Stephen Klineberg has been shaping local thought on the ongoing changes in the Houston metropolitan region for almost 40 years. Through his work on the “Kinder Houston Area Survey,” now in its 40th year, he has tracked the economic outlooks, demographic patterns, experiences and beliefs of local residents. Under contract with Simon & Schuster, his book, “Prophetic City: Houston on the Cusp of a Changing America” was released in 2020. Klineberg is the recipient of twelve major teaching awards and a much sought-after speaker in the Houston community and beyond. He is a graduate of Haverford College, the University of Paris and Harvard University. He and his wife Margaret have called Houston home since the early 1970s; they have two children and five grandchildren.

Nick Russo is the Environmental Compliance Officer for Harris County Engineering Department as a member of the department’s executive leadership team. Nick is responsible for coordinating various environmental and regulatory programs with local, state, and federal agencies. He has implemented Green Stormwater Infrastructure & Low Impact Development on many County projects, including the development of storm water criteria for green infrastructure across the county and currently oversees several large storm water projects. Nick has worked numerous federally declared disasters including Hurricane Ike, the Tax day flood, Hurricane Harvey, and Tropical Storm Imelda where he has conducted damage assessments and debris removal in coordination with FEMA and other agencies. Mr. Russo has more than seventeen years of experience in water management, environmental resources, and disaster recovery. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas State University and a Master’s Degree from Texas A&M University. Nick is currently assigned to a county task force assisting in the county’s response to COVID-19.

Ryan LeVasseur joined Rice Management Company in 2019 as the Managing Director of Direct Real Estate. In this role, Mr. LeVasseur is responsible for investments in strategic development opportunities in Houston. Prior to joining RMC, Mr. LeVasseur spent five years in Hines’ New York development office where he was a Managing Director. Prior to joining Hines, Mr. LeVasseur was a Director at HR&A Advisors. While at HR&A, he was responsible for urban development assignments in an array of locations including the New York City metropolitan area, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Detroit. Mr. LeVasseur received an MS in Real Estate Development from Columbia University where he was a Kinne Fellow and a Bachelor of Architecture and a BA in Architecture from Rice University. Ryan serves as a member of the Columbia GSAPP Alumni Board and was an adjunct professor at Columbia University teaching a course on real estate market analytics.

Carol Ellinger Haddock is Director of Houston Public Works, the largest American Public Works Association accredited agency in the nation. Carol leads almost 4,000 employees in transforming the culture and operations of the Department, with the purpose: “Together we create a strong foundation for Houston to thrive.” Houston Public Works includes water and wastewater systems; street and storm drainage systems and regulation of both public and private development. The Department has an annual operating budget of $2.1 billion and an annual capital budget of nearly a billion dollars. Carol has been at the City for fifteen years and was promoted to Director in 2017. She has led the organization through a cultural transformation by providing resilience training for all employees. Streamlining operations and equipping employees with new skill sets, has allowed the Department to move forward from Hurricane Harvey, set records for treatment of drinking water in a day, reduced environmental impacts in both the wastewater and stormwater systems, maintain a next-business-day pothole repair program 99% of the time and support more than $6 billion in development. Through Carol’s leadership, Houston Public Works employees have been empowered to take on additional leadership roles in the Department and throughout the country in professional organizations. When other cities or agencies have complex problems to solve, they often turn to Houston for advice and guidance. Carol is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas with a Civil Engineering Bachelor’s degree from Rice University and has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Houston. Prior to joining Houston Public Works, Carol worked in private consulting, for the Harris County Flood Control District, and as a Congressional Fellow for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. She is married to Will Haddock, a Houston bankruptcy attorney.

Craig T. Maske, P.E., CFM, is the Chief Planning Officer for the Harris County Flood Control District and is a registered professional engineer in Texas and Missouri, a Certified Floodplain Manager, and an Envision Sustainability Professional. Craig has 30 years of experience as a hydrologist, civil and military engineer, and planner. His experience includes watershed planning studies, design of local and regional flood protection and mitigation projects, floodplain modeling and mapping, storm water quality compliance and training, and disaster recovery projects. Craig is currently serving as the lead for the District’s implementation of revised standards incorporating resilience based on updates to rainfall depths resulting from NOAA Atlas 14 and is working with local municipalities including the City of Houston and Harris County in coordinating standards for flood resilience. Craig also serves as the District’s designated representative to the Houston Planning Commission.

Prior to joining Midway, Deans developed mixed-use properties for Thor Equities and earlier in her career was a design architect for Gensler. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Texas, Austin and is a LEED accredited licensed architect in the state of Texas.

A graduate of The University of Texas- Austin, Emily Arbuckle joined GSD Construction fall of 2017. Amidst her mission to cultivate new CRE relationships and diversify the firm’s project portfolio, she also uncovered a passion for the construction process. Fast forward three years, the GSD team has been awarded over 94,000 SQ FT of ground up construction, earned a spot on the 2020 Houston Business Journal’s “Fast 100” and the TAMU “Aggie 100”, and added three seasoned, construction professionals to the office. With a dedication to quality construction and the client experience, GSD looks forward to many more exceptional Houston projects.