Future of Tri-Cities and San Fernando Valley

Chris Tourtellotte serves as a Managing Director of LaTerra. Chris is responsible for overseeing the Development group, sourcing and closing new acquisitions, sourcing debt and equity for LaTerra’s projects, and growing LaTerra’s apartment and mixed use development platform, which currently includes over 3,000 apartment units either under construction or in the pipeline. Prior to joining LaTerra, Mr. Tourtellotte spent 7 years at Prudential Global Investment Management (PGIM), a global real estate private equity investment fund manager with over $50 billion of gross assets under management. Most recently at PGIM, Mr. Tourtellotte held the position of Director, overseeing all development activity west of the Mississippi River with over 20 development deals at a total cost basis greater than $1 billion. Prior to Mr. Tourtellotte’s role overseeing West Coast development, he spent 5 years on the West Coast acquisitions team where he worked on closing over $1 billion in acquisitions across all property types (multifamily, office, retail, industrial, and hotels) and all layers of the capital stack (senior debt, subordinate debt, preferred equity and equity). Chris co-founded SnowGlobe Music Festival, which was ultimately acquired by MTV. SnowGlobe is a world-renowned annual music festival (featuring the largest musical acts in the world) drawing over 50,000 attendees over the three day event. Mr. Tourtellotte was responsible for raising the capital, and structuring and negotiating the investment documents prior to the inaugural 2011 festival. Mr. Tourtellotte was selected for Real Estate forum’s 50 under 40 list. Mr. Tourtellotte holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration (Cum Laude) with a double concentration (Finance & Accounting) and a minor in Real Property Development from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

Pete Kutzer is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Edgewood Realty Partners, and is the founder and President of The Kutzer Company (TKC). Mr. Kutzer received a B.A. in Economics with High Honors from the University of California at Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Kutzer was formerly employed in the real estate investment banking group at Morgan Stanley & Co. in Los Angeles. Mr. Kutzer is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Urban Land Institute, serves on the Board of Directors of Muse/Ique, and as Vice President of the South Pasadena Preservation Foundation. Mr. Kutzer has held leadership positions on numerous boards and charitable organizations, including the Armory Center for the Arts, the Institutional Review Board of Huntington Memorial Hospital, Young & Healthy, and as President of the Board of Education of the South Pasadena Unified School District. He is also actively involved in youth athletics.

Konstantine Anthony grew up in the small suburban town of Castro Valley, just outside of Oakland, CA. He spent his middle school years in rural Iowa and studied film at San Francisco State University with a diverse group of students from all over the world. In 2004, he moved to Burbank and became a union actor in film and television. With 20 years of experience in improv comedy, Konstantine has appeared in numerous television shows and movies. That experience, and a passion for social justice, made running for office in the Media Capital a natural next step. On his second run for Burbank City Council, he won a seat with a record-setting 17,529 votes. In doing so, he also became the first openly autistic elected official west of the Mississippi. Konstantine has been a SAG-AFTRA member since 2006 and a member of SEIU 2015 since 2019. He has served with the Burbank Advisory Council on Disabilities since 2018, as executive board of Burbank PFLAG since 2019, and with the Burbank Transportation Commission from 2017-2020, resigning from his position as Chair to take his City Council seat. It is through these networks of advocacy that he takes on the issues facing our fair city. When not deliberating on the dais, you can find Konstantine driving around town in his blue Prius, taking constituents to their destinations through various rideshare apps. He hopes to meet you one day and get you involved in local politics, too.

