Charlotte’s emerging leaders: Meet Adam Rhew, a bold changemaker for SouthPark
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Charlotte’s Emerging Leaders of 2026
Who are the leaders of tomorrow in Charlotte? The Observer highlighted eight individuals working to make the city greater in 2026.
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Name: Adam Rhew
Age: 39
Role/Title: President and CEO, SouthPark Community Partners
Q. What one thing about Charlotte do you most want to change?
Our team is thinking a lot about the way transportation can support economic opportunity and a stronger sense of place. SouthPark is evolving from a traditionally suburban neighborhood to one that is more dense, urban and walkable so this requires some out-of-the-box thinking.
Mobility looks different here that it does in Center City or University City, and our strategy will be inherently different, too. We created and funded the SouthPark Skipper microtransit program to help us reimagine how people move around the district. In its first year, the program served more than 53,000 passengers with free rides to make it easier, safer, and more fun to get around. Now, the challenge is figuring out how to scale and sustain the program.
Q. What was the seed of your desire to accomplish what you want to accomplish?
I’m a native Charlottean and grew up in a household where civic leadership and community responsibility were part of everyday conversation. My grandparents and parents moved to SouthPark in the 1960s, and when I was a kid, they used the names McColl and Gantt and Myrick at the dinner table. It was clear to me from an early age that cities aren’t accidental but rather the product of bold vision and intentional choices.
Getting to play a very small role in shaping our city for future generations, including my own sons, is an incredible privilege.
Q. What’s the biggest challenge to doing this work?
Balancing today’s constraints against our vision for tomorrow. I’m an impatient person by nature, and yet this is work that requires a tremendous amount of patience because everything we do is rooted in trust and relationships.
We often have to navigate competing interests and limited resources, but I don’t believe that should give us an excuse to settle for inaction or small thinking.
Q. What do you want people to know about you?
I started my career as a reporter and that sense of curiosity still fuels everything I do.
Journalism teaches you to seek context, listen with empathy, and understand issues from multiple perspectives. I got really comfortable being the dumbest person in the room and then asking a bunch of questions to find my way to the story. I know there’s a lot that I don’t know, and every day is an opportunity to learn something new.
Q. What do you hope SouthPark looks like five years from now?
Closer to realizing the community’s vision for a more walkable, connected, energetic neighborhood.
Our organization developed a 10-year “SouthPark Forward” plan to help us inspire and shape future growth and investment. It was the product of a year of listening and research, and the programs it recommended are things like the renewal of Symphony Park that came directly from our stakeholders. We have an extraordinary opportunity with that project — which will break ground in 2026 and deliver in 2027 — to create a dynamic public space that I hope will become a beloved destination for all of Charlotte.
