With a commitment to ensuring every child’s opportunity at success, protecting Alexandria’s long-term fiscal health and investing in the infrastructure that improves our quality of life, Justin Wilson was elected Mayor of the City of Alexandria in November of 2018 and re-elected in November 2021.

As Mayor, Justin represents the City regionally on the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Board of Directors. Within the City, Justin leads the City-Schools Subcommittee, the ARHA Redevelopment Committee, the Quality of Life Committee, Legislative Subcommittee, the Audit Committee, the Employee Pension/Compensation Committee, the Potomac Yard Metro Implementation Advisory Group and the Combined Sewer Outfall Project Review Team Workgroup.

An experienced community leader, Justin previously served 8 years on the City Council prior to his election as Mayor, including service from 2016 – 2019 as Alexandria’s Vice Mayor. Justin’s leadership has led to new investments in schools, transportation and environmental infrastructure. He has worked to expand early childhood education, address growing student enrollment, accelerate economic growth, advance climate policy as well as protecting and expanding housing affordability.

Prior to his election to the City Council, Justin served as the Chair of the Alexandria Transit Company Board of Directors, which operates the City’s DASH bus service, and served on the Budget & Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee. His neighbors recognized his leadership and twice elected him president of the Del Ray Citizens Association.

Justin chaired the City’s effort to promote participation in the 2010 decennial Census, and he represented Alexandria on the Board of Directors of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority—preserving and managing 11,000 acres of open space and 24 regional parks.

He was an appointee of Governor Mark Warner to the state’s Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and later to the Board of Juvenile Justice—a position he was re-appointed to by Governor Tim Kaine.

He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Information Systems from Virginia Commonwealth University, and is a Fellow of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.

Justin is employed by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) as a Senior Director.

An avid runner, Justin has completed eight marathons, and he lives in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria with his wife, Alex, a life-long Alexandrian, and their son, Eli and daughter Lena, both Alexandria City Public School students.

Jay Kelly serves as a Vice President in Foulger Pratt’s development group. Mr. Kelly joined Foulger

Pratt in April 2021 to lead the company’s redevelopment efforts at Landmark Mall. Prior to joining

Foulger Pratt, Mr. Kelly spent six years at JBG Smith Properties overseeing the day-to-day development

operations of several high profile mixed-use projects including 1221 Van Street (DC), West Half (DC),

Eckington Yards (DC) and 1900 Crystal Drive in National Landing.

Prior to JBG SMITH, Mr. Kelly served as an Assistant Vice President at the New York City Economic

Development Corporation. He received a BA in Public Policy Analysis from Duke University and an

MBA from Wharton and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

As Acting Vice President and Director of Real Estate Development at the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“Metro”), Nia oversees the

agency’s Office of Real Estate and Development, which includes its transit-oriented

real estate development, parking, and asset management functions. In July, Metro

released a Progress Report highlighting key accomplishments and new strategies

since publishing its 10-Year Strategic Plan for Joint Development.

Nia leverages two decades of real estate experience, combining private sector

insights with public sector expertise, to transform publicly owned properties into

economic catalysts and placemaking opportunities. In the Washington DC region, recent notable achievements

in the last 3 years include the closing of 8 projects resulting in the delivery of 1500 residential units, soliciting

and selecting developers for three new development opportunities and the opening of an award-winning LEED-

Platinum office building for the new Metro Headquarters.

Nia holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Design from the University of Massachusetts at

Amherst and a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development and Investment from NYU Schack Institute of Real

Estate.

Lauren Riley joined the Firm in 2019 and works in the Land Use and Zoning practice group in the Arlington office. She primarily focuses on securing zoning and land use entitlements including rezonings, special permits, and special exceptions. Before joining the firm, Lauren worked for the general practice law firm of Walton & Adams, P.C., where she gained valuable experience in eminent domain practice, zoning and land use research, and civil litigation. Lauren earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Alabama in 2015 and graduated from William & Mary Law School in 2018, where she was an articles editor for the William & Mary Business Law Review.

While in law school, Lauren was a summer associate for the Firm and for the City of Hampton Attorney’s Office. She also served as a research assistant to Professor Lynda L. Butler, working on global land use and environmental research.

