Speakers
J. Todd Achelpohl, RA
Vice President/National Director of Convention Center Architecture
HNTB Architecture
Kansas City, MO
 Todd Achelpohl serves as Director of Design for HNTB Architecture and leads the firm’s Convention Center practice, combining a broad range of project experience with a foundation of creative thinking and substantive innovation. He possesses unique skills in leading public clients through complex capital improvement programs from the feasibility stage to ultimate completion.
Todd’s recent project experience includes the Las Vegas Convention Center Renovation and Expansion; Kansas City Convention and Entertainment Facilities Renovation and Expansion; Albany NY Convention Center and the San Diego Convention Center Expansion, Phase III Due Diligence Study. He is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Environmental Design and Bachelor of Architecture, he received a Master of Science in Architecture and Building Design from Columbia University in New York City and was a Ewart Fellow at University College London, Bartlett School of Architecture.
Ralph Basile
Principal
Basile Baumann Prost Cole & Associates, Inc.
Annapolis, MD
Mr. Basile is a founding Principal and co-owner of BBP & Associates LLC (BBP LLC) of Annapolis, Maryland, a real estate development advisory firm which assists public and private clients located both here and abroad with their real estate-related needs. He has over 28 years of experience in real estate development and consulting. Coupled with his extensive development and business experience, Mr. Basile has a broad educational background including degrees in law, city planning and urban economics.
Mr. Basile has broad experience in such diverse fields as market analysis, development programming, economic planning, financial feasibility, development packaging, project funding, project implementation and management. Mr. Basile has been responsible for a variety of development consulting assignments especially during the pre-development and project packaging stages of these endeavors. He has managed hundreds of market research efforts and financial feasibility assessments. He has also negotiated dozens of development agreements, procured project financing for large- and small-scale projects, managed local development organizations, strategically planned various economic development projects, directed preliminary design services and completed real estate workouts nationwide. His management and technical expertise has been employed through the conceptualization and development of both small-scale and major commercial, recreational, industrial and residential real estate projects carried out solely by private investors and through cooperative business arrangements structured between public and private entities.
In addition, Mr. Basile has conducted dozens of real estate and economic development related assignments for several federal government clients over the past 30 years. His experience centers on preparation of analyses supporting asset management decisions as well as subsequent execution of agreements to transfer real estate assets from the federal government to private entities. To date, total transaction value is nearly $3.4 billion.
Dena Belzer
President
Strategic Economics
Berkeley, CA
 Ms. Belzer is the founder and president of Strategic Economics, an urban economics research firm based in Berkeley, California. She has over 25 years experience working on economic issues ranging in scale from regional growth management to individual development projects. Ms. Belzer specializes in projects with complex settings and many actors, often requiring an innovative approach to the required research and analysis. Her particular specializations include retail and neighborhood revitalization, transit-oriented development, and economic development. Strategic Economics is also part of the three way collaboration with Reconnecting America and the Center for Neighborhood Technology that comprises the Center for Transit Oriented Development (CTOD). Ms. Belzer sits on the CTOD’s leadership team and directs many of the Center’s research projects. She also has numerous publications and has served on many U.S. EPA Smart Growth technical assistance projects, Mayors Institutes for City Design, and ULI Advisory Panels.
Clayton I. Bennett
President, Dorchester Capital
Chairman, The Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City, OK
 Clayton I. Bennett serves as President of Dorchester Capital, a diversified private investment company, and Chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a franchise of the National Basketball Association. In addition, Bennett is involved in a broad variety of investment activities and serves as an officer and director of numerous business entities.
Highly involved in civic and charitable affairs, Bennett currently serves as Chairman of the Oklahoma State Fair and the Oklahoma Industries Authority. He is a past chairman of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma Heritage Association, Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc. and the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation. Bennett serves as a Director of the Oklahoma City Industrial and Cultural Facilities Trust, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation, the Research Institute for Economic Development, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and Casady School.
In 1990, Bennett received the Dean A. McGee Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to the development of downtown Oklahoma City. In 1997, he was presented the Economic Development Citizen Leadership Award by the National Council of Urban Economic Development; this national award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of urban economic development. In 2007, Bennett was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, in 2008 was named “OKCityan of the Year” by Oklahoma City Friday newspaper and “Oklahoman of the Year” by Oklahoma Today magazine.
William E. Best, FM
Senior Vice President, Manager Community Development Banking
PNC Bank
Chair
International Economic Development Council
East Brunswick, NJ
 William Best joined PNC Bank in September, 2003 as Senior Vice President, Northeast Territory Manager, Community Development Banking in its East Brunswick, N. J. office. In this role, he is responsible for the Bank’s commitment towards the growth and prosperity of the low-moderate income segments and its communities, with a focus on economic development, affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization. He comes to PNC from his position of Executive Director of the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority. Under his leadership, the agency leveraged over $1.3 billion in economic development. investments. His twenty plus years experience in banking and business were acquired through an executive banking career whereby he developed, managed, and supervised lending programs for the major financial services institutions.
Mr. Best has been recognized with several awards. A graduate of North Carolina Central University, he did graduate studies with Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Banking Program, and completed the Executive Program at Harvard University’s J. F. K. School of Government. He has been affiliated for many years with the New Jersey Urban Bankers Association.
He presently serves on the board of New Jersey Future, New Jersey Regional Plan Association, the Newark Regional Business Partnership, and the IEDC.
Eric Blockie
Vice President - General Manager
Hartman Arena
Park City, KS
 Eric Blockie has more than 25 years of experience in Building Management, hosting anywhere from 500 to 50,000 people in the venues he has managed. He has coordinated large scale events for clients like Adobe Systems, Apple Computer, and Anheuser-Busch. As a professional with expertise in program development, revenue generation, problem solving, and strategic planning, he has been hired by private and public entities to develop strategic events from sporting, convention center, musical, theater, and non-traditional revenue with local economic impact on all surrounding businesses.
Eric worked for SFX Entertainment in the real estate department as a Project Manager on multi-purpose indoor and outdoor projects, including Boston Opera House re-development; the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles; the Journal Pavilion in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the Verizon Wireless Theater in San Antonio, Texas; and the City Lights Pavilion in Denver, Colorado. Eric has also recently been employed in development for Bill Graham Presents, Clear Channel Entertainment, Live Nation, and as a Production Manager and Tour Manager for national and international tour acts.
He is currently the Vice President – General Manager for the Hartman entertainment complex in the greater Wichita area of Kansas, which includes a 7,500 seat Arena; 1,400 seat Theater; and a 8,500 seat Amphitheater (currently being developed for a 2011 opening date).
Dyan Lingle Brasington, CEcD, FM, HLM
Vice President of Economic & Community Outreach
Towson University
Towson, MD
 Dyan Brasington is the Vice President for Economic and Community Outreach (DECO) at Townson University. In her capacity as Vice President, Dyan leads an initiative to create relationships and expand engagement opportunities for the University to meet the needs of community, private sector and government organizations, and to foster economic development in the region. Brasington has more than 30 years combined experience in economic development.
Prior to joining the University, Dyan served as the President of the Technology Council of Maryland, an organization that advocated for the development of technology driven companies. Dyan has developed and led government and private sector economic development agencies at the state, regional and local levels. Her experience including being the Director of Economic Development for the State of West Virginia, the Director in Howard and Montgomery Counties, Maryland, and in Prince William County, Virginia and as an Industrial Representative for the Florida Department of Commerce.
Phil Brewer
Economic Development Director
City of Cedar Park, Texas
Cedar Park, TX
 Phil has been involved in economic development from the community level to the state level for over 25 years. He was the Senior Economic Development Consultant and the Director of National/International Business Development at the Texas Department of Commerce for over 9 years.
Upon leaving the state Phil spent 10 years as the President of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce and was responsible for over 60 relocations and expansions (including Dell Computer and the Round Rock Express) representing over 18,000 direct jobs and total capital investment of over $750 million.
Brewer currently serves as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Cedar Park. Since 2005 he has successfully worked on projects that have created over 1,800 jobs and a capital investment of over $250 million. Brewer was the project leader for the $55 million Cedar Park Center that opened in September 2009. The 6,800 multi-purpose center is a public/private partnership between the City of Cedar Park and the Hicks Sports Group. The Center is home to the Texas Stars the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars. He was also instrumental in the recent announcement that a $360 million Schlitterbahn Vacation Village would be built in Cedar Park.
Over the years Brewer has served on a number of statewide and regional boards for economic development and chambers of commerce.
Ian Bromley, FM, MBA, FMIEDC, FRSA
Immediate Past Chairman
International Economic Development Council
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
 In September 2006, Ian Bromley was appointed as the first Chief Executive of Creative Sheffield, in Sheffield, England). Creative Sheffield is a City Development Company encompassing the activities of predecessors, Sheffield One (City Centre Regeneration Company) and Sheffield First for Investment (Inward Investment Agency) and building new capacities in marketing and branding, innovation and the knowledge economy, and regional economic development to create a comprehensive and effective company to transform Sheffield’s economy.
