Future of Downtown Denver

Bob is responsible for guiding economic development and growing Denver's thriving economic base as part of the Partnership's Executive Management Team. This broad work includes attracting investment to the center city, business recruitment and retention, growing Denver's entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem, housing, retail, and public policy initiatives. As a leader in executing dynamic place-based economic development strategy, Bob primarily focuses on recruiting and retaining employers; working with developers, financial entities, and government representatives in attracting and planning for new development; promoting our center city's brand as an economic hub and home for innovation in the region; and directing efforts to attract diverse development to Downtown. He overseas the Partnership’s research function to help inform our work and better tell the story of why people and companies should choose Denver. Bob is a proven executive and strategic business development solution leader with more than sixteen years of previous economic development experience in Atlanta and Houston. Bob has a Bachelor of Arts in International Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Georgetown University.

Chris Payne has more than a decade of engineering, construction, development, and project management experience, spanning sectors such as commercial, residential, hospitality, mixed-use, and heavy civil. At Riverside Investment & Development, Chris serves as Senior Vice President and leads all operations in Colorado including development, design, construction, and completion of projects. Chris recently oversaw the development of 110 North Wacker Drive / Bank of America Tower, a 1.5 million RSF and 55-story Class A office building in downtown Chicago. In 2021 he relocated to his hometown of Denver to oversee the development of 1900 Lawrence, a 700,000 RSF and 30-story Class A office building in downtown Denver. Chris received Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Kevin Kelley, a partner with Husch Blackwell, LLP, advises clients on all aspects of commercial real estate. Kevin specializes in helping clients navigate complex mixed-use and transformational re-use development projects, exemplified by his representation of RTD in the redevelopment of Union Station and his guidance of Intrawests’ development of resort communities across the continent. Beyond traditional real estate law, Kevin regularly advises clients on NBA, MLB and NFL sports facility deals, including development of the Milwaukee Bucks Fiserv Forum, Golden 1 Arena for the Sacramento Kings and potential waterfront ballpark for the Oakland A’s. Kevin’s deep roots in Denver include having worked with Paul Jacobs to bring the Rockies to Colorado in the 1990s. Kevin serves on the MSU Denver Foundation Board of Directors, as well as the board of the Downtown Denver Partnership and is the immediate past chair of the Junior Achievement, Rocky Mountain board of directors. Kevin has also served as a director and on the Executive Committee of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Scott Makee serves as Senior Managing Director of Mill Creek’s Denver office, where he leads the company’s development activities for communities in the Colorado Las Vegas markets.  During his real estate career, Mr. Makee has been involved in the land acquisition, financing, development and construction of multifamily and mixed-use communities with aggregate values in excess of $1.5B across the Southeast, Texas and Mountain/Southwest markets. Prior to joining Mill Creek, Mr. Makee was a Regional Partner with Morgan Group leading all development efforts in the Denver and Phoenix metro markets. Prior to Morgan, Mr. Makee was Managing Director for Crescent Communities, where he led all aspects of the development process across the Colorado and Arizona markets.  Before opening the Denver office for Crescent in 2013, Makee lead the company’s development expansion across Tennessee, Texas and Arizona.  He began his real estate career in Charlotte, where he joined Crescent Communities as a Finance Associate.  Prior to his career in real estate development, Makee spent six years in corporate and product brand strategy, developing product and platform level naming conventions, strategies for communication and building brand value for clients, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, GSK, Hanes and others. Mr. Makee holds an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill with concentration in Real Estate Development and Finance, and a Bachelor of Science from Wake Forest University.

Tracy joined the Denver Urban Renewal Authority in October 1992 as controller, and oversaw the agency’s financial involvement in a number of significant redevelopment efforts. In 2000, Tracy was named Executive Director. A certified public accountant, she came to DURA from Strait-Kushinsky, a Denver public accounting firm. Ms. Huggins is on the boards of directors of Mountain States Employers Council, Gold Crown Foundation, Downtown Colorado, Inc, and the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation, and is a 2001 graduate of the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.

