• Mike Kutner

    President & Chairman

  • Deborah Hartigan

  • Jeff Mercer

  • Katy Martin

  • Bud Melton

  • Rick Baraff

  • Charlotte Carr

  • Andres Giraldo

  • TST

Mike Kutner

Mike Kutner is President and Chairman of the Board, as well as President Emeritus of Friends of the Trinity Strand Trail. A founding board member, he has been instrumental in shaping the organization’s vision and growth.

A retired Delta Airlines Captain, Mike brings leadership and dedication to every role he takes on. He has also served the Dallas community through positions on the City of Dallas Zoning Committee for the Design District, the Board of Directors for Texas Security Bank, and the City of Dallas Design District TIF Board.

An avid advocate for active living, Mike enjoys walking and biking Dallas’ many hike and bike trails, reflecting his lifelong commitment to connecting people, community, and the outdoors.

Deborah Hartigan

Deborah Hartigan is the resident artist, founder, gallerist, and art advisor behind DHV ARTWORKS, a leading contemporary fine art gallery in the Dallas Design District. An accomplished abstract expressionist painter and sculptor, Deborah has lived in Dallas for over 20 years and is committed to elevating the local arts community. She is a co-founder of Dallas Galleries For Advocacy (DGFA), a nonprofit launched in 2022 to expand cultural opportunities for Dallas residents.

Deborah is active with the Leadership Arts Institute, Dallas Business Council for the Arts, Ladies of the DMA, and the International Women’s Forum, and serves on the board of the Trinity Strand Trail.

Her prior experience in finance and real estate with a NYSE REIT — where she acquired over 6.3 million square feet of retail space and 10,000 multi-family units while raising equity capital — provides a strategic advantage in growing DHV ARTWORKS.

She studied at Boston College, New York University, abroad in London, and holds a BFA from the Hartford Art School.

Learn more at www.dhvartworks.com.

Jeff Mercer

After graduating from Rice University, Jeff started in the real estate industry at NAI. He made his way up the ranks to partner but decided to leave and start his own firm at the end of 2007. Mercer Company opened its first office in Dallas shortly thereafter.

Jeff founded Mercer Company with the intent to not only provide excellent service but provide measurable value to our clients as well.

Over his 25 years of experience, his focus has always been industrial real estate. Jeff bought his first property in 2000 and continued acquiring property for himself and others. He currently owns 1.3 million square feet of building with 118 tenants. Mercer Company has strong discipline when it comes to the value and above-average returns we expect from our investments. Because of this, Jeff’s industrial real estate investments have beat the S&P 500 every year.

Bud Melton

Bud Melton and his wife Annie have devoted their lives to enhancing bicycling and walking opportunities. For Bud, this spans well over 50 years since before the first Earth Day in 1970. A former bike shop owner, Bud continues championing equitable, purposeful, safer and healthful mobility. They early out led efforts to identify routes for the 1985 Dallas Bike Plan – and then were among the founders of Texas Trails Network.

During the mid-nineties, Bud led research for BikeTexas for what became Texas Department of Public Safety’s Super Cyclist® youth bicycle safety training program; and each of them eventually served terms as BikeTexas board chairs. With Annie’s consulting firm, they led community-based planning, grant writing and design assistance for bikeways and multiuse trails – teaming with a variety of other firms and agencies to study and advise “modal optionality” for dozens of cities and counties in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Bud joined Halff, Inc.’s planning and landscape architecture division full time from 2016-2023 to continue work on prominent segments of the 60-mile DFW Discovery Trail, and the 50-mile Dallas Loop. As an Urban Land Institute appointee and technical panel expert, he helped foster rebranding of a DFW product council to be the Transit Oriented and Placemaking Product Council.

He served for a decade on the Deep Ellum Foundation, and on the advisory council for UT Arlington’s College of Architecture, Planning & Public Affa­­irs (CAPPA) Masters in Landscape Architecture program. Bud also served for more than a decade as a director and officer of the Greater Dallas Planning Council – ultimately receiving its Lifetime Achievement award in 2021.

He received an American Institute of Architects Dallas chapter Community Honors Award in 2015 and received an honorary lifetime membership in the chapter in 2024.

Katy Martin

Katy is a licensed Landscape Architect and currently works at the OJB Landscape Architecture.  She earned a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Architecture from Texas Tech University, and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Texas Tech University.

She has a broad range of experience, from the Apple Headquarters in Cupertino CA to working for the City of San Jose.  Having grown up in DFW, Katy has cultivated a passion for solving urban challenges through landscape throughout her career. Her experience in both public and private practice informs a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to design. 

In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, going sailing when possible and practicing pilates.

Rick Baraff

Rick is an independent content-TV-documentary producer & director working for many changemaking organizations in Dallas and beyond. These include American Heart Association, Earthx & EarthxTV, Restorative Farms, 4DWN Project, March To The Polls, Sierra Club (Lone Star), Water Is Alive, and more. From Hollywood to the Himalayas, Rick has worked on impact-making media and content that drives audience engagement, public relations, investment, and awareness.

As an avid outdoor enthusiast and competitive endurance athlete who has biked, trekked, and paddled in several countries, he’s been able to marry his technical skills and passions to film documentary and TV shows around the globe. He tries every day to further understand how we can improve and reimagine our urban infrastructure to create healthier, greener neighborhoods, cities, and ecosystems that will benefit us all for generations to come.

Charlotte Carr

Charlotte Carr serves as Head of Asset Management for the Dallas Design District on behalf of HN Capital Partners, where she oversees the financial performance, leasing strategy, and day-to-day operations of the 40-acre mixed-use portfolio.

A champion for the neighborhood’s continued evolution, Charlotte works to cultivate a vibrant community that blends design, dining, and culture.

She also serves as Executive Director of the Oak Lawn Hi Line Public Improvement District, where she leads initiatives that enhance the area’s public spaces, safety, and overall experience.

Andres Giraldo

After earning his Master’s degree in Marketing from Southern Methodist University, Andres Giraldo founded The Skyline Agency, a forward-thinking, digitally driven branding and marketing firm based in Dallas, Texas. Under his leadership, Skyline has built a strong reputation for helping lifestyle, food and beverage, fitness, and emerging direct-to-consumer brands grow through strategy, creativity, and innovation.

Over the past decade, Andres has guided countless brands in defining their voice, refining their strategy, and building meaningful connections with their audiences. His ability to anticipate trends, leverage digital platforms, and transform vision into execution has made him a trusted partner for businesses at every stage of growth.

Known for his sharp creative intuition and results-oriented mindset, Andres continues to push the boundaries of brand building, bridging data-driven strategy with inspired storytelling. His work reflects a commitment to crafting brands that not only perform, but truly resonate with the people they serve.