Future of Downtown & Southern Dallas

Dan Noble was born in Chicago but grew up in Aberdeen, South Dakota. After graduating from North Dakota State University in 1982 with a dual Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in Architecture, he moved to Texas. Prior to his appointment as CEO in January 2014, Dan’s leadership as Global Director of Design significantly elevated the quality of the firm’s work and the reach of its influence. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and American College of Healthcare Architects, Dan is LEED certified and registered to practice in Texas, Florida, North Dakota, New Jersey, Alabama and South Dakota, as well as Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta. His projects have been honored by the Texas Society of Architects, Progressive Architecture, Architectural Record, Texas Architect and the Dallas Business Journal. A board member and former National President of the Academy on Architecture for Health (AAH), Dan is also a trustee for the Foundation for the AAH and national chairman of the AIA/AAH regional initiatives. He is a member of the Board of Regents of the American College of Healthcare Architects, Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Dallas Inc. and Y Dallas. He is a past president of the Dallas Architecture Foundation and has served as design commissioner, editor and awards program chairman of AIA Dallas. Major Achievements Under Dan’s guidance, HKS has expanded its global reach; developed state-of-the-art research around the neuroscience of design’s impact on health and productivity; demonstrated profound impact in environmental conservation and sustainable design; worked in cities across the globe to improve urban design and resilience; donated design services and financial support to major charitable initiatives; and worked with other members of the design community to elevate the profession. HKS is ranked as one of the leading design firms in the world by BD World Architecture, Architectural Record, Architect, Building Design+Construction and Interior Design. Over its 80-year history, HKS has won hundreds of awards for design excellence. The firm has enjoyed record revenue years under Dan’s leadership and 2019 is on track to be the firm’s best year ever.

Mike Hoque, a Dallas entrepreneur, is the founder and chairman of Hoque Global, parent company of HG Real Estate Solutions, DRG Concepts, iDesign Meetings and RideCentric. Always finding opportunities among what others might perceive as business obstacles, Hoque’s companies have fostered his vision of creating vibrant urban environments. HG Real Estate specializes in catalytic land acquisition, development, master-planning, and construction of mixed-use residential, retail, hotel, and office projects. DRG Concepts, Hoque’s restaurant group, creates, owns and operates numerous distinct and acclaimed concepts throughout DFW, with an emphasis on Main Street in Downtown Dallas. RideCentric, founded in 1999 by Hoque, has grown into an international transportation logistics company serving Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Hoque also serves on the board of Downtown Dallas Inc. and has received honors from the National Restaurant Association for his leadership and innovation in the Dallas business community.  He has been honored by Dallas Business Journal as a Top 40 Under 40 business innovator.  D Magazine and DCEO have also recognized Hoque as a Dallas 500 business leader.

Craig T. Davis is President & CEO of Visit Dallas, the city’s sales and marketing organization. He directs and manages all of Visit Dallas’ strategies, operations, activities, and staff as the organization works to achieve its mission to market Dallas globally to benefit our community and visitors. Tourism is big business in Dallas and drives more than $5B in economic impact and supports more than 65,000 jobs. Davis has worked in the hospitality industry for more than three decades and began his tenure as President & CEO of Visit Dallas in January 2020. Prior to Visit Dallas he served as President & CEO of VisitPittsburgh. During his 19-year career at VisitPittsburgh, Davis also served as Executive Director of Convention Sales and Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Davis’ extensive background in the hospitality industry also includes experience in marketing and sales at hotels in Pittsburgh, Chicago and Toronto. Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Davis became a U.S. citizen in 2001. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. In 2002, Davis became a Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) and now serves as a course instructor for its leadership program. The CDME status is recognized within the convention and visitors bureau industry as its highest educational achievement. He has served as the Chairman of Destinations International Association as well as the Destination International Foundation. He is a private pilot and resides in the City of Dallas with his fiancée Kathleen.

Jennifer Scripps, a Dallas native and long-time civic leader, joined Downtown Dallas, Inc. as president and CEO in April 2022. She took the helm of the 90-employee organization at a time when Downtown Dallas is experiencing historic growth, including $6 billion in planned or ongoing development, thousands of new residents, and a string of high-profile corporate relocations. Jennifer’s focus is on guiding DDI’s strategic 360 Plan and overseeing major projects expected to get underway in the coming years, including Field Street District on the north, One Newpark to the south and the nearby redevelopment of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, to name a few. In her first year as CEO, DDI was one of the leaders in a city-wide coalition that championed a $1.5 billion ballot initiative to fund the convention center expansion and major improvements to Fair Park. Dallas voters approved the measure in a landslide. Jennifer previously served for six years as the director of the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture. In her prior role at Dallas City Hall, she oversaw a series of significant initiatives that elevated the arts throughout Dallas and across the country. Prior to her time with the City of Dallas, she served in multiple roles with the Perot Museum of Nature & Science, including overseeing the day-to-day construction and business planning of the museum just north of the Central Business District. Scripps graduated from Ursuline Academy of Dallas in 1995. She has a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. She and her husband, Andy, and their two young sons are residents of the White Rock Lake area in East Dallas.

