Cheri Morris develops and owns upscale mixed-use communities, with a focus on downtown revitalizations. Morris recently completed Alpharetta City Center, and is underway with Woodstock City Center, both as public-private partnerships with their host cities.

Her earlier Main Street Woodstock development has garnered international attention as an unprecedented financial success and driver of ancillary economic development in its downtown environs. She was also on the teams that created downtown Rosemary Beach on Florida’s Emerald Coast, The Summit, one of the nation’s first and most successful lifestyle centers, Vickery Village in Forsyth County, Town Brookhaven on Dresden Drive, Luckie Marietta, a three-block dining and entertainment district on Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, and Lime Grove, a mixed use resort in Barbados

Morris & Fellows’ development projects have been awarded the “Development of Excellence” by the Urban Land Institute, cited as “Development of the Year” by the Atlanta Regional Commission, received the CNU International Charter Award for Best Neighborhood-Scale District, named “America’s Best Smart Growth Community” by the National Homebuilders Association, and “America’s Neighborhood” by Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

Cheri also consults to municipalities, creating downtown revitalization plans that combine her unique knowledge of both public-sector planning and private sector development. She is a sought-after thought leader in urban planning and a principal in public-private partnerships, often heading teams that redevelop the downtown districts of cities and towns based on her master plans.

Morris served on the teaching faculty of the International Council of Shopping Centers for over 20 years. She is a frequent speaker for such groups as ICSC, Urban Land Institute, Congress for the New Urbanism and the Atlanta Regional Commission, and has contributed to several prestigious media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Shopping Centers Today, The Journal of Property Management, and Shopping Center Business.

Active in civic planning, the arts and sustainable development, Morris has served on numerous civic and municipal boards and several Livable Centers Initiative planning teams in metro Atlanta, and is currently a member of the Urban Land Institute’s Livable Communities Council. She was the first Chair of the City of Sandy Springs’ Design Review Board, is on the boards of the Sandy Springs Conservancy, Act3 Theater, and Art Sandy Springs. Cheri is married to Terry Morris. The couple have two grown children, and four grandchildren, all of whom reside in Sandy Springs, Ga.

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.

Joe Taylor is a Senior Superintendent with Reeves Young, a commercial construction firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, he studied Building Construction, Psychology, and City Planning, giving him a multidisciplinary foundation that informs his leadership approach.

With 15 years of commercial construction experience, Joe has managed mid‑rise and high‑rise projects in dense urban environments, overseeing Class A office space, entertainment venues, luxury senior living communities, multifamily developments, and mixed‑use projects. His portfolio includes notable work such as Cox Headquarters Tower 2, Synovus Bank Amphitheater, Corso Atlanta, and The Howell.

Joe is actively involved in every phase of project delivery to ensure Reeves Young’s clients receive exceptional service. He brings expertise across the full project lifecycle, from design development, budgeting, value engineering, and CPM scheduling through field operations, permitting, inspections, trade coordination, and overall project delivery. Throughout each project, he maintains a strong focus on building lasting client relationships by delivering high‑quality work on time and within budget.

Jeremy Borak is a Senior Managing Partner at The Baldwin Group and a founding member of the firm’s

Multifamily Practice Group. An Accredited Insurance Advisor, Jeremy specializes in business development

and the design and implementation of sophisticated insurance programs tailored to complex client needs.

He serves a diverse portfolio of clients within the real estate industry, with a primary focus on multifamily

and other specialized real estate asset classes. Known for his ability to structure complex, time-sensitive

insurance solutions, Jeremy brings clarity and strategic insight to every engagement.

Jeremy earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Risk Management and Insurance from the

University of Georgia.

Specialization:

• 26 years of experience in the Multi-Family and Real Estate industry

• Multi-Family Properties

• Industrial, Retails, Office & all Forms of Lessor Risk

• Community Associations

• Affordable Housing

Who Jeremy Serves:

• Property Developers, Owners & Managers

• Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

• Managing Agents

• Lenders

• Private Equity, Family Offices and Other Asset & Fund Managers

• Merchant Builders

• General Contractors

Brian Dillman, AIA, is the founder and principal of BDPC, a boutique architecture and design practice based in Atlanta and licensed in 10 states. BDPC specializes in multifamily housing, adaptive reuse, commercial interiors, and complex code-driven renovations. Known for clarity, speed, and technical excellence, the firm integrates LiDAR scanning, AI-driven/rapid visualization to shorten development timelines and deliver highly buildable solutions.

