Rebecca Luong has over two decades of knowledge in planning, architecture and interior design for experience-focused hospitality destinations. She has directed the design of amenity-rich, luxury, multi-family, residential community projects across the United States, Middle East and Asia. Her projects range from the 61-room LEED Platinum certified Bardessono Hotel in Napa, CA—rated one of the top 10 luxury boutique hotels in the world—to a multi-hectare development of seven man-made islands off the coast of Dubai. As part of the Paper City Development team working to bring The Mill at Vicksburg back to life, Rebecca will lead this complex adaptive reuse and renaissance effort as VP of Design and Development. In her role, she will be the liaison between the ownership and consultant teams, tasked with translating the vision of The Mill to and through multiple disciplines.

John Kern, a Michigan native, couldn’t help but be intrigued when Chris Moore first told him about the idea to bring Vicksburg’s old paper mill back to life. Despite his Michigan roots, John still hadn’t known much about the village of Vicksburg or its paper mill, but when he visited in Summer 2015, he knew immediately that he wanted to be a part of this project and help bring Chris Moore’s vision to life. In September 2015, John and his wife Jackie Koney permanently moved to Vicksburg to be fully immersed in this project and, most importantly, in the community. With an extensive background across several disciplines—primarily education but also audio and video production, marketing promotions, and public speaking—John is the perfect fit to directly engage with the people of Vicksburg and its surrounding communities and generate excitement about restoring The Mill.