Sara Cassidy is an Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Real Estate Americas. Sara is an acquisition officer and is responsible for the origination and structuring of real estate investment transactions in the Northeast. Her role focuses on acquiring core, value-add and opportunistic office, residential, retail and industrial real estate. Sara has worked in the metro New York market and currently focuses on Boston and the New England region. Sara has been involved with the origination and structuring of over $3.5 billion of transactions in all product types on behalf of institutional investors.

Jennifer Dumas Hall is a Managing Director of CrossHarborCapital Partners LLC and is responsible for capital fund raising initiatives and investor relations. In addition to her primary responsibilities, Ms. Dumas Hall participates in the origination and underwriting of real estate transactions for the firm’s various investment funds. Ms. Dumas Hall began her real estate career in 1993 at Capstone Properties, a regional real estate company, where her responsibilities included the evaluation and implementation of value-added strategies for distressed real estate assets. Immediately prior to joining CrossHarbor, Ms. Dumas Hall was employed with Banc of America Securities (formerly Fleet Securities, Inc.) where she was a Vice President in Real Estate Corporate and Investment Banking, and formerly a Vice President in Syndication – Origination & Structuring. During her eight years at Banc of America Securities, Ms. Dumas Hall had primary responsibilities in client services, structuring debt capital raising strategies and delivering liquid product solutions to real estate clients. Throughout her tenure she participated in the origination, analysis, structuring, closing and syndication of over 130 transactions with aggregate volume of nearly $20.0 billion. Ms. Dumas Hall received a B.S. degree in Accounting from Bentley College and an M.B.A. with honors from Boston College Carroll School of Management.

As part of the Senior Management Team, Keith Craig is involved in the day to day operations of the Company. As Director, Keith is responsible for all aspects of development including strategy, financial analysis, entitlements, programming and design, directing team members and third party consultants, managing contracts, and project execution.

Keith has 17 years of experience in Boston’s real estate community. Prior to joining NB Development Group, Keith worked for Northland Investment Corporation, an owner and developer of residential and commercial real estate, Epsilon Associates, Joslin, Lesser & Associates (now NV5), and the City of Somerville. Keith also spent several years as a Senior Project Manager with the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) managing the design and development review process for a range of complex development projects, including major area colleges and hospitals. While at the BRA, he facilitated the entitlement and permitting process for more than 10 million square feet of development.

Keith graduated from Dalhousie University with a Masters degree in Urban Planning and received his Bachelors degree from the University of Calgary. Keith is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. He is also a LEED Accredited Professional.

John Barros is a husband, father of four young children, community development leader, small business owner, Boston’s first Chief of Economic Development, and a former mayoral candidate for the City of Boston. A lifelong resident of Boston, John’s parents emigrated from Cabo Verde to Boston, where he attended both public and Catholic schools. At age 14, John became a community organizer with the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), the Roxbury and Dorchester-based community land trust; later, John became the Executive Director of DSNI, where he worked alongside community leaders to build schools, community centers, affordable housing and parks. As Chief of Economic Development, John brought 140,000 new jobs to Boston, while also investing millions of dollars in job training for local residents. As part of Boston's response to the COVID-19 crisis, John co-convened the City’s Health Inequities Task Force, which guided the city in addressing inequities in data analysis, testing sites, and healthcare services for Bostonians who are Asian, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and immigrants. More information can be found at: https://www.barrosformayor.com/

Mr. Gronning is a Partner of Normandy and co-founder of the Normandy Real Estate Funds. Prior to Normandy, he held the position of Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Morgan Stanley’s real estate investing division. During his 12 years at Morgan Stanley, he was responsible for a $13 billion asset portfolio that served more than 100 clients. He was also instrumental in raising over $2.6 billion in capital for the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) and integrating the Lend Lease real estate investment business into the company. Mr. Gronning, a Certified Public Accountant, earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business/Accounting from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Brian Kavoogian is CEO of National Development, one of Greater Boston’s leading real estate development, investment and management firms. Formed in 1983, the firm is recognized as one of the region’s most innovative and creative real estate firms, working with its partners and stakeholders to create great places to live, work and play within the Greater Boston region and providing its investors with attractive risk adjusted returns. The firm is focused almost entirely on the Greater Boston region, where it has, over the past 35 years, become ingrained in the local community, in the belief that its local knowledge and relationships will result in better projects and better investments. The firm’s projects involve a mix of uses, which we are able to create as a result of our expertise across the property-type spectrum including office, research, industrial, retail, senior housing, multifamily and lodging. Its capital is provided by its fully-discretionary closed-end Charles River funds, which it manages on behalf of a group of educational endowments, foundations, pension funds and family offices. Throughout its history, the firm has acquired or developed over 30 million SF in over 45 communities throughout the region, and invested over $6 billion on behalf of its investors.

