Jason Guillot is a principal at Thalhimer Realty Partners, a commercial real estate developer specializing in mixed-use projects encompassing Class A office, retail, and multifamily. Jason joined Thalhimer in 2007, building a successful career as an office broker before transitioning full-time to development with TRP in 2017. He is currently leading the redevelopment of the Diamond District — a 67-acre, $2.4 billion mixed-use project developed in partnership with the City of Richmond — to create a vibrant new neighborhood anchored by CarMax Park, home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

His portfolio includes a range of past and current projects: Westhampton Commons (the redevelopment of the historic Westhampton School site, including The Crest and The Birney Apartments), Westhampton on Grove, Willow Circle, 1510 Belleville, Scott's Walk, The Spur, C&F Finance HQ, Mission Lane HQ, Brookfield Place, and multiple

medical build-to-suits. Jason has been named twice to the Virginia Business VA 500 Power List, recognized in both 2024 and 2025.

Jose Romano is GRP’s Executive Vice President of Business Development. Jose has more than fifteen years of experience promoting economic growth and prosperity in both the public and private sectors. During his career, he has served four gubernatorial administrations in the states of Florida, Texas and Kansas. Additionally, he has represented various corporate clients as a site selector.

Romano is a well-rounded professional with a proven track record of executive leadership and senior management in economic development, marketing and international business. His accomplishments account for the creation of more than 35,000 new jobs and projects totaling more than $10 billion in capital investment. He is a strategic thinker and maintains in-depth knowledge of leading industry trends.

Romano attended Florida State University where he majored in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. In 2021, he graduated from the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute. He was the recipient of the Development Counsellor International’s 40 Under 40 Award in 2017. He also commits his time to serving various non-profits

Elizabeth G. Steele is Vice President of Business Development with Kensington Vanguard National Land Services LLC, in Richmond, Virginia. Liz received her J.D. from Seton Hall School of Law in Newark, New Jersey and was in private practice for several years before going in-house with the claims division of AIG Environmental in New York, New York. She relocated to Richmond Virginia many years ago where she has worked in the commercial title insurance industry in various capacities. She is mom to three, an avid runner and skier and a self-proclaimed “cranky yankee”.

Mr. Amin started his career at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he advised public and private technology

companies on merger and acquisition transactions and capital markets activities. He currently has overall

responsibility for 75 hotels owned and operated by Shamin Hotels, the largest hotel owner and operator in

the Commonwealth of Virginia. Additionally, Mr. Amin oversees the operations of Shamin’s Assisted Living

and Dementia facilities in Virginia. During his tenure at Shamin Hotels, the company has received numerous

awards and recognitions including the Developer of the Year from Intercontinental Hotels Group and the

Multi-Brand Developer of the Year, and New Build/Adaptive Reuse of the Year from Hilton Hotels. Mr. Amin

has been repeatedly recognized as one of the Fifty Most Influential Virginians by Virginia Business and was

awarded Hilton’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.

Mr. Amin graduated summa cum laude from The Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania,

completing his B.S. in Economics and MBA. He is passionate about assisting the communities where the

associates of Shamin Hotels live and work and currently serves as the past chairman of the board of

Richmond Region Tourism and serves on the boards of the Community Foundation, the Virginia Museum of

History and Culture, the Virginia Community Development Corporation, Sports Backers, Venture Richmond,

the Virginia Council on Economic Education, and the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. Additionally, Mr.

Amin serves on the Treasury Board of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Governor’s Advisory Council on

Revenue Estimates at the pleasure of the Governor of Virginia.

Andrew is a Principal and Co-founder of Spy Rock where he focuses on acquisition and development

and management of project teams on all of Spy Rock’s ventures. Andrew relocated to Richmond from

Falls Church in 2007 to start the Virginia Multifamily Development office for Colonial Properties

Trust. From 2001-2007, Andrew was Vice President of Development and Acquisitions for The

Silverwood Companies, a mixed-use, multifamily and land development firm based in Reston, VA.

