James Meyer Joins Leadership Greater Little Rock Class 29

We are excited to announce that James Meyer has been selected to join the Leadership Greater Little Rock class. Since 1985, Leadership Greater Little Rock has graduated over 1,300 community leaders, including a future secretary of state, president pro tempore of the senate, Adjutant General of the Arkansas National Guard and two university presidents. Each year, around 50 class members are selected from hundreds of applicants to participate in the nine-month program. The class meets at a different Central Arkansas venue to explore topics through expert speakers, panelists, tours and group presentations.

James is a project designer at WER Architects, as well being a founding member of studioMAIN, a board member of the Architecture + Design Network, the Associate Director of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and the rising Regional Associate Director for the Gulf States Region of the American Institute of Architects.

He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and attained his Bachelors of Architecture in 2006. Upon his graduation he was awarded a prestigious travelling fellowship from the Skidmore Owings and Merrill Foundation as part of their annual portfolio competition. James is the only Arkansas student to ever have been awarded the fellowship, and was the highest rated undergraduate student that year. On his Fellowship, he travelled throughout Europe studying many of the great cities in the world, with a particular focus on public space and city fabrics.

James returned to Little Rock in 2007 and has been using his hardwork, dedication, and a passion for architecture and placemaking, to make an impact on both his city and his profession. Through the SoMa-based community outreach and design center, studioMAIN, James has been one of the key cogs in the PopUp Main Street event and the Envision Little Rock Competition, and is currently working to help develop a program to get design-based learning into local classrooms.

Over the course of his short career, James has had the opportunity to work on projects at the University of Arkansas Community Design Center and WER Architects, which have won over 40 local, national, and international design awards. James is committed to bringing that level of excellence to everything he does, and believes that every project must consider its role in the wider debate of our built environment.