Vision

The Forum draws upon insights from industry leaders and engages participants in a collaborative and interactive format that leverages the power of the Forum’s participants to directly address the future of the Metropolitan Washington Region. Participants develop a common understanding of what the future might be, and how to achieve it. Participants 2024 Future Forum will come away with the following:

• Clarity on where our region stands today in terms of growth and competitiveness, how it compares to other regions and our historical trajectory, and what obstacles must be overcome in order to sustain or catalyze growth.
• Perspective on the unique roles of government, technology, and knowledge industries/ higher education and other key industries can play to foster growth, competitiveness, and economic resiliency in our region.
• Input into the range of interventions that we, as a region, need to take to achieve a more resilient future.
• A call to action that can serve as the foundation for approaching effective interventions.

ULI Washington wishes to thank Amazon and the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School for their partnership in supporting this program.

Confirmed Speakers

Chelsea Allinger (she/her) is the executive director of Greater Greater Washington (GGWash), a nonprofit dedicated to the vision of a Washington region in which housing is abundant and affordable and it’s safe, easy, and enjoyable to walk, bike, roll, or take public transportation to get around. Chelsea has spent more than 15 years working in different capacities on land policy, urban policy, urban planning, and community development. Before coming to GGWash, she spent seven years as director of communications and development at the national Center for Community Progress. Previously, she worked at Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation in northeast Brooklyn and the Governors’ Institute on Community Design at Smart Growth America. Chelsea also served two terms as an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, DC, from 2019-2023. She is a PhD candidate in public policy and public administration at George Washington University, researching racial inequities in property tax enforcement.

Jason Berry was raised in Los Angeles with a passion for cooking and dining. From a young age, he gravitated to the restaurant industry where his love of all things food could be combined with a deep respect for genuine hospitality. He received a BS in Business Entrepreneurship and Japanese from the University of Southern California and later earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In over three decades in the restaurant business, Jason has worked with a wide variety of concepts from Wendy’s to California Pizza Kitchen and Houston’s (Hillstone) in both front and back-of-house positions. In 2004, he joined Rosa Mexicano as Regional Director of Operations, overseeing the company’s growth from three to nineteen locations around the world. He was named Chief Operating Officer in 2011. In 2014, Jason moved to Washington, D.C., and formed KNEAD Hospitality + Design with his partner Michael Reginbogin. Together, they have collaborated on the design and creation of what is now the KNEAD family of restaurants.

Deborah Kerson Bilek is the Executive Director of ULI Washington, where she manages and oversees the work program, budget, and staffing for the district council. She has served as staff at ULI for nearly nine years. Most recently, she served as ULI’s Vice President, Advisory Services, where she supervised and managed the operations of the national Advisory Services Panel Program. Prior to joining the Advisory Services team at ULI’s global headquarters, Deb served as the Senior Director of Community Outreach at ULI Washington, where she managed the community development work program for the Washington District Council. During her tenure at ULI Washington, Ms. Bilek worked with ULI members, partners, and stakeholders in nearly every jurisdiction in the Metro Washington Region to advance the region’s economic opportunity. Ms. Bilek also has professional experience in the Legislative and Executive branches of the Federal Government, and in regional policy and planning.

Uwe S. Brandes is professor of practice at Georgetown University and faculty director of the Urban & Regional Planning master’s program and the university-wide Georgetown Global Cities Initiative.  Brandes is a scholar-practitioner with over 25 years experience in urban development and applied research. He serves as chair of the District of Columbia Commission on Climate Change & Resiliency and the NoMa Parks Foundation. Brandes holds a Master of Architecture from the Harvard University and B.A. in Engineering Science from the Dartmouth College.

Ian Callender, First Generation Washingtonian and Southwest Waterfront resident, calls himself a cultural architect. Ian is a graduate of DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD, and graduate of Drexel University with a dual degree in Computer Engineering and Information Systems & Technology. He is also the most known unknown, serial entrepreneur & sneakerhead with Guyanese roots via his parents, Lennox and Desiree Callender.

In 2019, Ian received the Mayors Arts Award for Excellence in the Creative Industries. Ian has led the Cultural Arts Community for over 15 years stemming from his love and hobby of collecting sneakers to his desire of creating new and unique community experiences from the ground up through his dynamic creative lens. Ian is the owner of Suite Nation, a CBE Event Design & Development Firm based in Southwest DC; the Co-Founder of Blind Whino SW Arts Club (Now known as Culture House), Co-Owner of Sandlot DC, with multiple locations in DC and Virginia, and the Founder and Executive Director of Arena Social Arts Club, a Non-Profit Organization focused exclusively on amplifying Black Curators and Creatives in DC proper. All of the aforementioned entities have gained notoriety throughout the city due to its contributions to the Creative Economy. Ian sits on a few notable boards in the area from the Nicholson Project, an Artist Residency and Urban Farm project in Ward 7 in Southeast DC, to the Georgetown BID, Future Moguls, and Anacostia Community Museum Board respectfully. Ian is also involved in the widely known Art All Night Festival led by Mayor Bowser and Director Whitfield of the Department of Small and Local Business Development. As the Creative Director for the upcoming fourth year, he has helped shape the festival into a multidimensional, multilayered experience across all 8 wards bridging culture, commerce, culinary and community components: collectively.