Milton has been designing, directing and master planning since 1986 and previously served as MAA’s Director of Design since 1997. His extensive experience covers a multitude of building types and sizes, each carefully tailored to a unique client, budget, site and city. Corporate clients include USAA, Dr. Pepper/7-Up, Weatherford International, and Bell Helicopter Textron Corporation. Office development clients include Trammell Crow, Stream Realty, Lincoln Property Company, Brandywine, Endeavor, and Bandera Ventures. Projects include The Park at Barton Creek and Barton Skyway I, II,III, and IV in Austin, Texas. Historic restoration, preservation, and adaptive reuse of existing urban architecture has become a specialty and passion. Projects in downtown Dallas include the Interurban Building, Atmos Lofts, Gulf States Building, 1414 Elm, 211 Ervay, Mosaic, Statler Hilton, 1505 Elm, 500 South Ervay, Corrigan Tower and Tower Petroleum. Internationally, Milton has worked in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.; Aberdeen, Scotland; Tripoli, Libya and China for corporate and private clients. Recent work includes master plans for mixed-use and government facilities in Niamey, Niger and Abuja City, Nigeria. Specialty projects include several private residences, churches, restaurants, and retail. Clients include Saltgrass Steakhouse, Babin’s Seafood and Sweet Tomatoes, etc. Hospitality projects include the Marriott Autograph at Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas; El Tropicano Hotel, San Antonio, Texas; Marriott AC Downtown Fort Worth, Texas; Marriott Redmond, Washington; Marriott Courtyard New Braunfels, and The Colony, Texas; W Aloft Denver, Colorado and Chicago, Illinois; the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas; and Southlake Town Square, Southlake, Texas. Key hi-rise multi-family projects include 21 Rio in Austin, TX; Royal Court in Charlotte, NC; and 1401 Elm in downtown Dallas, TX. Additional residential includes Southlake Town Square in Southlake, TX. Southlake Town Square consists of retail, residential and office components designed for Cooper Stebbins.

As Principal and CEO of OMNIPLAN, Tip Housewright FAIA has led the charge throughout the country, and in DFW in particular, to create memorable spaces that connect with their communities using innovative and inspiring design solutions. Tip is the firm’s Citizen Architect, previously serving on Dallas City Plan Commission and as President of the Dallas Center for Architecture. Deciding to relocate OMNIPLAN’s offices to Uptown nearly 20 years ago and DCFA’s nearly 10 years ago, Tip has a longstanding commitment to Dallas and is passionate about its future.

Brian Luallen has more than 20 years of experience in destination tourism and experiential events. His career has been dedicated to developing and delivering impactful experiences that drive lifelong memories, re-launching and activating visitor attractions, and growing public-private partnerships. Select past projects include Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta Georgia, the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach California, and the Witte Museum in San Antonio Texas. Brian’s work transforming concepts into reality has been featured in Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and numerous other national media outlets. He holds degrees in Education and Pre-Law from Georgia State University and enjoys living in Dallas with his wife, Tina.

The former chief financial officer (CFO) agreed to serve as chairman of the 15-member Dallas Economic Development Corporation. The unpaid role adds to his voluntary duties on the board of Catholic Charities Dallas and the Community Foundation of Texas (CFT), making him one of the City’s go-to specialists when it comes to job creation and fundraising. John Stephens was responsible for AT&T’s financial planning, corporate development, accounting, tax, auditing, treasury, investor relations and corporate real estate. John was appointed to CFO in June 2011. Previously, he served as senior vice president and controller, with responsibility for all financial reporting and operational reporting, accounting policy, business planning and regulatory reporting. In that capacity, he also served as chief financial officer for AT&T’s Diversified Services business unit and had responsibility for all corporate tax and shared services. He was named to that position in November 2001. Prior to serving as controller, John oversaw all corporate tax matters as vice president-Taxes, a position he took on in August 2000. He previously served as managing director-Taxes, where he had similar corporate tax responsibilities. He was named to that position in 1995. John joined the company as director-Federal Taxes in St. Louis in 1992. Prior to that, he served as a tax senior manager with Ernst & Young in St. Louis. His career also includes service as a member of the tax staff of Peat Marwick & Mitchell in Kansas City. John has served on the board of directors of América Móvil, an international provider of telecommunications services, and currently serves on the audit committee of the board of directors of a large privately held retailer. John is chairman of the Dallas Regional Chamber and serves on the board of Catholic Charities of Dallas. He has previously served on the board of the United Way of Dallas and a number of other educational and social service organizations. John earned his B.S.B.A. degree in accounting from Rockhurst University in Kansas City. He holds a J.D. degree from Saint Louis University’s Law School. John and his wife, Michele, have been married 37 years and have 6 children.

