Shina Shayesteh serves as the Content Manager/Copy Editor for Strong Towns. She self-identifies as a jack of all trades, with a master’s degree in history and a background in education, linguistics, research, and digital art. Although she is a native Houstonian, she is currently meandering up the east coast with her dog, Tintin. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling abroad, playing tabletop RPGs, needlework, studying other languages, and coercing her friends into eating weird foods.
Read MoreWondering why your local government is claiming it needs to widen a street to make it "safer"? Trying to make sense of the outdated zoning codes in your city? R. Moses has the answer. From the Strong Towns membership, we've assembled a panel of licensed engineers to answer your questions under the collective pseudonym R. Moses. In doing this, we hope to give licensed professionals a chance to speak to important issues without fear of reprisal from their peers or employers. Submit your engineering question anonymously and R. Moses will do his best to answer it in a future post.
Read MoreMax Azzarello formerly served as Growth Manager for Strong Towns. He has studied anthropology, public policy and urban planning. His work is as diverse as his residence, from energy management in New York to electoral politics in Sacramento to social justice in Los Angeles. You can currently find him riding his prized Yamaha scooter up and down the beach in the San Diego, California. His passions include chess, creative writing, and Medieval Scandinavian poetry. He considers Microsoft Paint to be the most underrated software of all time.
Read MoreBo Wright is the former Development Director for Strong Towns. Previously, he was a research analyst at Calvin Edwards & Company, where he provided consulting services to support the giving decisions of major donors. Prior to that he was a research fellow at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, a state-based public policy think-tank dedicated to increasing opportunity and improving the quality of life for all Georgians. In 2013, Bo was a fellow at the John Jay Institute.
Read MoreAubrey Byron serves as Membership Coordinator and Staff Writer for Strong Towns. She's a writer based in St. Louis, Missouri. Aubrey began engaging with public space as a cyclist and spends much of her free time trying to inspire more people to be comfortable on bikes through the advocacy of a local nonprofit, The Monthly Cycle. She is also passionate about outdoor adventure and reading.
Read MoreIvy Vann serves as Strong Towns' Gathering Coordinator. She has been fascinated by streets, buildings and communities her entire life. She has been a member of Strong Towns since 2015, when she invited Chuck Marohn to be the keynote speaker for a new planning and development conference she created in New Hampshire. She is certified as a charrette planner by the National Charrette Institute; as an urban planner by the Congress for the New Urbanism; and as a Form-Based Code practitioner by the Form-Based Code Institute. Ivy is committed to making better, healthier, more financially solvent places for everyone by paying attention to historic development patterns and the necessity for beauty in our everyday lives — a commitment which she shares through her own town planning firm, Ivy Vann Town Planning and Urban Design. Ivy is on Twitter at @ivyvann.
Read MoreMissy Trees serves as Strong Towns' Office Assistant. She holds degrees in business management and has previously worked in marketing and fine dining. She prides herself on excellent customer care. She lives with her kids and husband in Pequot Lakes, MN. She also dabbles in essential oils in her free time and leads a very active lifestyle doing everything from rollerblading to yoga.
Read MoreConnor Nielsen is an intern with Strong Towns and the geoanalytics firm, Urban3, for the summer of 2018. He studies Economic Development and Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is passionate about storytelling and urbanism, and he seeks to unite these fields by advocating for urban design in new and compelling ways. He also enjoys acting, producing theater, hiking, and traveling.
Read MoreQuint Studer is author of Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America and Wall Street Journal bestseller The Busy Leader’s Handbook: How to Lead People and Places That Thrive. He is founder of Pensacola’s Studer Community Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the community’s quality of life, and Vibrant Community Partners, which coaches communities in building out a blueprint for achieving growth and excellence. Quint speaks and works with communities across the country, helping them execute on their strategic plans, create a better quality of life, and attract and retain talent and investment. He is a businessman, a visionary, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to many. He currently serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of West Florida, Executive-in-Residence at George Washington University, and Lecturer at Cornell University.
For more information, please visit www.thebusyleadershandbook.com, www.vibrantcommunityblueprint.com, and www.studeri.org.
Read MoreChrista Theilen is the Office Assistant for Strong Towns. She’s a former teacher who recently moved back to her hometown after almost 20 years. She’s very happy to be a member of the Strong Towns team, where supporting her teammates and crossing things off her to-do list give her great satisfaction.
Read MoreLinda serves as Strong Towns’ Controller. After a long career in corporate accounting and finance, she is happy to apply her skills and experience in the nonprofit sector. Originally from Maryland, she moved to Charleston, South Carolina, over 20 years ago, and is now grateful to live just a block away from the beach on Edisto Island. She enjoys good books, good food, and the company of good friends. She also loves to travel, and is looking forward to new adventures in the near future.
Got a question about billing or payments? Email Linda.
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