Jim has operated companies and partnerships, with a focus on real estate. Experience includes developing, acquiring and disposing income producing residential and commercial investment property. He has participated in the development of over one hundred projects as a Broker, Partner or Principal. These range from net-leased single tenant, retail centers, to MultiFamily (apartments).

Jim is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Designee. He has completed advanced coursework in financial and market analysis, and demonstrated extensive experience in the commercial real estate industry. CCIM designees are recognized as leading experts in commercial investment real estate. Jim served as the CCIM Chapter President for Central Texas (2017).

Jim has served Clients, and Partners on acquisition or sale of retail, medical office buildings, and Multifamily asset classes. On development side, Jim’s work has resulted in multiple sites to build 300-400 Unit Mixed-Use Apartment Complexes in downtown Austin & San Marcos, a 66-story downtown Austin hi-rise tower, and a new South Austin Aloft Hotel. He is currently entitling new construction apartment projects in East Austin, a 350 unit, light-rail station apartment complex in North Austin, and a 243 unit apartment complex in Odessa, Texas.

Brett Rhode is well known for his ability to design and manage large, complex projects, producing award-

winning buildings within budget and schedule constraints. Brett honed his skills for over a decade in New

York City on complex international commissions in the offices of I.M Pei and Phillip Johnson. In Austin as

a Vice President at Page Southerland Page, Brett worked on healthcare and civic projects for eight years

before founding Rhode Partners in 2005. Rhode Partners is organized in an open studio environment to

facilitate team communication and easy client access.

Timothy N. Ramon is a 3rd generation demolition contractor. As President of JR RAMON

Demolition, LLC., he has over 25 years of experience in the demolition industry and previously served as a director on the Board of the National Demolition Association, an organization with which he remains heavily involved.

JR RAMON Demolition was the first, licensed demolition contractor in San Antonio and has

provided house demolition and commercial demolition services to Central Texas and South

Texas for over 50 years. The company earned its excellent reputation as the on-call demolition service provider for City of San Antonio, City of New Braunfels, and Texas Department of Transportation. In addition, they provide commercial and industrial building demolition, residential demolition, bridge demolition, concrete removal, roll-off dumpster service, concrete saw-cutting, site preparation/site restoration services, disaster emergency response, and produce recycled concrete aggregate. They also offer debris removal and final disposition resulting from natural disasters.

Joe Ramon Sr. started J.R. Ramon & Sons as a “mom and pop” business after returning from

WWII in 1945 with the goal of providing for the family and creating opportunities for the children. Under Tim’s leadership, JR RAMON Demolition surpassed expectations of the original vision, grossing more than $14 million in revenue in 2020 and employing nearly 100 staff members.

As a partner at Method Architecture, Keith is responsible for overseeing client relations and new project development for some of the firm’s largest and most complex projects. He oversees the firm’s business development efforts with a focus on strategic partnerships and collaboration with all stakeholders. Keith has worked on local industrial developments including Alamo Ridge Business Park, Eisenhauer Point Distribution Center, and Tri-County Crossing.

Fun fact, Keith was a former competition BBQ pitmaster for 15 years! His teams took home multiple championships in ribs and brisket, but never the elusive grand championship! Now, Keith cooks for family and friends and the occasional client appreciation event!

Harry Adams is the Managing Partner of McCombs Properties, the Real Estate and

Development arm of the McCombs family offices, McCombs Enterprises.

As a real estate portfolio manager, developer, and home building executive, Mr.

Adams has 18 years of real estate, development, and home building experience

with a focus on luxury brands, master planned communities, and niche

communities. His experience includes market level general management with

annual revenues in excess of $100M, sales and project management, land planning

and development, and product development and purchasing.

Before joining the McCombs Enterprise team, he served twelve years leading large

home building organizations, holding the roles of Division President, Vice

President Custom Division & Purchasing, Director of Supply Management, Area

Manager, and Project Manager, with nationwide companies such as Toll Brothers,

Newmark Homes, and Sitterle Homes. Prior to home building and after his

graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Mr. Adams

served for six years of active duty as a Light Infantry Officer. He held positions of

platoon leader and operations officer, at the 25 th Light Infantry Division and 82 nd

Airborne Division, and was Air Assault, Airborne, Pathfinder, Jumpmaster and

Ranger qualified.

