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Speakers and Panels

Monique Lawshe

Monique Lawshe

Executive Vice President

GHC Housing

Daniel Nagel

Daniel Nagel

CFO

Decron Properties

Neil Shekhter

Neil Shekhter

Founder & CEO

NMS Properties

Noyan Uras

Noyan Uras

Chief Development Officer

Flyaway Homes

Rosie Cooper

Rosie Cooper

EVP & Regional Managing Partner - West Region

JPI Companies

Garrett Lee

Garrett Lee

President

Jamison Properties

Bobby Turner

Bobby Turner

Principal & CEO

Turner Impact Capital

JJ Abraham

JJ Abraham

President

The Abraham Companies

Sue O'Bannon

Sue O'Bannon

CFO, West

Trammell Crow Residential

Kim Bucklew

Kim Bucklew

Managing Director

Alliance Residential

Monique Lawshe

Executive Vice President

GHC Housing

Ms. Lawshe joined the company in 2002 and is responsible for providing leadership to the acquisition and development team. She has extensive experience with the use of low-income housing tax credits, multi-layered financing structures and HUD project-based rental programs, as well as conventional financing. While at GHC, Ms. Lawshe has been responsible for the acquisition and financing of approximately 15,000 units exceeding $750 million dollars in value.

Ms. Lawshe has more than 20 years of experience in real estate development and finance. Prior to joining GHC, Ms. Lawshe served as the chief executive officer of A Community of Friends (ACOF), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit development organization. Under her leadership, ACOF produced approximately 800 units in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, and raised more than $100 million in capital from private and public sources.

Ms. Lawshe obtained an MBA, with a concentration in real estate finance, at the Anderson School at UCLA and a bachelor of science in industrial management/industrial engineering from Purdue University.

Daniel Nagel

CFO

Decron Properties

Daniel Nagel is Chief Financial Officer, at Decron Properties Corp. In this capacity, he is responsible for all transaction activity including acquisitions, equity and debt financing, and asset dispositions. He is also involved in the development, entitlement, and project management of key assets in the portfolio.

Daniel earned his undergraduate degree in Economics from Yeshiva University and received his MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management with a concentration in Finance and Real Estate.

He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), a cabinet member of the Jewish Federation’s Real Estate and Construction Division, and is a licensed California real estate broker.

Neil Shekhter

Founder & CEO

NMS Properties

Neil Shekhter founded NMS in 1988 on the principle of creating strong asset returns through superior management and investing in core locations with long-term growth. On these principles NMS began building its portfolio of properties by acquiring and repositioning poorly performing multi-family assets. Through hands-on management and capital improvements, these properties now enjoy dramatic increases in net operating income along with high occupancy rates. Mr. Shekhter’s belief is that quality starts from day one. With that in mind, he began to immerse himself in the development and construction of properties. As part of his philosophy of personalized management, Mr. Shekhter has been actively involved in every aspect of the company, from acquisitions to development to the construction of his projects, while maintaining the day-to-day operation of his existing portfolio. Mr. Shekhter also advises his three sons, Alan, Alexander, and Adam Shekhter, who along with CEO Scott Walter founded Santa Monica based WS Communities in January 2017. WS Communities is a real estate development firm that specializes in the acquisition, entitlement, and development of multifamily and mixed-use properties in Southern California. WS Communities’ projects include luxury and affordable residential units with ground floor retail and office spaces located in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles, California.

Noyan Uras

Chief Development Officer

Flyaway Homes

Noyan Uras has over 20 years of real estate development, construction and design-build experience with a background in structural engineering. Having managed over half a billion dollars’ worth of projects in the Southern California area, his prime focus is in the commercial and residential multi-family and mixed-use industry segments. He is currently the Founder & CEO of IntegRARE Group —a vertically integrated real estate construction and development firm.

Noyan holds an M.A. in Construction Management from University of Southern California, a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Istanbul Technical University and he is also a LEED Accredited Professional.

Rosie Cooper

EVP & Regional Managing Partner - West Region

JPI Companies

Rosie has over 15 years’ industry experience and is responsible for acquisition, development, construction, operations and disposition activities in Southern California and Phoenix. She is a registered professional engineer, licensed real estate broker, and serves on JPI’s Investment Committee. Rosie received both her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy, and her Master of Science in Construction Engineering and Management and Master of Science in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California.

