Christiano Pereira is the founder and principal of CPA Architecture and a licensed architect in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Alabama, Virginia, and Michigan, with more than two decades of experience in architecture, construction, development, and firm leadership. Founded in 2004, CPA Architecture is dedicated to multifamily and mixed-use design, with complementary expertise in retail, restaurant, entertainment, and commercial projects. The firm partners with owners and developers from initial concept through completion, providing feasibility analysis, schematic planning, pro forma and ROI support, governmental approvals, design development, construction documentation, consultant coordination, and contract administration. By combining creative design, technical expertise, development insight, and an understanding of project economics, CPA Architecture helps clients manage risk and create distinctive, constructible, and financially viable communities.

Mr. Scott is a senior engineer with over 27 years of experience in the public and private sectors. He was formerly the Director of Engineering at the City of Newark, responsible to improve, maintain, plan, operate, and repair the City’s infrastructure. He was responsible for improvements and enhancement of roadways, traffic and transportation, municipal parks, code enforcement and the office of the Uniform Construction Code. As Director of the Department of Engineering, Mr. Scott oversaw a staff of approximately 150 employees, managed a budget of over $14 million, was the Mayor’s voting representative on the Board of Trustees for the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), and served as the City’s flood administrator for FEMA. The majority of his experience has been associated with residential subdivisions and office/commercial site developments. He has extensive experience in urban revitalization and the redevelopment of affordable housing sites.

Maha Saad is Vice President of Residential Operations at Onyx Equities, where she leads the growth and development of the firm’s residential management platform. With extensive experience in multifamily operations, lease-ups, team development, and asset performance, Maha brings an operator’s perspective to the entire resident lifecycle—from initial design and pre-opening strategy through stabilization and ongoing operations.

Throughout her career, Maha has focused on creating residential environments that balance exceptional resident experiences with strong operational and financial performance. She believes that wellness and hospitality extend beyond traditional amenities and are shaped by thoughtful design, responsive service, convenience, technology, community, and the everyday experience of living in a property.

In her current role, Maha works closely with ownership, development partners, and project teams to bring the operational and resident perspective into the development process, helping ensure that design and programming decisions translate into stronger leasing, retention, and long-term asset performance.

Maha holds the Certified Apartment Portfolio Supervisor (CAPS) designation and is a three-time recipient of the New Jersey Apartment Association’s Award of Excellence, earning the honor in 2023, 2024, and 2025 in recognition of her leadership and contributions to the multifamily industry.

Brian has been an industry expert for over 25 years. He brings diverse real estate operations experience across all facets of the property management business, including pre-development planning, mixed-use, marketing, leasing and team building. Brian has worked for both national and regional third-party management companies and developers, including Trammell Crow Residential, Roseland Property Company, and Greystar before founding Sparrow Management in December 2020. Sparrow Management emerged with a vision to fill a crucial gap in the local property management industry. Sparrow Management operates more than 2,000 multi-family units across New Jersey.

Brian Taylor is the Founder and President of Taylor Architecture & Design. He is in the unique position to serve the firm’s mixed-use residential developer clients, identify their issues, and solve their problems. To do this he draws on both his formal education and experience working for a developer, dealing first hand with the risks that developers face in their real estate businesses. Brian understands what keeps his developer clients up at night: poorly performing buildings that affect bottom line cash flow, overruns on project schedule and budget, as well as the economic cycle and how it may affect the timing of current projects. The list goes on and Brian Taylor not only understands these risks but has specifically developed his practice to navigate and mitigate these issues before they become problems. Spending years dealing with the design and  construction of large-scale mixed-use residential projects, Brian has acquired a wealth of knowledge working hand in hand with all stakeholders in the development process. This experience has allowed him to design his practice around this special building type. The combination of residential and commercial uses is complex, requiring the design aptitude, building code knowledge and sensitivity to the economic aspect of the development process in order to deliver projects that are competitive in the marketplace and provide a high level of return in the form of cash on cash profits for developers.
Brian is a LEED Accredited Professional and licensed architect in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. His experience spans a diverse array of building types including residential, commercial, educational and industrial projects. In his experience at Edgewood Properties,  one of New Jersey’s largest private developers, he led a staff of over 25 architects, engineers and interior designers in the design  and construction of large-scale, mixed-use residential  developments, as well as commercial office and retail projects  that were part of the development portfolio. Notable projects include Somerville Town Center, consisting of 190,000 square feet of retail and 250 apartments; Fairway Town Center, a mixed-use development consisting of four mixed-use buildings that contain 80,000 square feet of retail and 164 apartments, as well as 96 condominiums, 104 townhomes and a 5,000 square foot clubhouse; and Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, a 8,500 square foot, 180-seat classic steakhouse restaurant with an international presence.
Brian is a member of the National Council of ArchitecturalRegistration Boards and the American Institute of Architects at national, state, and local levels. Brian grew up in New Jersey and received his Bachelor of Architecture and MBA from the New  Jersey Institute of Technology. In addition to spending his free time with his wife and four children, he enjoys traveling, flying his drone, learning about history and coaching wrestling.

