A native of Chicago's southeast side, Alberto works to solve problems that have a long lasting, positive social impact. He is a policy & business professional with diverse experience ranging from R&D engineering, business consulting, state & local government, clean energy, finance, and community organizing. Alberto holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a Master of Business Administration from MIT, a Master of Public Policy from Harvard, and is a licensed realtor in the State of Illinois.

Regina Stilp is a leading commercial real estate developer with over 30 years' experience

developing properties that strengthen cities.

As Founding Principal of Farpoint Development, Regina co-founded the firm in 2016 and has guided its

growth across the Midwest and Southeast, spearheading development work totaling $4.9 billion in

value created. She oversees Bronzeville Lakefront on Chicago's South Side, a 48-acre mixed-use

project reimagining the former Michael Reese Medical Center site.

Prior to founding Farpoint, Regina developed some of Chicago's most acclaimed projects, including

Google's first Midwest headquarters and McDonald's global headquarters at the former Harpo Studios.

Her expertise in public-private partnerships and innovative deal structures has positioned Farpoint as a

leader for groundbreaking urban projects.

As a prominent leader in Chicago real estate, Regina has received significant industry recognition,

including the 2024 Industry Leadership Award from Roosevelt University's Marshall Bennett Institute of

Real Estate and the 2025 Executive of the Year award from the Illinois Real Estate Journal. Currently,

she serves on the Board of Directors of The Magnificent Mile Association, Roosevelt University's

Advisory Board, the Membership Committee of the Economic Club of Chicago, the First Women's Bank

Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Urban Land Institute and CREW. She is also named

among Crain's Notable Chicago Women in Construction and Design.

Additionally, Regina actively mentors the next generation of real estate leaders through The Goldie

Initiative and the Howard E. Eisenberg Foundation. Regina holds a degree from the University of Iowa

and brings her global perspective, shaped by travels to every continent, to her work enriching the

urban landscape. She lives with her family in Wilmette.

Teresa Córdova is the Director of the Great Cities Institute (GCI) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is also Professor of Urban Planning and Policy in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA). Professor Córdova received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986.

As an applied theorist, political economist, and community-based planner, Professor Córdova approaches her work as a scholarship of engagement in which research, pedagogy, and service are integrated. Throughout her career, Teresa has engaged with communities in and outside the university and is an expert in community/university partnerships and methodologies of engaged research. In addition to strategies for community and economic development, her work focuses on global/local dynamics and the impacts of global economic restructuring on local communities, including impacts of resource extraction.

Professor Córdova has been an elected and appointed member and/or chair of national, regional and local boards, commissions and steering committees of federal, regional, county and city governments, community development corporations, grassroots organizations, editorial boards, research centers, professional associations, planning organizations, policy groups, civic and advisory councils, coalitions, and campus committees. She has been instrumental in affecting economic development policy and projects, the provision and design of infrastructure, local governance, and neighborhood change.

Dr. Córdova sits on the Cook County Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) and The Cook County Small Business Advisory Committee. She was Chair of the Chicago Plan Commission from 2018-2022 and served on the transition committee for Governor J.B. Pritzker on Job Creation and Economic Opportunity. Professor Córdova recently joined the Board of Directors of the Grand Victoria Foundation and has rejoined the Board of Manufacturing Renaissance. She is a member of The Board of Directors of the Illinois Humanities Council; The Kennedy-King College Community Advisory Committee (CAC); the Board of Directors for Children’s Advocates for Change; and the Advisory Board of Chicago Community Trust’s We Rise Together. She is an Associate Editor for Economic Development Quarterly and sits on the inaugural editorial board of Local Development and Society and The Journal of Right Wing Studies.She is an affiliate faculty of UIC’s Departments of Sociology; Gender and Women Studies; and Latino and Latin American Studies. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of UIC’s Institute for the Study of Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP).

Since April 2020, she has worked closely with IllinoisUnidos: Illinois Latino COVID-19 Initiative and served as co-chair of its Workplace Committee.