Garrett Lee

President

Jamison Properties

Garrett Lee is the President of Jamison Properties, the development arm of Jamison, focusing on multifamily projects. Under his leadership,, Jamsison has built 1,600 apartment units mainly in Koreatown and Downtown Los Angeles. Jamison has 15 projects with 3,000 units under construction.

Bobby Turner

Principal & CEO

Turner Impact Capital

Over the past two decades, Bobby Turner has established himself as a pioneer in the area of social impact investing. Since founding Turner Impact Capital in 2014, he has rapidly built one of the nation’s largest social impact investment firms, with over $3 billion in investment potential to help address some of the country’s most pervasive social issues with real estate solutions.

As former Chairman, CEO and Co-Founding Partner of Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC (CCRA), he oversaw a commercial real estate and mortgage asset portfolio totaling over $12 billion, and was responsible for launching several groundbreaking funds that helped define the “triple bottom line” investment movement. In his years as a social impact innovator, Bobby has dedicated himself to providing sound financial returns for investors while fostering opportunities for the communities in which his funds invest.

Bobby is involved in many civic ventures, having served on the boards of the Virginia Avenue Project, the Pacific Charter School Development Corporation, and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he and his wife have endowed a curriculum development fund and speaker series for social impact studies. He also serves on the school’s Board of Overseers. On Sundays, you can find him playing basketball at the beach in Santa Monica.

JJ Abraham

President

The Abraham Companies

J.J. has 30 years of experience in the real estate industry, developing mixed-use, multifamily, and resort communities throughout the United States and Los Cabos, Mexico. J.J. has worked for such nationally and internationally recognized companies as Lennar Multifamily Communities, Shea Properties, Del Mar Development, Legacy Partners, JPI, and Goldman Sachs Realty Management. He has sourced, entitled, renovated and

developed over $6 billion of real estate and over 12,000 multifamily units throughout his career.

In September 2020, building on an almost three-decade-long career as an executive with institutional development firms, J.J. founded The Abraham Companies (“TAC”), an “institutional boutique” multifamily development firm.

TAC is a developer of luxury multifamily and mixed-use properties in the West and Southwest that achieve superior investment returns on behalf of select capital partners. TAC’s principals have sourced, entitled, renovated, developed, and financed over $12 billion of real estate throughout the United States and Mexico, including over 12,000 multifamily units. TAC’s professionals have decades of experience in real estate acquisitions, finance, development, and asset management with leading national institutions, yet the firm operates with efficiency and the flexibility of a boutique developer.

Prior to forming TAC, in August 2012, J.J. launched Lennar Corporation’s (NYSE: LEN) start-up apartment development platform in California. As the first Division President on the west coast, J.J. grew the division into a $4 billion portfolio (26 communities/7,500 units), ranging from suburban apartment developments to luxury high-rises in downtown San Diego and the Bay Area.

Prior to joining LMC, J.J. was the Senior Vice President of Development and Acquisitions for Shea Properties, where he successfully rebuilt the west coast apartment platform and development operations with more than 2,800 units.

Prior to Shea, J.J. ran the development operations of Del Mar Development, the leading developer of luxury resort communities headquartered Los Cabos, Mexico. This included overseeing the development of three residential master-planned communities within the world-famous Palmilla resort.

In 1994 J.J. received his BBA from Southern Methodist University in Finance, Real Estate, and International Business. J.J. is a member of the ULI Multifamily Platinum Council, he served the past five years as Co-Chairman of the NAHB National Leadership Council, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees at St. Mary’s, an IB private school located in Aliso Viejo, California.

Sue O'Bannon

CFO, West

Trammell Crow Residential

Sue has been involved in real estate finance for over 20 years in a variety of roles. With TCR since 2004, Sue oversees debt and equity financing for TCR’s new developments in the Western United States. In addition, she oversees asset management and dispositions for TCR’s remaining West Coast operating properties and land holdings. Prior to joining TCR, Sue was a Vice President and Manager of the National Accounts group at Bank of the West, where she originated and managed loans for for-sale residential, apartment, retail, office, industrial and land/land development projects. Earlier, Sue served as a Vice President at Citicorp, in the Commercial Real Estate Group, and was involved in loan work-outs, asset disposition (OREO and loans) and investment banking. Sue graduated from Claremont McKenna College and earned her MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.

