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SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | AUGUST 29, 2021 Scott Smith promoted to Scottsdale PD commander

PROGRESS NEWS STAFF

Scottsdale Police Lt. Scott Smith has been promoted to the rank of commander. Commander Smith, who holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University, joined the department in 1996 and served as a patrol of�icer, �ield training of�icer and �irearms instructor before joining the SWAT Team in February 2000 and then the Special Assignments Unit as a detective that September.

He has been an instructor in force-onforce, building clearing, dignitary protection, active shooter response and less lethal munitions.

Smith was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2006 and two years later became the Street Crimes Unit supervisor, addressing community problems with six detectives and assisting the Uniformed Services Bureau. He became Burglary Unit sergeant in 2013, and implemented the Detective Devel-

opment Program, which training of�icers who were interested in detective assignments. In 2015, Smith was promoted to lieutenant and served as a patrol watch commander in the Downtown District. An alternate SWAT commander, Smith was selected to command the Tactical Operations Section in 2017 and led the Scott Smith Special Assignments Unit, Technical Operations Unit, and the SWAT Team. In January, he was selected for the Special

Investigation Section and led the Drug Enforcement Unit, Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force, Criminal Intelligence

Unit and the Joint Terrorism Task Force. “During this time, he served on a council to address the opioid epidemic and a term chairing the Arizona State Governor’s Parent’s Commission on Drug Education and Prevention,” the department said in a release. Smith will oversee the Downtown District and be responsible for the day-to-day operations there and at the city, supervising and leading over 100 employees.

SLEEP ���� ���� 21

a way to �ind a sponsor to help us build them and then put delivery teams together of volunteers to go out and deliver and assemble.”

Matthew Boyd, vice president of sales with Parker Fasteners, spoke highly of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

“It is such a well-run organization,” Boyd said. “I like how people with no experience whatsoever in woodworking could be involved, show up and make a really big impact in half a day’s work was very appealing.

“So, our company decided earlier this year that we wanted to give back to the community, and we had a few different options that everyone put up on the board and this organization, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, the company decided would be a good way to make an impact on the local community.” “We had roughly 80 members and family members from our company alone come up along with other local volunteers, and we put together 90 and a half beds that day. That’s cutting out the lumber, sanding and drilling it, staining the lumber for the beds, and we also did a delivery of a bunk bed system that day,” Boyd said.

Boyd said his employees bonded and it was a memorable experience.

With the primary goal of supplying children with beds, Genovese said the experience and comradery of the build events make Sleep in Heavenly Peace so special.

“We also build a sense of community,” Genovese said. “And I know that sounds kind of altruistic but that’s what we do.”

Genovese encouraged the community to help if they’re able. There are many ways to help a child get a bed, something so many people take for granted every day.

“Make a donation, volunteer, help the family in need. That really does add meaning to your life,” he said. “Yes, it’s hard work, but it’s ful�illing and meaningful work, and it’s fun. Just to see the joy on the faces of children, nothing else really matters in that moment.”

Information: shpbeds.org/chapter/ az-phoenix.

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Divorce lawyer deploys social work background

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

Kristine Reich has been practicing law for almost a decade, focusing on mediation and collaborative divorce. But her interest in helping families goes back further.

Reich began her career as a social worker working in foster care licensing and child welfare.

After 15 years, Reich went back to school to study law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. She started her own firm, Restorative Law and Mediation, in 2014 and began working with Vesta Divorce, a firm dedicated to helping people through all parts of an often painful and complicated process.

Reich has incorporated into her work some of the practices she learned in social work, aiming for “mediation, collaborative divorce or just problem solving,” she said.

While problem solving is a large part of Reich’s job, she also prides herself in her ability to help parents reconcile for the betterment of their children.

“When parents make this decision to end their relationship as spouses, it doesn’t end their relationship as co-parents,” she said. “The most helpful thing we can do is help guide them and remind them about how they can ensure their children’s wellbeing through the process.”

“The greatest message I give parents when I’m working with them is that ‘if parents are OK, kids will usually be OK,’” Reich said. Reich understands that the process of divorce is challenging for all parties, but her optimism often can lighten some of the stress that comes with divorce.

“When you get married, you believe your future is going to look one way,” she said, adding that when life takes an abruptly different course, “sometimes folks immediately think that’s going to be a worse outcome and that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.

“It can actually be an opportunity for a new chapter that brings an abundance of joy than they could have contemplated.”

That doesn’t mean there is no stress at all, she noted.

“When parents are in despair, oftentimes children don’t know what to think about,” she said. “They worry about their parents, they want to take care of their parents. They feel unsettled and when parents are mindful of that and can speak to it, the anxiety begins to de-escalate.”

“When children are experiencing distress, that anxiety can manifest in different ways,” Reich said. “For younger children, they may have a difficult time sleeping or they may become clingy.”

That’s why choices in legal counsel are important, she said.

“When parents make the choice or are contemplating divorce, it is a great idea to reach out to the right professionals,” Reich said. “Vesta is almost a center for resources and because Vesta has taken the time to vet

At Vesta Divorce, Kristine Reich helps families through all phases of what can be a complicated and painful process.

(Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)

seeDIVORCE page 25

Mark Taylor president thrives on people, numbers

BY J. GRABER

Progress Staff Writer

When John Carlson was 7, he and his mother went to live with his grandmother. He slept on the floor in those days and had one thing on his mind: “ I can’t wait to have my own room someday,” he recalled.

As president of Mark-Taylor Companies, the leading developer, owner and investment manager of Arizona and Nevada’s modern luxury apartment communities, Carlson is responsible for giving a lot of people their own rooms.

“I love real estate,” Carlson, 45, said. “I love numbers and the people are amazing.”

As president, he leads the strategic direction, and oversees business development, operations, and the property performance portfolio for Mark-Taylor’s 20,000-plus apartment units. That includes Waterside at Ocotillo and Mira Santi in Chandler.

Carlson didn’t start out to be a developer. He moved to the Phoenix area in 2001 after earning his bachelor’s degree and working as an engineer in Minnesota.

He had an engineering job all lined once in Arizona but it disappeared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks terrorist attacks.

Carlson was putting out resumes, looking for work, with no luck. He happened to be living in a Mark-Taylor property and mentioned to the office manager he was looking for a job.

She offered him a part-time leasing gig but Carlson “poo pooed it at first.”

“I thought about it probably for 30 seconds and said ‘No thank you,’” he said. “In my mind I wanted to be an engineer.”

But then he second thoughts. “I thought I shouldn’t be closed off to new opportunities,” Carlson said.

So, he took the job and eventually made his way up through the ranks and became president of Mark-Taylor in 2016.

He credits his ascension to old fashion hard work. “I’m a Capricorn by trait,” he said. “I’m wired a lot like my mother, with just a hunger, a desire to get better.”

It was that work ethic that served Carlson when he was working 15 to 20 hours per week for $5.25 an hour as a 10-yearold on his stepfather’s farm or playing foot-

John Carlson worked his way to president of Mark-Taylor Companies from apartment complex office manager.