Keane is the former Planning Director of Baltimore City and a nationally recognized city

planner. In his time at the Planning Department, he has established himself as a leader and

partner for key stakeholders across the private and public sector, overseeing urban

planning and design, land use and zoning, development, and capital budgeting, as well as

the City's sustainability, food policy, and historic preservation offices.

Keane has previously led the planning departments of four significant cities: Charleston,

South Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Boise, Idaho; and Calgary, Canada. Leading these

departments, Keane has been responsible for planning, housing, community development,

and every other aspect of city development.

Keane also brings extensive housing policy experience to DHCD. He has guided major

policy initiatives such as rezoning projects to expand affordable housing, city permitting

operations, and implementing protections from displacement for low-income

homeowners. Keane has also worked closely on reorganizing city agencies and

departments: while serving as Planning Commissioner in Atlanta, Keane led a holistic

reorganization of both the departments for planning and housing, and as the head of

Planning, Permitting, & Engineering in Charleston, Keane oversaw the consolidation of

multiple city departments and offices. These efforts both made their respective agencies

more effective and service-oriented.

Keane holds both a Master of Science in Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in Planning

from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He also served as a Fellow at the

University of Miami School of Architecture and on the adjunct faculty at the College of

Charleston.

Mr Ernst Valery is a co-managing member of SAA | EVI and shares overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations and execution of SAA | EVI projects and relationships. Mr. Valery has successfully invested in and developed real estate in Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Pennsylvania; Virginia; California; and New York. For the past 16 years, he has been involved with development projects ranging from mixed-use, multi-tenant rental properties, single-family renovations and condominium conversions.

Mr. Valery is the founder and president of SAA | EVI affiliate Ernst Valery Investments Corp. (EVI), a private, minority-owned real estate investment firm established in 2001. EVI invests in select underserved and undervalued key emerging domestic real estate markets, defined as urban transitional areas with high residential and retail demand. Mr. Valery has extensive experience in affordable and market rate housing development and investment, including providing due diligence capabilities and extensive skills in budget planning, design development, marketing, and the supervision and guidance of contractors, architects and engineers. He is responsible for the securing and structuring of financing, including expertise in securing Historic and New Markets tax credits.

Mr. Valery is also active in social entrepreneurship and volunteer work, including a collaboration with a team of professionals and graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Community Innovators Lab (MIT CoLab) as well as efforts at incubating businesses around the world that help alleviate poverty and increase the earning potential of low income individuals, families, and communities.

Mr. Valery graduated from Columbia University’s Master of Science program in Real Estate Development. He also obtained a Master’s Degree in Policy Analysis and Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban and Regional Planning with a concentration in International Relations, both from Cornell University. Ernst is also a Mel King Community Fellow at MITs CoLab.

Jeff Ratnow is a former practicing land development civil professional engineer who transitioned into real estate development, specifically affordable housing at age 40. At the firms he worked at prior to founding Site Insight, Jeff both sourced, structured and development-managed Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects. 

Site Insight is a Baltimore City-based real estate investment, development advisory, and project management firm, founded in 2016 by Jeff Ratnow. Site Insight helps clients successfully execute complex real estate developments by bringing together the people, expertise strategy and effort needed to move projects forward.

Site Insight focuses on ground-up development, affordable housing, horizontal infrastructure, and community-based projects. Site Insight serves a broad range of clients: housing authorities, private development firms, non-profits, equity funds, REITs, lenders, asset management firms, community development corporations, and landowners. Its growing team currently operates out of its office at 16 W. Madison Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood in Baltimore City.  Site Insight is currently processing over 1500 LIHTC units through the State of Maryland for various development clients.

Having lived and worked in Baltimore City for nearly 30 years, Jeff has earned a reputation for being trustworthy, effective, fair, and creative. He thrives in the formative stages of a project — shaping a vision, aligning stakeholders, and identifying viable paths forward. His ability to integrate technical and financial thinking early in a project’s lifecycle consistently helps clients avoid costly missteps and delays.

Jeff graduated from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He also obtained a Master of Science in Real Estate Finance from Johns Hopkins University.  Jeff lives in the Baltimore City Federal Hill neighborhood with his wife of 30 years, Leeann, where they raised two upstanding young men, one a Poly Grad and the other a City Grad. Jeff and Leeann have a strong love, and commitment to their community and believe in the promise that Baltimore offers.

Ned Howe is Vice President of Development Sourcing and Structuring for Enterprise Community Development, Inc. In this capacity, he pursues new development opportunities for rental and homeownership communities throughout the Mid- Atlantic region. In his 19 years with Enterprise, Mr. Howe has been instrumental in acquisition, financing and development of affordable and market rate communities. Many of these developments such as The Greens at Irvington Mews, The Greens at Hammonds Lane, Metro Heights at Mondawmin and Legacy at Twin Rivers have earned awards of distinction from industry wide publications and organizations.  Prior to joining Enterprise, Mr. Howe was the vice president of land development for the Maryland division of Beazer Homes Corp., a national homebuilder. At Beazer, he managed the land development department to support annual home sales of over 600 units with several developments earning achievement awards from the Maryland Homebuilder’s Association.