Smita Garg is a Principal of SKG Capital, where she leads investment strategy, capital structuring, underwriting, and portfolio performance as the firm expands its footprint across transit‑oriented multifamily communities. Her role spans acquisitions, financing, business‑plan execution, leasing strategy, budgeting, and asset‑level operations, integrating institutional investment discipline with hands‑on execution.

Prior to joining SKG Capital, Smita spent six years in institutional asset management at PGIM Real Estate, CBRE Investment Management, and Rose Associates, overseeing multi‑billion‑dollar multifamily, office, and mixed‑use portfolios nationwide. She executed more than $1 billion in major capital markets transactions, including the $400 million CMBS refinance of 70 Pine Street, a landmark adaptive‑reuse asset in New York City; a $213 million senior–mezzanine financing for Hamilton Crossing; and a $112 million bridge loan for Alexander Crossing—both transit‑oriented multifamily communities in Westchester County. In each case, she played a key role in structuring, underwriting, lender negotiations, and transitioning the assets from development into stabilization while serving as the asset manager.

Earlier in her career, Smita spent four years in real estate banking at J.P. Morgan, originating, underwriting, and managing more than $800 million in CRE exposure across construction, bridge, and term facilities. Her background in credit, capital markets, and asset management informs her analytical, risk‑focused approach to portfolio strategy and execution.



Smita holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from NYU and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. She serves on the NYU Schack Alumni Board, is a member of ULI New York’s Mixed‑Use Council (Green), and mentors emerging real estate professionals through Project Destined and the University of Michigan’s Weiser Center for Real Estate.

Ahmed Emara is the co-founder and principal of Emara Ghobrial Architects (EG

Architects), a fast-growing New Jersey-based architecture and planning firm. Born in

Egypt and raised in New Jersey, Ahmed’s perspective blends global awareness with local

understanding. He graduated cum laude from NJIT with a Bachelor of Architecture and brings

over a decade of experience leading complex projects from concept to completion.

Ahmed views architecture as a framework that shapes civilization—both physically and

culturally. His leadership has helped deliver impactful projects throughout the state, ranging

from single-family homes to high-rise, mixed-use developments in redevelopment zones. At EG

Architects, he is known for uniting contextual design with economic discipline, producing work

that is not only beautiful but responsive to community, culture, and client goals.

Beyond project work, Ahmed has authored and co-authored multiple redevelopment plans

across New Jersey, including key amendments to the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment

Plan and the East Third and Richmond Plan in Plainfield. He is currently leading a legislative

zoning initiative in Jersey City that would allow houses of worship to develop mixed-use

community-centered projects—a proposal he hopes will serve as a statewide model.

Ahmed previously served as At-Large Director of Service for AIA New Jersey’s Emerging

Professionals Community (EPiC) and was selected by NCARB to participate in writing

content for the Architect Registration Examination (ARE). His approach is grounded in

mentorship, equity, and a long-term vision for how design can drive positive social change

across the built environment.