Message From The Editor
Arizona is no longer proving that it can grow. Across housing, population, business, and innovation, growth is settling into something heavier and more deliberate. Momentum has given way to structure. Speed has yielded to responsibility.
For more than a decade, Arizona was defined by acceleration—new residents arriving daily, companies expanding west, cranes filling the skyline. But growth at this scale inevitably changes shape.
The March 2026 issue of Arizona Ascent explores what happens after the rush—when expansion meets intention and the next phase of Arizona’s story begins to take form.
Jennifer Conrad
Editor-in-Chief, Arizona Ascent
Inside This Issue
The Sweet Leap: How One Woman Turned Donuts Into a Scottsdale Legacy
Before the pink boxes and weekend lines in Old Town, before Scottsdale knew the name, there was a one-bedroom apartment in Seattle and a corporate job that looked, from the outside, like…
The Backbone of a Successful Business: Why Bookkeeping Matters More Than Ever
It starts with a payment. A weekend invoice. A $200 deposit for a side project. To most people, it’s just money moving from one account to another. To a business owner, it’s the first step in…
Tax Season Starts at Home
Tax season has a way of sneaking up on us. It’s rarely the actual numbers that feel stressful; it’s the digging. Searching for forms. Looking for receipts. Trying to remember where something…
Planting Seeds, Growing Mesa: Kelley Keffer’s Hands-On Approach to Building Local Businesses
Mesa might be known for big names like Meta and Virgin Galactic, but the city’s most exciting growth is happening quietly—in small shops, studios, and labs where entrepreneurs are building…
Moonshot’s Rural Arizona Pitch Tour Puts Small-Town Innovation on the Statewide Stage
In Superior, Arizona, population just under 2,700, last year’s pitch stop buzzed with anticipation. Entrepreneurs adjusted prototypes, shuffled notes, and glanced at the countdown timer—three…
Maricopa County’s Housing Momentum: The Markets Leading the Valley’s Next Wave of Growth
Arizona’s growth is no longer confined to the urban core. Across Maricopa County, new neighborhoods, emerging suburbs, and expanding job centers are signaling where the Valley is headed next.…
Long COVID, Long Game: How Arizona’s Trials Could Shape the Next Decade
Arizona is quietly becoming a proving ground for one of the most complex challenges in modern medicine: Long COVID. At the center of that effort are two very different leaders, patient…
Jon Relvas: Building Bridges Between Students and Industry in Arizona
In a sunlit lab at Arizona State University, a team of students huddled over laptops, designing solutions for real-world challenges at companies like NASA, Starbucks, and Zoom. Behind the…
Fail Forward: What Arizona Leaders Are Learning from AI Setbacks
During Arizona Tech Week, the University of Silicon Valley, in partnership with Arizona Ascent, is breaking that silence. They’re hosting a candid conversation on AI failures and the lessons…
Beyond Comfort: How Mahesh Vinayagam Built qBotica
Before there were bots processing insurance claims, before boardrooms and AI panels, before Phoenix became home to one of Arizona’s fastest-growing automation companies, there was a boy in…