To conclude, as one of Ian’s most recent professional accolades, he was named Washingtonian of the Year in January 2023 for his continued work in and around the community by Washingtonian Magazine. Feel free to learn more about Ian and his journey via his portfolio @ suitenation.com.

Anthony Chang is the Managing Director for Stream’s Northern Virginia Office. Anthony will lead strategic direction and operations, with primary responsibilities to include expanding Stream’s leasing, property management, acquisition, and development services while building Stream’s brand presence in Northern Virginia.

Prior to Stream, Anthony was a Vice President at WashREIT where, among his accomplishments he co-founded its flexible office program Space+. Prior to WashREIT, he was a leasing broker with Cassidy Turley where he added more than 2.5 million square feet in agency listings in less than three years. Throughout his career, Chang has executed or advised on over $800 million in lease transactions. He serves on the boards of NAIOP Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Fairfax County Economic Advisory Committee. In addition, Chang serves as the District Council Chair for ULI Washington.

Jim Chung is the Associate Vice President for Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship at The George Washington University, and a principal investigator in the NSF I-Corps Hub: Mid-Atlantic Region. He was previously the Director of both the Mtech VentureAccelerator and Chesapeake Bay Seed Capital Fund at the University of Maryland. He started his private sector career as an early stage venture capital investor, and has done private equity and M&A for a public company.

Before becoming an investor, Jim was an academic researcher at MIT, Harvard, and the University of Tokyo (Fulbright Fellow). He was named in both 2015 and 2017 by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the Top 100 Tech Titans in DC and by HotTopics.ht as one of the Top 100 Entrepreneurship Professors worldwide in 2015. Jim received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Stanford University and was a Ph.D. candidate at MIT.

Sybongile Cook is the Director of Business Development and Strategy in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development (DMPED) with nearly two decades of over 18 years’ experience in the financial services industry including working with Bank One (acquired by JPMorgan Chase) and AXA Equitable Financial Services.

Since 2009, Sybongile had held multiple roles within the Office of the Executive of the Mayor of the District of Columbia. Her leadership as a Program Director with the DC Department of Insurance, Banking, and Securities (DISB) expanded the District’s Bank on DC Program, a collaborative effort between the District, financial institutions and non-profits to provide financial education and access to financial services to the un/underbanked households in the D.C. Metro area. Through her service as a member of the Mayor’s Financial Literacy Council, Sybongile continues to support financial inclusion efforts through creative, innovative, and sustainable programs that promotes the financial health and well-being of District residents. Her work empowering youth and social service providers has been published in white papers with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and National League of Cities.

In addition, her efforts led to attaining the District’s first multi-year grant for the Department of Employment Services (DOES) – Marion S. Barry’s Summer Youth Employment Program, from the Cities Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE) to increase the administration’s focus on financial empowerment integration within youth workforce initiatives. Through her partnership with DOES and CFE, Sybongile created a youth peer-to-peer financial education model that has been replicated in St. Louis, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, and Chicago.

For several years, Sybongile served as the Director of Great Streets and Retail at DMPED. Her work supported the catalytic development of commercial corridors and neighborhoods through the investment of $30 million of grants to small businesses, real estate development projects, and initiative to bring local grocers to food insecure communities. Prior to her returning to DMPED in her current role, Sybongile launched the Office of Talent & Client Services with the Department of Employment Services and served as the Associate Director. Sybongile is currently licensed Life and Health Insurance broker in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and Texas.

Bailey Edelson has 17 years of real estate experience in entitlement, master planning, development, and investment in a diversity of product types. She is currently responsible for a range of investment and development activities across Buchanan’s portfolio. She joined Buchanan from JBG SMITH, where she oversaw the design, entitlement, and investment in over seven million square feet of mixed-use development in the DC Metro Area. Bailey began her career in the investments group at the JBG Companies and has a background in underwriting and joint venture partnerships. She is a member of Urban Land Institute, participating as a member of the Public/Private Partnership Council, serves as Treasurer and Board Member for the Northern Virginia Housing Alliance, and is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Washington. Bailey holds a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and she graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies.

