Senior Vice President Construction Located in Boston, he oversees the construction of The Congress Group’s ground-up and large renovation developments. James is responsible for the development of pre-construction phases through contract award, procurement and construction to occupancy, space turnover and contract closeout. James worked with The Congress Group starting in 2006 in both the Florida and Boston markets as their Construction Manager (Martini Florida, AJ Martini and Commodore Builders) prior to joining The Congress Group in 2020. Prior to joining The Congress Group, James has worked throughout the U.S. on a wide spectrum of projects. In New Mexico, three industrial parks, three million SF of warehousing and manufacturing facilities. In Florida, interior fit-outs, healthcare, Airport, multifamily, commercial, mid-rise office buildings, and system upgrades. In Boston, commercial, multifamily, higher education, public works, and hospitality.

Josh Billings is a Vice President of Construction at The HYM Investment Group, LLC. Mr. Billings joined HYM in 2019 to manage the design and construction of One Congress, a one-million square foot office tower that opened in 2023. He now oversees the design and construction of complex mixed-use projects, such as Bulfinch Crossing (the redevelopment of the Government Center Garage, including One Congress), Parcel 3 Roxbury and the Dot Ave development. Mr. Billings previously worked as an architect at Gensler, for corporate clients,

and Elkus Manfredi, where he focused on the design and construction of complex mixed-use projects for developer and institutional clients. Mr. Billings is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a Master of Architecture from Northeastern University.

As the firm’s CEO and founder of the Boston branch of HLB, Carrie brings 30 years of substantive experience in the world of architectural lighting design. She is a dynamic and passionate leader, an architect by training, and has a design sensibility that transcends standard design schemes. Carrie is an active member of the architectural community and has served in many industry leadership positions, including board roles in various professional organizations. Carrie frequently shares her thought leadership with worldwide lighting and architecture communities, with recent speaking engagements that include virtual webinars, Lightfair, ABX, BisNow, and the IALD Americas, Europe and Asia Conferences.

Brooks is a cross-disciplined specialist consulting in the delivery of innovative employee benefits, retirement, commercial property and casualty and private client insurance solutions at NFP, the 7th largest benefits broker by global revenue and the 7th largest US-based privately owned insurance broker.

He designs cash-sensitive programs using self-insurance, captives, and other alternative risk methods.

As a Senior Advisor at NFP, his management expertise includes healthcare and life sciences, financial services, manufacturing, energy, hospitality and franchise risk, technology, cannabis, digital assets, sports and entertainment, real estate, and nonprofits.

He was previously a Managing Consultant for national insurance brokerage SafeHarbor Consulting and Risk Management, acquired by NFP in 2014. During that time, he oversaw a broad set of responsibilities, including new business development and account management operations.

While at Accenture, he had the honor of being awarded co-inventor of a “Return on Investment (ROI) Tool” (US patent #: US 7,647,260 B2), a total-cost-of-ownership framework for custom software development.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Business Administration from Babson College’s F.W. Olin School of Business.

He is also FINRA Series 65 licensed; a licensed producer for life, accident and health insurance and for property and casualty insurance; and has earned the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) professional designations.

Canan Safar manages real estate development projects for CV Properties and Accordia Partners, with her current focus on the Dorchester Bay City project, a $5 Billion, transformative 36-acre, 6.1 million square foot Transit-Oriented Development near the JFK/UMass Station. Currently received the City of Boston’s zoning approval and FEIR Certificate from the State, the project will create nearly 2,000 multifamily units and 4 million square feet of commercial and retail space, generate 25,000 permanent jobs, dedicate over 15 acres to open spaces with 3.7 miles of new bike lanes while implementing neighborhood-scale climate resilience measures.

Canan has extensive experience in real estate development, having led complex urban mixed-use projects locally and nationally. Prior to joining CV Properties, she worked as the Director of Infrastructure for the Harvard Allston Land Company at Harvard University, where she was responsible for developing the strategic infrastructure master plan, construction feasibility, and the resiliency and sustainability aspects of the University’s 36-acre Enterprise Research Campus. She served as a member of the selection committee for the Enterprise Research Campus project RFP process on behalf of the University. Prior to Harvard, Canan oversaw the development of the 16 million square foot Suffolk Downs Redevelopment mixed-use project for HYM Investment Group and managed the acquisition and development of over 1,000 unit multi-family apartment projects in the Boston area. She has also worked on economic development projects for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, focusing on public-private partnerships to optimize the state’s underutilized real estate assets.

Before her transition to real estate development, Canan was an architect at Elkus Manfredi Architects in Boston. Canan holds an MS degree in RED from MIT and a BA in Architecture from YTU in Istanbul.

Gareth Orsmond focuses his practice on commercial real estate, land

use, environmental, and energy matters in Massachusetts and New

Hampshire.

His practice encompasses transactional work, permitting, and litigation.

Gareth started his career as an environmental and land use lawyer

before building his commercial transactional practice. This background

enables him to negotiate and implement complex real estate deals while

resolving challenging environmental and land use issues.

Gareth played a leading role in impactful developments in metro Boston,

including University Station in Westwood, the St. Regis Residences in

Boston, and the Skating Club of Boston’s state-of-the-art Olympic

training center in Norwood.

Gareth’s extensive experience in environmental, land use, and

governmental matters includes his work with the Cape Cod Commission,

the Cape and Islands Water Protection Fund, and nonprofit organizations

and municipalities, including Westwood, Somerville, Salem, and Medway,

Mass., and Somersworth, New Hampshire. He has particular expertise in

the Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act, known as Chapter 91.

In the energy sector, Gareth is lead transactional and environmental

counsel and handles aspects of the complex permitting efforts for a

leading U.S. operator and developer of utility-scale battery energy

storage systems in connection with a proposed 700±-MW battery energy

storage system that will occupy a critical, urban location. He also

represents one of four electric utility providers in New Hampshire, which

operates Massachusetts facilities as well, and represents landowners and

developers in renewable energy projects, including solar arrays and

battery energy storage systems.

As an educator, Gareth taught the land use seminar and clinic at New

England Law|Boston for 10 years. He also teaches continuing legal

education seminars and authors publications.

Gareth earned a master's in jazz studies, with honors, from the New

England Conservatory of Music. He has performed in many venues,

including Boston’s historic Jordan Hall, the Village Vanguard in New York,

and Ronnie Scott's in London.

Mark started his career at Haley & Aldrich in 2000 and since then has collaborated with clients as a project engineer, project manager, and a principal. As an integral member of his clients’ teams from the earliest phase of a project through completion, he partners with clients and team members on a project to understand the project goals and identify shared solutions.

Mark has a proven understanding of the entire ecosystem of vertical development project including the many stakeholders involved – whether they are investors, public agencies, or project abutters. He knows that in development, it is critical to implement solutions that anticipate the unexpected challenges that arise in below grade construction. That’s why he puts himself in his clients’ shoes at every step by thinking ahead and helping them achieve successful outcomes while balancing cost, quality, risk, and time.