Kim Bucklew

Managing Director

Alliance Residential

As the Managing Director, Kim Bucklew is responsible for multifamily development across Southern California, including the review, negotiation, coordination and processing of all property transactions. Her background includes acquisitions and due diligence of new development sites, as well as development management for market-rate apartments, student housing and senior living communities. Ms. Bucklew is an active member of Urban Land Institute, ULI, Young Leader Mentorship Program, Urban Development Mixed Use Council – Silver Flight, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Atlanta Multifamily Network in Atlanta. She received an MBA from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

The Outlook of Market Rate Multifamily in LA

Are people really leaving LA? If so, are rents dropping? How has that affected development and construction? Are central business districts relocating to the suburbs? If so, how will that affect multifamily in Los Angeles?

Mark Nay

Mark Nay

Associate Principal

CallisonRTKL

Jaime Lee

Jaime Lee

CEO

Jamison Realty

Henry Manoucheri

Henry Manoucheri

Chairman & CEO

Universe Holdings

Patrick Rhodes

Patrick Rhodes

SVP, Development

Brookfield Properties

Peter Scialla
Opening Remarks

Peter Scialla

President, COO

Delos

Elizabeth Dryden
Moderator

Elizabeth Dryden

Partner

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Mark Nay

Associate Principal

CallisonRTKL

Mark Nay is an accomplished architect with over 3 decades of experience in the architectural field in both design and management. He specializes in mixed-use and residential-driven environments with his most recent accomplishment being PERLA, the first new high-rise project on Broadway in decades. In addition to his mixed-use focus his work has included such diversified projects as office buildings, transit, aviation and higher education facilities ranging from laboratories to performing arts to residence halls. In addition to his diverse project background Mark is deeply experienced with alternative project delivery methods including design-build. He has served as Principal-in-charge, project director and project architect for many projects and has been proprietor of his own architectural firm.

Jaime Lee

CEO

Jamison Realty

Jaime Lee is the Chief Executive Officer of the Jamison group of companies, a

privately-held, family-run real estate business, which controls over 18 million square feet

of commercial office, retail, medical, and multifamily properties throughout Southern

California.  Jamison has been one of the largest commercial landlords in Los Angeles

for the past twenty-five years. Since 2014, it has quickly become one of the city’s most

active multifamily developers as well, bringing to market 5,000 units with an additional

2,500 units currently under construction and 7,500 more in development.

Earning both BA and JD degrees from the University of Southern California, the Los

Angeles native currently sits on the USC Board of Trustees where she co-chairs the

Alumni Affairs and University Development committee and sits on the Executive, Audit

Compliance Risk & Privacy, Nominating & Governance, and Academic Affairs

committees. She is also a member of the Board of Councilors for the USC Dornsife

College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and an Executive Committee member of the USC

Lusk Center for Real Estate. A longtime university volunteer, Jaime previously served

as President of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors and President of the

USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association Board of Directors. Jaime is active with her high

school alma mater, where she is a member of the Harvard-Westlake Board of Trustees

and a founding member of its inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.

Jaime is also involved in a number of civic and non-profit organizations at the city, state,

and community levels. She has served the City of Los Angeles as an appointed

commissioner under three different mayoral administrations. Appointed by Mayor Eric

Garcetti, she was elected President of the Board of Harbor Commissioners for the Port

of Los Angeles in April 2018, the largest container port by trade volume in the western

hemisphere. She also serves on the Mayor’s International Advisory Council and as co-

chair of the public-private partnership non-profit Global LA. She previously served for

four years as President of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System Board

of Administration, which oversees the City’s $22 billion employee pension fund, and on

the boards for the Industrial Development Authority and the Quality and Productivity

Commission. She currently serves the State of California as Vice Chair of the California

Film Commission and previously spent seven years as a commissioner on the Speech

Language Pathology, Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers Board. Jaime is active in the

community as a board member of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the

Olympic and Paralympic Games 2028 where she sits on the Executive, Compensation,

and Conflicts committees, the Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall, and the

Korean American Foundation Advisory Board.