Felicia Williams was born and raised in Pasadena and elected to the City Council in 2020. She represents District 2 which is the central part of the City. She currently represents the City as the Vice President of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority and on the Executive Board of Foothill Transit. Prior to joining the Council, Felicia served on several City Commissions, including Chair of the Planning Commission Chair, Treasurer of the Pasadena Center Operating Company (Convention Center), Environmental Commission Chair, and Transportation Advisory Commission member. Her community involvement also includes serving on the Boards of Planned Parenthood Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena Educational Foundation, and Pasadena Police Foundation and Citizens Police Academy graduate, as well as being the Captain of her Neighborhood Watch. Felicia has a 20+ year career in public policy and finance. She began her career at Kosmont & Associates in Los Angeles structuring financial redevelopment transactions for cities and processing land use approvals for large projects. After receiving her MBA, Felicia worked as an investment banker structuring corporate bonds/syndicated bank loans at Goldman Sachs, and municipal bonds at First Albany Capital, RBC Capital Markets, and PFM Financial Advisors. Felicia’s municipal finance work focused on property tax/assessment districts and environmental projects (water, sewer, solid waste, clean energy). Currently, Felicia owns a consulting firm working with municipal clients, mainly in Los Angeles County and San Gabriel Valley, on financing infrastructure projects and economic development. Felicia received the 2021 NAACP Pasadena Branch 2021 Women of Distinction Community Award and was a 2022 Business Life Magazine Women Achievers Honoree. She attended Polytechnic School in Pasadena and received her B.A. from Stanford University in Public Policy, M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA, and M.B.A. from The University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Dale Brown is an award-winning architect with over four decades of experience. As a founding partner of ONYX Architects, he has built an impressive portfolio that showcase creative problem-solving in architectural and urban design, entitlements, project management and financing. Dale, as Managing Principal is an integral member of the firm's management team, guiding and coordinating strategic growth. Dale's passion for architecture extends beyond his work at ONYX Architects. He is an active member of the community, keeping up to date on the latest developments in local government and development. His diverse portfolio of projects ranges from civic buildings to unique preservation plans, affordable housing, and large mixed-use projects. Dale's clients include public entities, private and not-for-profit entities, all of whom benefit from his critical thinking and strong entrepreneurial mindset.

Kent Handleman oversees all leasing activity for LPC West Los Angeles. With over 28 years of transactional experience encompassing over 10 million square feet of space, he manages a portfolio with 4+ million square feet of office projects, and represents ownerships that include LPC West partnerships, associated capital partners, and third-party owners throughout the South Bay, Playa Vista, Culver City, Santa Monica, downtown Los Angeles, Tri-Cities, and the San Fernando Valley. Prior to joining LPC West, Kent led leasing efforts for Thomas Properties Group in Southern California. This included City National Plaza, a 2.6-million square foot premier office complex in downtown Los Angeles, where he successfully leased approximately 2 million square feet as the project was repositioned in the market. Prior to this, Kent worked at CBRE where he represented tenants and landlords in the leasing, disposition and/or marketing of commercial office property. Kent’s tenure in the industry began in real estate acquisitions and financial analysis for a pension fund advisor. After completing his MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business, he joined MetLife Real Estate Investments and, in addition to hotel and multi-family projects, he oversaw leasing and asset management for a 3.5-million square foot office building portfolio, with 2.5 million square feet in downtown Los Angeles. In his capacity as an asset manager, Kent also directed property management, and was responsible for business/investment decisions regarding these office, hotel, and multi-family projects as owner’s representative.

Mark is a founding partner and principal of Paragon Commercial Group. With over 25 years of retail involvement and successfully developing or redeveloping over 10 million square feet of retail shopping centers Mark’s strong relationships with the industry’s most elite tenants, brokers and experts continue to help Paragon’s participation with high profile projects positioning the company to be a leader in the industry. Prior to forming Paragon in late 2009, Mark served as the Managing Director of Investments overseeing the investment and development programs for Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE:REG). Regency is one of the largest owners of grocery-anchored shopping centers in the Country. Mark managed the company’s Pacific Region which was the largest and most productive region for the Company. Prior to being named Managing Director, Mark was consistently named a top producer for Regency and was placed on Regency’s Operating Committee as well as the company’s National Capital Allocation Committee, responsible for reviewing and approving all transactions throughout the country. In total, Mark spent 12 years with Regency Centers. Prior to joining Regency Centers’ predecessor, Pacific Retail Trust, Mark was a Vice President at Lowe Enterprises Commercial Group based in Los Angeles, where he was responsible for retail development, project management, leasing and disposition. Prior to Lowe Enterprises, Mark was a real estate attorney at Allen Matkins and at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, where he represented national retailers, developers, and financial institutions.

