Group celebrates Social Media Day Partners cultivate local produce Couple brings holiday festivity with decorating business Mullen named COO of Science Foundation Arizona Dry bean distributor Multi−Enterprise moving to Glendale Nancy Hormann has been president and executive director of the

Downtown Tempe Community for two and a half years. She has more than three decades of experience in the urban development and redevelopment field. Previously, Hormann was president of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, an organization aimed at supporting and promoting the urban center of North Carolina's capital city. A longtime Californian, Hormann also has served as executive director of the City Center Partnership in San Francisco and has held similar positions in San Diego and Solvang, Calif. In addition, she is a former executive director of the Downtown Partnership Inc. in Dallas.

 

In her current position, Hormann is responsible for representing property owners within the downtown Tempe district. 

 

 

Family: Husband, Tom, and three adult children Residence: Scottsdale Associations: Former executive board member, International Downtown Association

 

 

What is the Downtown Tempe Community? We are a public−private partnership that provides services to property owners above and beyond those provided by the city. What does the organization do? We do economic development and retail recruitment; we produce three annual events, including the Tempe Arts Festival and the Holiday Street Parade; we decorate downtown for all the holidays; and we market those events as well as downtown in general. How has The recession affected Tempe? When the economy went south, we were a victim of our own success because we had projects in development. But it also seems that we are one of the first to recover. Is the sale of Centerpoint a sign of Tempe's recovery? Yes ... our biggest perception problem was those empty towers. But now, having those towers activated and actively leasing as rental property is a great boost to our downtown. Having people in downtown 24/7 makes a major difference. Do you have a favorite business book? "The Rise of the Creative Class," by Richard Florida. It's very relevant, and it brought to light who are the kinds of people that live in urban centers and what they are looking for. 

 

 

What do you do to blow off steam? I cook. I love baking. Do you have a signature dish? I am known for my homemade chocolate toffee. That is always a request around the holidays, and I make tons of it. Do you collect anything? Cookbooks. I have a very large collection of them, and I often cook from them. If you can read, you can cook. How do you and your husband spend time together? We love to travel together, and we've been fortunate to be able to travel all over the world. What was one memorable trip? For our honeymoon, we went sailing in Corsica in the Mediterranean. What type of sports do you enjoy? My husband and I love to sail. We've sailed all along the California coast, but since moving here we have sold our boat. What is one thing people might not know about you? In the early part of my career, I had a public relations firm, and I represented the chocolate industry. Because of that, I got to go to school to learn the skills of a pastry chef. (c) 2011

 

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