where she spent her formative years on a bustling 70-acre hobby farm surrounded by diverse livestock….

Fast 15: Payne Phillips

Payne Phillips, a native of Washington County, is driven by a deep-rooted passion for Northwest Arkansas. His aspiration to excel as a commercial real estate broker is fueled by his…

Fast 15: Mariah Crews

After earning a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from the University of Missouri, Mariah Crews realized that the hospitality industry wasn’t her true calling. The Gower, Mo.-native looked to a…

Fast 15: Max Harrell

Max Harrell joined Generations Bank in 2014, becoming the sixth generation of the Harrell family to work in banking. His father, Jon, is the chairman and CEO of the Rogers-based…

Fast 15: Melodie Hays

Starting and running a candle and bath bomb business in college, Melodie Hays realized she enjoyed problem-solving. With a major in English literature and a minor in supply chain management,…

Fast 15: Kimberly Norris

Kimberly Norris always knew she wanted to have a business. “My dad had always had a business,” she explained. “So I grew up seeing that and … he was a…

Fast 15: Hannah Newkirk

Helping people plan their financial future motivates Hannah Newkirk in her work at Arvest. “The average person doesn’t know all the ins and outs and constantly changing laws and tax…

Fast 15: Nick Smith

While working toward his marketing degree at Belmont University in Tennessee, Bentonville native Nick Smith discovered a passion for investing. However, neither of those things was his primary ambition. “I…

Fast 15: Kimberly Kay

Seeing the confidence she inspired in seventh and eighth graders in area rural schools through a robotics curriculum she developed and taught as a homeschooled eighth grader set Kimberly Kay’s…

Fast 15: Haley Vincent

Haley Vincent’s work as a scholarship program manager at Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas (SPSF) “fills her cup.” Working with single parents in Benton and Carroll counties, she…

Fast 15: Leilani Ocasio

Leilani Ocasio isn’t discouraged by rejection. It just means there is another path to a “yes.” Ocasio graduated from Northside High School in Fort Smith and earned a bachelor’s degree…

Fast 15: Reese Dollins

Reflecting on his career thus far, a reporter asked Reese Dollins what it means to be a corporate attorney. “We’re an extension of the business,” he explained. “We like to…

Fast 15: MacKenzie Allison

MacKenzie Allison loved math from an early age, mostly because she was good at it. In high school, her calculus teacher suggested that she consider an engineering career. The Rogers…

Engine

Startup finalists Engine Rogers Co-founders: Nick Dozier and Pat Lockridge Year founded: 2022 Line of work: Consumer packaged goods (CPG) omnichannel software developer Website: engine.net Retail/consumer packaged goods (CPG) analytics…