Our Team

Board of Directors

OFFICERS

Chair:
Jim Byard, Jr., Byard Associates, LLC

Vice Chair:
Jeremy Arthur, IOM, CCE, Director, Government and Economic Development Institute, Auburn University Outreach

Chair, Governance Committee:
Brandon Bias, AICP, Regional and Community Planner, Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood Landscape Architecture and Community Planning

Chair, Development Committee:
Paul Carruthers, Regional Community Affairs Manager, Regions Bank

Treasurer & Finance Committee Chair:
Dennis Fain, Retired, Jackson Thornton/Main Street Wetumpka Treasurer

Secretary:
Tina Naremore Jones, Development, University of West Alabama

MEMBERS

Natalie Arendall, Program Manager, Daniel Foundation

Tim Blair, CCIM, CPM, Partner, Shannon Waltchack

Alex Flachsbart, Founder and CEO, Opportunity Alabama

Charles Goodrich, Managing Director of Timberline Venture Investments

Alex Jones, President UB Community Development, United Bank

Matthew McCurry, Manager of Business Development, Alabama Power

Bakari Miller, Vice President Business Development, EDPA

Cristy Moody, Executive Vice President, Walker Area Community Foundation

Steve Pelham, Associate VP for Economic Development, Auburn University Research and Innovation Center

Tami Reist, President/CEO, Alabama Mountain Lakes Association

Ashley Russell, TCF and Corporate Giving Specialist, Blue Cross Blue Shield

Justin Stabler, Tribal Council, Poarch Band of Creek Indians Tribal Council

Joshua Vick, Business Development Lead, Spire

David Walker, Non-Profit Consultant

Heather Wright, Regional Manager, Alabama SBDC Network

Ex Officio Members

Kenneth Boswell, Director, Alabama Dept. of Economic & Community Affairs (ADECA), represented by Ashley Toole, Deputy Director, ADECA

Greg Canfield, Director, Alabama Department of Commerce represented by Eddie Postell, Director of Small Business Advocacy

State Sen. Clyde Chambliss

Greg Cochran, Executive Director, Alabama League of Municipalities

State Rep. Anthony Daniels

Ronald W. Davis, Executive Director, Wiregrass Resource Conservation & Development

Lisa Jones, Executive Director Alabama Historical Commission represented by Paige Thomas, Certified Local Government (CLG) Coordinator/Community Preservation Grants Coordinator/Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, Alabama Historical Commission

Michelle Jordan, Executive Director, Top Alabama Regional Council of Government

Michael Putman, Director Liason, Jasper Main Street Executive Director

Jo Jo Terry, CTIS, IOM, Digital Marketing Director/Gulf Coast Regional Director, Alabama Tourism Department

Cornell Wesley, Director Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, City of Birmingham

Staff

Mary Helmer Wirth - President/State Coordinator
Trisha Black - Assistant State Coordinator
Jennifer Schuette - Donor Relations and Administrative Manager

Learn More

Quick Facts

Our Main Streets tell us who we are, who we were and how the past has shaped us.

Our Main Streets are places of shared memory where people still come together to live, work and play.

For every dollar Alabama puts into the Main Street program, $13.36 is paid back to state coffers in sales taxes.

Main Street is a powerful network of linked communities.

The Main Street Approach is an important economic development tool for historic preservation in Alabama.

Main Street Alabama was launched in 2013.

From 2014-2023, over $1 billion in public and private money was invested in Alabama's Main Street districts.

Main Street is a unique preservation based economic development program.

Property investment in Main Street districts, from 2014-2023, generated $35 million in taxes for Alabama's state and local governments.

Main Street is a proven strategy for revitalization.

Main Streets help keep profits in town

From 2014-2023, Main Street Alabama communities reported a cumulative total of 4,530 net new jobs.

Main Streets are prominent employment centers