Seydina M. Fall is a senior lecturer in finance at Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business. His professional background includes leadership in real estate and valuation consulting. Mr. Fall’s work often focuses on the future of cities, including the delivery of public infrastructure projects in both developed and emerging markets. His teaching explores issues of project financing (including public-private partnerships), economic development, investing in resilience to address climate-related challenges, and the use of technology to improve new infrastructure and to make old infrastructure more efficient. He graduated summa cum laude from New York University and holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Yale School of Management.  He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Evan Goldman is the Executive Vice President of Acquisition and Development at EYA, LLC. He brings a decade of mixed-use and multi-family experience to the EYA development team and works on sourcing new deals as well as shepherding projects through the development process.
Prior to joining EYA, Evan was Vice President of Development at Federal Realty Investment Trust, where he was primarily responsible for managing the development of Pike & Rose. Evan regularly guest lectures about real estate, planning, and development at local universities. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Urban Land Institute Washington and is a Trustee of the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation’s Capital. In 2012, Evan received the Livable Communities Leadership Award from Washington, DC based Coalition for Smarter Growth.

Evan earned a BS in Design and Environmental Analysis from Cornell University and a MBA in Real Estate and Finance from the Wharton Business School. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and three young children.

Jordan Goldstein, Co-CEO of Gensler and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors, is an award-winning architect who uses design to help clients unravel complex problems and craft relevant solutions that evolve their businesses and brands. Gensler is widely recognized as the world’s largest collaborative design firm, with 53 locations and more than 6,000 professionals networked across the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East.

Throughout his 28-year career, Jordan has been involved in further defining the skyline of global cities with projects like Beijing’s twin 725-foot CP Towers and Bangkok’s 60-story Magnolias Ratchadamri Tower. Jordan has also provided design vision and leadership on projects that range in scale from China’s Duke Kunshan University campus to Marriott’s new global headquarters outside of Washington, DC. Jordan’s projects have won numerous national and local awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and NAIOP, among others. His work has also appeared in various periodicals, including Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, Business Insider, Architect, Interior Design, Contract, US News & World Report, Washington Business Journal, and The Washington Post.

In addition to being recognized for his design skills, Jordan has been honored for his leadership. In recent years, he was included on the Washington Business Journal’s “Power 100” list of the most influential area business leaders and was recognized as one of the top 25 innovators in the Washington, DC area.

Jordan is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and the International Interior Design Association.

An advocate of helping the next generation of architects prepare for tomorrow, Jordan has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his Master in Architecture, and has been the Kea Professor at the University of Maryland, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture.

Julian Gonsalves is the Assistant City Manager for Public-Private Partnerships with the City of Alexandria. In this role, Julian leads the City’s P3 initiatives, oversees the Office of Climate Action, and supports local small business initiatives.

Prior to joining the City, he worked as investor advisory manager at WSP USA, and as a consultant for Habitat for Humanity India. His career includes P3 and due diligence advisory, alternative project delivery, financial analysis and planning, sustainability and construction experience in the United States, Canada, India and the United Arab Emirates. Julian is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a LEED AP, and a Certified P3 Professional. He serves on the City Employee’s Pension Board, Young Professionals in Infrastructure board, and is a Clean Energy Leadership Institute Fellow.

Tracy Hadden Loh is a Fellow with the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings Metro, where she integrates her interests in commercial real estate, infrastructure, racial justice, and governance. She serves on the boards of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Greater Greater Washington. Her most recent writing includes two co-authored chapters in Hyperlocal: Place Governance in a Fragmented World and a series on the future of downtowns, including what to do about public safety and adaptive reuse. She also previously served two years on the city council of Mount Rainier, a small town in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Gary Hall is Senior Director for Cisco’s U.S. Public Sector Strategy, Operations and Market Access team. He leads many business functions that serve Cisco’s federal, state & local government and education (SLED) customers. His responsibilities include business development, sales operations, market intelligence, certification & compliance, public funding, and routes to market.  He is honored to work with an amazing team of professionals to serve those who protect, serve, and educate.

Before moving to his current role, Gary led Cisco’s U.S. Federal Strategy, Planning & Operations team. He has also served as the Chief Technology Officer for Cisco’s Defense business, and the Chief Architect for Cisco’s Intelligence Community business.
Prior to joining Cisco, Gary held several leadership positions at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) including Metadata Officer, Chief of Voice & Video, and Program Manager for Audiovisual and Videoconferencing. He chaired the Joint Integration and Information Sharing Working Group and was responsible for creation of the Intelligence Community Common Operating Environment (COE).

Gary previously managed Booz Allen Hamilton’s One Dulles Systems Resource Center, part of the firm’s center for innovation and emerging technology. Prior to Booz Allen, Gary worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Army Corp of Engineers, and Time Warner.
Gary is currently on the Board of Directors for Integrated Systems Events, a joint venture of two trade associations – AVIXA and CEDIA. He previously served as an officer and President of the Board of Directors for AVIXA, the international Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association. He served as the Chair of InfoComm’s Professional Education and Training Committee (PETC). He is an InfoComm Faculty Instructor, and a Certified Technology Specialist in Design and Installation (CTS-D, CTS-I). He is also regular presenter at government and industry conferences and symposiums.

