Joseph brings a strong background in business partnerships, negotiation, brokerage and finance, with expertise in financial modeling to his role as Director of Development in Ryan’s North Region. He works with the mixed-use development team, focusing on office and multifamily product types, supporting current work and active pursuits. Joseph is passionate about positively impacting urban spaces through smart real estate development and his enthusiasm is contagious. He enjoys the diversity of the work and the ability to collaborate with experts across Ryan’s service areas to consider all aspects of a deal or project. Relationship-minded and results-driven, he focuses on bringing value to our customers through creative solutions.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey grew up in northern Virginia and went to the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia on a track scholarship. After graduating with a degree in government, he began running professionally while attending law school at Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That’s when he came to Minneapolis to run the Twin Cities Marathon and when he fell in love with the city. The day after graduating, he drove 1,200 miles west to Minneapolis, his chosen home.

As an employment and civil rights attorney, Jacob became an active community organizer. In 2011, he led efforts to launch the Big Gay Race, which raised over $250,000 to help defeat the proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman. He also became involved in advocacy for those experiencing homelessness, helping tenants who lost their homes in North Minneapolis. In 2012, the City of Minneapolis awarded its inaugural Martin Luther King, Jr. Award to Jacob for his civil rights work.

Jacob successfully ran to represent the Third Ward on the city council in 2013. As a Council Member, Jacob focused on constituent services, increasing residential growth, growing the number and variety of small and local businesses, and fully funding affordable housing.

Since his election as Mayor in 2017, Jacob has championed an agenda centered on increasing access to affordable housing throughout the city, strengthening community-police relations, and fueling economic growth through inclusive policies. He has successfully secured record-setting investments for the city’s affordable housing work, boosting efforts to expand and preserve affordable housing. Jacob has worked with Police Chief Medaria Arradondo to shift the department’s culture, enhance accountability, and prioritize officer wellness. From strengthening the police department’s body camera policy to overhauling the department’s use of force policy, Jacob has been persistent in improving public safety in Minneapolis. And to help bridge the city’s racial disparities, the mayor has targeted resources where they’re needed most to accelerate economic growth. He worked with his Council Colleagues to establish seven new Cultural Districts, areas prioritized for investment. To help ensure more entrepreneurs of color have a fair shot at owning their property, he created a first-of-its-kind Commercial Property Development Fund to target resources to neighborhoods that have historically experienced disinvestment.

Jacob lives on the Eastside of Minneapolis with his wife, Sarah Clarke. Sarah practices government relations with a focus on early childhood education.

Phil Larger is the Managing Director of Investments for Altus Properties. He leads investments for the company and is responsible for acquiring and developing office, industrial, multifamily, and retail product ranging from development to core plus in deal sizes from $10M to $100M. Prior to joining Altus, Phil was a Director at EverWest leading acquisitions for the central united states including Colorado, Utah, and Texas. During his career he has been directly involved in over $1.0 billion of acquisitions, development, and dispositions with an emphasis on industrial and office. Phil was also a Senior Associate at Duff and Phelps where he valued numerous property types for institutional clients in Denver and Chicago.

He is an active member of National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) and Urban Land Institute (ULI). Phil earned his Master of Business Administration from The Ohio State University and his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Colorado.

Justin oversees all aspects of the leasing and asset management strategy for Altus's growing Twin Cities portfolio, including approximately 1.5 million square feet of commercial assets. In addition, Justin is responsible for identifying new investment and development opportunities in the Twin Cities market.

Previously Justin held the position of Vice President of Commercial Leasing & Development, overseeing all aspects development, acquisitions and dispositions for CSM's commercial portfolio. In addition, Justin oversaw all aspects of lease negotiations for CSM’s growing commercial portfolio, including more than 1.9 million square feet of retail space in six states and 2 million square feet of office and industrial space in Minnesota.

During his time at CSM he has completed over 750 lease transactions totaling over 6 million square feet and worth over $800M in rent consideration. Justin’s efforts have attracted larger, more prominent tenants, resulting in greater stability and increased valuations. He has also played a central role in many redevelopment opportunities throughout the CSM portfolio.

