Profiles

A directory of Profiles for Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Awards

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…

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…