Gary has Bachelor degrees in Communications and English as well as a Master of Science in Technology Management and a Master of Business Administration. He was selected to the honor societies of Phi Kappa Phi and Upsilon Pi Epsilon by earning a 4.0 GPA across both his MS and MBA degrees.

Holly Hartell has been employed by Arlington County Government since 2006.  Holly started her career with the County as a consultant from BearingPoint, LLC, where she led the Finance team for the County’s Enterprise Resource Planning implementation.  She served as the Operations Manager for the system for 8 years before transitioning into her current role as the Department of Technology Service’s Assistant Chief Information Officer for Strategic Initiatives.  In her current role, Holly is responsible for aligning technology investments with the strategic direction of County and needs of the public.  Holly’s areas of focus include Strategic Portfolio Management, Digital Equity and Smart Community opportunities.

Jamie Jones Miller is the inaugural Dean and CEO of Northeastern University’s Arlington campus located in Rosslyn, Va. The Arlington campus is the newest of Northeastern’s fourteen global campuses with a launch date of Winter 2023 and a focus on the intersection of innovation and security.

Jamie’s 16 years of government service includes roles as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (SES III) and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (SES II) where she advised the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense on legislative strategy and managed relationships with members of Congress and key congressional staff, the military departments as well as the White House, National Security Council and federal departments and agencies in support of DoD priorities. Jamie is a 2018 graduate of National Defense University’s PINNACLE flag and general officer course and was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service by the Secretary of Defense in 2020 for exceptionally distinguished service of significance to the Department.

Jamie has thirteen years of Capitol Hill experience including service as Chief of Staff to Congressman Robert J. Wittman (VA-01) and Legislative Director for Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04), two senior members of the House Armed Services Committee.

Jamie received a B.A. from James Madison University (JMU) in International Affairs in 1999. She served as president of the JMU Alumni Association and is the chair of JMU’s Women for Madison Executive Advisory Council. Jamie is the 2020 recipient of the JMU Alumni Association’s Ronald E. Carrier Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award for her contributions in her field and to the university.

Additionally, Jamie is the co-chair of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security, an organization dedicated to elevating women into senior national security positions in the federal government, and a member of the National Advisory Council of Blue Star Families, dedicated to serving military families. Jamie currently serves as the 15th National President of the Alpha Sigma Tau National Sorority.

Shyam Kannan is HDR’s lead for Transportation Planning and Transit in the Mid-Atlantic.  He’s responsible for planning, directing and monitoring all aspects of large multidisciplinary transit and transportation planning projects, business activities and thought leadership including regional planning, forecasting/modeling, surface transit, subway/commuter rail, zero emissions vehicles, mobility equity, transit facilities and providing strategy for transit properties.  Prior to joining HDR he served as WMATA’s Vice President of Planning from 2012-2022.

He developed a life’s passion for improving America’s cities as a kid while working evenings at his family’s small business, a laundromat in Philadelphia, and again during four years of public service in the classrooms of East Los Angeles and Harlem, New York.  He earned master’s degrees in public policy and urban planning from Harvard, is an active member of ULI Washington, and is the co-chair of the American Public Transit Association’s Transit-Oriented Communities subcommittee.

KellyAnn Kirkpatrick currently serves as the Grants and Partnerships lead for the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, where she supports affordable housing focused grant making and strategic collaboration as a part of the Amazon In the Community team. With an unwavering passion for diversity and inclusion, KellyAnn has seamlessly merged her dedication to economic empowerment with her expertise in grant-making and strategic partnerships in her current role where she also oversees the Housing Equity Fund’s Accelerator Program. Prior to her current position, she was a part of the Amazon Black Business Accelerator team, where she supported Black-owned sellers in their Amazon seller journey. Additionally, KellyAnn previously served as a Senior Program Associate at JPMorgan Chase & Co. within Global Philanthropy, where she concentrated on philanthropic investments aimed at supporting and empowering small businesses on a global scale. KellyAnn’s experience spans the private and public sector as she also previously served as a Program Manager at the District of Columbia’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, where her efforts were concentrated on supporting community conscious development and brick and mortar retail in the District with programs like Great Streets and the Neighborhood Prosperity Fund.

Brigadier General (Ret) David “Kumo” Kumashiro is General Manager for Arqit in the United States. Kumo is a veteran of the US Air Force for almost 30 years, where he most recently was Director for Research and Analysis at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, leading the Department of Defense (DoD) line of effort focused on the application of AI and associated technologies to National Security missions. Prior to that, his last position on active duty was as a Brigadier General leading the Cross Function Team for Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). At Arqit, Kumo is spearheading the expansion of Arqit’s presence in the US, including the subsidiary established to secure Special Security Agreement accreditation through the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency to work with DoD and other US departments and agencies.