Recognized for her professional and civic contributions, Jaime has been named one of

the 500 most influential people in Los Angeles by the LA Business Journal every year

since 2018. She was honored by Asia Society Southern California as their 2020 Urban

Visionary, by the USC School of Architecture with their 2021 Distinguished Business

Leadership Award, and in 2022 with the LA Parks Foundation’s Rose Award and a Los

Angeles Times Woman of Influence Award.

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their three children.

Henry Manoucheri

Chairman & CEO

Universe Holdings

Henry Manoucheri’s successful real estate career spans over 30 years. Henry began his career at Marcus & Millichap in 1985 and became one of their top brokers, being recognized throughout California as well as nationally. He has brokered over $500,000,000 worth of transactions in apartment buildings, office buildings, industrial properties, shopping centers and land. After leaving M&M, Henry launched his own privately held acquisitions business, as principal. In less than six months the number of apartments owned grew 200% from 400 to 1,200 units. Having demonstrated a detailed knowledge of acquisitions, operations and construction, Henry was able to partner with Bank of America to acquire and renovate a large apartment community in Carlsbad, CA. The asset was acquired at a purchase price of $50,700,000 with $10,500,000 in equity from Bank of America and $1,200,000 of equity from high net-worth investors. After successfully renovating the property and enhancing day-to-day operations, Henry sold the property four years later for $78,000,000 generating a profit of nearly $9,500,000 for himself and his investors. From this point forward a career of buying significant, well located apartment communities in Southern California began, acquiring 100+ unit properties throughout Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Ventura and San Diego County. Trisail of Bank of America and Urdang Advisors completed 10 large transactions with Henry over a successful 10 year relationship with acquisitions ranging from 200 to 450 units on transactions of $20 million to $70 million. This provided the economic platform for Henry to grow the portfolio to over 4,000 units. Additionally, Henry continued improving and refinancing smaller apartment communities, delivering 400 – 800% total returns to his investors over time. Henry, supported by research and analysis, sensed a changing marketplace and began selling select assets at record prices and cap rates from 2006 to 2008. The vast majority of sales were not used in trade, but rather to fund future acquisitions during the next down-cycle and to provide returns to investors. With over 30 years of experience in the business, Mr Manoucheri has been able to successfully navigate the company through difficult times by focusing on value-add propositions, detailed operations, and favorable financing opportunities, thereby profiting even during down cycles. This devotion to discipline, hard work , continuous examination of operating results and a hands-on approach has enabled Henry to deliver an average return of 22% percent annually across numerous assets, based on cash flow, and a return of over 60% per annum on assets sold. Currently the company is engaged in expanding its current holdings by acquiring new, value-add opportunities from various sellers, troubled borrowers, and financial institutions alike. Henry holds a BS in Finance and Real Estate from Cal State, Northridge, CA.

Patrick Rhodes

SVP, Development

Brookfield Properties

Patrick Rhodes is a Senior Vice President in Brookfield’s commercial development group and is responsible for leading Brookfield's west coast mixed-use development business. Over the past 15 years, he has directly managed more than $3 billion in projects from inception through execution. Patrick holds a BS in Engineering from Virginia Tech, an MS in Real Estate Development from Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA in Finance from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Peter Scialla

Opening Remarks

Delos

Peter Scialla is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Delos. Peter is responsible for executing on the strategic vision and global operations of the company with a focus on advancing the mission to drive positive health outcomes for occupants of indoor spaces around the world. He leads the commercialization of platforms and solutions that improve indoor environmental quality and enhance human health and well-being.

Prior to joining Delos, Peter had an expansive career on Wall Street spanning over 18 years, including as a Partner for Goldman Sachs where he led U.S. Equity Derivatives Trading. During his eight years at Goldman Sachs, Peter worked closely with leadership in distribution, investment banking, private wealth, and capital markets with an emphasis on both institutional trading and structured corporate repurchase. Peter also spent seven years at Morgan Stanley as Head of Single Stock Derivatives Trading.

Peter regularly speaks at industry events and contributes informative content across multiple channels to share scientific research, trends and advancements in wellness real estate, and to help advance the healthy buildings movement. He is a graduate of New York University with degrees in Finance and International Business.