Mark Taylor is Managing Director, Residential, at AREP, where he brings more than 35 years of experience in residential investment, development, and operations, with a strong track record of partnering with institutional and private equity investors to execute value-add and opportunistic strategies in emerging markets. He joined AREP in 2016 after serving as Operating Partner at Jair Lynch Development Partners, where—having been specifically selected by the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)—he helped build the firm into an institutional-grade platform and deploy more than $100 million in equity capital.

Prior to Jair Lynch, Mark founded and led an urban-focused practice for The Bozzuto Group in Washington, DC, growing the operation to a 35-person team and achieving $6 million in net income by its third year. Across his career, he has overseen projects nationwide spanning rental and mixed-use communities, condominiums, townhomes, and municipal assets, including healthcare centers, charter schools, and cultural facilities. Mark holds degrees in Engineering and Business from the University of Colorado and the University of Denver and has served on numerous institutional boards and nonprofit organizations, including the Maryland Governor’s Green Building Task Force, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers, Lambda Alpha International, the Urban Land Institute, HomeAid DC, and the Renaissance Housing Corporation.

Austin Flajser is in charge of day-to-day operations of The Carr Companies with over 40

executive suite, hotel, commercial and retail assets under management in 8 markets across

the country. These assets account for over $180M in annual operating revenue and over

$200M of new projects currently in the development pipeline. Austin received his Bachelor

of Science from Vanderbilt University, his Masters in Real Estate from Georgetown

University and his Certificate in Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management from

Cornell University.

Michael was born in Toronto, and raised in Tennessee and Texas. He worked in Boston,

New York, Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. before joining BVA in 2014 as a senior

associate, bringing with him a portfolio of commercial work from leading international

firms such as Leo A. Daly and Gensler, and ecclesiastic and single family residential

projects from his own practice. Michael was named principal in 2018.

Michael attended the College of William and Mary (B.A. Linguistics) and later studied

architecture at the University of Texas, Arlington (M. Arch), receiving the AIA Henry

Adams School Medal. Both his parents are architects with philosophical and artistic

interests and Michael embodies their renaissance spirit. Early in his architectural career,

he discovered he had a facility for designing airports, libraries, university buildings, and

other sophisticated commercial and institutional buildings, yet ultimately, he decided to

focus on projects with the capacity to inspire the human mind and spirit. Traveling yearly

on his father’s “Foundations of Civilization” study tours to Rome inspired his desire to

bring the beauty of Europe’s churches to America. At BVA, Michael’s expertise imbues

specialty institutional, commercial, and ecclesiastic work with deeply meaningful beauty

and authenticity, while enriching his work with BVA’s broad array of residential clients.

Chair, Education Committee, Institute for Classical Art and Architecture, Washington

Mid-Atlantic Chapter.

Director At-Large and Lead Co-Chair, Partnerships and Outreach Committee, Association

for Preservation Technology International.

Founder and Co-Chair, Partnership for Catholic Sacred Architecture and the Living

Presence Symposium Series.

Steering Committee Member, Neighborhood Friends of George Washington’s Mt. Vernon

Pillsbury partner James Bobotek concentrates his practice on a variety of construction and

insurance matters.

Jamie guides clients through all phases of development and construction of commercial properties,

including preparation, review and negotiation of development, design, construction, design-build, and

related agreements. Jamie also counsels clients in analyzing insurance coverage claims, formulating risk

management strategies, and developing contractual insurance requirements. Jamie has secured many

favorable outcomes for commercial policyholders on CGL, builder's risk, commercial property, business

interruption, E&O, cyber, professional liability, D&O, pollution, fidelity and other claims.

Representative Experience

Drafted and negotiated construction, design, and development contracts for projects totaling billions of

dollars.

Represented public-private partnerships with respect to construction, design, and ancillary agreements

relating to United States military housing privatizations across the country, including projects in California,

Arizona, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Nevada, Georgia and Missouri.

Drafted form construction and design contract packages for owners, developers and contractors for use

throughout the United States.

Achieved partial summary judgment against AIG entity in connection with property insurance coverage

dispute for multinational university arising from the 2010 earthquakes in Chile.