At Silverwood, he was responsible for the acquisition and development of over 1,000 multifamily

units, including for-sale, market rate rental and LIHTC product.

Andrew holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and is a Board Member of the Home Builder’s

Association of Richmond, an Executive Committee member and former Chair of HBAR’s Multifamily

Council and a member of Virginia Housing’s (VHDA) Rental Advisory Board. Andrew was the

Urban Land Institute’s member of the year for Virginia in 2016.

As the Director of Business Development for ARCO Design/Build, Wes Patterson brings over 10 years of experience in the construction industry. With expertise in construction management and building client relationships, Wes plays a crucial role in driving ARCO’s new business opportunities and helping future clients find solutions to their needs. Wes manages client relationships in the Richmond area and greater Virginia region. Prior to joining ARCO, Wes served as a Project Manager and Owner’s Rep for multiple developers and end users, most recently as a Senior Construction Manager for the Major Projects Division of Whole Foods Market. Wes graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a double major in Economics and German.

Vince serves in both development and investment and portfolio strategy roles for the Matan Companies. Prior to joining Matan, Vince spent 20 years at the B. F. Saul Company, performing a breadth of real estate disciplines, including transactions, development, asset management, and finance roles. He led transactions for the Saul Organization for over a decade, conducting the purchase and sale of properties of all product types, in multiple markets, throughout the east coast and mid-west of the United States. He has developed multiple institutional scale retail and residential mixed-use buildings, and the master planning of millions of square feet throughout the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area. Vince is a native Washingtonian, alumnus of Loyola University Maryland and the Georgetown Preparatory School. He is an active member of the community with associations to many industry and non-profit organizations. He has been a member of the Urban Land Institute, NAIOP, Seven Corners Land Use Task Force, Bethesda Master Plan Steering Committee, Bethesda Implementation Advisory Committee, EMPOWER Montgomery Governing Committee, Takoma-Langley Crossroads Owners Advisory Group, and the White Flint Implementation Advisory Committee. Vince has served in advisory and fundraising capacity to local non-profits including the Washington Jesuit Academy, the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, and is currently a Board Member at the Don Bosco Cristo Rey School.

Maria is a transformational leader and technical expert in the real estate and construction risk management industry with 20 years of combined experience and proven background as an engineer, underwriter, risk manager and broker leading enterprise risk management and insurance programs to mitigate business risks including execution and implementation of organizational policies.

Maria’s approach is consultative and strategic. She leverages her unique combination of technical expertise to identify and treat risk, and create customized solutions that improve performance and transform operations for Contractors and Project Owners.

Maria takes the time to develop a deep understanding of her clients’ needs and operations via risk assessments and evaluate options to transfer and manage their risk. During her career, Maria has played a pivotal role in leadership changes in the organizations she has served.

Maria has been a strategic risk advisor on over 500 infrastructure, institutional, industrial, healthcare, commercial, power generating and real estate projects. Maria is a bilingual presenter and negotiator of real estate and construction risk management

and insurance topics with work experience in organizations across North America, Latin America, and Europe with exposure to cross functional teams with multiple nationalities. Prior to her risk management career, Maria worked as a bridge hydraulics design engineer.

Mr. Smith currently serves as Regional President of United Bank in Southern Virginia.  Prior to United Bank’s acquisition of Essex Bank in 2021,Mr. Smith was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Essex Bank since September 2010. From April 2009 to August 2010, he served as the Bank’s Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. From 2007 to 2009, he was the Central Virginia President for Gateway Bank and Trust and, from 2000 to 2007, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of The Bank of Richmond.

Prior to that Mr. Smith held Executive positions at Guaranty Bank in Charlottesville Virginia and with Central Fidelity Bank in Richmond, Virginia.

He has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Richmond where he was an Honors Member of Beta Gamma.

He is a published author on many banking topics such as; branch banking, transfer pricing methodologies and retail profitability analysis in the American Banker, ABA Marketing Journal and, the Community Banker. Mr. Smith formally served on the Boards of the March of Dimes and Children’s Hospital of Richmond. He is currently a Board member of Bankers Insurance, LLC.