In 2006, Brian co-founded Charles River Realty Investors as the investment management platform of National Development. Charles River raised over $1.1 billion of equity capital across its four funds before combining with National Development in 2019 to form a seamless, vertically-integrated firm.

Brian is involved with a number of civic, charitable and industry-related organizations. He is a past chairman of both of the region’s real estate trade organizations, the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and NAIOP Massachusetts, where he remains on the Board of Directors.

In 2015, he was appointed by Governor Charlie Baker to the board of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency where he serves as the Vice Chair. Brian is an Overseer of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and a member of the Partners Healthcare System, Inc. Corporation. He is a Trustee Emeritus of Tufts University, a past co-chairman of Heading Home and the past Vice Chairman of the Greater Boston YMCA. Brian received a BA from Tufts University in 1984.

Mr. Petz joined Colliers in 2019 and serves as managing director of investment sales within the Capital Markets team. He carries extensive experience in the disposition of core trophy assets, as well as a diverse mix of urban/suburban office, industrial, life science, and land development assets.

As the U.S. leader of office sales, Frank serves on the Board of Advisors for U.S. Capital Markets, Colliers' national platform of financing and sales advisors dedicated to elevating our brand and providing best-in-class service to our clients.

Immediately prior to joining Colliers, Mr. Petz led the growth of JLL’s overall capital markets business in New England. Prior to JLL, he served as director of capital markets activity at both Eastdil and CBRE, and ultimately built his capital markets foundation on the buy-side at AEW Capital Management for the first 15 years of his career.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is an integrated, multi-modal transportation agency composed of Highway, Rail and Transit, and Aeronautics Divisions, as well as a Registry of Motor Vehicles. The Department of Transportation is led by Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack, who also sits on the Board of the Massachusetts Port Authority. Pollack has been Secretary of Transportation and CEO of MassDOT since 2015.

As Secretary, Pollack has led efforts to establish project selection criteria and set investment priorities for a $13 billion, five-year capital plan that focuses on improving reliability for the traveling public by modernizing Massachusetts’ transportation assets. She has focused MassDOT on better serving its customers, with initiatives such as All-Electronic Tolling and reducing wait-times at Registry of Motor Vehicles. Since July 2015, the leadership of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) has also reported to Secretary Pollack, giving her a critical role in steering the ongoing turnaround of the transit system serving Eastern Massachusetts.

Before being named Secretary, Pollack worked on transportation policy, finance, and equity as Associate Director for Research at the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University, where she has also served as an adjunct professor. Her academic work followed a distinguished legal career at the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston. Pollack also spent over a decade providing strategic guidance as a consultant on transportation, equity, and environmental issues to the public, private, and non-profit sectors, both nationally and locally.

Pollack received both a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School.

C. A. Webb designs and builds platforms that enable communities to thrive. At her core, C.A. is a creator. She has co-founded a foundation (Trinity Boston Foundation), launched a venture capital fund (Underscore), and has built numerous tech and consumer products at companies including Whole Foods Market, Preserve, Care.com, the New England Venture Capital Association, and Fast Company magazine. C.A.'s passions include urban living, public transit, social and economic equity, food, and her two young daughters. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and serves on the boards of The Boston Foundation, the Alliance for Business Leadership, T4MA, and MassRobotics. C.A. has been named "one of the 100 Most Influential People in Boston" by Boston Magazine and an "Innovation All Star" by the Boston Business Journal.