Brian is recognized throughout the Southeast for his expertise in zoning strategy, Life Safety Code and ADA compliance, urban infill development, and repositioning existing assets. BDPC partners with developers, investors, restaurateurs, and institutions to take projects from concept through permitting and certificate of occupancy with purpose and precision. Hablamos Español.

Adam Schwegman is Director, Head of Retail Leasing at Jamestown. Prior to joining Jamestown, he was Partner,

Executive Vice President of Leasing at North American Properties (NAP), where he led the leasing team to focus on a thoughtful, experiential merchandise mix at each of NAP Atlanta’s projects. Prior to joining NAP, Mr. Schwegman served as Senior Vice President for Brookfield Properties (formerly GGP), where he launched Eat/Drink, a national team responsible for all food and beverage deals across the country. Under his leadership, he expanded Brookfield’s food and beverage offerings, including several food halls. He also conceptualized several food halls, including Politan Row at Colony Square and Flagship Commons. Prior to that, Mr. Schwegman worked as a leasing representative at Cousins Properties, where he was responsible for leasing Emory Point, Terminus, and The Avenues, among others. Early in his career he served as a real estate associate for Bank of America and as a senior associate at Robert Charles Lesser & Co. He is also active within the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Mr. Schwegman earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance, and Real Estate from the University of Tennessee.

Ellen is the Owner/Founder and CEO of Silver Studio Architects, a full-service Architecture and Interior Design firm focused on multifamily housing, mixed-use and commercial building projects.

She is a member of the American Institute of Architects, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional, and a National Council of Architectural Registration Board Certificate Holder.

Ellen views each project as a unique challenge and exciting opportunity. She finds joy in bringing success to her clients through successful projects. Her experience managing retail, mixed-use and multifamily residential projects of all scales make her uniquely suited to provide guidance and leadership to any development team. Her projects find harmony between aesthetics and budget, form and function. Communication and technical quality are paramount to maintaining lasting relationships with her clients and achieving the best architectural outcome. She takes particular pride in having built a diverse and collaborative team at Silver Studio.

Riley Robertson is a Project Executive at Hoar Construction with 12 years at the company and a career built on delivering complex projects across the Southeast. He holds dual undergraduate degrees in Construction Engineering and Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama, along with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and an MBA, also from Alabama.

Riley’s project experience spans mixed-use, multifamily, retail, and commercial work, including notable projects such as the 400,000 SF Avalon in Alpharetta, the 27-story Vireo Apartments in Atlanta, and the currently ongoing 387,000 SF mixed-use development Medley in Johns Creek. He is known for guiding project teams through complex challenges, holding teams accountable to client commitments, and bringing broad lessons learned to every project he leads.

As Managing Director, Herbert Ames is responsible for the

strategic direction and priorities of EDENS’ Southeast

Region and sits on the company’s Investment

Committee. With a 19-year tenure, Ames oversees the 2.6

million square-foot Southeast portfolio, as well as future

growth through (re)development and acquisitions. He is

currently responsible for the 2.5 million square-foot

redevelopment of Lulah Hills in Decatur, GA.

Herbert is well-recognized for his commitment to the community. He is currently

serving as treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Buckhead Community

Improvement District and serves on the Board of Directors of the Buckhead

Coalition. He is a past member of the ICSC Next Gen Leadership Network and ULI

Atlanta Livable Communities Council and was named Chain Store Age magazine’s

“10 Under 40 – Ones to Watch.”

He previously chaired the Long-Range Planning Committee of the City Center

Partnership (CCP), an organization dedicated to reinvigorating Columbia, SC’s urban

core and central business district, and served on CCP’s Executive Committee of the

Board of Directors. He also co-chaired the Midlands Reality Check for Urban Land

Institute-South Carolina.

