Evolution of LA's Submarkets & the Impact of Opportunity Zones

Tammy Harpster serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Roundtree Properties. Her real estate career includes co-founding LaTerra Development, a Southern California development company with more than 3,000 multifamily units under construction with an estimated value at completion of more than $2 billion. She also served as a fund manager for a real estate opportunity fund as well as an investment advisor for hundreds of millions of dollars of residential and commercial assets. Prior to LaTerra, she was Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at Phoenix Realty Group (PRG) and ran the firm’s San Diego Smart Growth Fund, a $90 million workforce housing opportunity fund with institutional investors such as CalPERS, Washington Mutual, and Northwestern Mutual. Ms. Harpster was also Assistant Vice President for Buchanan Street Partners, a leading real estate investment management firm, where she closed $300 million and managed over $600 million in commercial assets across four funds. Early in her career, she managed $125 million of pharmaceutical, biotech, and microelectronic construction development projects for DPR. Ms. Harpster holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Anderson School at UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Purdue University.

Greg Verabian, AIA is a Principal at HKS. He is Design Director and Practice Leader at HKS Los Angeles with knowledge of building types from commercial and multi-family/mixed-use towers to corporate HQs and laboratories. Greg was Chair of the Design Awards Committee for AIA California and the AIA Los Angeles, past Treasurer, Vice President and the 2020 Board President of AIA/LA.

In March 2017, Doane Liu was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Department of Convention and Tourism Development (CTD), with the goal to further enhance and increase Los Angeles’ prominence and attraction as a world class tourist and convention destination. Liu joined the CTD after serving as Deputy Executive Director and Chief of Staff at the Port of Los Angeles, where he was the second in command at the busiest container port in North America and head of the Port’s External Affairs Bureau. Before the Port, Liu was Deputy Mayor for the City of Los Angeles. He managed the Mayor's Office of City Services and helped the Mayor oversee 15 City Departments, including the Los Angeles Department Water and Power, Public Works, Transportation, Recreation and Parks, Public Library, and LA Zoo. He also established the Great Streets Studio and LA RiverWorks in the Mayor’s Office. A first-generation Korean- American, Liu also was a liaison in the Mayor’s Office to the Korean-American community in Los Angeles. Liu was previously Chief of Staff for Councilman Joe Buscaino and served as Chief of Staff for Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Deputy Mayor for Mayor James K. Hahn and District Director for Congresswoman Jane Harman. He was also Senior Vice President of Government Banking at JP Morgan Chase and Vice President in the Real Estate Industries Group at Security Pacific National Bank. Liu currently serves on the boards of AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Fleet Week Foundation, and Sister Cities of Los Angeles. He has previously served on the boards of LA24 Olympic Bid Committee, Los Angeles County Business Federation, Harbor Interfaith Shelter, Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Mary Star of the Sea High School, and Holy Trinity School. Liu graduated from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and received an MBA from University of Southern California. He and his wife have four adult children and have lived in San Pedro for nearly 30 years.

Bryan Shaffer is Principal/Managing Director of George Smith Partners where he focuses on delivering solutions to address his clients’ real estate capital requirements. Mr. Shaffer works hard to arrange structured financings for multifamily and commercial properties, including acquisition, refinance, construction, bridge and permanent loans. Mr. Shaffer has successfully structured both debt and equity placements for private entrepreneurs and institutional clients. He has been able to utilize his prior vast and diverse experiences in owning, operating, developing commercial real estate to help him succeed in capital raising for multi-family, affordable, office, retail, industrial, hospitality, data centers, healthcare/medical and senior facilities sectors to provide the best options and structure for his clients. In his career, Mr. Shaffer has been deeply involved in over $8.5 billion in real estate transactions, including the structuring or arranging over $3 billion of debt and equity placements and the repositioning and sale of $2 billion of properties for a Japanese institutional investor, Mitsui Real Estate Sales/Mitsui Fudosan. His focus is understanding the needs of clients large and small, so with his team, they can provide the best solution in the market. Mr. Shaffer closed transactions with every type of capital provider including Banks, Insurance Companies, Family Offices, Private Equity Firms, Bond Funds, CTL Lenders, Funds, Community Development Lenders, and Institutional Investors. He serves on the direct investment committee for Clearinghouse, CDFI and has advised two family offices. Prior to serving as a Principal and Managing Director at George Smith Partners, Mr. Shaffer ran his own global investment advisory company, led dispositions for the world’s largest real estate owner, created a global trade association and operated projects for several development firms. He has served as a contractor for the United States Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), as an Expert Witness and California Superior Court Receiver.

