Jessica Hester has been recognized as one of the ten outstanding Urban Land Institute women for her leadership and dedication to advancing gender equity in the commercial real estate industry. Her work as CEO/Founder/Principal Architect of VERDANT Studio, located in Downtown Rogers, reflects her commitment to shaping communities and enhancing quality of life. It's inspiring to see individuals like Hester making significant contributions to their industry and communities.

Urban Land Institute is a global network of professionals in every sector of real estate development and land use, from private enterprise to public service. ULI focuses on best practices in real estate development, housing, transportation, and related topics. Locally, ULI Northwest Arkansas serves as a trusted and relied-upon network of leaders advancing responsible land use and development. Locally and globally, the organization focuses on best practices in real estate development, housing, transportation, and related topics. 

Hester joins the 2024 class of Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Prologis Leaders. ULI celebrates the impact of ULI members, colleagues, and partners who have worked to advance gender equity in the commercial real estate industry. Since 2014, the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) and Prologis have proudly awarded achievement scholarships to female members at ULI's Spring Meeting, pairing them with a WLI mentor to navigate the Spring Meeting experience. The WLI Prologis Leaders Program recognizes their contributions to ULI and dedication to real estate and land use issues.

As CEO/Founder/Principal Architect of VERDANT Studio in Downtown Rogers, Arkansas, Hester is one of ten outstanding ULI women recently recognized with the WLI Prologis Leader scholarship award. Each winner has worked for a minimum of seven years in the real estate or land use industry, and demonstrated leadership at her district council or on a national or global level. Over 100 applications were submitted for this award. “As a part of the Prologis program, I was able to join a Product Council for tours of nearly a dozen projects in New York City," explained Hester. "I relished the opportunity to talk with designers, developers, and property managers about their experiences and processes. Their learnings become my learnings, elevating design, development, and construction for my community in Northwest Arkansas.”

Hester is a placemaker. Her experience as an architect allows her to shape the world we live in and to elevate the quality of life for members of the community. As an urban dweller, she questions how people interact with their surroundings and understands the magical threshold between indoor and outdoor spaces. Her background in design research gives her the tools to filter product, environmental, and user research through the lens of experiential design.

Hester founded VERDANT Studio in 2015 and has served as a champion leader of the Women's Leadership Initiative chapter at ULI Northwest Arkansas. She was also named to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s 2021 class of Forty Under 40, she has presented at numerous national conferences and served on the Rogers Public Arts Commission and co-founded Rogers Experimental House.