Elizabeth Dryden

Moderator

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Elizabeth Dryden is a Partner in the Real Estate Department of Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP. Elizabeth’s practice covers a broad range of real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, financings, and joint venture and syndication formations. Her practice experience includes extensive representation of institutional and noninstitutional lenders, property owners and developers, private equity investors and high-net worth individuals across all asset classes. With a strong background in finance, Elizabeth specializes in structuring and negotiating real estate finance transactions, including first mortgage loans, mezzanine and other subordinate loans, preferred equity and joint venture structures, syndicated credit facilities, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans, bridge loans and construction loans. Prior to joining Ervin Cohen & Jessup, Elizabeth worked at the Am Law 100 firms Paul Hastings LLP and Morrison & Foerster LLP. Elizabeth holds a Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law and Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Philosophy from Columbia University. She is also the Co-Chair of the Beverly Hills Bar Association Real Estate Section.

An Update on Affordable Housing in Los Angeles

How has the pandemic impacted affordable housing? What is the current supply and demand ratio? How has the pandemic impacted design on some of your future developments? What new affordable developments are underway in Los Angeles?

Jimar Wilson

Jimar Wilson

VP & Market Leader, SoCal

Enterprise Community Partners

Lee Raagas

Lee Raagas

CEO

Skid Row Housing Trust

Daryl Carter

Daryl Carter

Chairman & CEO

Avanath Capital

Andre Bueno

Andre Bueno

Principal

Bueno Group

Doug Austin

Doug Austin

Founder and CEO

AVRP Studios

John Arnold
Moderator

John Arnold

Partner

KFA Architecture

Jimar Wilson

VP & Market Leader, SoCal

Enterprise Community Partners

Prior to joining Enterprise, Jimar was CRA officer at American Business Bank where he was responsible for managing the Bank’s enterprise-wide Community Reinvestment Act program benefitting low- and moderate-income individuals and households in Greater Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Jimar has held regional community development manager positions at Boston Private, covering Greater Los Angeles, and Northern Trust, covering the bank’s Arizona, California and Colorado markets.

Jimar also worked at West Angeles Community Development Corporation (CDC), a leading South Los Angeles-based nonprofit affordable housing developer, as real estate project manager and housing director, overseeing the CDC’s housing development, asset management and financial literacy programs. He began his career in community and economic development as a city planner for the City of Ypsilanti, Michigan, staffing the city’s Historic District Commission that provided oversight for the second largest historic district in the state.

Jimar is an adjunct assistant professor in Community & Economic Development at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Crenshaw Family YMCA, Ebony Repertory Theatre and A Step to Freedom. Previous board and advisory appointments include Holman Community Development Corporation, 100 Black Men of Los Angeles, The Fringe at Center Theatre Group (now The Crew), John M. Langston Bar Association, Summit Preparatory Charter School and Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

Jimar is a 2012 recipient of the prestigious German Marshall Memorial Fellowship by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, which included travel to several European cities with other opinion leaders to help foster greater transatlantic relations. He also received the Our Authors Study Club Living Legends Award in 2012, with recognition in 2015 by the LA NAACP Youth Council for outstanding community service.

Jimar holds a master’s degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow) and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a graduate of the Ross Minority Program in Real Estate at the University of Southern California.

Lee Raagas

CEO

Skid Row Housing Trust

Lee Raagas, Chief Executive Officer of Skid Row Housing Trust, understands that hard work does not guarantee housing or healthcare. From her low-income community roots comes the passion to work on behalf of individuals and families that continue to struggle, and the inspiration for her professional and personal goals.

Lee has developed significant expertise in securing financial and organizational stability for corporations as well. The Trust’s Board of Directors recognized that this combination of attributes makes Lee the right leader for the nonprofit’s next chapter. Lee applies her 20 years of experience in the housing / mortgage industry and financial services sectors to build an operationally sound foundation for the Trust’s future. She continues to push innovative and transferable solutions from other sectors to upgrade policies, procedures, and programs at the Trust, expanding the organization’s framework for long-term sustainability and growth. Lee constantly asks, “What else can we do for our mission?”, and partners with Trust staff to overcome obstacles and promote the success, health, and wellness of residents. Lee has a B.S. in Organizational Psychology from San Diego State University and was a mentor for master’s program students at the Shidler School of Business at University of Hawaii. She is a Gallup Strengths Coach and is Six Sigma certified.