Derek is a visionary leader with a passion for real estate and community development. He is experienced in selling, building, developing, and consulting real estate for over 17 years. Derek sold real estate in Houston, TX from 2006-2014, and was a board member and real estate director of Southeast Houston Community Development Corporation from 2009-2012. Derek has saved residential and commercial property owners over a billion dollars in property tax valuation through property tax hearings for over 9 years in 23 counties in North Texas and Harris County. His passion to develop and revitalize communities has been a central part of his life from an early age. He grew up in transitional and underserved neighborhoods in Houston, TX. His goal is to revitalize communities in transition through a holistic approach to community development. He believes in revitalization without gentrification! Derek was the Director of Landlord Engagement for a nonprofit focused on ending homelessness in Dallas and Collin County. He implemented a housing program to develop permanent supportive housing, micro-restaurants, market rate housing, class A commercial buildings, transitional housing, historic remodels, and mixed-use projects at his prior job. He is also the former Vice President of Real Estate development at Frazier Revitalization. His life is devoted to spreading the love of Jesus Christ through his life as an example, his professional work, community action, and service to those in need. He serves on four community nonprofit boards, NTARUPT (North Texas Alliance to Reduce Unintended Pregnancy in Teens), Faith in Texas, Green careers Dallas, and The Friends of Juanita Craft Civil Rights Museum. He is happily married to Kayshellyn Avery. He is the proud father of a blended of four children, Derek Jr, Madison, Bryce Avery, and Johnny Lewis IV.

Julia Ryan, AICP joined the City of Dallas in May 2021 and is the director for the City of Dallas' Planning and Urban Design Department and also serves as the interim director for the Office of Historic Preservation. She has over 15 years of public sector planning and implementation experience and has worked extensively on moving progressive changes into policy. Julia is driven by the philosophy to leave the world better than she found it.

Ron Stelmarski, FAIA, is the design director for the Dallas studio of Perkins&Will. In 2022, he was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows for distinguished contributions to design, urban design, and preservation, and he is recognized nationally for work that enhances the public realm and galvanizes communities. Under Ron’s visionary leadership, the Dallas studio of Perkins&Will has earned over four dozen prestigious design awards and grown into the global firm’s largest studio. Trained under such legendary architects as Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid, Ron is a tireless advocate for design excellence. He believes that architecture is the connective tissue uniting people, place, and culture, and he approaches place-making with a deep understanding of cultural memory and historical context. Ron joined the Dallas studio in 2011, and since then, according to the Dallas Morning News, “nobody has done more to shape the city’s built environment this century.” Recent projects include The Pittman Hotel, The Epic Building 1 and 2, Baylor Scott & White Health Administrative Center, Lubbock City Hall, CoverMyMeds Headquarters, Singing Hills Recreation Center, and the Fair Park Master Plan Update.

Nate Parrott has 10 years of experience in the landscape architecture and planning field. He has worked on numerous developments in the Metroplex and surrounding areas, such as The Village Drey in Dallas, Cross Creek Meadows in Celina, Legacy Hills in Celina, and Cottonwood Creek in Howe. Nate is currently a Senior Land Planner at Pape-Dawson Engineers, LLC, where his creative vision plays a pivotal role in the development of transformative residential and mixed-use communities throughout Texas. Nate holds a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Purdue University. He is committed to educating younger generations on the rewarding career he has enjoyed and hopes to inspire others to pursue a future in the field. Nate currently lives in the “The Bottom” District of Dallas and remains actively involved in the community’s development.