Mr Bromley joined Creative Sheffield from Toronto, Canada where he held a number of progressively senior positions in Management Consulting (Boston Consulting Group), Economic Development, Communication, Marketing and Innovation development in the private and public sectors. Most recently, Mr Bromley served the Government of Ontario, Canada as Director of Urban Economic Development, Director of Economic Development Strategy and Director of Infrastructure and Innovation.
Mr Bromley has also worked as a consultant, advisor and teacher in urban and economic development in Japan, China, New Zealand, Brazil, the United States and Canada.
Mr. Bromley is the Immediate Past Chair of the International Economic Development Council. He has been a long standing board member with the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, the Ottawa Partnership, the Waterloo Accelerator Centre, the Economic Development Council of Ontario, and the Innovation Systems Research Network.
Robert J. Camoin, CEcD
Principal
Camoin Associates, Inc.
Saratoga Springs, NY
 Over the past 27 years, Rob Camoin has developed a comprehensive understanding of the business investment decision making process and the important role that public and quasi-public sector organizations play in creating healthy business environments. In 1999, Rob formed Camoin Associates to assist businesses and developers in pursuing public financing and tax incentives for expansion and industrial development projects and to help economic development organizations and local governments foster private investment. Since then, Camoin Associates has assisted hundreds of private businesses in securing millions of dollars in financing and tax credits, and has guided more than 30 local communities through strategic planning processes with the goal of strengthening their competitiveness in an increasingly global economy.
Rob has a BBA in Finance and Economics from St. Bonaventure University and a Masters of Planning degree from SUNY @ Buffalo. Prior to establishing Camoin Associates, Rob worked in the equity and currency markets in New York City, becoming Series 7 and 63 licensed. He began his economic development and planning career as the Development Director for Saranac Lake, New York.
With offices in New York City and the Albany area, Camoin Associates provides consulting services to economic development organizations, businesses, developers and municipalities. These services include formulating economic development strategies that identify opportunities for commercial and industrial development, providing market and financial feasibility studies used in the investment decision process, identifying and pursuing financing and tax incentive packages necessary to induce private investment, and cost/benefit studies that measure the impact a public or private investment will have on a local economy and taxing jurisdiction.
Honorable Christopher Carrier
Mayor
Town of Collingwood, Ontario
Canada
 Mayor Chris Carrier is a Member of the Board of Collingwood Utility Services (COLLUS) and Collingwood Public Utilities Services Board (CPUSB). After nine years as a Collingwood Councillor, he then was elected Mayor of Collingwood in 2006. During his years of service on the Board of Directors of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) from 1997 – 2006, he was elected Chair in 2003 to 2005. During his term as an elected official Chris served on the Volunteered Board of My Friend’s House and he continues to remain a strong advocate for the environment lending his voice to the protection of the Silver Creek Wetlands, Smoke Free By-law and Pesticide By-law to name a few. He and his business continue to be a strong supporter of Habitat for Humanity. Mayor Carrier currently serves as a Member of County Council.
Thomas Christopulos, EdD, CEcD
Business Development Manager
Ogden City Corporation
Ogden, UT
 Over the past 30 years Tom has had a diverse mix of private and public sector experiences both as an entrepreneur and economic development professional. Currently, he is the Deputy Director of Community and Economic Development with Ogden City Corporation. Ogden has been nationally acknowledged for its job creation and economic turnaround; becoming a primary area for the consolidation of many outdoor brands to the area including Amer Sports with Solomon, Atomic Suunto and Wison Brands, Goode Skis, Scott and Rossignol Skis.
Much of this attraction has emerged from the aggressive positioning of the City as an outdoor recreation Mecca. Much of the recognition of this position came from a pioneering catalytic downtown redevelopment project know as the Junction, which replaced an old closed downtown mall that had set vacant for a number of years. The effect of this catalyst and other supporting strategies gave Ogden the distinction as a City leading the United States in recovery and has resulted in being acknowledged as one of the cities which has created more jobs than any city of its size in the USA.
Prior to employment with Ogden City, Tom is Founder and President of Singleedge Inc. a Data Center founded in 2000 and acquired in 2007. The company was built from a small local data facility to one of the larger regional facilities during his tenure. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Tonaquint Data Center in St. George, Utah.
He has also served as the Executive Director for Morgan County Economic Development and for Layton City as well as a specialized consulting company, Rural Designers, which focuses on communities with deeply embedded economic distress.
He is past President of Utah Alliance of Economic Developers, Board Member of Utah Capital, founder and board member of Ogden Redevelopment Corporation, a CDFI.
He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in International Relations and his graduate degree was obtained from Pepperdine University.
Dennis G. Coleman, CEcD, FM
President & CEO
Saint Louis County Economic Council
St. Louis, MO
 Dennis G. (Denny) Coleman is the president & CEO of St. Louis County Economic Council. Prior to his present position, Coleman was director of development for the City of St. Louis, being in charge of the city’s neighborhood, housing and economic development efforts. He also has served as vice-president for community development at Mercantile Bank when the bank’s community development corporation won national Fair Housing awards and a Private Sector Initiatives Award from the White House. He also was the founding director of the DeSales Housing Corporation, a non-profit, neighborhood-based organization. St. Louis County Economic Council is a not-for-profit economic development organization responsible for creating high quality business and employment opportunities for long-term diversified growth throughout St. Louis County and the St. Louis region. Mr. Coleman has a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Wisconsin and a bachelor’s degree in urban geography from St. Louis University. He also has completed the Senior Executives Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and serves on the national board of directors of the International Economic Development Council.
Blake L. Cordish
Vice President of Development
The Cordish Company
Baltimore, MD
 Blake L. Cordish is Vice President of The Cordish Company. The Cordish Company's origins date back to 1910 encompasses four generations of privately-held, family ownership. Over the last ten decades, The Cordish Company has grown into a multi-billion conglomerate including one of the leading real estate development companies in the world and a diverse group of successful entertainment operating businesses such as gaming, restaurants, live music, and film distribution.
In real estate development, The Company has diverse expertise with divisions focused on Entertainment & Mixed-Use, Gaming & Lodging, Sports Anchored Developments, Shopping & Lifestyle Retail, Office and Residential. Widely recognized as the United State’s leading developer of large-scale, urban revitalization and entertainment districts, The Cordish Company has been awarded an unprecedented seven Urban Land Institute Awards for Excellence. Many of The Cordish Company's developments involve public/private partnerships and are of unique significance to the cities in which they are located. The Cordish Company still owns and manages virtually every business its developed since inception.
Prior to The Cordish Company, Mr. Cordish worked for the Investment Banking Department of Schroders & Co. in its Mergers and Acquisitions division.
Mr. Cordish graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Political Science from Princeton University and focused his independent research through the Woodrow Wilson School Politics.
Honorable Mick Cornett
Mayor
City of Oklahoma City, OK
 Mick Cornett became Oklahoma City's 35th mayor in 2004. He is just the fourth mayor in the City’s history to be elected to a third term.
Mayor Cornett has been at the forefront of the Oklahoma City renaissance, setting forth a vision that the people of Oklahoma City have embraced time and again. Under Cornett’s leadership, the City has seen the final completion of MAPS 1, the implementation of MAPS for Kids, and the passage and implementation of MAPS 3. During his tenure, Oklahoma City’s economy has been one of the strongest in the nation. With the Mayor leading the way to secure an NBA team, Oklahoma City became a major league city. And by putting our city on a diet, Mayor Cornett has been a trailblazer in the anti-obesity effort. He is also a national leader on municipal issues, serving as President of the nation’s Republican mayors.
Mayor Cornett was an all state athlete at Putnam City High School and graduated from the University of Oklahoma. He spent twenty years in local television before being elected to the City Council in 2001. He is now an Executive Vice President of Ackerman McQueen, and was recently named “Advertising Man of the Year” by the OKC Ad Club. He and his wife Lisa have three grown sons.
Melissa Dailey, AICP
Executive Director
Downtown Amarillo, Inc.
Amarillo, TX
 Melissa Dailey is Executive Director of Downtown Amarillo, Inc. , an organization formed to revitalize downtown through implementation of the Downtown Strategic Action Plan. In that role she has begun to work on creating an environment conducive to bringing additional business, residents and visitors to downtown. Prior to coming to Amarillo, Melissa worked for Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. for 9 years as Director of Planning where she worked on projects to enhance the downtown experience for employees, residents and visitors. She also worked with the cities of Fort Worth and Arlington as an urban planner. Melissa is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington where she obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Arts in Urban Affairs, and Master of Business Administration. She is married to Todd Dailey and has a daughter, Karma, who they adopted from Nepal.
Donald R. Dethlefs, AIA
Chief Executive Officer
Sink Combs Dethlefs
Denver, CO
 Donald Dethlefs has built a reputation as one of the premier designers of arena and entertainment venues in the nation. Don’s professional experience has emphasized award winning state of the art architectural design in a variety of facility types including arenas, stadiums, minor league baseball parks and multipurpose cultural venues.
Innovation, creativity, flexibility and cost effectiveness characterize the designs of Don Dethlefs. He understands that an economically viable facility must have the capacity to host athletic events, yet also requires the flexibility to accommodate a variety of other functions throughout the year. He understands the needs of the spectators and facility users and works to ensure that each venue accommodates the wants and needs of each diverse group of patron.