Herbert is a graduate of the Leadership Columbia (South Carolina) Class of 2008, a

member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and Urban Land Institute,

and a Director of Buckhead Coalition. He received a Bachelor of Science from the

University of South Carolina.

Evan joined Ackerman & Co.’s investment team in 2013 focusing on principal

work. Today he oversees and runs $600,000,000 of the company’s real

estate investments in the Southeast and the teams responsible for those

investments. Product types include industrial, adaptive/mixed-use, medical

office, residential, RV Parks, and more, for both acquisitions and development.

The teams Evan oversees and manages include investment officers, brokers,

asset managers, construction managers, property managers, engineers,

accountants, marketing, analysts and others. He works with a variety of

groups outside the organization, including investment sale brokers, leasing

brokers, equity partners, lenders and architects. To date, he has been

directly involved in almost $2 billion of closed real estate transactions.

Evan is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who started his career

in public accounting with a focus on external audit of clients in the

real estate industry. Prior to Ackerman, he worked with a 60-year-old medical office real estate company. While there, he assisted with

an IPO and the $200-million sale of the company’s portfolio and

property management division to Health Care REIT (now Welltower).

Evan is a third-generation Atlantan who graduated from the Terry College

of Business at the University of Georgia with degrees in Accounting and Real

Estate. He and his wife Lauren have four children. They enjoy UGA Football,

Gymdawgs, youth sports, fishing, many other activities, and leisure time at

home.

Jay Douglas is the Executive Managing Director of Development for The Ardent Companies. Prior to joining Ardent in March of 2022, Jay was the Senior Vice President of Development for SJC Ventures in Atlanta. Jay has experience in all aspects of the development of retail and mixed-use projects – including acquisition, land planning, zoning and entitlements, leasing, and project management. Jay received his juris doctor from Duke University School of Law, and has a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University.

Chip Sykes is a Managing Director with JLL’s debt

and equity placement group focused primarily

on mixed use and multi-housing assets. Chip

has nearly 25 years of experience in commercial

real estate finance including mortgage banking,

lending, equity placement, restructuring, etc.

Mr. Sykes joined HFF’s Atlanta office in October

2011, was absorbed into JLL upon JLL’s acquisition

of HFF in 2019 and now splits time between

Charleston, SC and Atlanta, GA.

Prior to JLL/HFF, Chip was a founding member

of Cantor Fitzgerald’s commercial real estate

platform. During the GFC he was an Asset

Manager with TriMont Real Estate Advisors

and Gramercy Capital where he resolved

problem bridge loans, mezzanine and equity

investments. Mr. Sykes began his commercial

real estate finance career with Credit Suisse as

a commercial mortgage underwriter in Atlanta

and was eventually promoted to the firm’s North

American headquarters in New York City where

he focused on large loans.

Mike Greene joined Portman Holdings as Vice President of Development from Mill Creek Residential Trust where he was responsible for overseeing the development process, including entitlements and design, as well as sourcing new development opportunities in the Southeast. He has also previously worked at Novare Group where his focus was on the execution of high rise, mixed-use developments in the Southeast. Prior to Novare, Mike had originally joined Portman Holdings as Development Manager where his focus was underwriting and analysis of hotel and office mixed use developments nationally. Mike started his real estate career as a Realtor® and sales broker. He later worked as a Project Manager and Superintendent with Turner Construction Company where he focused on the construction management of large-scale institutional projects. As a developer, Mike has successfully developed over 1900 residential homes in the Southeast and Texas totaling approximately $490 million in development cost.

Mike received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Real Estate from the University of Georgia, a Master of Science in Building Construction from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Emory University. Mike is also a LEED® Accredited Professional and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®).

Aysha Treadwell serves as the Development and Government Relations Specialist at Amazing Energy, where she focuses on site selection and development for the company’s innovative Community Market concept. She also plays a key role in expanding Amazing Energy’s footprint in government and private contracting supplying wholesale fuel. As a licensed real estate broker in the state of Georgia, Aysha brings a diverse background in entrepreneurship, business consulting, and commercial real estate. Her strategic approach and commitment to thoughtful development help ensure each project is both impactful and aligned with community needs.