He is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Minnesota Shopping Center Association (MSCA), Minnesota Commercial Association of Realtors (MNCAR) and National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP).

Justin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in real estate studies and a Bachelor of Arts in marketing management from the University of St. Thomas. His volunteer commitments include Ronald McDonald House Charities, Children’s Miracle Network at Gillette Children’s Hospital and Hope for the City.

Brian Pankratz is a Senior Vice President with CBRE and specializes in land sales, site selection, redevelopment and large acreage land assemblage. Current listings include over 2,000 acres with future development potential of over $1 Billion. The Minneapolis Land Services Group is part of a nationwide network of experienced professionals focusing exclusively on land transactions. Our mission is to accelerate the success of our clients through superior market knowledge, industry-leading technology and a global real estate perspective.

Before joining CBRE, Brian worked at Colliers International in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1999-2005, where he was involved in transactions totaling more than $475 Million including over 2,000,000 square feet of industrial space and 3,000 acres of land.

Dr. Heidi Swank is the executive director of Rethos, a historic preservation nonprofit based in Minnesota and working across six states and growing. She received her BA from Hamline University and Ph.D. in anthropology from Northwestern University. Dr. Swank grew up in the St. Croix Valley and moved back to Minnesota from Las Vegas, NV in January 2021. In Nevada, she started Nevada’s first statewide historic preservation nonprofit and served four terms in the Nevada Legislature chairing the Natural Resources Committee and General Government Subcommittee of Ways and Means.

Under Dr. Swank’s leadership, Rethos has seen a growth in their real estate program into new states, expansion into the heritage tourism sector, and launched education offerings on deconstruction and reuse. Heidi is a member of the National Preservation Partners Network Executive Committee and Chair of the Mendota Heights Natural Resources Commission. She is happy to be back in her home region and looks forward to identifying more partners for Rethos and extending the nonprofit’s work to support more communities.

Megan Rogers advises local and national clients on legal and policy issues impacting land use, zoning, real estate, municipal law, regulatory matters and mining. Before joining Larkin Hoffman, she served as counsel to cities in south Florida and most recently as an assistant city attorney for the city of Bloomington, MN. Megan is a trusted advisor on board governance, real estate development, public financing, and transactional real estate matters for both private clients and municipalities.

Current Responsibilities:

In his role as Executive Vice President of Commercial Development, Phil is responsible for pursuing development opportunities in all product types, helping United Properties grow and succeed in new areas, and preparing the next generation of development leaders.

Past Experience:

Phil joined United Properties in 2023. He spent the last 13 years at Opus as a senior vice president and general manager, leading and managing the Minneapolis and Des Moines development offices.

Before joining Opus, Phil had a distinguished seven-year stint with the U.S. Army.

Education:

Phil is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and holder of a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas.

Karla Henderson became the City of Bloomington, Minnesota’s Director of the Community Development Department in March of 2021. She oversees the Assessing, Building and Inspections, Environmental Health and Planning divisions in addition to the Housing Redevelopment and Port Authorities. She serves as a board member of the Twin Cities Land Bank and the Mall of America Community Foundation and is a member of the Local Advisory Committee for Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Recently, Karla completed the Minneapolis Regional Chamber Leadership Twin Cities Program (2021-22).

She brings to this role an extensive background in planning, infrastructure maintenance, community engagement and economic development. Karla’s municipal experience includes five years working for Highland Park, MI and nine years in Ann Arbor, MI, where she advanced quickly from a mid-level supervisor to a department director. She also served three years as the head of planning and facilities for the City of Detroit, working directly for Mayor Dave Bing. During her time in Detroit, Henderson also served at an officer level for two area nonprofits and as director of capital development for Wayne County, MI. She later became the managing director/change strategist for a consulting firm working with cities and nonprofit organizations on economic and business development, comprehensive planning, and project management.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Resource Management from Michigan State University.

