Ricardo De Rojas is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies. Ricardo has more than 16 years of experience working for nationally and internationally recognized development and construction management firms. Prior to joining Ardent in April 2018, Ricardo was the Development Director at Regency Centers (formerly known as Equity One), where he was responsible for the development and redevelopment of over 1 million square feet of retail real estate within the portfolio. He is an active member of ICSC and an associate member at ULI. Ricardo received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ricardo also received a Master of Business Administration from Yale School of Management with a focus in Finance and Real Estate.

Melissa Ahrendt, Stafford’s Executive Director of Real Estate, began her career in commercial real estate with Stafford in 2002. After living overseas for three years, she moved back to Atlanta, serving as Chief Operating Officer of Healey Weatherholtz Properties. Melissa returned to Stafford in 2016. Her career has spanned many facets of commercial real estate, including leasing, property management, development, and marketing.

Amanda has twenty years of professional experience as an Interior Designer and Project Manager for Corporate Workplace, Multifamily, and Higher Education projects. She directs team meetings, establishes and manages budgets and schedules, and oversees the quality of the design, FF&E, and production documents to meet the goals and objectives of the client.

Amanda excels in establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with clients. She believes in creating a design that meets the needs of the client, enhances their productivity, and allows the values and brand of the end user to shine through the design and aesthetic.

As Vice President at Lessard Design, Christopher leverages over 25 years of proven leadership in architecture and construction, guiding projects through every phase of development-from visionary concepts to successful execution. His expertise spans a wide range of sectors, including commercial, mixed-use, and multi-family residential, where he has consistently delivered transformative designs that balance creativity with functionality. Renowned for his ability to meet demanding deadlines and exceed client expectations, Christopher is committed to shaping vibrant, sustainable communities through innovative solutions. On a national scale, he has played a pivotal role in managing complex, high-profile developments, with budgets reaching up to $400 million-demonstrating his strategic oversight and unwavering focus on excellence.

Phil Mays is a principal of RocaPoint Partners. Mr. Mays has more than 20 years of experience in real estate investment, development, land use and zoning. Prior to RocaPoint, Mr. Mays was the Director and Chief Legal Officer for EverBank's commercial special servicing division. Mr. Mays formed and managed EverBank's Commercial Special Assets Department containing more than $1.3 billion in underperforming CRE-backed debt. Prior to EverBank, Mr. Mays acquired and developed real estate in Florida and metro Atlanta for more than a decade. Mr. Mays was Corporate Counsel in charge of real estate for Racetrac Petroleum from 1994-1996 and an associate at McCalla, Raymer et al in Atlanta from 1992-1994.

Mr. Mays received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida and a Leadership in Financial Organizations certification from Harvard Business School. Further, Mr. Mays served as gubernatorial appointment to the St. Johns County, Florida Board of County Commissioners from 2008-2010.

Over the past two decades, Malloy has worked in a variety of capacities within the development industry, including development planning and execution, marketing and branding, leasing, and public relations.

Today, Malloy is a senior leader within Selig Development Company, a subsidiary of Selig Enterprises. Malloy is focused on the development of Selig’s mixed-use developments including: The Works at Chattahoochee, 1105 West Peachtree, City Springs, and 1200 Spring Street. In addition to her experience executing developments, Malloy possesses a strong marketing, branding, and communications skill set, which allows her to provide a unique perspective to any development.

Prior to joining Selig, Malloy spent 12 years with Carter where specialized in the development of complex, large-scale urban mixed-use projects. The majority of these projects were public-private partnerships (P3). Malloy also led Carter’s Advisory Services business unit and all of Carter’s internal and external corporate and project-level marketing and communications teams.

Prior to earning her MBA, Malloy worked at Morgan Stanley where she performed financial analysis and played a large role in client relations, providing her with a solid understanding of the investment banking and securities.

Merritt has been active in commercial real estate for over 20 years. Following a decade as a Commercial Real Estate Lender at JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch, Merritt spent 4 years with Flournoy Development Company as its Chief Investment Officer then joined Paces Properties in 2012 and co-owned it through its success until 2018.

Following Paces, Merritt founded Confluence Real Estate which is being folded into Bridger Properties. As a Lender, Owner and Developer, Merritt has learned it takes persistence, patience, knowledge, and creativity be successful.

Merritt is responsible for over $3 billion in real estate transactions, and brings extensive knowledge of retail, office, industrial, hospitality, self-storage, multi-family and senior housing to Bridger’s platform.

Merritt lives with his three children in Inman Park and is on the board of directors of A+ Squash and Action Ministries.

Paul is the national chair of the Real Estate department. During his tenure as chair, the Real Estate department has grown to be one of the five largest commercial real estate practices in the United States. The department regularly handles the largest and most complex real estate and real estate finance transactions.

As a practitioner, Paul leads teams that serve institutional real estate clients in transactions across the United States, including a real estate finance team that has closed loans having a value in excess of $6 billion in each of the last three years, and a leasing and development team that represents one of the world’s largest retailers on a national basis.

Paul has led the real estate department’s deployment of technology, process management, and innovative staffing models to provide exceptionally responsive service and value to our sophisticated clients. He was a long-time member of the firm's executive and compensation committees.