Meet The Team
Gabe Holmstrom
Executive Director
Gabe Holmstrom has been the Executive Director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership since April 2015.
In his years as Executive Director, Gabe has added several new successful DLRP events including the Barkus on Main Mardi Gras dog parade, downtown alley parties, East Village Jam music festival, Between the Rocks river party, ‘80s Mall Mash-Up party, and the Bright The Night holiday tree lighting – all of which produce revenue for the nonprofit. He initiated the DLRP Ambassador Program, which provides an additional presence for residents and visitors of downtown Little Rock, and he has successfully spearheaded large-scale public art installations downtown. Through his innovation and hard work, Gabe has noticeably moved the needle forward for downtown Little Rock.
In 2019, Gabe was one of several professionals from across the world to be selected for an Emerging Leader Fellowship with the International Downtown Association.
Prior to joining the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, he was chief of staff to the Arkansas House of Representatives under Speaker Davy Carter, the first Republican Speaker in 138 years.
Before going to work at the House, Gabe was a public affairs specialist for Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods (CJRW), where he provided strategic communications counsel to a wide variety of clients.
Gabe has served as executive director and senior advisor to the Democratic Party of Arkansas and has managed several congressional campaigns. He also spent three years as spokesman for the Arkansas Attorney General.
Gabe began his career working for Congressman Marion Berry, where he worked in both the Washington, D.C., and Arkansas offices. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he studied political science. Gabe lives in the Governor’s Mansion Historic District of Little Rock with his wife, Katherine, and son, Gus.
Tori Rogers
Director of Events
Tori Rogers joined the Downtown Little Rock Partnership as its Director of Events in the summer of 2021. Rogers grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and attended the University of Arkansas. Upon graduation, she worked for Charles Morgan shortly after CCXNetwork – now Acxiom – went public. After moving to NYC, she found her passion – food – started a catering business and a few years later received her master’s in hospitality at Cornell. She worked for legendary concept creator Philip Romano, who used her graduate research to develop Eatzi’s, then went on to consult for Disney and Wolfgang Puck where she became VP of marketing & development. She moved into the data then dotcom arena in hospitality, consulting for Blue Hornet, The Customer Connection, Gazelle Systems, Fishbowl Marketing, Smith Analytics and Menus.com. A successful restaurant stint at Maple Drive in Beverly Hills led to a move to Las Vegas and a new role in events production at UNLV where she focused on presidential, campus and donor events. Her move back home was timely, just two weeks before Covid shutdown. Now that events are finding their “new normal,” she’s back in full swing at DLRP.
Kyle Leyenberger
Director of Communications and Marketing
Kyle Leyenberger joined DLRP in August 2022 as the Director of Communications and Marketing. Following a career in broadcast journalism, Leyenberger spent the last seven years at nonprofits focused on organizing and advocacy at the state Capitol. He most recently served as Communications Director for the Arkansas Education Association, and was a general assignment reporter at KNWA in Fayetteville during a period of major investment in NWA downtowns.
Jackie Miller
Director of Operations, Programs, and Membership
Jackie Miller started with the Downtown Little Rock Partnership in November of 2022. Miller had a 20 year career at Dillard’s, serving in a variety of roles including executive assistant, litigation manager and corporate buyer before finding her niche in the accounting department and office of the CFO. Jackie eventually left the company to pursue a career in the fitness industry, managing the opening of four fitness studios. Prior to joining the partnership team, Jackie was working as project manager at ed tech company Learner Mobile. She is excited to get back to her roots of playing with numbers all day. Miller and her husband have two children in college and enjoy traveling the region to watch their son pitch juco baseball.