C.A. and her team at the Kendall Square Association create systems, products, and campaigns to drive connectivity, learning, and social impact for the world's epicenter for innovation.

Leslie Cohen is the COO and Head of Asset Management for Samuels &

Associates. She is responsible for executing the strategic vision of the firm

across numerous multi-billion dollar developments in Boston and the surrounding

communities. Since joining Samuels & Associates in 2002, she has successfully

overseen the rise of major projects like Pierce, a 30-story luxury residence in The

Fenway and Continuum, a pioneering mixed-use development in the heart of

North Allston, MA.

Cohen served as the President of CREW Boston (formerly NEWiRE); she is

currently on the NAIOP MA Board Management Committee, and is a member of

ULI. Cohen serves on the Board of Trustees and the building committee at the

West End House in Allston, on the Building and Grounds Committee at Tufts

University, and volunteers at the Heath School.

In 2013, Cohen was selected as a Boston Business Journal’s 40 under 40

honoree, and in 2014 she was chosen as a recipient of Bisnow’s 2014 Top 50

women in commercial real estate award.

Lauren Jezienicki is responsible for identifying development opportunities and overseeing the company’s New England development pipeline of nearly two million square feet.

Prior to joining Bozzuto, Lauren worked at The JBG Companies in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where she served as a Vice President of Development and was responsible for the underwriting, design, entitlement, construction, and delivery of nearly one million square feet of urban multifamily projects. Prior to working at The JBG Companies, Lauren was an Assistant Development Manager at The Shooshan Company in Arlington, Virginia on the Liberty Center project, a one million square foot mixed-use project in the Ballston neighborhood. Lauren graduated from Boston University with a bachelor’s in business administration and Columbia University with a master’s in business administration. She is an active member of NAIOP Massachusetts and the Urban Land Institute. Lauren also serves on as an Executive Committee Board Member of the Design Museum Foundation.

Sean O’Brien, P.E. joined BSC Group in 2017 as the firm’s chief executive officer, bringing a 25-year track record of industry leadership in the transportation, private sector, federal and state client markets nationally. Locally, he has contributed to some of New England’s most notable transportation infrastructure improvement projects and numerous projects for public and private sector clients.

Since joining BSC Group, Sean has focused on driving BSC’s growth as a regional leader in the transportation, energy, public and private markets. Propelled by a dedication to clients and technical excellence, he fosters a firm-wide culture of service, innovation and responsiveness. Sean holds an MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, as well as an MS in civil engineering from Tufts University and a BS in environmental engineering from Norwich University.

Rebecca Davis has worked with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council since 2008, serving as the agency’s Deputy Director since 2015. As Deputy Director, Ms. Davis oversees the agency’s operations and finance departments, policy and communications work, climate and municipal governance functions, and works across all departments to implement MAPC’s strategic priorities in alignment with the agency’s visionary regional plan, MetroFuture: Making a Greater Boston Region.

Prior to her appointment as Deputy Director, Rebecca served as Director of both the Government Affairs and Clean Energy teams at MAPC. As Government Affairs Director, she developed and led MAPC’s legislative agenda both at the state and federal level, including zoning reform legislation, transportation funding, and energy and environmental initiatives. She also served as the legislative director for the Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies (MARPA), the organization of all 13 regional planning agencies in the state. As the head of MAPC’s Clean Energy Division, Ms. Davis oversaw all of MAPC’s clean energy work and focused on promoting local and state policies that support the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects at the local level.She also served on the Governor Baker’s Future of Transportation Commission, the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council, the Global Warming Solutions Act Implementation Advisory Committee and the Green Communities Advisory Commission.

Prior to joining MAPC, Ms. Davis worked in the Massachusetts State House as Legislative Director to State Senator Robert O’Leary, where she worked on the passage of numerous environmental laws, including the Massachusetts Oceans Act, the nation’s first ocean management legislation and the Green Communities Act, creating policy to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy development. Ms. Davis has experience working on numerous political campaigns, most recently serving as the Campaign Manager for a Congressional race.

Ms. Davis is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and American Institutions.

