ATL's Central Perimeter

Elected mayor in November 2013, Russell K. (Rusty) Paul brings more than 40 years of federal, state and local public policy and public administration experience to the job. He is currently serving his third term. Mr. Paul was elected to the founding city council for Sandy Springs in November 2005 and served one term. He chaired the city’s charter review commission and the Sandy Springs Development Authority. He was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations in the first Bush Administration under Secretary Jack Kemp. Secretary Kemp also appointed him acting Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development and tapped him to oversee the department’s disaster response to Hurricane Hugo and the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. He received the Secretary’s Golden Eagle Award, the highest honor a cabinet officer can bestow. Besides his stints in federal government, Mr. Paul is a former Georgia State Senator and also served on the Stone Mountain City Council and served three terms on the Georgia Municipal Association board of directors. In 1995, he was elected chairman of the Georgia Republican Party and served on the Republican National Committee, where RNC Chair Jim Nicholson appointed him to chair the State Chairman’s Advisory Committee. He is a past chairman of the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Center Chamber of Commerce and a member of Sandy Springs Rotary. He and his wife, Jan, are parents of five adult children and attend Holy Innocents Episcopal Church.

John Ernst was elected Brookhaven's Mayor on Nov. 3, 2015, and was re-elected in 2019 for another four-year term. The next election for Mayor will be in November, 2023. Mayor Ernst grew up in Brookhaven and lives in Lynwood Park with his wife and two sons. He graduated from Emory University with a degree in history, and later from the University of Georgia with a degree in law. He opened a law practice in 2005, and served on the DeKalb County Board of Ethics from 2013 to 2015, where he filled lingering vacancies, increased the department's budget to handle increasing ethics complaints and led the board to convict a public official of an ethics violation for the first time in 15 years. Mayor Ernst's goals are to get back to the basics by delivering better parks, more greenspace and a transparent government.

As Executive Director for the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts (PCIDs), Ann Hanlon is in charge of the organization’s daily operations, as well as its investments in transportation infrastructure. The CIDs have an annual operating budget of over $8 million. Previously, Ann was the Executive Director of the North Fulton CID for 13 years, beginning when it was a start-up. Prior to entering the CID space, Ann served as a Senior Program Specialist at the Atlanta Regional Commission. She began her career in the private sector, as a Research and Development Analyst with Press Ganey & Associates, a healthcare consulting firm in South Bend, Indiana. A native of South Georgia, Ann received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Government and Computer Science from the University of Notre Dame, and a Masters of Public Administration degree in Management and Finance from Georgia State University. Ann was honored as the “Woman of the Year” by the Women’s Transportation Seminar Atlanta Chapter in November 2016. In April 2015 and again in 2017, Governor Nathan Deal appointed Ann to the Board of Directors for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority where she serves on the Projects and Planning committees. Ann was named a “Notable Georgian” by Georgia Trend Magazine in 2017, one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Women Who Mean Business” in 2015 and as one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s “40 under 40” in 2012 and 2018. In 2021, she was included among a prestigious group of leaders in James Magazine’s Most Influential Georgians. In 2019, she served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Council for Quality Growth as the Council’s first female Chairman. Additionally, Ann serves on the Board of Directors for the Women’s’ Transportation Seminar, Atlanta Chapter, the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, the Sandy Springs and Dunwoody Perimeter Chambers of Commerce, and the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. In 2020, Ann was appointed by CEO Michael Thurmond to the DeKalb County COVID-19 task force, and continues to serve in that capacity as a representative of large business interests in Perimeter during the pandemic. Ann is a graduate of the Regional Leadership Institute of the Atlanta Regional Commission (2010) and Leadership North Fulton (2006). Personally, Ann is a volunteer with the Girl Scouts of Metro Atlanta, a member of All Saints Catholic Church and a sustainer with the Junior League of Atlanta. She lives in Dunwoody with her husband, Michael, and their two daughters.

Clay leads the long-term, strategic vision for Grubb Properties and plays an active role in all investment decisions. Under his leadership, Grubb Properties successfully transformed from a family-owned business to an employee- and board-owned company. Clay has overseen the launch of nine private equity fund programs to provide capital investment for acquisitions and development, including more than $1 billion in new real estate investment since 2010. Clay has been involved in a number of initiatives to enhance the communities and environments where Grubb Properties operates. He serves as chairman of the Grubb Preservation Foundation, which focuses on land preservation. He is also chairman of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Real Estate Advisory Board. Clay is an active board member of Aym Technologies, a home healthcare software company. He is on the Board of Trustees for the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., where he chairs the National Freedom School Advisory Committee. Clay has served as past chairman of board of directors of Freedom School Partners, which provides after-school and summer programs to at-risk children. He is a past president of the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association, past chairman of the board for the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, and past member of the Mint Museum Board of Trustees. Clay has served on the Kenan-Flagler School of Business’ Real Estate Advisory Board, Queens University’s Presidential Advisory Board, Queen’s University’s Learning Society Executive Committee, North Carolina’s Environmental Defense Fund Board, and the NC Dance Theatre Board of Trustees. He is a member of the Young Presidents Association and served as North Carolina Forum Chair for five years. Clay received the Charlotte Apartment Association’s most prestigious award, the Lex Marsh Award, and the Young Bishop Award from Virginia Episcopal School as recognition for his accomplishments.   Clay received his law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law and his Bachelor of Science in Management from the A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, with a concentration in finance and a second major in economics.