Sonya Kay Blake is the President & CEO of The Valley Economic Alliance based in Sherman Oaks, California. In this capacity, she is a leading catalyst facilitating economic development in the San Fernando Valley, a vital and burgeoning region of the City of Los Angeles comprising 5 cities, 1.9 million residents and 64,000 businesses. The Alliance’s activities include promoting business vitality, efficient mobility, workforce development, affordable housing, and other aspects of establishing and maintaining livable, sustainable, and equitable communities. Prior to her leadership of the Alliance, Sonya served as Director of Community Business in Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office of Economic Development, where she played a role in the City’s rollout of an $11 million small business emergency microloan program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also helped Mayor Garcetti to launch entrepreneurship training programs, formulate the economic development package of the city’s community development block grant, and undertake City-wide community revitalization efforts. Sonya has also served as CEO of the National Association of Women Business Owners – Los Angeles, Director of the Office of the Small Business Advocate in the office of former Governor Gray Davis, Assistant Dean of the USC Roski School of Fine Arts, and Director of Corporate Giving at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Sonya graduated from Yale University and the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management. She has lived in Valley Glen since 2003 with her husband, Stephen, and has three school-age children.

Ireland’s loss was Southern California’s gain. The co-founder of our company is the garrulous Irishman John Parker. On the surface, he is an easy-going gentleman. On the job, he is all business. John Parker co-founded Parker Brown, Inc. in 1994 with Scott Brown. The two set the “get the job done” tone for the company’s construction operations and corporate management. Leaving Ireland for the U.S. in 1989, John owned and operated John Parker Building Ltd., a residential remodeling firm. After relocating his family to Los Angeles, John was the construction manager at a Los Angeles area commercial construction company until the inception of Parker Brown, Inc. in 1994. John and Scott are personally involved in every project that Parker Brown, Inc. is awarded. They provide oversight from the job site or from the corporate office, and, in a lot of cases, from both. John is deeply involved in the communities he serves. He is the past president of the Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce, former president of the Canoga Park Improvement Association, a past member of the Oversight Committee on the Bond Program of Pierce College, and executive vice president of the Women’s Odyssey, a residential drug and alcohol recovery program. Currently, he is a commissioner serving on the Los Angeles County Building Rehabilitation & Appeals Board, and is presently the president of the United Chamber of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley.

Natalie has over 25 combined years of experience as a Senior Managing Director and real estate Brokerage Professional with the CBRE, Inc. Specializing in Office Properties with extensive experience in leasing, investment sales, and ground up developments, Natalie focuses her efforts on representing owners and corporate and office tenants throughout the Tri-Cities markets of Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank and throughout the San Gabriel Valley. For 13 years, Natalie was an integral part of the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire’s office market growth. Her involvement within the commercial real estate community and the Cities and 3 Counties that make up these Regions, positioned her well in 2008 and for the next 6 years, to oversee two of the largest Regions in the U.S. as its Senior Managing Director. Charged with growing and overseeing over 200 sales professionals and staff in the Inland Empire and the Los Angeles North Regions, Natalie’s insight into and approach to the market in which she now represents Landlords, Tenants, Buyers and Sellers has been expanded through her leadership roles and balcony perspective. Natalie’s multi-faceted background, process-driven approach, commitment to the industry, Regional reach, and strong relationships, enable her to provide the highest level of service to her clients, with the strongest of business and work ethics, knowledge and experience.