Arizona Restaurant Association
Associations in Port Shepstone

The Arizona Restaurant Association.
Our basic tenets involve escalating awareness of food safety and healthy living, bolstering a thriving industry workforce, increasing profitability, and driving business to restaurants and industry associates.
has been honored to represent and serve Arizona’s flourishing restaurant industry.
The ARA represents all factions of the restaurant community and has a robust list of member benefits to assist every business from Quick Service to Fine Dining to our Vendor Members who supply goods and services to restaurants.

The ARA exists to help our members become leaders in their communities through building customer loyalty, escalating awareness of food safety and healthy living, bolstering a thriving industry and rewarding workforce, and increasing financial success. Having organized Congressional hearings, high-level meetings for heads of state and other political events, Kalinda is excited to bring a fresh, new perspective to the ARA and its events and marketing strategy. Fluent in several languages, Ms. Stephenson has a B.A. in Government and Politics and a minor in Portuguese from the University of Maryland, College Park and a professional certificate in Social Media Management from Georgetown University. When away from the office, Kalinda enjoys cooking, going out to eat, traveling and spending time with her two chihuahuas, Dolce and Bambi. His maternal grandfather, Tony M. Coury, Sr., was a true entrepreneur in becoming the first licensed automobile dealer in Arizona. Of the many jobs Steve has today, he would say the most important is that of devoted father to his two young sons, Grant and Will, and loving husband to Christine, his wife of 17 years. For the past 15 years, Steve has served as the President and CEO of the Arizona Restaurant Association (ARA). The insight Steve has gathered through his experience with the restaurant association was a contributing factor in his decision to run for public office. Steve remains focused on adopting policies that enhance the business cache of the County, eliminating unnecessary burdens, and implementing strategies that make it more affordable and attractive to operate a business in Maricopa County. Prior to his work with the restaurant association and at Maricopa County, Supervisor Chucri spent 6 years on Capitol Hill working for an Arizona Congressman. This prestigious position afforded him many opportunities to travel around the world on delegation missions, visit with foreign dignitaries, sample a variety of cuisines, and engage in unique foreign customs that further reaffirmed his affinity for America and gave him a real sense of what it is to be an elected official. She has served the ARA for 17 years forming valuable and lasting relationships with the ARA’s partners, restaurant and vendor members alike. Prior to the ARA, Jana worked in the finance industry for several years. When away from the office, Jana enjoys spending time with her family, watching sports (Go D-Backs!) Prior to joining CSA, he worked on county and special district issues at Barnes and Associates as a legislative liaison and analyst. Dan also served as a campaign manager and consultant for several local races and a congressional race. Shortly after returning to Arizona after a short stint on the East Coast, Dan became a firefighter with the Mesa Ranger District for the U.S. Forest Service before realizing that offices have air conditioning. Dan currently serves as an instructor for the United States Air Force Explorers, a service academy preparatory program, and also teaches wilderness survival classes several times a year. Brynn Johnson is the Arizona Restaurant Association’s Vice President of Partnership & Development. An Arizona native, Brynn has been in the restaurant industry essentially since the day she was born. Brynn joined the team after managing the marketing for Macayo’s Mexican Restaurants. Brynn earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Colorado. In her time outside of the ARA, Brynn can be found testing recipes in her own kitchen, spending time with family, traveling, conquering Arizona's best hikes, and volunteering with local organizations.