Mr. Howe’s experience also includes over 16 years of site planning, civil engineering and environmental engineering for municipal, residential, commercial, institutional and industrial development projects throughout the metropolitan Baltimore and Mid-Atlantic regions, as a consulting engineer with KCW Engineering Technologies, Inc.

Mr. Howe is a licensed professional engineer with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and an executive M.B.A. from Loyola University. He serves as Chairman of the Affordable Housing Committee for the Urban Land Institute Baltimore Affiliate, which covers all of Maryland outside of the DC MSA and is active in the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition.

Mary Claire Davis is Vice President of Real Estate Development for Affordable Homes & Communities (AHC), joining the nonprofit housing organization in 2009. She leads development efforts for AHC in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Prior to joining AHC, she managed affordable housing developments with Victory Housing and Wesley Housing. Mary Claire earned a master’s degree in urban and environmental planning from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Emory University. She is a member and officer of the Board of Directors for the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition, also serving as co-chair of the Legislative Committee, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Women’s Housing Coalition, a supportive housing provider in Baltimore. She also served on the Housing Committee for Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s transition team in 2023 and participated in the 2024 class of Leadership Maryland’s Executive Program.

Melissa Gambuto is President of WPM’s Multifamily Real Estate Division and has 27 years of experience in the multifamily residential industry. As part of the company’s strategic succession planning, she joined WPM in 2019 as Regional Property Manager and served as Director of Operations before taking over as Division President.

Prior to WPM, Melissa’s career included various property management and senior leadership positions with companies such as Bozzuto, Greystar and Kettler. She has managed a wide variety of property types, sizes and locations, giving her a breadth of experience and industry knowledge across all aspects of multifamily management. Under Melissa’s leadership, WPM has significantly grown its multifamily portfolio, almost tripling both the number of units under management as well as Associates employed with WPM.

Melissa holds the Certified Property Manager (CPM®) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), the elite mark of distinction for property managers that designates them as reliable, committed authorities in the industry. She is actively involved in and has held board-level and committee positions with IREM Chapter 16 and the Maryland Multi Housing Association (MMHA), currently serving as immediate past President of IREM Chapter 16.

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Towson University and is a lifetime resident of Baltimore.

A lifelong Baltimore resident, Liz has spent more than fifteen years building community-

focused partnerships and programs across the city. She currently serves as Director of

the UniverCity District Partnership at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where she is

leading the implementation of UMB’s Vibrancy Initiative to strengthen connections

between the university, downtown, and surrounding neighborhoods through strategic

partnerships, placemaking, and community engagement.

Liz previously served as Assistant Deputy Mayor for Community and Economic

Development for the City of Baltimore, where she led cross-agency initiatives and

collaborative efforts such as DowntownRISE. Prior to that, she was Director of External

Relations at the Baltimore Metropolitan Council and held multiple leadership roles at Live

Baltimore, including Program Director, where she helped launch Baltimore’s Birthday Bash

and advanced resident recruitment and retention efforts.

Her work has consistently centered on connecting people, places, and institutions to

create shared opportunities and inclusive growth for all Baltimoreans. Liz is a proud

alumna of the University of Maryland System, Go Retrievers! She earned her B.A. in Political

Science from UMBC.

Outside of work, you might find her at Lexington Market, cheering on the Orioles, or

planning her next excuse to bring people together in celebration of Baltimore.

Andrew is head of acquisitions, development, sales & marketing for GL Capital. In these roles, Andrew 1) leads in the sourcing of new projects and due diligence process; 2) oversees asset redevelopment, construction and renovations; 3) manages the sales and marketing process to raise capital for acquisitions and dispose of assets for big payouts to investors.

Andrew also is the co-founder of the property management arm of GL Capital, known as Stork Property Management. Andrew is responsible for business development. He focuses on growing the company, establishing policies that promote the company’s culture and vision, and leading the sales team. Finally, Andrew adds significant value to the company through his leadership in the disposition of existing assets and his success in running his own residential sales business with Keller-Williams Realty Centre.

Prior, Andrew holds a Master of Art in Design from Maryland Institute College of Art and a Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School with a specialization in marketing. With a heart for mentorship, he has also worked as a volunteer for communities in Philadelphia and Baltimore and is dedicated to creating social impact through his charitable contributions.

Anthony Ragosta is a Sales & Business Development Manager with Metromont, one of the East coast’s largest and oldest precast concrete manufacturers. He responsible for development of market opportunities for precast concrete members including total precast concrete solutions for medium and high-rise buildings for projects within the DC-Baltimore-DelMar and PA regions. Anthony is a Professional Engineer and a Designated Design-Build professional who specializes in value engineering, preconstruction support and implementation of precast concrete. He actively works to educate architects, engineers, builders, and owners on the benefits of total precast concrete to generate aesthetic and resilient assets for Owners in the built environment.