Daryl Carter

Chairman & CEO

Avanath Capital

Daryl J. Carter is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Avanath Capital Management, LLC, a California-based investment firm that acquires, renovates, and operates apartment properties, with an emphasis on affordable and workforce communities. Mr. Carter directs the overall strategy and operations of the Company. Since its formation in 2008, Avanath has acquired $2.5 billion of properties in 13 states in the U.S., comprising 12,000 apartment units. Avanath is vertically integrated and is an SEC registered investment advisor and an institutional fund manager, with capabilities that include acquisition sourcing and underwriting, construction, asset management, and on-site property management.

Mr. Carter has 40 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. Previously, he was an Executive Managing Director of Centerline Capital Group. Mr. Carter became part of the Centerline team when his company, Capri Capital Finance, was acquired by Centerline in 2005. Mr. Carter co-founded and served as Co-Chairman of the Capri Capital family of companies. He was instrumental in building Capri to a diversified real estate investment firm with $8 billion in real estate equity and debt investments under management. Prior to Capri, Mr. Carter was Regional Vice President at Westinghouse Credit Corporation and a Second Vice President at Continental Bank.

Mr. Carter holds a Master’s in Architecture and a Master’s in Business Administration, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of Michigan. Mr. Carter serves on the Visiting Committee of the MIT Sloan School of Management. In 2015, Mr. Carter received the MIT Sloan School Distinguished Alumni Award and served as the 2015 commencement speaker for the Sloan School MBA graduation.

Mr. Carter is a Past Chairman of the National Multifamily Housing Council. Previously, Mr. Carter served as an independent director on the boards of the following companies: Catellus Development Corporation (CDX), Silver Bay Realty Trust (SBY), and Whitestone REIT (WSR).

Andre Bueno

Principal

Bueno Group

Since 1984 Bueno Group has been active in the affordable housing space involved in a wide array of products from LIHTC to transitional housing to workforce housing. Bueno Group is a vertically integrated, socially responsible company specializing in acquiring, administrating, and revitalizing urban communities. Prior to taking on the leadership of the organization, Andre was an analyst at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley

Doug Austin

Founder and CEO

AVRP Studios

Doug Austin, FAIA, is Founder, Chairman and CEO of AVRP Studios, a California-based architectural firm well known for its expertise in the design of affordable housing and the urban environment. Mr. Austin is recognized by his peers as a visionary design leader. Since establishing his firm in 1976, he has led teams in designing projects both domestically and internationally that have been recognized with over 150 awards for design excellence.

Doug’s passion for architecture and his mission to make housing available to all, led him to some of the first micro-unit housing during the 80s in trying to make homes naturally more affordable through design as an alternative to unsustainable government subsidies. He challenged the building Industry, who was faced with inclusionary housing issues, to build two projects that ranged in size from 195 SF per unit to 295 SF. The premise was simple “if people can’t afford more there should be a good option to buy or rent less?” In its outside-the-box nature, the firm was recently awarded US and International patents for a new methodology involving prefabricating modules that act as the formwork for Concrete buildings up to 75 stories in height that hold the potential to save significant construction cost and time in the process.

Austin serves as Chair of the Advisory Board for YIGBY (Yes in God’s Backyard), which is an organization committed to finding innovative ways to house its poor and homeless. YIGBY is one of many ways that represent AVRP Studios’ commitment to the larger goal of housing for all. Austin served as the Vice chairman of San Diego’s Redevelopment Agency and currently sits on the City’s Planning Commission.

Austin received his B’ARCH from Cal Poly SLO, where he is an Honored Alum and serves on the President’s Council of Advisors. His firm sponsors a grant each year for “Housing Innovations”. Austin has furthered his post graduate education studying at the Harvard’s Graduate Center for Design and participating in the exploration of workforce housing at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing.

John Arnold

Moderator

KFA Architecture

John Arnold, AIA, is a Partner at KFA Architecture, where he leads design and client relationships for a wide range of multifamily, adaptive reuse, and mixed-use projects across Los Angeles and California. He also provides firm-wide oversight to maintain KFA’s culture and mentorship of staff. With more than two decades of experience shaping urban housing, John brings a thoughtful approach to density—balancing livability, efficiency, and community context in every project. His portfolio includes high-density and affordable housing developments such as Vivo on Harbor, Llewellyn Apartments, Las Palmas Apartments, and The Laurel Apartments, each integrating site and city in meaningful ways.