Richard Lake is a founding Principal of Roadside Development. Roadside was formed over 25 years ago as a Washington, DC-based development company, focused on the creation of retail and mixed- use environments. Roadside has become one of the leading experts in urban and town center development throughout the metropolitan Washington, DC region.

Mr. Lake has been responsible for overall acquisition, entitlement, development, leasing, and property management of more than 25 million SF over the past three decades. Notable recent projects include City Ridge located at 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, NW which is 1.8 million square feet of new development incorporating the historic “Equitable Life Company” building which housed the headquarters for Fannie Mae for more than 30 years. City Market at O & 880P, a million square foot, urban infill project in the heart of the Shaw neighborhood in Washington DC, which spans two city blocks and features nearly 90,000 square feet of retail, 550 luxury rental apartments, 90 affordable senior rental units, a 182-room key hotel, a 500-car parking garage, and incorporates the historic preservation of the nationally registered landmark O Street Market; Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center, a 105-acre mixed-use retail town center and residential community in Woodbridge, Virginia; and Cityline at Tenley, which preserved and transformed an abandoned historic Sears building into an award winning mixed-use project that attracted Washington, DC’s first Best Buy and Container Store retailers while also incorporating a contemporary addition of 204 luxury condominium units.

Mr. Lake’s talent for working with development teams and optimizing a project’s full value potential throughout all stages of the real estate cycle is one of his greatest assets. He has also served as a consultant on several real estate projects throughout the country, with an expertise in place-making, by creating successful retail environments and public spaces that amenitize and enhance residential, commercial, and cultural uses to become vibrant mixed-use communities.

Mr. Lake is a native Washingtonian and has been an active member of the business community for over 30 years. Prior to co-founding Roadside Development, he was the founding partner of The Retail Group and led Madison Retail Group, a full-service retail brokerage firm that was the dominant leader in the DC and Mid-Atlantic markets. He began his career in real estate as a broker with Smithy Braedon ONCOR International. He is a graduate of Boston University.

Mr. Lake currently serves on the board of directors for several non-profit and economic development organizations. He is the incoming President of the Board of the DC Building Industry Association (DCBIA), Chairman of Board of the Developer’s Roundtable; past Co- Chair of the Washington DC Economic Partnership (eight years) and currently serves on the Executive Committee; A Trustee of the Federal City Council, a past President of the Board of Iona Senior Services, member of Children’s National Real Estate Committee, and a former member of the Prince William County Economic Advisory Committee.

John Means is a partner and the cofounder of our Real Estate Practice, where he leads boards, CEOs, and senior executives in improving the performance of investment portfolios, corporate real estate, and development programs including office, housing, mixed use, complex healthcare, and life science across six continents. John is committed to leveraging real estate to catalyze sustainable, inclusive growth and promote productivity, inclusivity, wellness, and sustainability across communities.

John works with real estate firms, services groups, and technology companies to transform businesses and develop new products. He guides institutions designing the “future of work” to achieve higher performance through improved workplace experience, technology solutions, and more efficient real estate portfolios. He develops “city scale” real estate and infrastructure programs, casting the vision for how complex, mixed-use assets can meet evolving community and business demands, building partnerships to support economic development, and designing the operating model to accelerate execution.

John collaborates with peer executive networks to drive global impact. He recently helped launch an annual gathering of leading real estate executives to pursue shared action on disruption, talent, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. John also helped launch the Greater Washington Partnership, a not-for-profit community organization that develops common strategies to address regional needs in infrastructure, workforce, and economic development. He joined the Urban Land Institute to explore technology innovations with the potential to transform end-user experiences and real estate operations, and currently serves on the advisory board for Miriam’s Kitchen, a group which aims to eliminate chronic homelessness.

Prior to McKinsey, John worked as project development leader in healthcare, life-science, and civic-construction programs across the United States, and is also a licensed professional engineer.

Tom Murphy, ULI Canizaro/Klingbeil Families Chair for Urban Development, has been a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute since 2006.

A former mayor of Pittsburgh, his extensive experience in urban revitalization—what drives investment, what ensures long-lasting commitment—has been a key addition to the senior resident fellows’ areas of expertise. Murphy also serves on the Advisory Board of ULI’s Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use.

In 2011 he wrote Building on Innovation, a ULI report discussing the economic impact universities and hospitals have on local economies and providing detailed strategies to shape a successful 21st-century city based on a private/public/university partnership.

Since joining ULI, Murphy has served on many Advisory Services panels, including panels in Moscow and Hong Kong, as well as Baltimore, Chicago, and other U.S. cities. Additionally, Murphy served as ULI’s Gulf Coast liaison, helping coordinate with the leadership of New Orleans and the public the rebuilding recommendations made by a ULI Advisory Services panel held shortly after Hurricane Katrina. He also worked on rebuilding strategies with leaders in the Gulf Coast areas of Mississippi and Alabama in the wake of Katrina.

