Who We Are

We believe housing should be attainable, sustainable, and thoughtfully designed.

Lever Communities brings together architecture, manufacturing, and development to make that possible—delivering well-designed homes faster and more reliably than traditional construction. We’re building a system that makes better housing achievable at scale.

Our Team

Jessica Hester
Co-Founder
CEO + Principal Architect, Verdant Studio

  • A Northwest Arkansas native, Jessica is the founder of Verdant Studio and a placemaker dedicated to shaping the built environment to elevate community quality of life. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Science in Design Research from the University of Michigan, and previously co-founded an architecture practice in Rome, Georgia before returning to NWA. A registered architect in Arkansas and Oklahoma and a licensed Realtor, Jessica is active in AIA, ULI, and CNU, and currently serves as ULI NWA’s Chair of Mission Advancement. Her work is driven by a passion for critical thinking, collaboration, and delivering thoughtful, on-budget design solutions.

Haley Gairhan
Co-Founder
President, ARplanit

  • Haley graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering from the University of Arkansas and has six years of experience in energy engineering and program management. After working at design-build and engineering consulting firms, she launched her own consulting firm in June 2023. Her company provides new construction commissioning, ongoing commissioning, and sustainability planning services to commercial building owners, helping them reduce energy costs and increase resilience. She has also partnered with Verdant Studio to form Lever, a housing product that leverages best-in-class technologies to deliver scalable, sustainable, and affordable housing solutions to Northwest Arkansas.