Mr. Larry J. Kosmont, CRE®, is the President and CEO of Kosmont Companies, which he founded in 1986. Kosmont Companies is an industry leader in public/private real estate transactions and economic development. In 1990, he founded Kosmont Realty Corporation, a real estate brokerage firm. In 2015, he launched Kosmont Transactions Services which sources private financing for public projects, P3 initiatives, and infrastructure funding. He’s also a Principal of California Golden Fund, an approved EB-5 Regional Center. Mr. Kosmont’s 40-year career encompasses public/private financial structuring and negotiations, development, and management of real estate and public finance transactions exceeding $12 billion. He has an extensive track record as a public/private real estate consultant and public finance advisor. Mr. Kosmont has assisted hundreds of local government agencies in public finance and real estate matters ranging from large-scale economic development programs to site-specific real estate strategies and projects. He has guided over 1,000 private sector projects in obtaining public approvals, structuring deal terms, and securing public/private financing. Mr. Kosmont served as Interim City Administrator for the City of Montebello, CA from May 2011 to March 2012 as part of a financial turnaround assignment awarded to Kosmont Companies. From 1975 to 1986, Mr. Kosmont served in the roles of City Manager, Director of Community Development, and Redevelopment Director in the cities of Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Bell Gardens, and Burbank. Mr. Kosmont is a registered Municipal Advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and achieved a Series 50 professional qualification. Mr. Kosmont is also a licensed real estate broker in California (BRE No. 01182660), a designated Counselor of Real Estate, CRE®, and has served or is serving on: · City of Manhattan Beach Economic Development Advisory Council – Chairman · MWD Board (represented City of Los Angeles) · State Commissioner – California Economic Development Commission · USC Executive Education – Board of Directors · Los Angeles City Commissioner – Industrial Development Authority · California Assoc. of Local Economic Development (CALED) – Board Advisor · Los Angeles Business Federation (BIZFED) – Board Member Mr. Kosmont holds a Masters of Public Administration Degree from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Political Science from the State University of New York – Binghamton. Mr. Kosmont is a recipient of the 2016 California Business Properties Association (CBPA) Champion of the Industry Award for his service in real estate and economic development. Kosmont Companies received the Latin Business of the Year Award from Los Angeles Business Journal (2016).

Gary Painter is a Professor in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. He also serves as the Director of the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1996. He has published numerous articles in top journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Human Resources, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Real Estate Economics, Urban Studies, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Economics of Education Review, Public Finance Review, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Housing Policy Debate, Journal of Housing Economics, Journal of Housing Research, The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Harvard Business Review and Industrial Relations. Professor Painter’s research interests focuses on social innovation, housing, urban economics, and education policy. He is among the world’s foremost experts on how changing demographics impact U.S. housing markets. Recent work has focused on how immigrants are integrating into housing markets across the U.S. and the role of the economic cycle on household formation. Other recent work has studied immigrant integration issues in spatial labor markets and in education. Current research focuses on how to evaluate social innovation. He has served as a consultant for the National Association of Realtors, Pacific Economics Group, Andrew Davidson Co., Fannie Mae, Grant Thorton LLP, Burr Consulting, and the Research Institute for Housing America.