As an Arena Design Specialist and the President of Sink Combs Dethlefs, Don serves as an industry leader in the design of state of the art sports and entertainment venues.
Jeff Downes
Deputy Mayor
City of Montgomery, AL
 Mr. Jeff Downes began his career with the City of Montgomery in 1987 as a college intern in the Finance Department. His role as an intern included supplementing staff roles in all divisions of the Finance Department and implementation of special projects under leadership of the Director of Finance. In April of 1989, Mr. Downes was hired permanently by the City as its first Risk Manager. Under his direction, the Risk Management division began numerous initiatives designed to control the costs of certain risk exposures. These included the creation of a workers compensation management system, a fully integrated employee assistance program, drug testing program, international drug importation program, self insured liability program, and flexible spending account program utilizing debit cards. In 2003, Mayor Bobby Bright tapped him to serve as one of his Executive Assistants. Mr. Downes focused on public works, council relations, downtown projects and technology matters for the City. Upon the election of Mayor Todd Strange, Mr. Downes was promoted to the position of Chief of Staff/ Deputy Mayor. His role in this newly created position involves providing overall leadership in the operations of the City of Montgomery.
Mr. Downes graduated with honor from Auburn University with a BS degree in Public Administration and from AUM with a Master of Public Administration Degree. He is a certified workers compensation claims adjuster and is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for States Risk Retention Group, a captive insurance company domiciled in Vermont.
Mr. Downes serves in many different community groups to include the Young Montgomerians Business Club, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Weed and Seed Program, Montgomery Area Food Bank, St Bede Child Development Center Board of Directors, Jubilee Cityfest, Health Services Inc. and Catholic Social Services. He is married to Penny Downes and they have four children Chad, Sydney, Harrison, and Alexandra.
Mark Edlen
Managing Principal
Gerding Edlen Development
Portland, OR
 Mark Edlen is the co-founding member of GEDI and is internationally recognized for his expertise and success in creating mixed-use commercial, residential, educational, and retail developments. Mr. Edlen directs all phases of GEDI’s projects and operations and has overseen the development of 56 projects totaling approximately $4.8 billion since the inception of GEDI. Frequently invited to be the keynote speaker at a number of conferences, lectures and congregations, Mr. Edlen has delivered presentations to groups such as the Civil Construction Group and Director of the Housing Department Ministry of Construction in Vietnam, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Innotech Innovation Conference, National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices and many others. Mr. Edlen received his B.S. in Finance and an M.B.A. from the University of Oregon. Mr. Edlen’s 24 years of experience in commercial real estate began when he was a commercial broker at Cushman & Wakefield, during which time he was consistently recognized as the top producing office broker in the Portland market.
Maurice D. Ewing, CEcD
President & CEO
Union County Partnership for Progress
Monroe, NC
 Mr. Ewing graduated from Appalachian State University in Economics and Business Administration and has completed advanced studies at UNC Chapel Hill, East Carolina University and the University of Oklahoma where he completed the Economic Development Institute. He has two careers in Banking. He spent 13 years at the Charlotte Chamber where he was responsible for New Business Recruiting in Mecklenburg County. He spent 10 years as President and CEO of Cabarrus Economic Development in near-by Cabarrus County. He has been in his current position since 2004.
During his 30+ years in economic and business development he has been involved in over 400 business locations and expansions representing more than 7,000 jobs. He created the first International Development Program at the Charlotte Chamber, and was the first local economic development professional in North Carolina to adopt a regional strategy for client location.
His personal interests include horse sports, Southern Appalachian heritage, gardening, mountain hiking, old home restoration, Sherlock Holmes Mysteries and the life and work of Walt Disney.
Thomas Flynn, CEcD
Director, Economic Development
City of Charlotte Economic Development Office
Charlotte, NC
 Tom Flynn is Economic Development Director for the City of Charlotte, overseeing all day-to-day business operations for the 18-person office. Specific responsibilities include the City of Charlotte’s efforts in Business Retention and Expansion, Small Business Development, Redevelopment and Workforce Development.
Under his leadership, Charlotte has experienced significant economic growth, including record-setting building permit values and significant development occurring in targeted economic development geographies. In addition to the development of The Westin Charlotte, and The Metropolitan (a mixed-use development), Flynn has also overseen the recruitment/retention of Time Warner Cable, General Dynamics and IKEA.
Flynn has been instrumental in the development and implementation of Charlotte’s economic development programs, including BusinessFirst Charlotte, a personal-visit business retention program, the Business Investment Grant program and the Business Corridor Strategic Plan.
Prior to his position in Economic Development, Flynn enjoyed a successful 20-year career for the City of Charlotte in various positions, including Budget Analyst, Assistant to the City Manager, Assistant to the Mayor, and Economic Development Officer.
Flynn is a sought after industry speaker, serving as a panelist and presenter at several major industry conferences. He enjoys sharing his economic development experience, teaching the Land Development and Redevelopment course for the International Economic Development Council. He has also served on the Board of the National Civic League.
Hamilton Galloway
Economist and Consulting Manager
EMSI
Moscow, ID
 Mr. Galloway is an economist and consulting manager with EMSI who specializes in conducting regional economic impact analysis, modeling, regression analysis, forecasting, spatial statistical analysis and time series analysis. In the last year, he has completed several projects focused on career pathway modeling, regional planning, economic impacts and education planning. More recent work has focused on assisting local, regional, state and national organizations in understanding workforce needs, career transition possibilities and education program linkages. Mr. Galloway has further completed independent research on classifying and quantifying regional knowledge and innovation economies through analysis of workforce, education and industry components. Mr. Galloway received his M.A in Applied Economics from Washington State University.
Raymond Garfield
Principal
Garfield Traub Development, LLC
Dallas, TX
 Ray Garfield has more than 35 years of experience in the development, finance and asset management of all property types. With an extensive Wall Street background, Mr. Garfield focuses primarily on working with investment banking partners and bond counsel to engineer creative financing structures and secure capital for developments. A proven track record demonstrates his ability to create insightful and innovative delivery vehicles for challenging assignments. Additional responsibilities include management of corporate relationships, participation in value engineering meetings, negotiation of project documents and agreements and leading problem solving of political, legal and financial issues for clients and their essential developments.
Prior to forming Garfield Traub, Mr. Garfield served as Chairman and CEO of Vista Properties, Inc, a publicly held national land development company with more than 9000 acres of urban land in its portfolio. In addition to overseeing the development and sale of properties in Vista’s portfolio, Mr. Gar- field guided the company through a merger with Centex Corporation, the nation’s largest homebuilder.
As Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc, Mr. Garfield managed the Financial Services Division for the western half of the US. In this capacity Mr. Garfield directed the sales and financing of major properties throughout 21 offices from Texas to the Pacific. During his tenure his division was responsible for more than $2.5 billion of transactions for hotel properties and major commercial properties.
As Vice President of Salomon Brothers, Mr. Garfield originated and closed more than $2.5 billion in capital transactions through his investment banking responsibilities for a host of major international clients including WalMart Corporation, Weingarten Realty, Inc., Trammell Crow Company, Lincoln Property Company and Pratt Hotels. Mr. Garfield and his real estate securities division pioneered the creation of the nation’s first commercial mortgage backed securities. Prior to that, Mr. Garfield served at Merrill Lynch Commercial Real Estate as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Manager of National Sales for Merrill Lynch’s commercial real estate services offices throughout the US.
Raymond Gilley
President & CEO
Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission
Orlando, FL
 Ray Gilley joined the EDC as President in April of 2001. As Chief Executive Officer, he oversees the operations of a $6.4 million regional organization with a 36-person staff that represents the four-county region of Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola, and the City of Orlando. Prior to joining the EDC, Mr. Gilley spent 15 years in operations management and professional roles with Progress Energy Corporation, the state’s second largest electric utility company, and 5 years in research and national business development roles with the Florida Department of Commerce.
Mr. Gilley served as chairman of the Board of Workforce Florida, Inc. from 2002 - 2005, appointed by then Florida Governor Jeb Bush. In that capacity, he led the development of the state’s workforce policy, programs and services. His other gubernatorial/legislative appointments included: Lake-Sumter Community College Board of Trustees and the Governor’s Commission on the Future of Space & Aeronautics in Florida. Other past leadership roles include: Orlando Regional Healthcare System Trustee - a $1 billion 7 hospital system; Orange County Jail Oversight Commission; Workforce Central Florida; Lake Industrial Development Authority. Mr. Gilley has served on two local and regional bank boards and a credit union. He is a past volunteer president of the South Lake Chamber and has served as chairman of several community based non-profit organizations over the years.
He currently is serving as past Chairman of the Florida Economic Development Council (FEDC), a statewide association of industry leaders and professionals who are committed to advancing economic development professionalism, priorities and advocacy. A long time leader with FEDC, Gilley has chaired the Economic Developers’ Political Action Committee, Sustainable Funding Task Force and Legislative Affairs Committee. He also serves as board member of the following organizations: University of Central Florida Foundation; University of Central Florida Board of Trustees, Hispanic Business Initiative Fund; Junior Achievement; WMFE Public TV/Radio Station; myregion.org; Seminole Chamber; and Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber.
