Category: Upcoming Speakers

John joined Porchlight officially in 2022, bringing with him more than a decade of experience in real estate. His unique career path spans real estate brokerage, property acquisition, property management, historic preservation and redevelopment, economic development, and affordable/workforce housing development.

John’s career began in Mobile, AL, in residential sales and brokerage with Sam Winter and Company, where he played a pivotal role on the initial Porchlight acquisition team. After moving to Birmingham in 2019, he served as Portfolio Director with Retail Strategies, working with communities across the Southeast on retail recruitment and community development strategies. In 2022, he took on the role as Real Estate Director and Qualifying Broker for Porchlight.

A true advocate for neighborhood revitalization and housing affordability, John is passionate about forging partnerships between public and private entities to achieve mutually beneficial goals. His recent experience includes the development of affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing in the Bessemer, AL, and Mobile, AL, communities. John has leveraged tax credits, grant funding, and public incentive structures to help subsidize the cost of single-family, for-sale housing. He is currently involved in catalytic redevelopment projects and public-private partnerships focused on neighborhood revitalization and the activation of unused or underused spaces.

A Louisville, Kentucky native, John graduated in 2010 from Sewanee: The University of the South with a B.A. in Political Science. In May 2023, he earned his Master of Real Estate Development from Auburn University. He received his Alabama Real Estate Salesperson’s license in 2016 and his Alabama Broker’s license in 2021.

John serves on the Workforce Housing Committee of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and on the Vestry at Christ Church Cathedral. He returned to Mobile in 2022, where he lives with his wife, Francie (O’Hea) Ruzic, an Obstetrician and Gynecologist with Mobile Bay OB-GYN / Infirmary Health System, their 3½-year-old son, Watts, and a daughter due in October 2025.

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Mike Rogers

President

Rogers & Willard, Inc.

 

Mike Rogers has lived most of his life in Mobile and has dedicated his career to both construction and community revitalization. After earning a degree in Building Science from Auburn University, he began his career in Nashville with Hardaway Construction. In 1989, he returned to Mobile and founded what is now Rogers & Willard, Inc. Under his leadership, the company has become one of the region’s leading contractors, licensed in twelve states, consistently ranked among Business Alabama’s Top Contractors, and recognized four times as a Harbert College of Business “Top Tiger” company.

Mike’s work reflects his belief that building is about more than structures—it’s about strengthening communities. He has led numerous preservation and revitalization efforts in Mobile, including the award-winning restoration of the historic Buick Building. In 2017, he co-founded Porchlight Communities, a development company focused on restoring underserved neighborhoods. His leadership has been recognized with the Alabama Historical Commission’s Roy Swayze Preservation Award and the Outstanding Individual Award from the Mobile Downtown Alliance and Main Street Mobile.

Deeply committed to conservation and the arts, Mike has served as Chairman of the Alabama Contemporary Art Center, overseeing both the restoration of the Saenger Theatre and the conversion of the historic Press Register building. He has served on the boards of the Alabama Coastal Foundation and The Nature Conservancy of Alabama, where he was project champion for the Gulf Islands area, earning the EPA’s Gulf Guardian Individual Award in 2009. He has also served as president of Associated Builders and Contractors, where he helped establish the South Alabama Education Trust to advance training and workforce development.

Mike maintains strong ties to Auburn University, where he is a Sustaining Life Member of the Alumni Association and has served in leadership roles with the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, the Alumni Association, and the Harbert School of Business. He and his wife, Cay, established both the first-ever endowed scholarship in Industrial Design and an Ever Auburn Endowed Scholarship in the CADC. He was also instrumental in creating Auburn’s Industrial Design Studio in Mobile, where students collaborate with local organizations including Airbus, Austal, the Mobile Airport Authority, and the City of Mobile.

Outside of his professional and civic commitments, Mike enjoys fishing, nature photography, and time with his wife Cay and their three daughters, Catie, Jackie, and Leigh.