A fifth generation Denver native, Andrew has over 25 years of business experience, including real estate investment, development and management, entertainment, hospitality, event production and international business. In his role as CEO and Managing Partner for the EXDO (“Extended Downtown”) Group, Andrew oversees commercial property investment and joint venture vertical development for EXDO’s Denver-based property holdings, many of which are located in Denver’s vibrant River North (RiNo) Art District. Andrew and his team spearheaded the redevelopment of the RiNo from a low-dense, industrial warehouse district into one of the most exciting urban development opportunities in the United States - attracting over $3 billion in public and private investment to date with another $3 billion committed over the next 10 years. Andrew’s EXDO Development division has facilitated or jointly developed many of RiNo’s most innovative real estate projects, including The HUB mixed-use office tower (completed), Industry RiNo Station (completed), The Catbird Hotel (completed), and an anchor retail mixed-use project (in development). EXDO also owns and operates the 3,000-person capacity ReelWorks Denver, home to Denver’s most versatile and unique events. In Colorado, Andrew serves on the boards of Colorado Concern, Visit Denver, the Downtown Denver Partnership, the RiNo Art District (which he chaired for over 10 years), the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Rocky Mountain Region, which awarded Andrew with its “Torch of Liberty Award” in 2017 for his work on social justice issues. In 2020, Andrew was asked by Mayor Hancock to co-chair the City of Denver’s Economic Relief Council to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on local businesses. And Andrew has been tapped by both Mayor Hancock and Colorado Governor Jared Polis to craft policies to incentivize affordable housing. An avid traveler, Andrew has participated with Denver Sister Cities International on diplomatic missions to Nairobi, Kenya and Takayama, Japan and has joined Mayor Hancock on official trade delegations to Tokyo, Munich, Dubai, Addis Ababa and Cairo. Currently, Andrew is serving on Denver’s Africa Air Service Committee to develop non-stop air service between Denver and Africa. Andrew is also the founder of DenverStiffs.com, the most read website devoted to the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and their fan base worldwide. Through Nuggets connections and his passion for Africa, Andrew met former Nuggets vice president and current Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri in 2010 and has participated in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders Africa and Masai’s Giants of Africa summer basketball camps across the African continent annually since. To date, Andrew has traveled to 15 African countries. Prior to joining EXDO in Denver, Andrew spent 10 years in Los Angeles as an animation, television and new media producer and nationally syndicated cartoonist, developing content for global entertainment companies including Warner Bros., Nickelodeon and Fox Sports. Andrew is a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta where he received a Bachelor’s in Business Administration focusing on both marketing and international business. Andrew currently resides in Denver with his wife Sarah and their children Grace and Xavier.

Charles Gibbs is a Senior Director at Sonder, overseeing growth across the Central Region of North America. In that capacity, Charles leads a team of real estate professionals in the various Sonder markets throughout the region to help source and execute on new master lease opportunities for the company. With over 8,000 live units and 18,000 signed units in roughly 40 markets, Sonder is revolutionizing hospitality through design and technology, making a world of better stays open to all.

Angel has over 19+ years of experience in finance, banking, and executive management with fortune 500 companies. He brings experience in a broad range of industries, including accounting, capital management, marketing, and consulting. He began investing in real estate in 2005 and built a portfolio of single-family homes before discovering the power of commercial real estate and syndication. In 2021 Angel was named Market President - Commercial investors group, which expanded from MN to CO and other key markets nationally. The expansion is critical to enhancing and redeveloping neighborhoods and creating a sense of community. Angel received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Business Administration from Augsburg University.

Brenda Amsberry is a Principal and Senior Interior Designer at OLC Architecture, Interiors, and Aquatics headquartered in Denver Colorado, with other offices in Orlando, Cairo, and Tokyo. Brenda is responsible for hospitality business development, initiating interior design concepts with the client and team, managing the design process and documentation, with involvement throughout construction. Brenda has worked internationally in many markets, including hospitality, recreation, healthcare, wellness, higher education and food and beverage. Brenda's clients have included The Depok Chopra Group, Tavistock Development Group, Harvard University, Stonebridge Companies and Sage Hospitality. Some of her most notable projects include the Depok Mindfulness Center in the Lake Nona Sports Performance Club, Lake Nona, Florida, Newtown Athletic Club Expansion in Newtown, Pennsylvania and the DoubleTree by Hilton Denver Renovation. Brenda graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Environmental Design and a Minor in Industrial Construction Management.