Infrastructure & Land Use Working
Group MEMBERS

Troy Walker - Board Member
Mayor Walker was elected as mayor of Draper City in January 2014. Prior to becoming the mayor, he served for six years on the Draper City Council. He is a member of several boards, including the Advisory Board for Utah Transit Authority (UTA), the Point of the Mountain Development Commission (POMDC), the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority (POMSLA), and the Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission (PSUAC). He has served as the liaison to the Draper Mayor’s Youth Council, Peer Court, Appeals Board, Economic Development team and as the director of the Draper Days event.

Jim Russell - Governor Appointee
Jim Russell was appointed director of the Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM) in March 2017. He began his career with DFCM in 2005 as a capital improvement project manager. He has also held several other positions within DFCM over the years: capital development project manager, regional manager, construction program manager, and assistant director. He oversees a staff of highly skilled architects, engineers and construction professionals, as well as facilities managers, tradesmen, real estate managers, and building code officials. Jim started in the construction industry in 1979 and has experience in all aspects of commercial and industrial construction. Prior to his public service, Russell worked for 21 years as a contractor.

Ted Knowlton - WFRC
Ted Knowlton is the deputy director at the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC). Knowlton’s career has focused on coordinating place-making with regional infrastructure planning. Ted is an adjunct professor for the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Utah and has a master’s in urban and regional planning from Portland State University. He is the president of the Utah chapter of the American Planning Association.

Shawn Seager - Mountainland Association of Governments
Shawn Seager is the director of regional planning at Mountainland Association of Governments. He holds a bachelor’s of landscape architecture from Utah State University and a master’s of public administration from Brigham Young University.

Lyle McMillan - Utah Department of Transportation
Lyle McMillan is director of strategic investments at the Utah Department of Transportation.

Grant Farnsworth - The Farnsworth Group
Grant Farnsworth is the director of business development at The Farnsworth Group. Prior to this role, he founded Specpan and continues to assist in its management.

Søren Simonsen - Jordan River Commission
Søren Simonsen is the executive director of the Jordan River Commission. He was elected to the Salt Lake City Council in 2005, serving two four-year terms. He was Salt Lake City’s representative in the formation of the Jordan River Commission in 2010. Following his city council service, he was appointed as Salt Lake County’s “at-large” member of the Commission from 2014 through 2016. He earned a Master of Arts in community leadership at Westminster College in Salt Lake City with an emphasis on organizational leadership, public policy, and community organizing.

Ryan Perry - Salt Lake County
Ryan Perry is the director of regional planning and transportation at Salt Lake County. Formerly, he acted as board clerk and administrator for the Unified Fire Service Area. He holds a B.S. in Political Science and Government from the University of Utah.

Reid Ewing - University of Utah
Reid Ewing, Ph.D., is the distinguished professor of city and metropolitan planning at the University of Utah, distinguished research chair for Resilient Places, associate editor of the Journal of the American Planning Association, and a columnist for Planning magazine. He holds master’s degrees in engineering and city planning from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in urban planning and transportation systems from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ross Dinsdale - Lehi City
Ross Dinsdale is a civil engineer for Lehi City. He previously served as a civil engineer for Horrocks Engineers. He holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Kansas State University and a B.S. in civil engineering from Utah State University.

Lonnie Bullard - Jacobsen Construction Company
Lonnie Bullard is chairman at Jacobsen Construction Company. Formerly, he served as CFO at The Boyer Company. He holds an MBA in finance from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s in general studies from Weber State University.

Laura Hanson - Utah Transit Authority
Laura Hanson is the director of planning at Utah Transit Authority. Formerly, she acted as executive director of the Jordan River Commission and the principal of CRSA. She holds an M.S. in urban planning and a B.S. in environmental studies from the University of Utah.

Grant Crowell - City of Bluffdale
Grant Crowell is the economic development director at the City of Bluffdale. Formerly, he served as principal planner and manager for GC Planning and Development Services, LLC, as well as the director of planning and development services for Morgan County.

Kyle Pasley - SITLA
Kyle Pasley is the deputy assistant director of The Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA). He holds a B.S. in political science from the University of Utah.

Eric Rasband - UDOT
Eric Rasband is a planner at the Utah Department of Transportation. He holds an MBA from Utah State University.

Christina Oliver - Draper City
Christina Oliver is the community development director at Draper City. She previously served as the associate division director of Parks and Recreation for Salt Lake County and as department manager of transit oriented development for Utah Transit Authority. She holds an MBA in finance from Westminster College as well as a B.S. in speech communication from the University of Utah.

George Shaw - City of South Jordan
George Shaw is the community development director for the city of South Jordan. He acts as a planning consultant. Shaw formerly served as planning director for Salt Lake City Corporation and Sandy City Corporation. He holds an M.S. in urban geography from Brigham Young University.

Don Whyte - Deseret Cattle and Citrus
Don Whyte is the vice president of planning at Deseret Cattle and Citrus as well as the founder of Elevated Real Estate Solutions, LLC. He previously served as president of Columbus Communities, LLC and Tradition Properties, LLC. He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Calgary.