Murphy has represented ULI in a number of cities, from Baton Rouge to Baltimore, helping them shape a revitalization strategy. He is a frequent speaker at ULI gatherings and other events.

Before joining ULI, Murphy served three terms as mayor of Pittsburgh, from January 1994 through December 2005. During that time, he initiated a public/private partnership strategy that leveraged more than $4.5 billion in economic development in the city. Murphy led efforts to secure and oversee $1 billion in funding for the development of two professional sports facilities, and a new convention center that is the largest certified green building in the United States. He developed strategic partnerships to transform more than 1,000 acres of blighted, abandoned industrial properties into new commercial, residential, retail, and public uses, and he oversaw the development of more than 25 miles of new riverfront trails and parks.

From 1979 through 1993, Murphy served eight terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He focused his legislative activities on changing western Pennsylvania’s economy from industrial to entrepreneurial, and wrote legislation requiring state pension funds to invest in venture capital firms. In addition, he wrote legislation to create the Ben Franklin Technology Partnership, now over 25 years old, which is dedicated to advancing Pennsylvania’s focus on early-stage startup businesses and the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies.

Murphy served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay from 1970 to 1972. He is a 1993 graduate of the New Mayors Program offered by Harvard University’s Kennedy School. He holds a Master of Science degree in urban studies from Hunter College and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry from John Carroll University.

He is an honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects; a board member of Harmony Development Inc. of New Orleans; president of the board of the Wild Waterways Conservancy of Pennsylvania; and a board member of Mountain Lake Inc. of Virginia.

Gerren Price has over 15 years of experience directing and supporting large-scale programs and initiatives in the government and non-profit sectors. Price currently serves as the President and CEO of the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID). He previously served as the BID’s Director of Public Space Operations, in which he directed and managed the BID’s team of 80+ ambassadors and worked to ensure that the downtown area is clean, safe, welcoming, and economically viable. Prior to joining the BID, Price served as Senior Associate, National Community Strategies at the Annie E. Casey Foundation where he managed a $25M investment portfolio advancing national place-based, two-generation approaches to serving whole families.

Price has held a variety of leadership roles with the District of Columbia Government, including serving as Deputy Director of the city’s workforce agency, where he was focused on leading the city’s youth workforce development strategy and for the administration of its summer youth employment program, apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, on-the-job training, employer services, and business engagement. Price also served as the Director of Programs for the District’s Department of Parks and Recreation and worked for the District of Columbia Public Schools in the Office of the Chancellor where he managed out-of-school time programs for the District’s comprehensive high schools. Throughout his professional career and personal life, Price has maintained an active leadership role in mentoring and tutoring, including through consultant support for DC workforce development company P.R.E.P., LLC, and work for the National Organization of Concerned Black Men, America Reads/America Counts, and the University of Pennsylvania Netter Center for Community Partnerships.

Price resides in Washington, DC with his wife and two daughters. He holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.S./M.B.A. from the University of Maryland University College.

Adam Rashid is responsible for investment strategy and transaction structuring at Gate Infrastructure. Adam has a proven track record of leading complex investments across the United States including acquisitions, joint ventures, and recapitalizations across all major commercial real estate asset classes.

Previously, Adam was SVP of Investments and Head of Digital Infrastructure at JBG SMITH where he was a member of the investment committee. He also previously led investment transactions at Artemis Real Estate Partners.

Adam earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Howard University and Master’s degree in Real Estate Finance from Georgetown University.

In his personal life, Adam enjoys spending time with family and coaching football and basketball for his three young children.

Evan Regan-Levine is an Executive Vice President in JBG SMITH’s Investments Group and specializes in research and strategic innovation. Mr. Regan-Levine helps shape the firm’s investment strategy with data and analytics and works on large scale strategic initiatives, investor relations, and innovation projects. He is a voting member of  JBG SMITH’s Investment Committee and is also involved at a project level in crafting go to market strategies and market positioning for JBG SMITH’s development projects. Mr. Regan-Levine was a core team member throughout the Amazon HQ2 pursuit and helped create and communicate the narrative around National Landing to Amazon. In addition to his research and strategy work, he coheads the JBG SMITH Smart City Initiative which includes overseeing investments and partnerships to facilitate 5G, CBRS, data center, and fiber rollouts at the intersection of technology and the built environment.

Prior to joining The JBG Companies (predecessor to JBG SMITH) in 2013, Mr. Regan-Levine was an Associate with Monday Properties and served for two years in market research with JLL where he acted as an advisor for a wide variety of JLL’s investor and occupier clients. During his time at JLL, Mr. Regan Levine was focused on research in the Washington, DC Metro region, but was also involved in several national and international consulting and research projects often focused on location and market intelligence and analytics for large corporate relocation requirements and investor clients. Mr. Regan-Levine graduated Magna Cum Laude in Government from Georgetown University.