Tina Renee McCall serves as the Managing Director of Asset Management & Dispositions at Bridge Investment Group. She oversees Disposition and Asset Management teams nationally and is responsible for capital markets and asset management training programs and procedures. During her career, McCall has developed successful management and marketing strategies for commercial real estate assets across the country. A proven problem-solver and leader, McCall is highly experienced in asset management, leasing, capital markets and portfolio management, and has cultivated tenant relationships with executives at Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Bridge, McCall was the Senior Vice President of Asset Management at Gemini Rosemont Commercial Real Estate, where she helmed the organization’s East Region office and managed the investment performance for 20 buildings totaling more than 3 million square feet. She hired and directed asset management analysts, brokers, property managers, administrative staff and engineers to implement marketing and management strategies, and she successfully completed more than 100 lease transactions over a four-year period. McCall has also served as Vice President of Asset Management for Columbia Property Trust, where she directed the financial performance of 20 assets totaling more than 7 million square feet in major U.S. markets such as New York, Boston, Atlanta, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham and Pittsburgh. Through her highly focused investment approach, McCall significantly enhanced the value of real estate assets while maintaining an average occupancy rate of 95 percent. She also played an integral role in the firm’s successful disposition of 18 properties, totaling nearly 4 million square feet. During her time as Investment Officer at Wells Real Estate Funds, McCall completed more than 900,000 square feet of new and renewed leases, helped with a strategic portfolio disposition totaling 1.9 million square feet, and maintained an average occupancy rate of 94 percent. McCall received a bachelor’s degree in environmental economics and management from the University of Georgia, as well as a master’s of business administration with a concentration in finance from Georgia State University. She is a Certified Commercial Investment Member and currently serves as the 2018 President for CREW Atlanta and the 2018 Director of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors.

Jonathan Rodbell co-founded Atlanta Property Group (APG) in 2003. He focuses on strategic initiatives for the real estate investment firm, including lowering the carbon footprint of its assets. APG owns and operates nearly 3 million square feet in 12 office and industrial properties throughout the Southeast and has a growing third-party leasing and management business. Prior to forming APG, Jonathan served four years as Vice President of Apex Supply Company, a distributor of building materials, which was founded by the Rodbell family in 1949. Jonathan began his career in the acquisition departments of JMB Realty and Lazar Fréres Real Estate Investors in Chicago and New York, respectively. Jonathan earned a B.S. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate of The Westminster Schools, where he remains involved as an active parent. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta, the Executive Committee of the Buckhead Coalition, and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has also served on the boards of Camp Sunshine and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and is a previous member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) New Leadership Network. Jonathan is a native of Atlanta and currently lives in Buckhead with his wife, Heather, and their two sons.

Brandon Houston is a Principal with Trammell Crow Company’s Atlanta office, where his responsibilities include sourcing and executing new office development and investment opportunities. With over 12 years of commercial real estate experience, Brandon has negotiated over 2 million square feet of commercial leases and has been involved in development projects valued at over $900 million. He specializes in market analysis, project branding, financial analysis, lease negotiation, design team oversight and construction management.​ ​​​​​​Brandon previously served as a Principal in the Houston office of Trammell Crow Company. Prior to Trammell Crow Company, Brandon served as a Vice President with JP Morgan, focusing on commercial investment strategies for high net worth individuals. Prior to joining JP Morgan, Brandon was a Director of Development with Midway Companies in Houston, overseeing site selection and development for over 1 million square feet of office and industrial projects in the Houston area. Brandon has an MBA from Rice University and a BBA in Marketing from Texas A&M University. Brandon currently serves on the NAIOP State and Local Subcommittee and is a past director for the NAIOP Houston Chapter. Brandon is a board member for the Jones Graduate School Alumni Association at Rice University and he is an adjunct Professor in the Graduate Real Estate Program at the University of Houston, Bauer College of Business.

Scott is a partner, the former chairman of the Real Estate practice and a former member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He is currently a member of the firm’s Industrial & Warehouse/Distribution, Housing, and Retail industry teams, although his practice includes virtually all types of income-producing commercial real estate. With experience spanning four decades, Scott represents local, regional, and national developers, retailers, owners, and investors as they close commercial real estate transactions. He uses his experience to provide straight-forward practical advice that results in refined strategies for acquisitions, development, leasing, financing and joint ventures. Scott’s clients are involved in mixed-use and multifamily projects, raw land assemblage and acquisition, the development and acquisition of office buildings, industrial buildings, hotels, neighborhood shopping centers, and regional malls. He is well-versed in matters related to structuring joint ventures, syndicating real estate projects, and creating real estate funds. His experience includes the negotiation of many complex ground lease transactions. Scott has spoken annually at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Law Conference on the Negotiation and Structuring of Real Estate Joint Ventures, and has presented at numerous ICSC conferences on Development Issues in Mixed-use Real Estate Projects. He was also an instructor at ICSC University on the topic “Marrying for Money, Joint Ventures—Legal and Economic Constitutions.” Scott has presented numerous seminars on negotiating letters of intent and purchase agreements to real estate professionals and to undergraduate and graduate students as an annual guest lecturer at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.