John also leads KFA’s adaptive reuse practice, having completed over a dozen projects in historically significant buildings. He also remains deeply engaged in civic life through his service on the boards of AIA|LA, Abode Communities Housing, and FORT:LA. He is longtime resident and advocate in his South LA neighborhood of Jefferson Park, serving 17 years on the neighborhood council and two local design review boards, bringing a grounded, real-world perspective on how thoughtful design and planning can elevate neighborhoods. John’s insights on designing for density and optimizing space reflect both his architectural expertise and his lived experience navigating Los Angeles’ evolving urban fabric.

Healthy Communities & Amenities

What are healthy communities and why are they relevant? What amenities are most valuable to tenants and how can they be implemented by landlords? How are landlords ensuring resident retention by creating community within their buildings?

Zack Ebner

Zack Ebner

Senior Manager, Product Management

Quantum Fiber

Alex Valente

Alex Valente

Principal

High Street Residential, Trammell Crow Company

Gary Pestana

Gary Pestana

Managing Director, Real Estate

NFP

Aaron Emigh

Aaron Emigh

CEO and Co-Founder

Brilliant

Justin Hill
Moderator

Justin Hill

Principal

MG2

Zack Ebner

Senior Manager, Product Management

Quantum Fiber

Zack Ebner, Senior Manager of Product Management for Quantum Fiber. In his most recent role, he served as the West Region Manager of Multifamily Development and Sales within the Connected Communities segment. Zack joined the organization in 2018 and successfully led a team of account managers providing fiber-based property-wide instant WiFi solutions to multifamily properties in key markets including California, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas along with select cities in Washington state.    His primary areas of experience and focus relate to business development, internal staff success, owner/developer relationship growth, and pre/post-implementation project management.   Zack holds a B.S. in Information Technology and Marketing from Marquette University and resides in Gilbert, AZ.

Alex Valente

Principal

High Street Residential, Trammell Crow Company

Alex Valente serves as a Senior Vice President for the Los Angeles Business Unit of Trammell Crow Company. Alex focuses on all multifamily opportunities within Greater Los Angeles for High Street Residential, TCC's residential subsidiary. In his role, Alex is responsible for identifying new development and investment opportunities, debt and equity partnerships, entitlements and community outreach, design, construction and leasing.

Prior to joining TCC, Alex worked for The Ratkovich Company, a Los Angeles-based developer. Alex focused his time working on three Ratkovich assets: The Hercules Campus at Playa Vista, a 28-acre 530,000-square-foot creative office and studio campus, 5900 Wilshire, a 30-story 491,000-square-foot office building in Miracle Mile, and The Alhambra, a 1,000,000-square-foot office campus.

Prior to The Ratkovich Company, Alex worked for Thomas Safran & Associates, a Los Angeles-based affordable housing developer. Alex focused his efforts on the development of The Renaissance at City Center, a 150-unit multifamily project in Carson, California and Canyon Creek, a 75-unit tax-credit, senior multifamily project in Calabasas, CA.

Gary Pestana

Managing Director, Real Estate

NFP

Gary Pestana leads the Real Estate Group for NFP. He is responsible for NFP’s growth initiatives in the real estate sector, including owners, managers, operators and developers of commercial, residential, hospitality and industrial sectors. With nearly three decades of experience in consulting services to real estate owners, operators and developers, Gary brings expertise and experience in property, casualty, environmental and management liability insurance. Gary also assists clients with strategy, negotiation, structure and claims advocacy for the full range of construction brokerage services, including OCIPs, surety and builder’s risk. He earned his B.A. in Geology at Humboldt State University and his MBA at Claremont Graduate University. Gary is also a Licensed Professional Geologist in the State of California.

