Laura Brink Pisinski ’06MS is Vice President of University Real Estate Development and Facilities Management. Her teams are responsible for facilities and auxiliary services, conferences and events and public safety.

Primarily focused on efforts to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the campus physical plant through real estate deployment, facility renovation and utilization and institutional master planning, she also maintains significant relationships with key donors and University volunteers. In addition, Brink Pisinski leads the 13- member Simmons University COVID-19 Recovery Task Force.

During 16 years of service to Simmons, Brink Pisinski has held positions of increasing responsibility and scope. She started as a front-line fundraiser and over 11 years advanced ultimately to the position of Associate Vice President of Advancement. Following a successful career in fundraising, she served as the Chief of Staff to President Drinan, and was appointed to lead the One Simmons campus plan. She continues to oversee that $450 million initiative, the biggest real estate and master planning project in Simmons’ history.

Before coming to Simmons, Brink Pisinski worked in enrollment management, where she chaired the annual meeting for the New England Association of College Admission Counselors for two years as well as a presidential task force on retention. She holds a B.A. from St. Lawrence University and a master’s degree in communications management from Simmons University.

Sarah Gallop is Director of Government and Community Relations at MIT. She loves the Cambridge community and tries to bring a caring and collaborative problem-solving approach to her interactions with residents, public officials, and advocacy groups. Before joining MIT, Sarah worked for the City of Boston in various planning and development roles. Sarah received her BA in Political Science from Bates College and her MBA in Organizational Behavior from Boston University.

As vice president of public-private partnerships, Jason Taylor participates in American Campus Communities (ACC) business development and university partnership efforts. His responsibilities include assisting university leaders in the evaluation of facility financing and delivery options. Prior to joining ACC in 2019, Jason participated in the planning and execution of more than $1.5 billion in public-private partnership student housing, and advised more than 140 colleges and universities on the planning, feasibility and financing of campus housing. He served as managing director of university partnerships at Greystar where he led P3 student housing business development and partnership efforts in the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. He also served as chief executive of the advisory services practice in his 12 years at The Scion Group, which served more than 200 campus markets and advised more than $4.5 billion of student housing development during his tenure. He is an active member of numerous industry and professional associations, including the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I) Foundation Board of Trustees and ACUHO-I P3 Working Group, and is a frequent panelist and presenter on public-private partnerships and the future of higher education. Taylor began his career in university housing marketing and public relations at the University of Michigan, where he received his degree in economics.

Trisha Filippone is Vice President of Business Development and Client Services for Education. She works closely with regional and national leadership to develop client relations and implement growth strategy for the company’s Northeast Region, specializing in public and private K-12 education, as well as higher education, with a focus on Public Private Partnership delivery. She has spent the last 13 years in higher education, at institutions including Harvard, MIT and UMass, and over 32 years working on developing, financing, and constructing nearly $10 billion of assets in Massachusetts. She is a recognized leader in the industry and a Subject Matter Expert on Public Private Partnerships.

Prior to joining Suffolk, she served in various positions at the University of Massachusetts including Executive Director of the University of Massachusetts Building Authority (UMBA).

As Executive Director, Filippone oversaw an ambitious $3.1 billion growth plan that includes the building and renovation of academic and research buildings, dormitories, and athletic facilities on all five UMass campuses. She was involved in numerous capital projects to improve teaching, learning and student life. Filippone joined UMBA in 2012 as CFO and assistant secretary-treasurer. As CFO, she managed all aspects of finance, including controller, treasury, risk management, business systems, and capital planning.

In addition she served in various positions at The Broad Institute, including CFO and assistant treasurer, senior financial officer and controller. Previously, she was director of Allston Finance at Harvard University and 12 years at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Filippone is a member of the Massachusetts’s Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Treasurer’s Club of Boston, Financial Executives International, Boston Women in Public Finance, Professional Women in Construction, and the Society for College and University Planning.

In over twenty-five years at KieranTimberlake, Jason Smith has led the design and construction of the firm’s pivotal projects and has fostered the firm’s research and design culture. Together with his partners, he sets the design direction for projects and charts the course for the future of the firm. Jason works at all scales from private homes to large-scale master plans and has completed projects across North America. Jason has special expertise working with higher education clients in new, collaborative project delivery paradigms, including a widely successful Engineering Research facility produced with Integrated Project Delivery at Brown University. Jason is currently leading the West Campus Graduate Student Residences at MIT, the New Life Science Building at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, and a flagship life sciences facility in Center City Philadelphia for a private developer.