Thomas Hazinski
Managing Director
HVS International, Sports & Entertainment facilities Consulting
Chicago, IL
 Thomas Hazinski is the Managing Director of HVS Convention, Sports & Entertainment Facilities Consulting in Chicago, Illinois. His consulting practice is dedicated to the market and financial analysis of public assembly facilities, including convention centers, headquarters hotels, civic centers, sports facilities, tourism attractions, and other development initiatives. Mr. Hazinski has over 20 years of experience in the public policy arena, as both a public official and consultant. He specializes in providing economic and financial research to public agencies involved in economic development initiatives. Before starting his consulting career, Mr. Hazinski served in several positions for the City of Chicago, including assistant budget director. In this capacity, he managed the City’s revenue analysis unit and was responsible for project revenue estimation, legislative review, and fiscal impact analyses. Mr. Hazinski holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Mr. Hazinski has managed over 300 assignments related to the analysis of public assembly facilities. He has authored several industry articles, including Is the Sky Falling on the Convention Center Industry, a critique of the Brookings Institution research brief on convention centers as economic development strategy.
Robin Hunden
President
Hunden Strategic Partners
Beverly Shores, IN
 Mr. Hunden and his firm offer extensive experience in the economics of major real estate projects. Mr. Hunden has provided expertise for over 200 projects including Toronto’s Woodbine Live!, the Kansas City Power & Light District, 4th Street Live! (Louisville), the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott, Chicago’s Union Station redevelopment, the New Yorker Hotel, Conseco Fieldhouse, Fort Worth Omni, and numerous convention hotels, convention centers and mixed-use districts. Prior to starting HSP in 2006, he served as Vice President of Johnson Consulting in Chicago. There, he led specialized work on hotels, conference centers, sports, urban entertainment-retail districts and convention centers. Previously, he conducted real estate finance and transactions at Landauer Associates and Grubb & Ellis. His public-sector experience includes managing projects for the Indianapolis Bond Bank and the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office, including the 1999 Indiana Convention Center expansion, the RCA Dome expansion, and Conseco Fieldhouse financial development. He has written articles on convention hotel development and taught college-level Destination Development courses. He also sits on advisory board for DePaul’s School of Hospitality.
Mr. Hunden is a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), ULI, IEDC, IDA, ICMA, IAAM and GFOA. He has conducted IEDC panel discussions and taught numerous professional development courses for IEDC. He has also spoken at the Greek Conference on Tourism and the Bond Buyer’s “Tourism as Economic Development” conference.
Jane Jenkins
President & CEO
Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc.
Oklahoma City, OK
 Ms. Jenkins was born in Virginia and grew up in Charleston, SC. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts Education from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Texas in Denton. She taught secondary school in Chandler and Tulsa before beginning her downtown management career in Wagoner, OK as the Main Street Manager. After serving in the same capacity in Pawhuska, Jane moved to Denton, Texas where she managed the downtown development program there for eight years before joining the staff of the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the Regional Director of the Southwest Office in Fort Worth, TX. She accepted the position as the first director of the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District in 2000.
Working through the National Main Street Center, Ms. Jenkins consults with many downtown programs across the US and Canada. She has also served on R/UDAT and SDAT teams for the AIA and been a member of IDA and ULI advisory panels.
Charles H. Johnson
President
C.H. Johnson Consulting, Inc.
Chicago, IL
 Charles H. Johnson, is a nationally recognized consultant with 25 years of experience in the sports, hospitality and general real estate consulting fields. Prior to forming Johnson Consulting, he was National Director of KPMG Peat Marwick’s Convention, Sports and Leisure Consulting practice. He worked with Laventhol and Horwath’s real estate consulting division and also worked as an employee for two real estate development firms. Johnson has worked on over 600 consulting assignments in the U.S. and abroad. His prior experience includes mixed-use development, hotel and master planning studies in Portland OR; San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA; Washington D.C., Norfolk, Loudoun County, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Northern Kentucky, New York City, and Louisville, KY, among many others.
Stacey Jones
Founding Partner
Crawford Architects
Kansas City, MO
 Stacey Jones, Rotary Scholar and Fulbright Awardee, is a founding partner of Crawford Architects. Along with John Crawford he formed the Sydney, Australia practice in 1990. He has earned a reputation for leadership roles in some of the industry’s more demanding urban redevelopment projects and he offers a wealth of professional practice experience to the firm’s master planning, urban design and architectural teams. Stacey has a broad association with hospitality and entertainment projects in the context of mixed-use development in the context of urban environments and waterfront precincts. He has successfully collaborated on large-scale urban design and architectural projects around the world for over a decade. He is skilled in mixed-use projects and working in environments where deliverability has centered on partnering with the private sector and public entities. Notable highlights include key leadership roles on recent convention center and hotel projects. The $300 million Branson Convention Center and Waterfront Redevelopment was the largest TIF project ever for Missouri. The Darwin Cove Waterfront Development, Convention and Exhibition Center have transformed a once desolate industrial wasteland into a jewel of a waterfront destination for locals, business travelers and tourists.
John T. Kaatz
Principal
CSL International
Wayzata, MN
 Mr. Kaatz is a Principal with CSL International, and has been providing market, financial, master planning and other services for the public assembly facility industry for over 20 years. His experience includes in-depth analyses for over 400 hospitality, convention, sports, visitor, equestrian, entertainment and multi-use projects throughout the country. The results of these studies have been used to assist public and private sector entities in assessing market support for facility development, potential event levels, financial performance, economic impact, funding options, operational plans and related services. John has developed a particular focus on how smaller markets can create viable facility development concepts that serve to both generate economic impact, and to address the space needs for local community gatherings.
John is a member of IAAM and DMAI, and has been quoted in periodicals such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Meeting News and numerous local publications on topics related to the public assembly facility industry.
Jeffrey Kaczmarek
President & CEO
Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City Missouri
Kansas City, MO
Joann Knight
Executive Director
Dodge City/Ford Development County Corporation
Dodge City, KS
 Joann Knight serves as the Executive Director of the Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation and has been with the public/private partnership for 20 years. She is responsible for overseeing the organizations day-to-day operations including business recruitment and expansion, workforce, housing and neighborhood revitalization and Main Street.
One of the more notable projects Ms. Knight helped coordinate was a countywide effort to pass a sales tax issue to construct several destination entertainment venues to Dodge City and Ford County. The “Why Not Dodge” initiative successfully approved a one-cent sales tax with no sunset to build, operate, maintain and expand four projects including: an outdoor motor sports complex, tournament facilities for baseball, softball and soccer, improvements to an existing 2,600 seat civic center and a new 7,000 seat special events/convention center. In addition, the community also passed a vote to allow the development of the very first stated owned destination casino and also a four county regional effort to build a new reservoir.
Ms. Knight currently serves on the Southern Economic Development Council Board of Directors and is a Past President of the Kansas Economic Development Alliance.
Robin Roberts Krieger, FM, HLM
Executive Vice President
Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
Oklahoma City, OK
 Robin Roberts Krieger is Executive Vice President of Economic Development for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, and leads the 10-county region in international and domestic business recruitment, and Oklahoma City in expansion and retention, research and strategy development. She oversees contracts with the City of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County to provide their economic development services. She recently played a key role in the acquisition of the idled GM facility by the County, which has been leased to the US Air Force and Tinker AFB.
Roberts-Krieger is a native of Oregon, and has over a decade of public service in the economic development and public policy arena. Prior to assuming the position in Oklahoma City, she served as a Regional Coordinator for the Oregon Governor’s Office, focusing on developing cooperation between local, community and state government on economic development projects. Areas of focus included Transportation, Land Use, Housing, and Environmental Issues. She lead and effort to expand Fort Clatsop National Park during her tenure.
Previously she served as Director of Economic Development for the Portland Development Commission, where she oversaw Economic Development activities as well as two urban renewal areas, including light rail development to the Portland International Airport. Prior, she was Executive Director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, and International and Product Development Manager for the Oregon Tourism Commission, part of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. She spent several years in the private sector before entering public service.
Roberts-Krieger holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Oregon State University (Go Beavers!) and a Master’s of Science in Educational Administration from Portland State University. She has completed OU/EDI, and was a scholarship recipient for the Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.
She is Past Chair of The International Economic Development Council. She serves on the Board of the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC), as well as the Governor’s Economic Development Team.
Roberts-Krieger is the co-author of “Community Wisdom”, a humorous look at economic and community development and a frequently requested speaker on economic development topics.
George H. Ladyman, Jr.
Managing Director, Project and Development Services
Jones Lang LaSalle
New York, NY
 For over two decades, Mr. Ladyman has developed world class destinations and environments for major corporations throughout the world. From architecture, product design, attraction and brand environments, Mr. Ladyman has directed the design and construction of commercial, entertaining and educational experiences that are unique and compelling. Currently, Mr. Ladyman is responsible for the Northeast region covering all offices in the tri-state area. He manages more than 169 project managers that support 300 projects annually valued at more than $2 billion. Key clients in this region include HSBC, Bank of America, Deloitte, New York/New Jersey Port Authority and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Ladyman also acts as the Development Practice lead for the Project and Development Services group where he oversees a team of professionals that support a wide variety of development assignments nationwide.
