Stormie Forte was elected as one of two at-large Raleigh City Council members in 2022. Prior

to that, she was appointed to represent District D on the Council in 2020. She serves as vice-

chair of the Safe, Vibrant & Healthy Neighborhoods Committee and is a member of the

Economic Development & Innovation Committee. She currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem.

Council Member Forte is a licensed attorney in the State of North Carolina and in the Eastern,

Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina Federal Court. She is also a licensed Real

Estate agent. She earned her undergraduate degree in sociology and master’s degree in

rehabilitation counseling and psychology, both from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She earned her Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Council Member Forte was born and raised in Raleigh. She has volunteered for the Rex

Hospital Open, SAS Championship, Hopscotch Music Festival, Oak City Marathon, and many

other events in the area. She also is an advisory board member for the following organizations:

Clarence Lightner Y Achievers within the Triangle Area YMCA, Preparing to Soar Program in

Johnston County, North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities Ethics Bowl, My

Brother’s Keeper of Wake County, and Friends of the NC State Science Museum Board. In

addition, she is a commissioner on the North Carolina Commission for Racial and Ethnic

Disparities.

Council Member Forte is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and hosts a Saturday

morning weekly radio talk show called “The Art of Listening with Stormie Forte” that airs on 92.1

FM. She enjoys watching Tar Heel basketball and playing with her dogs.

Michael focuses his practice on land use and zoning, commercial real estate, and land use related litigation, and he offers clients experience in obtaining and protecting development approvals from local governments and state agencies. Michael regularly represents landowners and developers before local governing boards, planning boards and boards of adjustment in communities across the state and assists in the development process at the zoning, site plan, conditional and special use permit, variance, building permit and enforcement stages of a project.

Active in the community through service on boards and commissions, Michael has served as chair of the Triangle Community Coalition, an organization focused on promoting good public policy concerning economic growth and development at the local government level. He also served as chair of the Raleigh Stormwater Management Advisory Commission; as vice-chair of the Wake County Planning Board; and as a member of the board of directors of SAFEchild, a local nonprofit focused on eliminating child abuse in Wake County.

Zach Prager graduated from Duke University in 2012 with a major in psychology and a certificate in markets and management studies. He joined Austin Lawrence Partners in 2016 after spending the previous four years in high-yield credit and structured credit at Citigroup in New York City. As director of investments, Zach is responsible for fundraising, investor relations, and sourcing acquisition opportunities. He excels at building lasting relationships to support projects that not only meet our investors' financial objectives, but also improve communities in exciting ways that our partners can take pride in. Zach currently sits on the board of directors for the Durham Children's Initiative and the Duke Triangle Alumni Association.

Caitlin Shelby is the Director for the Raleigh-Durham office of Wood Partners. In this role, she manages the sourcing, financing, and development of multifamily communities in eastern North Carolina and Virginia.

Prior to joining Wood Partners, Ms. Shelby managed nearly 2 million square feet of development for Boston Properties and The JBG Companies in Washington, DC. Ms. Shelby began her career working in corporate finance and project management at the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Ms. Shelby received her MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, with a concentration in Real Estate Development and Real Estate Finance. She graduated from Fordham University with her BS in Business Administration. Ms. Shelby is a member of the UNC Kenan-Flagler Leonard W. Wood Center for Real Estate Studies Advisory Board, ULI Regional Initiative Council for the Carolinas, and ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative Steering Committee for the Triangle.

P. Christian Bailey is a Hanbury Principal and Civic & Community Market Leader, guiding work at the intersection of architecture, community, and the shared urban experience. Over the past three decades, he has led projects across housing, hospitality, and civic sectors, each shaped by a belief in the power of design to connect people and place. With a background in construction, teaching, and the arts, Christian brings a multidisciplinary lens to his practice, seeking clarity and simplicity in both form and idea. A co-founder of ODA and former Director at Morris Adjmi Architects in NYC, he also advises the U.S. State Department’s Overseas Building Operations and teaches at NYCCT, NYIT, and Virginia Tech, where he helped launch the Diplomacy Lab Studio.

Collier Marsh focuses his practice on land use and state and local property tax. His clients include real estate developers, commercial property owners, property managers, homebuilders, and homeowners’ associations. He represents his clients through all stages of construction and development, from the initial zoning and entitlement to the ultimate resolution of disputes.

Collier is also a leader within Parker Poe, serving as the firm's Raleigh Office Development Partner. In that role, he leads the Raleigh office's community engagement and growth strategy.

In his land use practice, Collier represents developers of commercial, residential, and mixed-use projects in the Triangle and throughout North Carolina. He represents his clients before legislative bodies, boards, and commissions, and he helps them secure rezonings and other land use approvals.

In his property tax practice, Collier represents large commercial property owners before local boards and the North Carolina Property Tax Commission. He leads a team at Parker Poe that has handled hundreds of property tax appeals throughout North Carolina.

Nathaniel “Nate” Hoffman is Vice President of Development at Hoffman & Associates,

bringing a decade of experience in real estate development, acquisitions, and strategic

planning across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Since joining the firm in 2015, Nate has

played a critical role in shaping transformative, community-driven projects, overseeing

development from acquisition to completion.

Having been immersed in Hoffman & Associates from an early age, interning in various roles

every summer since earning his driver’s license, Nate has developed a deep understanding of

the firm’s values, mission, and industry approach. Today, he provides strategic leadership

across the company’s portfolio, managing complex entitlement processes, driving project

execution, and delivering innovative, high-quality developments.

On the acquisitions side, Nate has been instrumental in securing and underwriting key

projects, ranging from single-parcel developments to large-scale, multi-parcel urban

transformations. His work includes The Westerly, The Banks &Riverside Baptist Church in

the Southwest neighborhood of Washington, DC, The Bower in The Yards neighborhood of

Washington, DC, Seaboard Station in Raleigh, NC, and 3200 W Moore in Richmond, VA.

In development management, Nate has overseen the successful completion of major projects

spanning multifamily, hotel, condominium, retail, and mixed-use developments. His leadership

has helped deliver The Banks Apartments, Riverside Baptist Church, Amaris Condominiums,

and the Pendry Hotel in The Wharf neighborhood of Washington, DC, and West Falls B & D

Garages, and The Oak Condominiums in the West Falls neighborhood of Falls Church,

Virginia.

Nate holds a Bachelor of Science in Management with a concentration in Real Estate from the

Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Business

Administration (MBA) from Georgetown University.

Rachel Landreth serves as an Exchange Director at Legal 1031 Exchange Services, LLC, where she educates clients and their advisors on the intricacies of IRC §1031 tax deferred exchanges, including reverse and improvement exchanges. With a decade of experience, Rachel has facilitated thousands of successful 1031 exchanges and is known for her ability to simplify complex processes, enabling clients to make informed decisions that align with their goals. She has delivered informative presentations on all types of 1031 exchanges to a wide variety of audiences.

Rachel is a member of the Federation of Exchange Accommodators (FEA) and earned her Certified Exchange Specialist (CES) designation in 2019, highlighting her extensive knowledge of 1031 tax deferred exchanges. She is also a certified instructor for continuing education credits in South Carolina, having been approved by the South Carolina Real Estate Commission and receiving certification from the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

Before joining the 1031 exchange industry, she served as Manager of Revenue Accounting for AirTran Airways and an accounting consultant. Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Caribbean Affairs from Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, and pursued post-baccalaureate studies in Accounting at Stetson University, DeLand, Florida.

Outside of work, Rachel enjoys planning international vacations, working on various DIY projects, and nurturing her flower and art gardens.