A registered architect and Principal, Chris Leary AIA, LEED AP has served as a project director on many of KlingStubbins’ (now part of Jacobs) innovative projects including the LEED Gold Certified AstraZeneca R&D Boston Expansion and the LEED Platinum Certified Autodesk AEC Headquarters. He is a frequent presenter and has authored several papers on building performance, sustainable design, and innovative practice and project delivery including BIM and IPD. Mr. Leary joined KlingStubbins, now Jacobs, in 1992, after earning a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Syracuse University.

Dr. Aisha Francis is President and Chief Executive Officer of Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the college, management of the senior leadership team and plays a critical role in advancing the mission of the college.

Gail Sullivan builds sustainable communities through architecture and planning by advancing social equity, environmental sustainability, community preservation, and empowerment through engagement. Establishing Studio G Architects in 1991, she leads by example to demonstrate the power of public interest architecture. Her projects include housing, K-12 schools, higher education, and early learning centers, commercial buildings, and community centers. She artfully resolves complex functional, social and programmatic concerns, particularly those that integrate building, neighborhood, and urban scales. Gail is committed to designing sustainable communities: green, mixed use, transit-oriented places that support a diverse population. She advocates zero net energy as the target against which to measure every project’s performance. She is a member of the AIA College of Fellows, CREW Boston, US Green Building Council, Living Building Challenge, Citizens Housing and Planning Association, and AIA CAE Leadership Group / Co-Chair of Early Childhood Learning Subcommittee. Gail is licensed in Mass., Maine, and Rhode Island, and holds an NCARB certificate.

As Co-President, Mahmood is responsible for co-managing Leggat McCall Properties and identifying new business opportunities. As a senior principal in the firm, he is a member of LMP’s Investment Committee and Executive Committee.

During the past 30 years with Leggat McCall Properties, Mahmood has had an active role in more than $2 billion worth of investment and development activities. Prior to his current role, he held the position of Chief Operating Officer for the company and was responsible for LMP’s third-party, fee-for-services activities, which were in excess of 14 million square feet of real estate. Prior to that, Mahmood was the Senior Vice President of Leggat McCall Properties, directing the Company’s Mid‑Atlantic development activities from Washington, D.C.

Mahmood is currently acting as a real estate advisor to several institutional owners, including Harvard University, Northeastern University, Tufts University and The First Church of Christ, Scientist on a wide range of strategic and transactional real estate matters.

Prior to joining Leggat McCall Properties in 1983, Mahmood worked in general contracting and civil/structural consulting in the Boston area.

Torrey advances sustainability and resiliency at Northeastern by focusing on the intersection of Campus Planning and Design and the goals of the Climate Justice and Sustainability Hub. As Senior Campus Planner, she works with colleagues across the University and larger community to plan effective and efficient spaces that support learning and discovery; challenge teams to design increasingly sustainable buildings, renovations, and infrastructure; and develop a climate justice action plan. Before joining Northeastern, Torrey worked in planning at Stanford University. She earned a Master in City Planning at MIT and has worked on sustainability and adaption solutions in Boston’s physical environment, across sectors.

David brings 20 years of experience in several different markets to his role at SGA, where he provides creative direction for commercial and higher-education commissions. He enjoys the diversity of his projects, which encompass master plans, university residences, and corporate offices. A key focal point of his work is sustainability, which David views as paramount. He recognizes that architecture can have a positive impact on the environment by incorporating the latest advances in energy efficiency.

David’s first hands-on experience in sustainable design came early in his career, at FXFowle (now FX Collaborative) in New York City, a firm that, like SGA, was an early architect of LEED-certified buildings. His career progressed at such other distinguished firms as Cetra Ruddy, where he concentrated on high-end residential, and where he worked with developers on supertall structures in the center of New York City.

SGA’s warm and welcoming atmosphere prompted him to join the firm in 2014, when he and his family moved to Boston. He also noted the firm’s leadership in technology, which he now applies to every project in his portfolio.

David earned a Master of Architecture from Syracuse University. Outside of the office, he likes to visit museums, galleries, and restaurants.

Chuck Hurchalla is the president of Evolution Sustainability Group. He has over 30 years of experience in the deregulated energy markets, including natural gas, electricity and petroleum products. He is considered a subject matter expert on hedging strategies and the fundamental and technical drivers of movements in the energy markets, including renewable products. In addition, he has been instrumental in helping clients develop comprehensive energy management solutions that meet or exceed energy efficiency and sustainability goals.