Jerrold P. Lea, Hon. AIA, LEED, AP
Sr. Vice President
Hines
Houston, TX
 Since joining Hines in 1981, Mr. Lea has been responsible for consultants selection and contract negotiations, budgeting, scheduling, management of consultants’ designs, and contractor and subcontractor bidding and negotiations for over 150 million square feet of commercial, office buildings, retail complexes, hotels, sports facilities, clean rooms, performing arts theaters and museums. He is currently responsible for all preconstruction activities for Hines’ domestic projects.
Mr. Lea has been awarded honorary membership in the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Honorary membership is one of the highest honors the AIA can bestow upon a person outside the actual practice of architecture. Mr. Lea was recognized for his leadership and commitment to excellence in sustainable design practices and technologies.
Tim Leach, CEcD
Director of Economic Development
Downtown Community Alliance - Greater Des Moines Partnership
Des Moines, IA
 Tim Leach is Director of Economic Development for the Downtown Community Alliance, an affiliate of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, where his duties include business retention, expansion, and attraction. Tim has been involved in economic development for over 20 years. His experience includes community development for a rural Iowa community, extensive economic development work for a public utility, and now working on the continued development of Iowa’s largest downtown. Tim is a member and past president of the Professional Developers of Iowa and has severed as a board member and president for the Mid-American Economic Development Council. He is a member of the International Economic Development Council and has earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer. He lives on Des Moines’ South side with his wife Rhonda. Together they have two children, daughter Lindsey and son Adam, and granddaughter Alayna.
Gail Lewis
Assistant Director
Arizona Department of Transportation
Economic Development Office
Phoenix, AZ
Gail Lewis is the Assistant Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation. She was formlery Policy Advisor for Economic Development to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. In that capacity, she advised the Governor on economic development issues, helps to set economic development policies and priorities for the state, and acts as the liaison to the Department of Commerce and the Office of Tourism. Prior to joining the Governor's staff in 2003, she spent 10 years as the Director of Economic Development and Constituent Outreach at Arizona State University, where she oversaw activities designed to make the resources of the university more accessible to the Arizona business and economic development communities. She has worked extensively on technology development, international trade, and long term policy issues, and has done consulting work in Australia, France, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and around the US. Gail has a Master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in international affairs and journalism from the University of Southern California. Gail sits on the board of the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission, World Affairs Council, Arizona-Mexico Commission and Arizona Bioindustry Association. She also sits on the national Board of Directors of the International Economic Development Council.
Robert M. Lewis, CEcD, AICP
Principal & President
Development Strategies
St. Louis, MO
 Bob directs economic research and planning projects at Development Strategies, based in St. Louis. He joined the Development Strategies team in 1978 after two years working for the St. Louis County Department of Planning. He was named president in 2000 and became the largest stockholder in 2007. The focus of his professional work is analyzing the market, economic, and organizational forces that influence urban planning, economic growth, and real estate development. His consulting services typically yield strategic recommendations for clients seeking to maximize economic value. Clients include private property owners, corporations, government agencies, non-profit development organizationss, and institutions all around the United States.
A native of Glencoe, Illinois, in the Chicago area, Bob holds a master's degree in city and regional planning from Southern Illi¬nois University at Edwardsville (1976) and a bachelor's degree in business economics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1973).
Bob is a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) where he is a certified economic developer (CEcD), the American Planning Association where he is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), the American Statistical Association (ASA), and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has been an adjunct senior faculty member teaching business economics for the Keller Graduate School of DeVry University since 1995.
Michael Lockwood, AIA
Associate
Populous
Kansas City, MO
 Michael Lockwood is a lead convention center designer at Populous, where he has an eye for creating beautiful buildings that blend seamlessly into their environments. Most recently, he led the design effort for the Qatar National Convention Center Extension, designed to be a LEED Gold facility on the Education City campus in Doha, Qatar. He helped design the Phoenix Convention Center, one of few LEED Certified convention centers in the country, and one that speaks to its Arizona surroundings. He also has worked on convention centers in New Delhi, India, Melbourne, Australia and Beijing, China, providing him with a global perspective on convention center design. Michael received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He is a registered architect and a member of the American Institute of Architects.
Barry I. Matherly, CEcD
Executive Director
Lincoln Economic Development Association
Lincoln, NC
 Barry Matherly, CEcD is the executive director of the Lincoln Economic Development Association, a private, non-profit corporation charged with facilitating industrial, office and commercial development in Lincolnton and Lincoln County, NC. Previously, Barry was the Director of Economic Development for the communities of Goochland and Pulaski, Virginia and the Special Projects Manager at the Economic Development Assistance Center at Virginia Tech University. Mr. Matherly has a bachelor’s degree in business from James Madison University and a master’s degree in planning from Virginia Tech University. He is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and a recipient of the Robert B. Cassell Leadership Award. An active civic leader, his current and past board leadership includes: the Lincolnton Rotary Club, Charlotte Regional Partnership, and the local entities of the YMCA, Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Development Association, Industrial Managers Association, and Communities In Schools. He is also a Junior Achievement volunteer. Barry Matherly was named one of the 40 Leaders Under 40 (2002) by the Charlotte Business Journal and recognized as a North Carolina Main Street Champion.
Bruce Miller, AIA
Principal
Populous
Kansas City, MO
Regina L. Morales
Director of Economic Development
City of Sugar Land
Sugar Land, TX
 Regina L. Morales is the Director of Economic Development for the City of Sugar Land, Texas. Past economic development professional experience includes the President/CEO of the Katy Area Economic Development Council, Economic Development Director for the City of Rosenberg and Vice President of Development for the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council.
City of Sugar Land public private partnerships include the Cultural Entertainment District, Sugar Land Town Square, development of University of Houston campus, Houston Museum of Natural Science @ Sugar Land and the Imperial Sugar Refinery redevelopment in collaboration with the Sugar Land Heritage Program. Some of the notable economic development projects initiated and led by Morales have been site location assistance and incentive package development and facilitation for the Brazos Valley Energy Electric generating plant; Minute Maid headquarter relocation, Money Management International headquarter relocation, Bison Building Materials Distribution facility; Canadian Computalog relocation; Bechtel Equipment Operations relocation; Tramontina USA expansions, III, IV, V; Advance Polybag/Accredo packaging Inc. corporate headquarters, manufacturing and distribution facility; relocation of Aldi Texas, Medline and etail Direct purchasing offices.
Morales serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Economic Development Council, Gulf Coast Economic Development District, Scenic Houston, Sugar Land Heritage Foundation, and Fort Bend Museum Association. She is also involved with NAIOP, CORENET, ICSC, IEDC, CREW and a CCIM candidate.
Fred Morley
Executive Vice President & Chief Economist
Greater Halifax Partnership
Halifax, NS
Canada
 Fred Morley is Executive Vice President and Chief Economist of the Greater Halifax Partnership, a position he has held since 2003. Prior to this, Mr. Morley held positions as Senior Director, Business Retention Expansion and Research at Nova Scotia Business Inc., Director of Marketing and Research for Nova Scotia Economic Development, Senior Economic Advisor to the Province of Nova Scotia, Research Coordinator for the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, and has taught in the Department of Economics at Saint Mary’s University.
Fred designed and drove many of the high profile economic and business initiatives in Nova Scotia of the last dozen years. Fred wrote Halifax’s first economic strategy, and co-wrote Nova Scotia’s first economic strategy in a decade. He has worked with dozens of companies to establish new operations in Nova Scotia that have created more than 2000 high wage jobs. Fred developed the business centered concept of economic development that became Nova Scotia Business Inc., and designed the province’s first investment attraction framework creating innovations in business attraction and retention still in use today. Teams lead by Fred, have won over a dozen national and international marketing awards.
Mr. Morley has current board appointments to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, the International Economic Development Council in Washington DC, the Acadia Centre for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (Chair), and the Saint Mary’s Business Development Centre. Fred also Chairs Halifax’s Regional Planning Advisory Committee and is past president of Business Retention Expansion International and the Atlantic Association of Applied Economists
Mr. Morley is the author more than 100 articles on economic issues and his views are sought by dozens of organizations, companies and governments around the world. In 2008 Fred was recognized by Business Retention and Expansion International with its prestigious Distinguished Service Award for his work at spreading new economic concepts across Canada and around the world.
A. Xavier Neira
Director for Business Development
Manhattan Construction Group
Oklahoma City, OK
 Xavier Neira is the Oklahoma Director for Manhattan Construction Company. Manhattan Construction is Oklahoma’s first corporate construction company, established in 1896. Mr. Neira is responsible for duties associated with procurement and development of new construction projects. Additionally, Mr. Neira is also responsible for government affairs and community relations.
