Staff Members

Stephen E. Davenport, AICP – Senior Planner

             Steve is a Certified Planner (AICP #5346) with over 40 years of experience in planning. He attended East Carolina University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Geography; furthermore, he attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Urban Geography and City Planning.  During his professional planning career, his expertise has been proven in municipal administration, zoning, and land use planning.  Today, his planning and land development policy projects are among the most highly regarded in the State of North Carolina.

 

Rachel Clegg, RLA, Landscape Architect, GreenPlan, Inc. (corporate name change pending)

             Rachel Clegg received her Master of Landscape Architecture degree from North Carolina State University.  She has spent almost 10 years working in the Asheville area, where she has specialized in the use of native plants and organic designs to create communities that fit into the surrounding context and to emphasize the sense of place.  Rachel has prepared master plans for new communities, including serving as lead designer and project manager for the 180 unit Hunt Hill residential development in Asheville.  In addition to her abilities as a designer, Rachel’s understanding of the relationship between regulations and the built environment makes her adept at the creation of development regulations and standards.  Among other duties, she is currently taking the lead role in the preparation of the Town of Woodfin’s Greenways, Pedestrian Facilities, and Bikeways Plan.

 

Suzy Smoyer, AICP, CZO – Planner, GreenPlan, Inc. (corporate name change pending)

             Suzy is a planner with 9 years of experience working in land use planning, administration and enforcement of land use and development codes, development review, downtown revitalization, grant writing and GIS systems.  Suzy has extensive experience reviewing site plans and processing rezoning and subdivision applications.  Working well with the public and Staff she is able to coordinate multiple planning roles and manage presentations and public involvement.

Brian M. Wilson, PE – Project Engineer III

             Brian is a licensed civil engineer in the State of North Carolina (License #034315) with eight years of experience in civil site design.  He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

 

Michael Figura, Planner, GreenPlan, Inc. (corporate name change pending)

             Michael Figura graduated from the University of Virginia in 2004 with a double major in Environmental Science and Environmental Thought and Practice, the latter of which has a planning focus.  Since moving to Asheville in 2004, Michael has worked two congruent and complementary jobs - as a planner for GreenPlan and as a partner in an urban infill development company.  With GreenPlan, Michael has assisted with numerous public and private sector projects, including the creation of the Town of Woodfin’s Comprehensive Plan, the preparation of the Town of Jamestown’s Land Development Ordinance project, managing a TND town center charette in West Asheville, the drafting of updates to the Town of Woodfin’s Zoning Ordinance, the preparation of Cashiers’ Design Guidelines, and working on private developers’ zoning permits and conditional zoning plans.  

 

David C. Flowe – Planning Associate II

             David is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology.  His emphasis on trend analysis and interpretation of behavior helps N•Focus understand the social and economic climate.  Extensive project and team management experience while working with the Information Technology Services group at UNC gave him an understanding of current and coming technology trends that will influence place-making and lifestyles into the 21^st century.  David supports the team with an understanding of healthy, sustainable and community-oriented growth.

 

Erica R. Kennedy, AIAS, CSI – Design Associate I

             Erica is a student of architecture attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  Her work experience and undergraduate studies have developed her into a very talented permanent addition to the N•Focus staff.

 

Shannon Aiken, GIS Specialist GreenPlan, Inc. (corporate name change pending)

             Shannon Aiken received her master’s degree in GIS Technology from the University of Colorado’s School of Engineering.  Her initial job in North Carolina was with the City of Asheville Engineering Department, where she was responsible for establishing the GIS data base for the streets and water system.  In addition to creating these data bases in a format that could be used by the City for a variety of purposes, Shannon also worked with the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County to create a sewer system GIS data base that is used to provide system information to the public and by MSD to identify and budget for system maintenance and repair.  Since leaving the City of Asheville, Shannon has worked on a number of projects, including the mapping of the Swannanoa River’s designated flood areas.

 

Samantha Schiffer, Administrative Assistant, GreenPlan, Inc. (corporate name change pending)

             Samantha Schiffer offers more than a decade of experience in administrative support. She manages the Asheville office's day-to-day operations, including formatting plans, documents, and reports.  After graduating college with her computer networking degree, she took her knowledge of computers and software and applied it to the workplace. Samantha has extensive experience in all Microsoft Office programs, Photoshop, In-Design, QuickBooks, and Outlook, making her a valuable part of the N•Focus  team.