Aaron Emigh

CEO and Co-Founder

Brilliant

Aaron is the Co-Founder and CEO of Brilliant, a leading Smart Home and Smart Apartment company and recipient of the CES Innovation Award, the CTA TechHome Mark of Excellence, the IoT Breakthrough Award, and the CEDIA BEST Award. Aaron is an accomplished Silicon Valley technology entrepreneur and investor, who previously served at the Co-Founder and CTO of shopkick, the #1 mobile retail application that pioneered the use of in-store beacons at dozens of top retailers such as Target, Macy’s, and Best Buy. Aaron was previously the EVP and GM of Technology at Six Apart, now known as SAY Media, and held founding leadership roles at Radix Labs and CommerceFlow, which was acquired by eBay. Aaron is an inventor on over 100 issued patents and has been recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.

Justin Hill

Moderator

MG2

An award-winning influencer, designer, and MG2’s longest-tenured employee, Justin Hill, has spent nearly 30 years helping retail and food and beverage brands elevate their experiences to the next level. His deep experience in design, branding, and construction has allowed him to build meaningful, enduring relationships with a wide variety of industry stakeholders, instrumental in allowing him to hand-select the perfect teams to create successful consumer-centric environments around the world. With an aptitude for synthesizing varying ideas, details, and thoughts to create a uniform, cohesive path forward, Justin’s leadership and broad perspective across different markets enable him to design unique solutions found nowhere else. Inspired by culinary creations and an inquisitive lifestyle, you’ll often find Justin wiling away the hours experimenting in the kitchen or absorbing the latest Masterclass offering.

Why This Matters

What You'll Learn:

  • Will central business districts relocate to the suburbs? If so, how will this impact the multifamily industry?

  • What is the current supply and demand ratio for multifamily in LA? What is the current state of multifamily pricing?

  • How has the pandemic changed multifamily construction and design?

  • What new developments are still moving forward? 

How You'll Do More Business: With uncertainty facing the multifamily market in Los Angeles, join industry leaders as they discuss solutions to major problems including the rental crisis, mass relocations, affordable housing, falling rents and more. Gain insights into how owners and developers are thinking about future developments and where there is room for opportunities.

Who You'll Meet: Brokers, owners, developers, investors, construction, designers, architects, financial institutions, government officials, and more.

What Does Your Ticket Get You: Access to all live content, panel replays on-demand, and live networking that is dynamic and actually useful. Networking tools include direct messaging, lobby chat, and speed networking which have led to over 4,000 matches this year.

Agenda

Time Activity
6:00 PM
6:30 PM
Early Access

For those of you who like to plan ahead, join the event 30 minutes before networking to build out your profile and familiarize yourself with the platform.

6:30 PM
7:00 PM
Pre-Event Networking

Jump into Bisnow's Digital Event early to fill out your profile, introduce yourself to fellow attendees and send meeting requests for later in the day. Finished setting up? Click the join button to take part in speed networking. Make sure you're joining on your desktop for the best experience.

7:00 PM
7:45 PM
Healthy Communities & Amenities

What are healthy communities and why are they relevant? What amenities are most valuable to tenants and how can they be implemented by landlords? How are landlords ensuring resident retention by creating community within their buildings?

7:45 PM
8:00 PM
Mid-Event Speed Networking

Hop into speed networking to meet industry professionals. Found a hot lead? Be sure to share your contact information during the day so you can connect outside of the summit. Click the join button to get started! Make sure you're joining on your desktop for the best experience. Having any issues? Check out our Info Desk in the Lobby for FAQs.

8:00 PM
8:45 PM
An Update on Affordable Housing in Los Angeles

How has the pandemic impacted affordable housing? What is the current supply and demand ratio? How has the pandemic impacted design on some of your future developments? What new affordable developments are underway in Los Angeles? How are current projects moving forward? Have construction costs changed?

8:45 PM
9:30 PM
The Outlook of Market Rate Multifamily in LA

Are people really leaving LA? If so, are rents dropping? How has that affected development and construction? Are central business districts relocating to the suburbs? If so, how will that affect multifamily in Los Angeles? How has the pandemic impacted design on some of your future developments? Are you adding in den and office spaces? If you had micro-units in your apartment buildings, what are you doing with those units? What new developments are underway in Los Angeles? How are current projects moving forward? Have construction costs changed?

9:30 PM
9:45 PM
Post-Event Networking

Last chance to share contact information with your connections from the day. Still have more networking in you? Click join for our last speed networking session. Be sure to join on your desktop for the best experience.