Aarica L. Coleman, has over 25 years of real estate experience in various roles in both public and private sectors. Currently, Aarica is Administrator of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority in the City of Bloomington, Minnesota, working to help provide affordable housing opportunities for those not adequately served by the marketplace. Aarica leads with the philosophy that housing is a basic human right and has always had a passion and commitment to social and reparative justice through real estate.

Current Responsibilities

Brandon joined Hempel in 2024 as Executive Vice President of Development, where he is responsible for directing new development and investment activities of commercial and multifamily properties.

Previous Experience

Brandon was previously at United Properties from 2004 to 2024. He started as a retail broker and joined United’s development group in 2006. From 2006 to 2013, his notable projects included the historic Minneapolis Ford Center office renovation/conversion, Nicollet Mall Nieman Marcus office conversion, the Penn & American mixed-use redevelopment in Bloomington, MN, Bielenberg Gardens shopping center in Woodbury, MN, and headquarters projects for Be the Match and CH Robinson. He also acquired the Days Hotel in partnership with the University of Minnesota, which led to the formation of a joint venture partnership with the University of Minnesota Foundation to master plan the East Gateway campus into a future healthcare innovation district.

Brandon led United’s industrial development from 2014 to 2020. During this time, he developed approximately 6 million square feet of industrial space, valued at nearly $600 million, including the state’s most environmentally sustainable industrial building—the LEED Silver Midway Stadium Business Center. Beginning in 2016, Brandon led the planning of one of Minneapolis’ largest public-private projects, the 48-acre riverfront redevelopment of Upper Harbor, which will include a 20-acre park, affordable housing, an amphitheater, and advanced manufacturing space.

In 2020 Brandon was promoted to lead all of United’s commercial development and investments in the Twin Cities region.

Prior to United Properties, Brandon worked in the A&R Department for Def Jam Records in Hollywood, CA.

Professional and Community Involvement

Brandon’s industry achievements include Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal 40 Under 40, 2019 NAIOP Minnesota President, 2014‐2017 NAIOP Minnesota Public Policy Chair, past founder/chair of the Commercial Real Estate Diversity Collaborative, and volunteering for ULI’s Urban Plan program—teaching high school kids about the complexities and tradeoffs in real estate redevelopment.

Education

Brandon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in entrepreneurial studies and finance, with a minor in marketing from the University of Minnesota-Carlson School of Management.

Erin joined Schafer Richardson in February 2016 as Marketing and Leasing Manager for Schafer Richardson Management Services. She focuses on property and new development marketing initiatives and leasing Schafer Richardson’s retail and office portfolio. Erin also works on behalf of third-party owners and tenants (landlord representation, tenant representation, sellers and buyers).

Erin has 19 years of experience in commercial real estate, ranging from leasing (tenant and landlord representation) to investment sales, with an emphasis on nationwide Net-Lease sales. She also has a strong background in the sale of Tenant-In-Common (TIC) properties.

Erin has been featured in several industry specific publications and served as a panelist at local and regional conferences.

Erin is also well-versed in financial analysis of complex real estate properties and portfolios. Erin has a strong attention to detail and enjoys the intricacies of client relationships.

Judy Ring is a Business Recruitment Executive for Xcel Energy. has worked for Xcel Energy for 19 years. In her current role in Economic Development, Judy works to locate businesses in one of the 8 state Xcel Energy Serves. Judy has worked in National Accounts, Demand Side Management and other areas of the company.

Judy has an MBA from Concordia College and an BAS in Energy Management from Bismarck State University.

Judy lives in Minneapolis with her husband. In her spare time she follows professional sports, the WNBA being her favorite. She is a runner and competes in Triathlons.

Bill Griffith is a shareholder for Larkin Hoffman in the firm’s real estate and land use practice group. He practices extensively in land use, zoning, real estate, environmental permitting and municipal law. Bill has served as legal counsel to Mall of America for more than 20 years and also serves as city attorney for the city of Columbus. In addition to his practice, he has been an adjunct professor in land use law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. Bill has published articles and guest commentary in Urban Land, Minnesota Business, Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Minnesota Real Estate Journal, and is a frequent speaker at seminars on land use, zoning, municipal and environmental law.