Mr. Prewitt is responsible for development and execution of investment strategies. He is actively involved in acquisitions, dispositions, development and redevelopment efforts, and technical building operations. Previously, Mr. Prewitt was an Associate with Hillwood Investments, where he assisted in raising a $215 million separate account and the placement of $1.2 billion worth of real estate investments across multiple product types. Prior to joining Hillwood, Mr. Prewitt spent three years as an analyst in the energy and natural resources investment banking division of Bear Stearns. While at Bear Stearns, Mr. Prewitt completed 39 transactions totaling $14.7 billion. Mr. Prewitt graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.

Elizabeth Herman Fulton joined CBRE’s Urban Group in 2016 working closely with Jack Gosnell. Now a Vice President, she focuses on adaptive re-use and redevelopment in the greater downtown area. Elizabeth brings a millennial mindset to the team and faces challenges presented by mixed-use developments with creativity. Elizabeth also works with a number of clients on site selection. In recognition of her exceptional work in these areas, in 2018 she won CBRE’s national RISE-ing Star Award, presented annually to an associate or senior associate who has demonstrated tremendous growth, development, and potential within the company. While at CBRE, Elizabeth has been instrumental in projects such as ATT’s International HQ, The Union, The Epic, The Adolphus Hotel, The Atelier, and the Midtown Muse. She has worked with ownership groups such as RED Development, Rockbridge Capital, ZOM, PegasusAblon, ICI Investments, University of North Texas, Cawley Partners, Forest City, Stoneleigh Companies, and Granite Properties. Elizabeth graduated with honors from SMU’s Folsom Institute for Real Estate in 2016. She remains actively involved with the Folsom Institute, contributing to educational programs for current students. Elizabeth is also a leader in the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors, sitting on their Board of Directors, and was honored as a semifinalist for their prestigious Young Citizen’s Award in 2019 and 2021. She is an active member of both the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Texas Real Estate Council (TREC). Elizabeth participated in the TREC Associate Leadership Council (ALC) Class of 2021, one of thirty awarded a position in this highly competitive professional development program.

Lily Cabatu Weiss is the Executive Director for the Dallas Arts District and served as the Artistic Director for Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts and Chair of the Dance Department that is now a national model. Holding two degrees in Dance from Texas Woman’s University, she taught on the dance faculties at Southern Methodist University and Houston’s HSPVA, and joined the faculty at BTWHSPVA in 1978. Her dance credits include John Mead and Dancers in New York and Japan, the Texas Choreographers Award from the Texas Commission on the Arts, guest choreographer for four seasons in the Dance Education Department-New York University, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre. Much of her work was instrumental in Booker T.'s distinction as the Top 8 Magnet Schools by the U.S. Department of Education, Texas Medal of the Arts and the renovation and expansion of Booker T. Washington HSPVA in the first Public/Private Capital Campaign for Dallas ISD. Others include the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Distinguished Teacher, Distinguished Teacher by the Commission on Presidential Scholars twelve different years by 14 students, SURDNA Arts Teacher Fellowship, Bates Dance Festival Teacher Fellowship and featured in two articles in Dance Teacher magazine for her work at BTWHSPVA. She has trained many students who are performing in dance companies both nationally and internationally and was instrumental in current partnership programs such as Sammons Lunch Jams, the sold-out run of the all-school musical, HAIR, and Soundings through the Nasher Sculpture Center. Feature articles include D Magazine and Patron Magazine. She serves on the Boards of TITAS Presents, Booker T. Washington HSPVA Advisory Board, Visit Dallas Cultural Tourism Committee, Advisory Board for the Creative Arts Center, Steering Committee for Moving Cities-Dallas and Texans for the Arts.

Steven Upchurch is a Principal and Co-Managing Director of Gensler Dallas, and a practice area leader for the firm’s hospitality practice. With over three decades of design, planning, management, and real estate development experience, Steven actively grows and diversifies Gensler’s various practice areas with a focus on the firm’s culture, its people, and platforms. He applies his knowledge of local, regional, and international markets to deliver impactful and memorable experiences to owners, developers, operators, and brands.

As an award-winning architect with over 35 years of experience with a wide-range of building types, Michel’s training in both architecture and interior design has assisted clients on numerous corporate, institutional, educational, healthcare and hospitality projects. Michel’s leadership style is to actively orchestrate the design through strong, interactive and collaborative team development of all the various professional disciplines. This approach enables the team to discover the most creative and useful solutions to each of the client’s pragmatic needs. It is then necessary to possess the energy and drive to usher the design intent consistently through all aspects of the building process. Throughout his career, Michel has integrated teaching with his professional practice. He has taught design studios and classes at institutions like Princeton, NJIT, and The University of Virginia, and currently serves as an Associate Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.