Mr. Neira began his career at Manhattan Construction Company as a Project Engineer, working in field, and later became the Computer Systems Manager for the company’s newly formed Information and Technology department. He led the implementation effort of an Oracle accounting and human resources system for the parent company. Mr. Neira rejoined construction operations in October of 2007 and is already responsible for over $700 million dollars in procurement of new work.
Mr. Neira worked for MEDCO Construction Company in Dallas (1996) as Assistant Project Manager and later as a Project Manager, and VerCom Systems, Inc., a software development company, as Director of Operations and Business Development (1993).
Mr. Neira holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University (1991). He was born in Mexicoand is married with three children. Mr. Neira believes in giving back to the community and is involved in community work through his active participation on several boards and organizations at local, state and national levels.
J. Larry Nichols
Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO
Devon Energy Corporation
Oklahoma City, OK
 Larry Nichols is co-founder, chairman and CEO of Devon Energy Corporation, one of the nation’s largest independent natural gas and oil producers. The company has an enterprise value of approximately $35 billion, is included in the S&P 500 Index and its common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In January 2009, Fortune magazine ranked Devon 13th among its “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America.
Nichols graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in geology. He completed his juris doctorate at the University of Michigan in 1967, where he was a member of the Order of Coif and a comment editor of Law Review. Nichols served as law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice Tom Clark of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1967 to 1968. He then served as special assistant to Assistant Attorney General William Rehnquist in the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
A leader in the industry, Nichols serves as chairman of the American Petroleum Institute and is on the boards America’s Natural Gas Alliance, Business Industry Political Action Committee and American Exploration & Production Council in Washington, D.C. He is a director of Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and serves on the boards of Baker Hughes and Sonic Corp. He is a director of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and United Way.
Phillip Phillips, CEcD, PhD
Director, Business Retention & Expansion
Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce
Omaha, NE
Dr. Phillips is Director of Business Retention and Expansion, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Through experience in the private and public sectors Phil Phillips has gained a broad background in economic development management, marketing, and strategic planning and implementation. Phil’s responsibilities at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce include response to problems and issues of local companies and providing direct support to local firms expanding in the Omaha area, supervising an ongoing business visitation program in which over 40 volunteer Ambassadors call on 300 businesses per year, playing a major role in development of the Nebraska “Advantage Nebraska” incentive program; also played a major role in preparing the Chamber’s 2004-2007 Strategic plan, conducting education and information programs for the business community through Business Assistance Workshops and other outreach programs. From 1995-2004 he also served as Director of International Programs for the Chamber (since elevated to separate full-time position).
Prior to joining the Greater Omaha Chamber, Phil served as Director of the Office of Corporate Relations and Community Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1968 to 1993. Phil was a consultant, Assistant Vice President and Vice President of the Fantus Company (now Deloitte Touche) in Chicago from 1978 to 1986. Phil also served as a faculty member at the University of Kentucky from 1972 to 1978 where he taught courses in economic geography and urban studies. He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, University of Chicago and Creighton University. He holds a distinguished list of affiliations and certifications. Phil holds a BA and MA degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is author of numerous articles in publications such as the Economic Development Review and Site Selection and is author of several books, including Retaining and Expanding Local Business and Industry, Strategic Planning for Community Economic Development, and Economic Development for Small Communities and Rural Areas.
Sandy Pratt, CEcD
Deputy Director, Business Services
Oklahoma Department of Commerce
Oklahoma City, OK
 Sandy Pratt is the Deputy Director for Business Services at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Pratt has served in a number of leadership positions at the agency since 2002.
In managing Oklahoma’s business services programs, Pratt directs state economic development initiatives designed to expand existing business, recruit new business to the state, and attract foreign investment.
Under Pratt’s leadership, the business location division streamlined processes and implemented a multi-agency response team to reduce barriers that lead to immediate elimination from site location opportunities. The team has since been branded as the “Oklahoma Fast Forward Team” and has become the benchmark for other states acknowledging the importance of managing the changing needs and expectations of site location prospects.
Pratt has over 20 years of experience in business, community, and economic development which includes executive positions with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce/Grady County Economic Development Council, Rural Enterprises, Inc., and numerous private business ventures.
Kathy A.L. Robertson
Director of the Westside Initiative Project
Baltimore Development Corporation
Baltimore, MD
 Kathy A. L. Robertson is the Director of the WestSide Initiative for the City of Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC). The WestSide Initiative area is an aggressive public/private partnership for redevelopment to renew the west side of the central business district. The WestSide vision is to create a dynamic, predominately residential, urban mixed-use neighborhood of approximately 100 square blocks that connects five adjacent strong sub-markets including the historic center of downtown; two historic residential neighborhoods; the academic, research and institutional center; and a small portion of the Inner Harbor waterfront.
She is also responsible for the management of $75 million in public funds which is anticipated to leverage $650 million in public/private capital investment with a total build-out of more than $1 billion.
Prior to the Baltimore Development Corporation, Ms. Robertson was the Executive Director of the Sandtown Winchester Community Development Corporation; a community based non-profit which implemented the community vision for neighborhood revitalization through housing and economic development. Ms. Robertson was also a Project Architect for several local architecture firms with project experience in residential, medical, institutional and mixed-use projects.
She presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Baltimore Architectural Foundation; a non-profit, educational, public-oriented outreach organization and Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts. In 2008, she was awarded the African-American Image Award for Bigger and Better Business at the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Eastern Regional Conference.
Ms. Robertson is a graduate of Hampton Institute with a Bachelor of Architecture degree and the Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University earning a Master of Science in Real Estate Development.
James S. Russell, CEcD
President
Pizzuti Solutions
Columbus, OH
 Jim leads the Pizzuti Solutions team, a division dedicated to public/private partnerships. Pizzuti Solutions’ current project list includes a new $105 million courthouse for Franklin County, Ohio; a new training facility and soccer complex for Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew; and a site and economic impact analysis and construction phasing plan for a proposed new city hall in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jim brings an in-depth understanding of the economic development process combined with a practical experience in strategic planning and development to his clients. His creativity and broad background in government have coupled to make Jim a valuable team member in the development process, particularly in recognizing and crafting public/private partnerships. Jim was awarded the designation as a Certified Economic Developer in 1996 by the International Economic Development Council.
His professional affiliations include the American Planning Association (APA); Florida Redevelopment Association; National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP); and the Ohio Economic Development Association.
James Schimmer
Director
Franklin County Economic Development and Planning
Columbus, OH
 A geographer by academic training, James Schimmer has amassed over 20 years of urban development experience in a variety of cities across the United States. Born and raised in Tonawanda, New York, Schimmer graduated from Kenmore West High School in 1976 and received a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Slippery Rock State College in 1980. Schimmer holds a Master’s degree (1986) from the University of North Dakota in the same field.
In June of 2006, James Schimmer was named as Franklin County Ohio’s first Director of Economic Development and Planning. The new department is a combination of the former Economic Development and Community Development agencies into one organization. Mr. Schimmer is responsible for Franklin County’s economic development, sustainable development program, planning, building regulations, zoning, and community development divisions.
Lisa R. Sexton
Senior Vice President, Public Finance Investment Banking
Piper Jaffray & Co.
El Segundo, CA
 Ms. Sexton is a Senior Vice President in the firm’s Hospitality Finance Group and has been providing services to municipal clients for twelve years. Since joining the firm in 2001 she has served as lead banker or provided day-to-day support for several tax-exempt hotel transactions totaling $1.6 billion in par including the Omaha Convention Center Hotel (original financing and refinancing), the Denver Convention Center Hotel (original financing and refinancing), the Austin Convention Center Hotel refinancing, the Baltimore Convention Center Hotel, and the Vancouver, Washington Conference Center and Hotel.
Prior to joining Piper Jaffray, Ms. Sexton worked in the public sector at a financial advisory firm for four years. As a Senior Managing Consultant, she assisted a number of the firm’s general municipal and transportation clients. Ms. Sexton received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy from Stanford University and is registered with FINRA as a General Securities Representative.
Craig R. Seymour
Managing Principal
RKG Associates Inc.
Dover, NH
 Craig Seymour is President and Managing Principal with RKG Associates, Inc. a consulting firm specializing in economics, planning and real estate with offices in Dover, NH and Alexandria, VA. Craig has over 30 years of experience in economic development and real estate planning. He graduated from Brown University with a degree in Civil Engineering and Economics, followed by an MBA from the University of New Hampshire. He previously served as State Director of the NH Small Business Development Center and managed an EDA-funded Technical Assistance Center providing outreach and economic development services to businesses and communities.
Since joining RKG Associates in 1987, Craig has focused on providing sound advice and in-depth analysis to both public and private sector clients in order to create value from real estate assets. Many of his assignments have involved communities seeking to increase jobs and tax base, ranging from site-specific redevelopment projects to regional economic development plans. Other assignments involve financial and economic analysis, business planning, strategic market studies and target industry analyses. He is a licensed commercial real estate broker and certified general appraiser with extensive valuation experience with business parks, development opportunities and hospitality facilities.
Craig has been involved with the redevelopment of several former military installations since 1990, and has worked on more than two dozen BRAC reuse plans throughout the United States. He also served as a consultant to the Navy regarding the valuation of assets transferred under the Economic Development Conveyance authority.