Areas of Expertise: Legislative advocacy, energy policy, municipal government, environmental policy, transportation policy

Mr. Ashleigh R. Simpson is a Director, and Head of North East Acquisitions at MetLife Real Estate. Ashleigh was instrumental in completing $5bn of commercial real estate investments nationally including New York, Boston, Washington, D.C and Denver. Ashleigh successfully led teams during significant expansion periods at leading public and private real estate platforms. Ashleigh attended the University of Maryland, majoring in Political Science and Philosophy. He received a Masters in Real Estate Finance from the Georgetown University. Ashleigh is a United States Marine Corps veteran. Ashleigh most recently Chaired MetLife’s Military Veteran Network (MVET), Investments Chapter and a champion for service veterans.

Mr. Hirschfeld is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hirschfeld Properties LLC, President of Hirschfeld Building Construction Company, President and CEO of Hirschfeld Management, Inc., and a principal in all three companies. Prior to 1987, Mr. Hirschfeld was employed by Konover and Associates, Inc., one of the largest privately-held real estate development firms in the United States. Since 1987, he has been a principal in The Hirschfeld Companies LLC and its related companies, where he currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Hirschfeld has been involved in all aspects of senior level management and operation of The Hirschfeld Companies LLC and its related companies. He has been a principal in Hirschfeld Properties since 1987 and has been engaged in real estate development, acquisition and management for the past 30 years. Mr. Hirschfeld has extensive experience raising capital in both the public and private debt and equity markets. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Finance from Boston University's School of Management. Mr. Hirschfeld is a member of the National Multi Housing Council and has served on its board of directors . He is a member of the board of directors of Friends of Yemin Orde and a former member of the New York Cabinet of JINSA (The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs). Mr. Hirschfeld is former Connecticut State Government Affairs Committee Co-Chairman for the International Council of Shopping Centers and served on its National Government Affairs Committee. He is a past speaker and advisor to the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York and the Boston University Entrepreneurial Forum.

Simon Spira represents CH interest in the Northeast. In that capacity he heads up acquisition, entitlement, and business development throughout the Northeast including Boston, DC, Philadelphia, NYC. Simon obtained a BA from Yeshiva University in 2008, a JD from Loyola Law School in 2012, and is a bar certified attorney.

Joseph “Joe” A. Larkin directs the development activities of MP Boston, including all permitting, planning, commercial leasing, asset management, programming, and more. For the last 20 years Joe has worked in a changing Boston and seen what makes this city great, and now has a unique perspective on urban development and a vision for the heights to which Boston can rise in the future.

Joe has been closely involved in the development and management aspects of large-scale urban properties in Boston including 10 St. James Avenue in Boston’s Back Bay office complex, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Towers, One Charles Condominium, the redevelopment of 179 Lincoln Street, Millennium Place, the successful redevelopment of the landmark 1912 Burnham Building and the adjacent Millennium Tower Boston in Downtown Boston.

Joe now oversees the development of Winthrop Center, located in the heart of Downtown Boston. .Set to be completed in spring 2022, Winthrop Center will feature innovative office work space, residential units, retail, dining, and commercial space, along with a curated public gathering space. The $1.35 billion-dollar development is the largest private investment for a single project in Boston and will create a compelling presence on both the skyline and at the pedestrian level. As a result of Winthrop Center’s development, a wide array of neighborhoods and communities in Boston will receive monetary contributions from the City of Boston including Boston Common, Franklin Park, South Boston’s Old Colony public housing complex, Emerald Necklace, and East Boston’s Orient Heights public housing complex.

Prior to joining MP Boston, Joe was the District Manager for Westinghouse Credit Corporation Real Estate Investment Unit. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Boston University.

Ben Pleat is CEO and Founder of Cobu, a real estate technology and services company that is changing the apartment living experience by powering genuine community through technology, experiences, and analytics. As a New York native, Ben has seen first hand just how impactful a sense of community can be toward bringing a sense of belonging to a physical space. Ben is constantly fascinated by innovation in the built world, and has explored the nexus of real estate and technology while with companies like WeWork, Goldman Sachs, and Israel Cleantech Ventures. Ben is based in Downtown Boston with his team.