Obtained a summary judgment ruling in a Student Financial Corp. bankruptcy legacy case for an

additional insured/policyholder under a fidelity bond (financial institution bond) in connection with alleged

Ponzi-scheme losses.

Obtained a dismissal of first-filed insurance carrier declaratory judgment action, allowing an iconic brand

company's $18 million flood loss claim to proceed against carrier in carrier's home forum of Tennessee.

Deployed novel theory to defeat insurance carrier effort to align parties to create federal court jurisdiction,

creating favorable new law in removal disputes with insurance carriers.

Represented a telecommunications provider in successful prosecution of its claims against its E&O

insurer confirming coverage for class action claims alleging cyber-related activities.

Obtained significant recovery under a builders risk policy on behalf of a contractor for a delay claim

arising out of a subcontractor's provision of defective materials.

Procured multi-million dollar defense and indemnity recovery under "personal injury" CGL coverage

relating to a discrimination suit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of multiple claimants.

Obtained recovery under an event cancellation policy for two class action suits brought as a result of

logistical difficulties in connection with a client's presidential inauguration-related experiential student

conference.

Obtained full property loss and business interruption coverage, as well as defense and indemnity

coverage for third-party suits, arising out of a catastrophic fire at a defense contractor's warehouse

facility.

Attained defense and indemnity coverage for an international construction company arising out of

concrete plant emissions.

Obtained defense and indemnity coverage under a professional liability policy for an engineering

company faced with excess exposure.

Recovered full pre-suit indemnity for a government contractor in a construction claim related to faulty

subcontractor work.

Protected a commercial developer's interests under a builders risk policy in connection with a faulty

workmanship claim.

Represented clients in various industries in structuring and negotiating the terms of their cyber insurance

programs.

Professional Highlights

Member of the Insurance Recovery & Advisory practice, named by Law360 as a Practice Group of the

Year in 2015 and 2016.

Member of the ABA's Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, co-chair of its Construction

Subcommittee and appointed vice-chair of the Committee's 2017 Annual CLE Seminar and Meeting.

Authored "Builders Risk Insurance," New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition, Chapter 50

(updated 2016) and "Understanding Product Liability Insurance," New Appleman Insurance Law Practice

Guide, Chapter 30B (2013).

Presented "Mind the Gaps: Potential Gaps Between Cyber and Other Commercial Policies," at the ABA

Insurance Coverage Litigation CLE Seminar, March 2016.

LeVar Crooms currently serves as Market President at United Bank, overseeing the Arlington and Alexandria

markets. In this role, his responsibilities encompass strategically driving both commercial and retail production

while ensuring the profitability and sustained growth of these markets. Crooms plays a pivotal leadership role in

managing public relations efforts for Arlington and Alexandria, while also representing United Bank in the

community through active participation in civic affairs and professional organizations.

Before joining United Bank, Crooms spent a decade at M&T Bank, where he served as Senior Vice President in the

Commercial Real Estate Finance Division. During his tenure, he successfully financed over $2 billion worth of

residential and commercial projects in the Greater Washington DC area. His clientele ranged from institutional to

middle-market and family office companies. Crooms's exceptional performance was consistently acknowledged,

earning him the President's Council Sales Award four times within M&T Bank's Commercial Banking Division

Crooms embarked on his professional journey at BB&T in 2006, where he completed the commercial credit

training program. Within two years, he rose to manage a team of eleven before progressing to a portfolio manager,

and ultimately a relationship manager.

Beyond his professional endeavors, LeVar is actively engaged in various boards and committees. He has served as

a Board Member of the NAIOP Northern Virginia chapter since 2020, contributing his expertise to the Education

Committee. He serves on the Board of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, the nation’s largest organization

that teaches young people about work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. He was recently appointed

to the Board of Directors for the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and as a Trustee for the Arlington Community

Foundation.

LeVar graduated with honors from Johnson C. Smith University in 2006, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in

Business Administration. When not immersed in his professional pursuits, LeVar finds joy in family life, residing

in Arlington, VA, with his wife Anshia and their son Zachariah. Crooms is an avid traveler and enjoys reading.