Q&A
Meet Shannon Ellsworth, Principal Advisor of Land & Water at Rio Tinto. We’ve had the honor of collaborating with Shannon a proposed master planned community in Utah for the last few years. Learn more about the work we are doing together to shape the Salt Lake City area.
Tell us about your role as the Principal Advisor, Land & Water at Rio Tinto and your path to get here.
I grew up in South Jordan City, next to the Kennecott Copper Mine. My interest in environmental systems led me to study landscape architecture and environmental planning at Utah State University. After working with civil engineering firms and earning an MBA, I joined Rio Tinto in Government Affairs & Civil Society and later moved to the Land and Water team. Kennecott has operated since 1903 and became part of Rio Tinto in 1989. Today, Rio Tinto owns 93,000 acres in and around the Salt Lake Valley; its first major development, Daybreak, is a top-selling master-planned community. I lead real estate strategy and planning for excess mine land, aligning development with operational goals and community needs.
Tell us about the challenge/problem you were trying to solve in your work with Design Workshop on the proposed master-planned community.
Utah is the second driest state in the country, and regional water supplies in the Salt Lake area are reaching a point where the high cost of limited water will ultimately fall on homeowners. When we started working with Design Workshop on a new regional master-planned community, we knew that water conservation would be integral to the future success of the development both from an environmental and cost perspective. At the development level, water conservation touches everything: infrastructure, design guidelines, open space, marketing, and more. Despite the constraints, Design Workshop came back with creative solutions to water conservation. I love that this value is truly baked in to all elements of the plan, and that best practices from other regions are being accepted and adopted here.
What has been one of your favorite pieces of the project that you’ve worked on with Design Workshop that has made you most proud? Why?
One of the highlights of the project was working through major changes to our transportation system. Things were evolving quickly, and Design Workshop was right there with us, helping us navigate different variables through scenario planning. Their ability to model different outcomes helped us make informed decisions about what would preserve the most long-term value. We couldn’t have achieved such strong results without their expertise and flexibility. It was a great example of collaboration under pressure, and I’m grateful they kept us focused on the big picture while adapting in real time.
What do you enjoy most about working with Design Workshop?
The terrific employees. I’ve worked with many professional service and engineering firms, and every person I’ve met at Design Workshop truly excels in their area of expertise. They sync really well with other consultants, are top-tier project managers, and bring a wealth of experience from across the country and around the world. Most importantly, they show real passion for creating something lasting. They were instrumental in Rio Tinto’s Daybreak development, and in that project, and others, it's clear that legacy truly means something to them.