Senthil Sankaran, Managing Principal of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, is responsible for the oversight, deployment and management of Amazon’s commitment of over $2 billion in below-market capital, in the form of loans and grants, to preserve and create over 20,000 affordable homes in Amazon’s ‘hometown’ communities: The Puget Sound region of Washington State, the Arlington, VA/Greater Washington region, and Nashville, Tennessee.

Prior to Amazon, Senthil has served in a variety of real estate development leadership roles in both the private and public sectors. As SVP, Real Estate Development & Capital Programs at the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA), Senthil led DCHA’s strategic portfolio repositioning and rehabilitation efforts. He also served as Senior Director of Development focused on the Union Market neighborhood in Washington, DC for EDENS – a firm specializing in the acquisition, entitlement and development of mixed-use, urban infill, real estate projects. Prior to EDENS, Senthil served as Director of Real Estate Development for the Government of the District of Columbia in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development (DMPED) where he managed a multi-billion dollar portfolio of large-scale, mixed use, public-private real estate development projects on behalf of the District — most of which required the structuring and deployment of layered public financing tools such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF), proceeds of securitized revenue bonds, capital budget funding and real property tax abatements.  Senthil began his real estate career as a real estate financial advisory consultant with Jones Lang LaSalle’s Public Institutions practice in Washington, DC.

Senthil received an MBA as a John F. Connelly Foundation Scholar of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and holds a BA in Government/International Relations from Georgetown University as well.

Yesim Sayin is the founding Executive Director of the D.C. Policy Center. With over twenty years of public policy experience in the District of Columbia, Dr. Sayin is recognized by policymakers, advocates and the media as a source of reliable, balanced analyses on the District’s economy and demography.  Yesim’s research interests include economic and fiscal policy, urban economic development, housing, and education. She is especially focused on how COVID-19 pandemic is changing regional and interregional economic interdependencies and what this means for urban policy. Her work is frequently covered in the media, including the Washington Post, the Washington Business Journal, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, WAMU, and the Washington City Paper, among others.

Before joining the D.C. Policy Center, Dr. Sayin worked at the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Financial Officer leading the team that scored the fiscal impact of all legislation the District considered. She frequently testified on high profile legislation and worked closely with the executive and Council staff to ensure that policymakers fully understand the fiscal implications of their proposed legislation. Yesim also has worked in the private sector, and consulted with international organization on a large portfolio of public finance topics.

Yesim holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from Bogazici University, located in Istanbul, Turkey.

Leslee Sherrill’s career has taken her from a White House staff position, to director of a leading public policy institute, to senior executive at ABC News.  She has distinguished herself in the fields of communications and media, with particular expertise in presidential politics, public policy and diplomacy.

Leslee had a 17-year career at ABC News, where she was Vice President of Affiliate Relations and Communications. She began her career at ABC News as Diane Sawyer’s publicist and spokesperson for network news specials, investigative reports, celebrity interviews, and the weekly news magazine, PrimeTime Live.

Before coming to ABC News, Leslee worked for six years as Director of Communications and Development for the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a New York City-based think tank.
She began her career in politics as a coach for the surrogate speakers in both President Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign and successful re-election. During Reagan’s first term, she worked in The White House coordinating ambassadorial appointments and collaborating with the U.S. Department of State in the selection and candidate preparation process. She also worked on George H. W. Bush’s 1992 presidential campaign.

In 2016, she co-founded Let the Voters Choose, a nonpartisan organization created to support effective, state-by-state electoral reform.  The goal of the project is to strengthen our democracy by restoring confidence in the voting process and increasing voter representation and participation.
Leslee is currently a special advisor in the Office of the President at the University of Southern California.  Formally, she was an advisor to the USC Board of Trustees and a fellow at the USC Center for the Political Future.

Leslee received her B.A. in 1980 from the University of Southern California in Political Science. She is married to Steve Talt, an attorney in private practice and a member of the San Marino City Council. They have 3 children and live in San Marino.

Alexander Triantis became the third dean of Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in 2019. He has built a reputation throughout his career as a strong, personable, and pragmatic leader skilled at building consensus around a strategic vision.

During his tenure as Carey’s dean, the school has revised and launched several programmatic initiatives, including its full-time MBA with emphasis in the fields of health, technology, innovation, leadership and business analytics; a distinctive flex MBA program allowing for specializations and dual degrees within the stellar Johns Hopkins University system; new programs for working professionals; and the Women and Leadership Academy. Additionally, Carey has achieved gender parity in its overall student body and across most of its programs, and has advanced its comprehensive and ambitious commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Prior to joining Carey Business School, Triantis served as dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland from 2013 to 2019, and chair of the Finance Department from 2006 to 2011. Previously, he was a visiting scholar at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and an assistant and associate professor of finance at the University of Wisconsin. Triantis received his PhD in industrial engineering (with a specialization in finance) from Stanford University and his BASc and MEng degrees from the University of Toronto.