Craig has worked with several rural and suburban communities to develop effective strategies for funding new development. By accurately identifying and quantifying the risks and benefits associated with speculative development, he has been able to assist public organizations creatively finance new development using such tools as tax increment financing, special districts, incentive programs and direct investment. His work has also included residential market studies, focusing on the changing demographics of communities in order to understand the impacts on supply and demand. Other recent assignments include analyzing the economic impacts and contributions of aviation and other transportation facilities on a local and regional basis.
David Spillane, AICP, RIBA
Principal
Director of Planning and Urban Design
Goody Clancy
Boston, MA
 David Spillane is a Principal and Director of Planning and Urban Design at Goody Clancy, a Boston-based firm with a national practice in architecture, planning and preservation. Over the last ten years he has led design and planning projects for public and private clients sector in more than twenty states with a focus on revitalizing and reshaping urban waterfronts, downtowns and neighborhoods, transit-oriented development, and creating new communities through significant development projects. David’s current and recent work includes planning for the replacement of the I-84 Viaduct in downtown Hartford, Connecticut as well as projects in Boston, Buffalo, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Shreveport. Much of his work focuses on bringing together diverse groups of people to shape cohesive visions that respond to economic, environmental, and design challenges.
His work has been recognized through national awards from the American Institute of Architects, the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Waterfront Center and numerous regional awards from the American Planning Association. He serves as a member of Boston’s Harbor Planning Advisory Committee, as a board member for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, and as a design advisor to the Capital Center Commission in Providence, Rhode Island. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree at University College Dublin in Ireland and a Master in Architecture degree at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Mary Jane Stanley, CEcD
President & CEO
Stanley Advisory Associates LLC
Tampa, FL
 Mary Jane Stanley is President of Stanley Advisory Associates, a Tampa based firm that specializes in a variety of economic development areas including strategic planning and action plans; organizational development; site location; permitting assistance; emergency management; and local and state incentive assistance for public and private clients.
MJ recently created Stanley Advisory Associates after spending 10 years as the President & CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council. She has over 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors.
MJ has published numerous articles on economic development and the certification process. She is also a frequent speaker at conferences on performance measurements, perspectives on economic development, managing economic development organizations, and preparing for becoming a certified economic developer. She is a member of IEDC’s Education and Certification Committee.
MJ has a BA from the University of Florida and a MBA in Real Estate Development and Management from Nova Southeastern University. She is a Past Chairman of the Florida Economic Development Council. In 2008, she was honored as the Economic Development Professional of the Year in Florida.
Michael G. Stevens, AICP
Executive Director
Capitol Riverfront BID
Washington, DC
 Mr. Stevens has served as the executive director of the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District (BID) in Washington, DC since 2006.
He has been involved in economic development, urban planning/urban design, and downtown/neighborhood development projects throughout his career. From 2000-2006 he served as the President & CEO of the Washington, DC Economic Partnership and helped build that organization as a partner in DC’s economic development initiatives. He helped coordinate the Center City Action Agenda – a community planning process that created a new strategic framework to guide development and public investment in the District’s center city neighborhoods.
As VP of Development for the Center City Commission in Memphis, TN, he was project manager for numerous downtown development projects including the new AAA baseball ballpark, and administered the agency’s financial incentives and administered that agency’s financial incentives.
He has participated in downtown redevelopment efforts in Wichita, KS; Lubbock, TX; Dallas, TX; Nashville, TN; Memphis, TN; Jackson, MS; Washington, DC; and San Antonio, TX.
He holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, and a BA in Urban Sociology from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS.
Honorable Kathy Taylor
Chief of Education Strategy and Innovation
State of Oklahoma
 Kathy Taylor currently serves on Oklahoma Governor Henry’s cabinet as Chief of Education Strategy and Innovation. Taylor left private industry in 2003 and began working with Governor Henry as Secretary of Commerce, Tourism and Workforce Development. She led the recruitment of Dell’s second largest U.S. facility to Oklahoma. She also co-chaired the Governor’s EDGE (Economic Development generating Excellence) project; a statewide effort to build a visionary economic development plan.
In 2006, Taylor was elected Mayor of Tulsa; Oklahoma’s second largest City. During her term, Tulsa completed the BOK Event Center, an 18,000 seat arena which was the 5th largest ticket sales venue in the nation in 2009; passed the largest investment in streets in Tulsa’s history; consolidated 5 city facilities into a state of the art City Hall; acquired the City’s first public hospital, completed a new hangar for the city’s largest employer securing 7,000 jobs and built a new downtown ballpark through a public/private partnership (using fast track design build process). She completed her term in December, 2009. Prior to entering public service, Taylor was a lawyer and business owner. She was a member of the ownership team that purchased National Car Rental from General Motors. She served on the Board of Bank of Oklahoma, N.A. and currently serves on the Board of Sonic Industries, Inc.
Klaus Thiessen
President & CEO
Grand Forks Regional Economic Development Corporation
Grand Forks, ND
 Mr. Thiessen is currently the President and CEO of the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporation. Prior to joining the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporation, Mr. Thiessen was the President and CEO of the Winnipeg Economic Development Corporation for 10 years. With over 20 years of economic development experience, Mr. Thiessen has also held positions with Touche Ross Management Consultants, Xerox and Canon.
Mr. Thiessen holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Manitoba. His undergraduate work includes graduating with honors with a B.A. in Urban Studies and Political Science from the University of Winnipeg. Mr. Thiessen’s professional affiliations include: Director with International Economic Development Council in Washington D.C. and Past President of the Economic Developers Association of Canada.
Allison J.H. Thompson, CEcD, EDFP
Director of Economic Development
City of Cedar Hill, TX
 Allison J. H. Thompson, holds a BS in Criminal Justice from Texas Christian University, an MA in Urban Affairs from the University of Texas of Arlington as well as professional certifications from both the International Economic Development Council and the National Development Council.
Currently employed by the City of Cedar Hill, a thriving community in southwest Dallas County on Joe Pool Lake, she serves as the Director for the Cedar Hill Economic Development Corporation as well as directs the economic development efforts for the City of Cedar Hill.
Her experience ranges from working as a consultant focusing on strategic economic development planning to managing a regional economic development organization. She has served as director of economic development in several Texas cities.
J. Mark Tobin, CRE
President
HREC Development Resources
Greenwood, CO
 Mark Tobin has been a lodging real estate professional for more than 25 years. Mr. Tobin is considered a lodging industry expert on the subject of convention center and conference center hotels and the use of complex financing structures for these types of assets. He also has a highly regarded reputation in matters relating to lodging investment, development management, operations management and asset management.
He has been involved with well over $4 billion in hotel real estate assets. His experience has included single asset experience with individual and quasi-governmental ownership entities as well as debt/equity portfolio management with institutional investors. These experiences have been highlighted by opportunities with large-scale and high profile assets that have required proven expertise in the areas of transaction counseling, asset management, development management, and asset advisory services.
Mr. Tobin has also worked on many hotels that have been economic development projects. Clients of these projects have included, but are not limited to, The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, New York; U.S. Dept of Labor; Nashville, TN; Denver, CO; Lombard, Illinois; Broward County, Florida; Vancouver, WA; Savannah, GA; and the Washington Convention Center Authority, Washington, D.C.
Richard C. Ward, CEcD, AICP, CRE
Vice President
Zimmer Real Estate Services, LC
St. Louis, MO
Mr. Ward is Vice President and a member of the Development Management Group of Zimmer Real Estate Services with offices in St. Louis and Kansas City. His principal areas of focus include: shaping and advising public/private ventures and partnerships; developer selection and development agreements; site selection and acquisition strategies; incentive agreements between local governments and private investors; litigation support and expert testimony relative to redevelopment and eminent domain, land use controls, and public/private partnerships; and master developer arrangements for complex multi-developer projects. Prior to joining Zimmer in 2007, Richard was a principal and chief executive of Development Strategies, consultants in real estate, economic and community development located in St. Louis with assignments nationwide. Richard is a certified economic developer with the CEcD designation of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC); a Counselor of Real Estate (CRE); and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). He has been an active member of ICED for over fifteen years, having served as a member of its Board of Directors for the past ten years. He is also a member and former chair of the Public/Private Partnership Council of the Urban Land Institute. He holds graduate degrees in business administration (major in finance) and urban design from Washington University in St. Louis and in urban and regional planning from Virginia Tech.
Steven W. Weathers, CEcD
President & CEO
Regional Growth Partnerships
Toledo, OH
 Steve Weathers has been President & CEO of the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) since September of 2005; in addition, Steve leads Rocket Ventures as its President & Managing Director. Since Steve's arrival at RGP, the organization, working in conjunction with its many partners in the region, has taken a leadership role that has lead to the creation of more than 4,000 new high-paying, high-skilled jobs in the region. Steve also led the effort to create the region's first ever pre-seed venture fund, Rocket Ventures. Rocket Ventures is a $22.5 million early-state investment fund comprised of $7.5 million of private investment capital, as well as a $15 million grant from the State of Ohio.
