Vaki Mawema leads Gensler’s Baltimore office as Managing Director and Principal. He also leads Gensler’s Southeast regional Mixed Use practice area which focuses on the planning and design of experiential, branded environments that include office, retail, hospitality and food & beverage. His leadership within Gensler has created an enterprising workplace culture that embodies creative passion, design excellence, exceptional client service, and promotes leadership and entrepreneurship. Within the community Vaki is known as a business leader and industry expert and was named one of the Baltimore Business Journal’s Leaders in Diversity for 2021. His colleagues admire his creative eye and rigor, and his vast array of award-winning projects speak for themselves.

John is a licensed Structural Engineer in Maryland. Before joining Woodworks, he enjoyed working on various projects in the capital region for clients like the Smithsonian Institute and The National Parks Service, collaborating with architects and other engineers along the way. John is a member of Engineers Without Borders, enjoys woodworking in his free time, and is passionate about the sustainable aspects of wood construction. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Penn State University and a Master of Civil Engineering Degree from Johns Hopkins University with a focus in structural engineering.

Pamela Labarta is an Account Executive at Vicinity Energy. She is responsible for connecting new buildings to their clean energy here in Baltimore and also assists in the growth of Vicinity’s Philadelphia and Tulsa districts. Pamela has over 15 years of sales leadership and business development experience and thrives on cultivating new relationships and solutions for her contacts. Prior to joining Vicinity Energy, she spent several years in hospitality and was part of the Senior Opening Team for the first ever Live! Hotel with the Cordish Companies. She holds a degree in business and a certification in hospitality sales through ALHI.

You may have seen Pamela at a recent networking event as she represents Vicinity at BOMA, IFMA, NAIOP and is a newly elected board member of CREW. Pamela was born and raised in Maryland, and currently resides in Pasadena with her husband and soon to be 7 year old son.

James Lighthizer is the Founder and Managing Partner of Chesapeake Real Estate Group, LLC (CREG), a leading full-service commercial real estate investment and development firm headquartered in the Baltimore-Washington region. Since founding the firm in 2004, Mr. Lighthizer has led CREG through the acquisition, development, and asset management of more than 45 properties totaling over 8 million square feet of industrial, office, self-storage, and retail space across the Mid-Atlantic. Under his leadership, CREG has built a reputation for executing a disciplined investment strategy focused on value-add, build-to-core, and speculative development opportunities.

Mr. Lighthizer brings more than 37 years of experience in commercial real estate. Prior to founding CREG, he spent 16 years at CBRE, where he rose to the rank of Senior Vice President and Partner and was consistently among the firm's top producers nationally. During his tenure, he advised institutional clients such as RREEF, Ohio Teachers, Invesco, Opus, First Industrial, and LaSalle Advisors. He was also a recognized leader within CBRE’s National Global Logistics Practice Group, representing major occupiers across the country.

At CREG, Mr. Lighthizer has spearheaded some of the region’s most significant industrial transactions. Notable highlights include acquiring and developing Brandon Woods 3, a 1 million square foot ecommerce project occupied by Amazon and Best Buy. Port 95 Logistics, a 1 million square foot development at the Port, converting a 600,000 sf Unilever manufacturing facility. Baltimore Crossroads @95, a 240-acre business park with 1.5 million square feet of planned development. His brokerage business from CBRE carried over with his representing General Motors in the $33 million sale of its 182-acre Baltimore Van Assembly Plant to Duke Realty and he also played a pivotal role in GM’s acquisition of land in White Marsh, Maryland, for its 800,000 square-foot Allison Transmission Plant.

Throughout CREG’s history, Mr. Lighthizer has forged strategic capital partnerships with premier institutions including The Carlyle Group, USAA, Prudential Real Estate Investors, EverWest Investors, TA Advisors, Atapco Properties, and others. These relationships have been instrumental in growing the firm’s portfolio and expanding its presence along the I-95 and I-81 corridors in Maryland, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia.

Mr. Lighthizer holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mount St. Mary’s College (Class of 1988) and completed formal sales and corporate service training with CBRE/USC. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he is a graduate of Gilmour Academy.

Mr. Poverni’s expertise encompasses structuring and managing of the development life cycle, from project feasibility studies, to site control, financing, syndication, construction management, asset stabilization and disposition. Mr. Poverni founded the firm in 2011 and continues to be the driving force behinds its growth, and is thankful for the talented people that work at PSG to help make its’ projects and business lines a success day-in and day-out. Mr. Poverni holds a J.D. from the George Washington University, and an M.B.A from the University of Maryland.

Brian Flank, a principal with Neuberger, Quinn, Gielen, Rubin & Gibber, P.A., is a corporate attorney whose practice encompasses mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, financing, tax and real estate. He works with a wide variety of businesses, including commercial real estate developers, health care servicers, automobile dealers and other clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and the nation.

Mr. Gibbons became Chairman of the Board in October, 2010. Since joining the company in 1999, Mr. Gibbons has overseen the acquisition, finance, leasing, development and management of over 8,000,000 square feet of award-winning mixed-use and revitalization projects with a value in excess of $1.2 billion. Major Greenberg Gibbons projects led by Mr. Gibbons include:

Ground up development of Village at Waugh Chapel and Waugh Chapel Towne Centre in Anne Arundel County, MD

The redevelopment of Hunt Valley Mall, now known as Hunt Valley Towne Centre in Baltimore County, MD

Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole in Annapolis, MD

Edgewater Village Center in Anne Arundel County, MD

Woodmore Towne Centre in Prince George’s County, MD

Towne Centre Laurel in Laurel, MD

Foundry Row in Owings Mills, MD

Prior to joining Greenberg Gibbons, he was a Partner and member of the management committee of Fedder and Garten, P.A., a Baltimore, Maryland law firm. Mr. Gibbons earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Sciences and a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Maryland. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and serves on the boards of Sinai Hospital, Hospice of the Chesapeake, and the University of Maryland at Baltimore.

In 2013, Mr. Gibbons received the Distinguished Citizens Award from the Boy Scouts of America’s Baltimore Chapter for exemplifying strong community leadership and personal integrity. Most recently, he was named to the State of Maryland’s Private Sector Economic Development Commission, a group formed to recommend strategies to help map the future growth of Maryland’s economy.

Marcus L. Wang, Esq., is a Harvard-educated CEO and New York-licensed a_orney with

proven experience both in building startups to profitability and in expanding public

companies globally. He has powered companies to success in diverse sectors ranging from

biotech and genomics to retail and e-commerce, in both the U.S. and China.