An expert in the areas of corporate financial strategy and valuation, Triantis has published articles in numerous prestigious academic journals, served on several journal editorial boards, and has consulted and led training for many multinational corporations. Businessweek named Triantis an Outstanding Professor at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Maryland, and he is a two-time recipient of Maryland Smith’s top teaching award for faculty.

Triantis currently serves as chair of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business Board of Directors. He has also served as vice president for global services for the Financial Management Association International.

Andrew Trueblood is a housing, economic development, policy, and land use professional. Through his firm, Trueblood.city, he is currently supporting economic development and housing efforts across the country as well as DC’s Downtown Action Plan. He is a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute, a senior advisor for housing at the DC Policy Center, a visiting faculty member at Georgetown University, and a Trustee of the DC Public Library Board.

Between 2018 and 2021, Andrew served as the Director of the DC Office of Planning (DCOP), where he prioritized agency efforts around housing and equity. He shepherded the update of the Comprehensive Plan and led DCOP’s support of Mayor Bowser’s housing efforts. Prior to leading DCOP, Andrew was the Chief of Staff at DC’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development where he supported economic development policy and projects and created the Economic Intelligence program to improve the agency’s data and analysis capacity and provide more open and accessible data and analysis. Before joining the District Government, Andrew helped start up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and worked at Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution Fund. Prior to his federal government service, Andrew worked on redevelopment planning and finance for the DC Housing Authority. Andrew holds a Masters in City Planning from MIT and a B.A. from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs.

Alison Williams is a Partner at Of Place and is responsible for development and operations. Alison takes a holistic approach to placemaking with a focus on retail design and interface with the architectural teams to ensure that the assets are best positioned to optimally perform during lease up and operations.

Prior to joining Of Place, Alison was a member of the development team with Federal Realty Investment Trust. During her tenure at Federal, Alison participated in the development efforts for some of the company’s most notable mixed-use projects including Assembly Row in Somerville, MA, Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, MD and Pike 7 in Tysons, VA. Alison’s areas of focus included entitlement strategy and execution, underwriting, acquisitions and project management. In addition to her tenure with Federal, Alison served in a variety of roles including management consulting, investment banking with Eastdil Secured, and advisory development services with Bozzuto.  Alison has her M.B.A. from University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and her B.S. in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate from American University.

Alicia Wilson, Esq. is the Managing Director and Global Head of Philanthropy for the North America Region for JPMorgan Chase.  At JPMorgan, Alicia oversees the local philanthropic strategies across 40+ markets in North America, collaborating intentionally with senior leaders across the firm’s corporate responsibility and business units to drive meaningful impact across JPMorgan’s business footprint in the U.S. and Canada. This includes helping to steward the $2 billion philanthropic commitment as part of the firm’s broader Racial Equity Commitment.

Prior to joining JPMorgan, Alicia served as Vice President of Economic Development for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System and Associate Professor in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, Maryland. At Johns Hopkins, Alicia led a core cross-institutional team focused on developing and implementing Hopkins’ institution-wide strategies and initiatives as an anchor institution in and around its campuses both within the United States and abroad.  Alicia spearheaded the elevation and expansion of Hopkins signature commitment to its communities through investments in real estate, economic and neighborhood development, healthcare, and education.

Alicia is actively involved in civic and charitable organizations.  She currently serves on the boards of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland School of Law Board of Visitors, the CollegeBound Foundation, Kennedy Krieger Institute, and the France-Merrick Foundation. She is also co-founder of the Black Philanthropy Circle at the Baltimore Community Foundation.  Alicia is also Chair of the CollegeBound Foundation and as such is the first CollegeBound Foundation alum, first woman, first African-American and youngest Board Chair in the thirty history of the organization.  Alicia also serves as Parliamentarian within the Harbor City Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

For her accomplishments and public service, Alicia has received over fifty professional awards and honors.  Most recently, Alicia was recognized as Pro Bono Partner of the Year for 2022 by the Equal Justice Council and was selected as the 2022 Whitney M. Young Award recipient for her service to youth by the Boys Scouts of America, Baltimore Area Council.

Her professional and civic leadership have propelled her to the forefront of local and national media attention.  Most recently, Alicia was recognized as one of the 15 Black Marylanders to Watch for 2023 by the Baltimore Sun. In mid-2022, Savoy Magazine recognized Alicia as one of the “Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America”. She was also named a 2022 “Women Who Wins” and Newsmaker of the Year for 2021 by the Afro-American Newspaper.