Steve has been in economic development for almost 20 years, with 11 of those years in San Diego, California as Vice President of the San Diego Economic Development Corporation and 5 years in Tucson, Arizona as President of the Greater Tucson Economic Corporation.
Through the years, Steve has been involved in the attraction, retention, growth and start-up of more than 500 companies. Some of his most significant and notable successes during his economic development career have been the attraction of the Novartis Genomic Research Center, Gateway Computers headquarters, the LEGO Theme Park and the SPAWAR Defense headquarters to the San Diego region, as well as the attraction of the GEICO, Citigroup and Intuit Software national service centers to the Tucson region.
Steve is also actively involved with the venture capital community, having raised more than $75 million dollars, as well as investing in numerous start-up companies over the years.
Prior to economic development, Steve held various senior management positions with the financial firms of Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Bank at their west coast headquarters located in San Francisco and San Diego, California
Very active in the regional, state, and national economic development policy, Steve sits on numerous boards, including the International Economic Development Council, the CORENET Global Midwest Region Board of Directors, the State of Ohio Strategic Planning Committee and the Science & Technology Corridor Operating Committee.
John Weeman, Jr.
Principal
Partners in Development
Travers City, MI
 John managed development for Hilton Hotels Corporation in several capacities from 1987 until 2000. He joined Hilton as Vice President of Development for Hilton Suites and was a principal in the start up of that concept as well as the Hilton Garden Inn brand for the Company. He developed six all-suite hotels for Hilton, subsequently managed development planning and asset management for all brands in the Central Region of the United States, and was directly involved with the addition of over 10,000 rooms to the Hilton system. His most recent position was Vice President Franchise Development, where he was responsible for the planning of all Hilton franchise products in the Central Region of the U.S.
With the acquisition of the Promus Corporation in late 1999, he elected not to relocate to Memphis and formed Partners In Development. Partners in Development had a confidential Memorandum of Understanding with Hilton for the development of Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn Hotels. This brought a preferential franchise fee to developments in which his company had an equity position.
Prior to joining Hilton, John was a Senior Principal with Laventhol & Horwath, a Certified Public Accounting firm with a recognized specialty in the hospitality industry. He managed the hospitality consulting practice for the Dallas office from 1982 through 1987 and was responsible for the review of all hospitality related market study, financial projection, and consulting engagements.
John assembles equity and identifies appropriate team members for development, operation, and ownership roles. In addition to various brands within Hilton, Partners In Development pursues adaptive re-use projects, boutique opportunities, and community convention-hotel development opportunities. John has extensive expertise in structuring successful public/private lodging developments.
John has over thirty years experience in the Hospitality indstry. He serves as chairman emeritus of the alumni board at Michigan State Universities' hotel school, and has recieved numerous awards from MSU, including nomination to the "Wall of Fame".
Rob Widmeyer, AIA, LEED AP
Partner
LMN
Seattle, WA
 Rob Widmeyer provides partner leadership to a select number of LMN's major projects. LMN offers design services in architecture, urban design and interiors. The firm’s works includes mixed-use, public assembly, commercial and corporate offices, retail centers, higher education, industrial, residential, urban design and transportation projects. LMN has received more than 120 design awards including a 2010 ULI Award for Excellence for the Vancouver Convention Centre West project in Vancouver BC. Current projects include the Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center Expansion; Bexar County Performing Arts Center, San Antonio; and the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.
Rob’s project experience includes the first LEED Platinum convention center – the Vancouver Convention Centre West Expansion, Vancouver, BC; ShoWare Events Center, Kent, Washington; Marion O. McCaw Hall, Seattle; and the Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu. Rob has a particular interest in improving the delivery process for projects and is active within the firm and the profession in exploring the possibilities in design build and private-public partnerships.
Rob received his architectural degrees from Washington State University. He holds a NCARB certificate and is a licensed architect in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Texas, and Hawaii.
David A. Wilcox, FM, HLM
Senior Principal, FAICP
Market & Feasibility Advisors, LLC
Chicago, IL
 David Wilcox has focused upon community revitalization and redevelopment during a wide ranging career in economic development. He worked for ERA for 31 years, and joined MFA in 2009. His practice includes city marketing strategies, business improvement district programming, transit oriented district planning, and tourism development business plans. New work under way is targeted toward economic activity sustainability and urban recovery.
A specialty he has developed focuses upon Native American cultural centers, including formation of the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage. Since the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, he has been consistently engaged in forecasting the impacts of very large-scale mass attraction events in North America.
Prior to work at ERA and MFA he held positions in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. He also taught for 31 years as Adjunct Professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, Master of Planning Program.
Long term life perspectives were first formed when he was a Park Ranger at Michigan State Parks, followed by teaching as a Peace Corps Volunteer at the University of Ife in Nigeria in the early 1960s. University degrees were earned at the University of Michigan and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Joy Wilkins, CEcD
Manager, Community Innovation Services
Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute
Atlanta, GA
Joy Wilkins, CEcD is manager of the community innovation services group at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute and oversees the development and delivery of the Institute’s services for economic developers, local government officials, and other leaders representing cities, counties, and regions. She directs teams to advise communities on a variety of strategic issues, and has also led numerous research initiatives to investigate public policy matters for state and federal sponsors. Prior to Georgia Tech, Joy served as a consultant for economic development and real estate clients and as a researcher at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce where she developed dozens of publications and reports concerning metro Atlanta’s economic development landscape for prospects and investors. She is also a periodic freelance writer.
Joy entered the economic development profession in 1994 and is a Certified Economic Developer by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). She is a frequent public speaker and instructor on economic development, strategic planning, and quality management topics, and has authored several articles appearing in journals, newsletters, and other publications. Joy holds a master’s degree in city planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a graduate certificate in real estate from Georgia State University, and a bachelor’s degree, with sociology and political science majors, from the State University of New York at Fredonia. She is a member of numerous professional associations and committees, and serves on advisory boards for two civic interests.
Roy H. Williams
President & CEO
Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
Oklahoma, OK
 Roy became the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber on January 1, 2004, after having served as Executive Vice President of Economic Development since mid-2002.
Roy has held numerous executive leadership positions in Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development organizations in Texas, Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma. Some of these include the Texas Governor’s Office, the Texas Department of Commerce, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (Arizona), the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce (Ohio), and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. His experience in economic development however, is not just limited to domestic activities. Roy also was responsible for international trade and investment offices in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, India, Belgium, Germany and Mexico.
Additionally, Roy was Partner, co-founder, and President of The Economic Development Group, Inc., an international economic development consulting firm with offices in Ohio and Arizona. In that capacity he helped build economic development strategies and tools for cities, counties, regional partnerships, states, utility companies, universities, private companies and even foreign countries. As well, he performed corporate site location consultant work for companies and executive searches for economic development organizations.
Roy also has served on the faculty for several professional certification programs including the United States Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management and the International Economic Development Council’s Economic Development Institute. And he is an active participant of numerous domestic and international Councils and Associations, holding both membership and appointed positions. Nationally, Roy serves on the American Chamber of Commerce Executive’s Board. Statewide and locally, Roy serves on numerous Boards of Directors, some of which include the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, the Oklahoma Bioscience Association, the State Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma State Fair, the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce Executives, Oklahoma Industries Authority, Downtown YMCA, the Oklahoma Technology Development Corporation - i2E, Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc., United Way, Leadership Oklahoma City, Allied Arts, and several others.
Roy has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas Lutheran University and pursued his M.B.A. at Sam Houston State University. As well, he is a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management at Southern Methodist University, successfully completed the American Chamber of Commerce Executive Leadership Program at the Center for Creative Leadership in North Carolina, and is a graduate of the Governor’s Center Strategic Leadership for State Executives program at Duke University.
Steven A. Wolff, CMC
Principal
AMS Planning & Research Corp.
Fairfield, CT
 Steven A. Wolff, CMC, is the founding Principal of AMS Planning & Research and Audience Insight. For 25 years, Steven has provided counsel to leading arts and entertainment enterprises in the planning and development of capital facilities, strategic initiatives and arts market and consumer research.
Steven has participated in the development of more than $3 billion of new and renovated capital facilities for the arts and has been instrumental in the planning of many significant arts center projects.
Steven is on the faculty at the Yale School of Drama, where he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater administration, and teaches Decision Support. He is a frequent keynote speaker at national conferences and a guest lecturer at many major universities.
Prior to founding AMS in 1988, Steven was a manager at Theatre Projects Consultants. He is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants and holds the designation Certified Management Consultant. Steven served as an officer on the Board the Westport Country Playhouse (2001 – 2006) and on the Executive Committee of the New York Yacht Club (2002 – 2008). He is currently a board member and chair of the Arts Committee of the Fairfield County Community Foundation and on the board of the Mount Snow Academy.
John Wood
Vice President
Hines
Chicago, IL
 Mr. Wood received a Bachelors of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the US Air Force Academy. After completing his service as an officer and pilot in the US Air Force, Mr. Wood attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business where he received an MBA. Mr. Wood joined Hines in 1999 and is responsible for the development, acquisition and asset management of projects throughout the Midwest Region of the United States.
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