Giving Back
1. Achen-Gardner recently donated more than 3,800 water bottles to the City of Tempe to support the HOPE homeless outreach team. On one of the hottest days of the year, the company’s employee-owners unloaded two pallets of water to the Escalante Community Center.
Awards & Accolades
2. Micah Miranda, Economic Development Director for the City of Chandler, was named Policymaker of the Year by the Association for Career Technical Education of Arizona. He was honored during the ACTE’s annual conference in Tucson for advancing career and technical education partnerships across the state. Miranda has served in his current role since 2014 and has more than 20 years of experience in municipal and state government.
3. Shannon Anderson, Senior Deputy City Manager for the City of Flagstaff, received the 2025 Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Award for Civic Leader. Anderson has served with the City since 2006, including as Human Resources Director and Deputy City Manager, and was recognized for her leadership and commitment to Arizona’s long-term civic priorities.
Company News
4. Jeff Murtagh, a longtime leader with Realty Executives, will now oversee the company’s newly unified operations across Phoenix, Yuma, Tucson and Northern Arizona. The realignment, announced July 23, brings the Phoenix and Yuma offices under common ownership and ends the company’s agreement with its former Phoenix franchise. Murtagh currently leads the firm’s Tucson office and will guide the integration of approximately 600 agents into the new Realty Executives Phoenix.
5. A land and construction financing facility agreement was formed between Taylor Morrison and Kennedy Lewis Investment Management. The result of this agreement will open around $3B in capacity for land opportunities, development and construction costs for Yardly projects. Yardly is Taylor Morrison’s Build-to-Rent brand.
Promotions
6. The City of Phoenix announced Amber Williamson will be serving as its Interim Deputy City Manager. Williamson has worked for the City for 25 years. Her most recent position was as Director of the Budget and Research Department.
New Hires
7. Bryce Terveen has been appointed Executive Managing Director and Brokerage Market Leader for Arizona at Colliers. He steps into the role after serving as Senior VP at CBRE in Phoenix and brings close to 20 years of experience in office tenant representation and corporate services. At Colliers, Terveen will guide statewide brokerage operations and lead initiatives in talent development and market expansion.
8. Jack Simmons has joined Burgess & Niple in Tempe as Environmental Section Director. Simmons has more than 11 years of consulting experience in solid waste planning and permitting, as well as site investigation and remediation. In his new role, he will lead the firm’s environmental services practice in Arizona and Texas.
9. Pedro Lagarda has been hired as Public Works Estimator and Resident Engineer at JW Civil. He has more than a decade of experience in public infrastructure management and interagency coordination and will support the firm’s growing portfolio of civic-focused projects.
10. Stacey Nichols has joined Baker Development as Controller. She brings more than 25 years of financial experience across homebuilding, retail, civil litigation and real estate. Nichols most recently served as Treasurer at a real estate investment firm for eight years.