Edward Henley III

Mr. Edward Henley III, founding principal and project executive at Pillars Development, LLC, will be the Babson Center’s Bryan Viewpoints Speaker for the 2023 Easter semester. Pillars Development is a land use planning, management, and community development firm in Nashville.

While on campus, Mr. Henley will deliver a presentation titled, “Place-making & Place-keeping - What a Way to Make a Living,” at noon, Thursday, February 2, at Convocation Hall. This lunch lecture is in partnership with the NAACP Chapter of Sewanee and the Black Student Union of Sewanee and will be attended by a diverse group of students.

With over 10 years of experience in real estate development, Mr. Henley has become an expert in land use consulting, community planning, market assessments, civic engagement, and diversity program monitoring. He enjoys the challenge of projects that include mixed-use and mixed-income developments, including affordable housing, walkable communities, public spaces, and suitable businesses. Whether working on large-scale, big-budget projects or small developments, Mr. Henley is passionate about bringing communities together to plan, design, and manage their social and cultural resources, place-making, and then maintaining and preserving these spaces, place-keeping.

Prior to founding Pillars Development in 2013, Mr. Henley was associate project manager and project analyst for Music City Center, Nashville’s largest civic center. Originally from Nashville, Mr. Henley holds a BS degree in finance and enterprise management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is acting president for Rebuilding Together Nashville, a board member of Nashville Tree Foundation and Civic Design Center in Nashville, and co-leads Nashville’s Affordable Housing Task Force.

Last year, Sewanee was fortunate to have Mr. Henley visit with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a research and education organization supported by its members who are experts from around the world in real estate and land use. Members of ULI performed a study for the university to help determine our future residential and strategic investments. (https://new.sewanee.edu/offices/university-offices/leases-and-community-relations/)

The Bryan Viewpoints Speaker Series is sponsored by the Babson Center for Global Commerce and is made possible by a generous gift from Peggy and J.F. Bryan IV, C’65. For more information about the Babson Center for Global Commerce and our events, please visit: babsoncgc.sewanee.edu.