Chad Campbell, Catrina Kahler, and Billy Shields
Every year since 1993, Downtown Phoenix’s premier business leadership and advocacy organization, Phoenix Community Alliance (PCA), thoughtfully hand-selects luminaries who have positively contributed to and impacted Downtown Phoenix’s continuous transformation and presents them with a Center City Award.
For 2024, PCA is pleased to announce that Catrina Kahler, Billy Shields, and Chad Campbell have been named the recipients of the Center City Champion and Center City Newcomer awards, respectively.
These local leaders were awarded at PCA’s Annual Member Meeting on December 12 at the Southwest Center in Downtown Phoenix. Since the awards were reimagined as two separate honors in 2020, this is the first time two Center City Champions, Kahler and Shields, were awarded alongside a Center City Newcomer recipient.
Kahler’s 14-year involvement with Artlink, a non-profit organization that supports and promotes arts and culture initiatives in Phoenix, has positioned her as a voice for a community integral to the city’s growth. Her efforts include accessibility to the arts and ultimately creating a more interconnected, creative city that uses its strengths to its advantage.
“As Downtown continues to grow, its unique cocktail of creativity, hospitality, and innovation will be increasingly infused with a sense of who we are and how we project that not only regionally but internationally,” said Kahler. “This will increase interest and investment, collaborations and partnerships, and bring dynamic multi-sector growth that will excite and challenge us.”
Most recently, Kahler successfully advocated for the revision of the Downtown Code chapter within Phoenix Zoning Ordinances. The amendment’s long-term potential encourages more walkability and vibrancy for Downtown residents like herself, with public-facing art integrated into new developments. The evolution of values of our immediate pedestrian-oriented, dynamic urban center hold the promise to be replicated at a citywide level.
Billy Shields, partner at Hansji Corporation, has deep roots in Downtown Phoenix that translate to his innate desire to maintain the integrity of the city’s history and see it thrive for future generations. His accomplishments correspond to a Downtown that invested in its residents, history, and culture.
In addition to convening the appropriate stakeholders to form the Warehouse District Council and advocating for the development of ASU’s Downtown Phoenix Campus, his firm restored the blighted Luhrs block of buildings into the Luhrs City Center, protecting the historic facades of the buildings and restoring the exterior of the 10-story-high Luhrs Building.
A longtime activist and developer with the power to create real change, he realizes the value of teamwork. “I have been an activist for 40 years, and I recognize the value of having an organization rather than plowing the field alone, “said Shields.
Within a short period, Chad Campbell has invested in places that not only act as ground-floor retail but also community gathering spaces. Along with business partner Shawn Silberblatt, a throughline of thoughtful retail is evident from For the People, their first store in Uptown Phoenix, to their latest concept, dialog, inside the Ten-O-One Building.
Since 2022, dialog has been curating a selection of “beautiful objects,” ranging from Taschen books to stylish home decor. The space also comes alive with events like open mic nights, artistic workshops, and crepe-making pop-ups. Over the years, dialog has earned its nickname as the “living room of Roosevelt Row,” a testament to the connections and opportunities it fosters.
“I enjoy helping potential business owners and young entrepreneurs see the vibrancy of this dynamic community,” said Campbell. “It’s rewarding to know those connections can spark growth and keep moving Downtown forward. We take pride in calling ourselves the community concierge.”
The Center City Newcomer Award recognizes an individual who is quickly growing their impact on Greater Downtown Phoenix and is a future champion for our community, while a Champion is an individual who has made outstanding contributions to advance the quality of life and further the renaissance of Greater Downtown Phoenix.
The three recipients embody PCA’s robust membership of more than 330 Members, representing diverse communities and disciplines, and the many advocacy and connectivity touchpoints they create.
2024 Center City Newcomer Award
Chad Campbell is the co-owner of dialog. Since opening For the People in 2016, Campbell’s ground-floor retail concepts with business partner Shawn Silberblatt emphasize their place as a community gathering space. A throughline of their commitment to thoughtful spaces is evident with dialog Phoenix, which curates a collection of “beautiful objects” from Taschen books to home decor and live events, such as open mic nights, artistic workshops, and crepe-making pop-ups.
2024 Center City Champion Awards
Catrina Kahler is the President & CEO of Artlink Phoenix. For the last 14 years, her involvement has cultivated sustainable growth within the artist-leading organization, leading to more opportunities for local creatives by promoting arts and culture initiatives in Phoenix. Since making Downtown Phoenix her home in 2003, Kahler’s efforts to amplify the revitalization included helping launch the Phoenix Public Market, publishing the Downtown Phoenix Journal, and developing the Hance Park Conservancy Board of Trustees. She is Chair of PCA’s Arts, Culture, and Public Life Committee and serves on the Board of Directors.
Billy Shields is the lead consultant behind ShieldsP3 Consulting, LLC. Over a period of more than 40 years, Shields’ history with Downtown has evolved alongside its revitalization, from a young patron at JCPenney, firefighter, community activist, developer, and, finally, as a resident. Over the decades, Shields has worked behind the scenes to bring about transformation, successfully advocating for strategic investments in bonds, public parks, and higher education. As a principal for Hansji Corporation, he contributed to the area’s transformation by restoring the historic facades surrounding the blighted Luhrs block of buildings into the Luhrs City Center and adding a 320-room Marriott hotel to the same block. Shields has been co-chair of PCA’s Central City Planning & Development Committee and on the board of directors for more than 25 years.
