Team Leader
Philip L. Walker, AICP
Phil Walker has over 25 years of experience in community planning. His public sector experience consists of serving as the executive director of the Pensacola (Florida) Downtown Improvement Board and city planning director for Natchez, Mississippi. He spent the past two years serving as the part-time interim director of the Two Rivers Company — Clarksville, Tennessee's downtown and riverfront revitalization entity. His private sector experience includes positions with Hintz-Nelessen Associates, Christopher Chadbourne and Associates, and Looney Ricks Kiss Architects. Since establishing The Walker Collaborative in 2002, he has led award-winning planning projects. Walker has consulted to the National Main Street Center and numerous local Main Street programs, and is a speaker at national and regional conferences. He is also an instructor with the University of North Alabama's continuing education program.
Team Member
Juan Ayala
Juan Ayala is a co-founder and managing principal of GRID Design Studios LLC. He has 22 years of experience in leading projects from small towns and resorts to large mixed-use urban development/redevelopment projects. His recent design projects include for a university campus as part of a 1,300-acre city master plan and a concept design of a 10,000-seat sports arena for Fordham University in New York City. He is also assistant professor of practice in urban design for the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. He teaches urban design skills and the application of graphic communication to the processes involving planning, implementation, urban design, architecture, and visioning. His research interest is an expansion of his professional experience — to discover meaningful ways to achieve design solutions through logic, reasoning, science and technology.
Team Member
Ricardi Calixte
Ricardi Calixte serves as Deputy Director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation, a private non-profit organization providing economic development services in Queens County for over 35 years. He manages business development and commercial revitalization initiatives, primarily focusing on low and moderate income communities. Recent projects include the development and management of a public pedestrian plaza; coordination of a multi-year graffiti removal program; implementation of a retail market analysis and business attraction plan; and successful creation of multiple merchant-based organizations. He has a BA Degree in Economics, MA in African-American Studies, and MRP in Urban Planning from the State University of New York at Albany. He is also a recipient of the Coro Neighborhood Leadership Training Program Certificate.
Team Member
Nikolas Davis, ASLA
Nikolas Davis has over 10 years of professional design and planning experience specializing in urban design, landscape architecture, site plan development, streetscape design, sustainability planning, graphic design, and visualizations. As a senior associate at Houseal Lavigne Associates he manages much of the firm's versatile studio work where he provides the connection between the planmaking process and document creation using a software tools and drafting techniques. Prior to joining Houseal Lavigne Associates, Davis worked for consulting firms specializing in urban design, landscape architecture, streetscape design, zoning, and development planning. He has a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Purdue University. He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and some of his past work has been awarded recognition in both sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Team Member
Ralph Moore
Ralph Moore is the executive director of the Memphis Area Association of Governments, a multi-state (Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi) development district responsible for the planning and economic development coordination of six counties and 44 cities. In addition, Moore and his team are responsible for identifying and managing state and federal grants for member cities and counties. Previously he was director of planning in Newnan, Georgia, and owner of the consulting firm, Caram & Associates. He served as mayor of Union City, Georgia, from 1993 to 2014. Moore holds a BA in sociology from Marian College and a Master of City Planning degree from Texas Southern University.