Casey McCormick, Founder and CEO of McCormick Compliance Consulting, a Milrose Company, has over 24 years of experience as an entrepreneur and is a leading authority in the USA on municipal approvals processes and construction permitting. Casey has managed over $25B+ in construction projects throughout his career. He has perfected a high-service model to keep projects ahead of schedule and teams updated on projects of all sizes. From tenant improvements to mega-developments, Casey's portfolio speaks for itself. Notable projects include the 17.5-acre One Beverly Hills, an environmentally advanced development featuring the Beverly Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, and Aman Hotel; the $450 million Echelon Studios in Los Angeles, a state-of-the-art film and TV production facility; as well as Halsted Pointe in Chicago, a multi-phase development with 2,650 residential units, office and retail space, and a hotel.

Dave is a Senior Vice President at F.H. Paschen, where he advises business strategy and manages pursuits. He started his career in 1986 and has worked as an Estimator, Project Engineer, Project Manager, Superintendent, Chief Estimator, Operations VP, Senior VP, and President.

Dave led the teams responsible for building some of Chicago’s most iconic projects such as Trump Tower, Aqua, Wanda Vista, 2 Prudential, and the United Center, among others. With over 35 years of industry experience, Dave is still driven today by the reason he started in construction; he loves to build.

He considers himself a weekend construction warrior and says that his wife’s rule is that he can have any tool provided he uses it to build her something. When he’s not building, Dave cherishes time with his wife and their four kids.

As a founding principal of Structured Development, LLC, J. Michael Drew has been engaged in the real estate development and construction management business for nearly 40 years. Michael matriculated at the University of Illinois where he studied Business Administration and Architecture. Over 25 years as a general contractor, Michael has had extensive experience in all phases of the construction process, especially scheduling of labor forces and subcontractors and comparative purchasing of material and equipment. Notable projects completed include City Hall Lobby and Entrance Renovations, Marshall Field and State of Illinois Pedways, Clark Lake and Roosevelt Subway Stations, McCormick Place Expansion, and numerous utility tunnel installations. He was an active participant in the conversion and renovation of obsolete loft buildings to commercial and residential reuse throughout the City, including Riverworks on Goose Island, Lincoln Lofts in Lakeview, 1415 Dayton and 1333 Kingsbury in the Halsted Triangle. During his tenure as a principal of Structured Development, the firm completed over 2,000,000 square feet of product including Lincoln Park Center, Blackhawk on Halsted, Kingsbury Center, and Kendall College at Riverworks. Structured Development is the Managing Partner on the “nationally significant” New City mixed use project. Structured was awarded the Adaptive Reuse Project of 2008 by the Landmark Preservation Council for its historic conversion of the Chicago and Northwestern Powerhouse to office and retail.

Michael represented the Builders Association of Greater Chicago on the City’s Minority Relations Committee, served on the recent Land Use Task Force Committee, and is a long term member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Urban Land Institute, and Lambda Alpha International. He is a 20 year member of World Presidents Organization, and a past President of Olympia Fields Country Club. Michael has served on the Advisory Board for the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University for over a decade.

In his role as Vice President of Development for Habitat Affordable Group, Jeff Head manages the financing and development for our affordable housing portfolio. Between 1998 and 2013, while leading Habitat’s court-appointed receivership of the Chicago Housing Authority, he was part of the leadership team that managed redevelopment of some of the largest public housing sites in the country, including Cabrini Green, the Henry Horner Homes and the ABLA Homes developments.

Over his 20 years with Habitat, Jeff has worked with agencies such as the Chicago Housing Authority, Illinois Housing Development Authority, City of Chicago and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has been involved in transactions that have invested more than $1 billion in Chicago neighborhood housing developments.

Prior to joining Habitat, Jeff worked on a variety of urban development programs as an assistant to Mayor Richard M. Daley at the City of Chicago. He holds an MUPP from University of Illinois at Chicago College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.

Katriina is Managing Partner of Thompson Coburn’s Chicago office and helps clients navigate challenging land use and zoning issues throughout the city of Chicago and surrounding suburbs, paving the way for successful developments. She combines a deep understanding of highly technical and constantly evolving regulations with the strong relationships she's built with zoning and economic development departments across the Chicago region.

Katriina is particularly sought out for her mastery of land use entitlements in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. From single-family homes to large-scale mixed-use master planned developments, Katriina advocates for a broad range of clients before the Chicago and suburban plan commissions, zoning and economic development committees, zoning boards of appeals and village boards in all matters related to land use and zoning.

Katriina also provides zoning analysis and entitlement due diligence on properties across the country. She also negotiates development agreements related to TIF, development incentives, special service areas, special assessments, right-of-way agreements and utility services.