Mr. Adams is a full member of the Urban Land Institute, sits on the National

Community Development Product Council, and participates on a number of

Boards in the San Antonio area.

Bethany Babcock has worked in property management, leasing and investment sales for over 20 years. She founded Foresite Real Estate in 2014.

In 2018 she was named by the San Antonio Business Journal as one of the “40 under 40”. Bethany is one of very few brokers in San Antonio to have received national awards in the categories of both top leasing agent and top investment sales agent. She has been published online with Forbes and featured in the Business Journal as well as been a guest speaker for the South Texas CCIM Symposium. Bethany also enjoys guest lecturing for the Real Estate Finance Department at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

In 2020 Bethany opened up Foresite’s own training program to those outside of the company and created the “CRE Launch Program” which has worked with students from more than 10 universities and 12 different brokerage firms to develop and retain new talent in the industry.

The unique culture at Foresite has lured industry veterans as well as developed exceptional talent internally and in 2022 Foresite was named #1 Best Place to Work for Small Businesses by the San Antonio Business Journal.

Bethany graduated from UTSA double majoring in International Business and Finance. She went on to earn her MBA with a concentration in Finance from Texas A&M University-San Antonio. She is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, a board member for Adult and Teen Challenge of Texas and is a mother of three.

Verónica (Vero) R. Soto joined the City of San Antonio, Texas in July 2017 as Director of the newly created Neighborhood and Housing Services Department. Vero administers the City’s housing policies and programs, HUD entitlement grants, and Tax Increment Finance program and oversees housing production programs, neighborhood engagement, Neighborhood Improvement Bond program implementation, fair housing and leads housing policy development.

Vero has over 20 years of experience in planning, housing and neighborhood development. She previously served as the Director of the Community and Human Development Department for the City of El Paso leading housing and neighborhood revitalization efforts and management of that city’s federal entitlement and other grant dollars. She spent four years as Executive Director of El Paso’s Downtown Management District where the tax base grew by 14% under her leadership and received multiple awards from the International Downtown Association. This position built upon her work in the Economic Development Department where she created and successfully administered several incentive programs for the City of El Paso. Earlier in her career she served as the Director for Community Development for Sunland Park, New Mexico overseeing planning and zoning, building permitting, grants and grant compliance, economic development, capital projects and public works and she also served as the Chief Urban Planner for the City of El Paso where her most lasting legacy was the creation of the neighborhood planning program.

Michele Boggs joined the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation (SAEDF) in

June 2011. As leader of the Business Development team, Boggs recruits new

businesses and retains existing businesses in San Antonio through the Business

Retention & Expansion (BRE) Program, designed to assist local companies stay and

grow. Since 2011, she has assisted 55 companies to locate or expand in San Antonio,

securing more than 12,000 jobs for San Antonians. She is also the SAEDF lead for the

recruitment and retention of Life Science companies in San Antonio and is on the board

of BioMed SA.

Prior to joining SAEDF, Michele worked as a Research Analyst for the Texas

Comptroller of Public Accounts. There she was a contributing author and researcher on

various studies including the Financial Allocation Study for Texas (FAST) and the Texas

in Focus series, which analyzed factors affecting the state of Texas’ economy and

economic development issues unique to the various regions of the state. Michele holds

a Master of Arts Degree and a Bachelor’s Degree from Texas State University.

Shea Johnson, has over 20 years of business development, communication, marketing, and project management experience in both the private and public sectors. Holding a BS in Business Administration from George Mason University, Shea is a 10-year U.S. Navy veteran and has dedicated years of his career to roles in the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill, and for the White House. In his position of Director of Business Development, Shea will apply his extensive experience with Business Development, A/E/C Industry and Healthcare Legislation, and Healthcare Construction including Design-Build, Construction Manager-at Risk (CMAR) and Public-Private Partnership (P3) projects. Shea is active in the community serving on the Board of Directors for Crosspoint Inc., President-Elect for the Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects (I-LinCP) San Antonio Chapter, and Placemaking Council for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) San Antonio Chapter.