Martin L. Togni is a partner in the San Diego office of Allen Matkins with a practice focusing primarily on Life Sciences, representing a variety of landlords and tenants in the development and leasing of Life Science and Biotech projects. He has successfully completed major leasing transactions totaling more than 40 million square feet in California, the Midwest, and East Coast over the past 25 years, representing some of the nation's leading real estate and end-user companies. Martin also represents a wide variety of clients in the acquisition, disposition, development, financing and ground leasing of shopping centers, industrial projects, office buildings and other commercial and mixed-use projects throughout the country

Susan Rosenthal is the Senior Vice President, Life Sciences & Healthcare at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, which announced in June 2021 a plan to double the City’s $500 million investment in life sciences to $1 billion to create jobs and establish New York City as a global leader in life sciences. Susan also led NYCEDC’s COVID-19 testing team, which in partnership with City Hall and NYC Health + Hospitals helped launch the Pandemic Response Lab, created a local supply chain for COVID test kits, and evaluated technologies for point of care and rapid tests to support the City’s response to COVID-19. Susan has over fifteen years of industry experience with a rich background in business development, corporate strategy, and portfolio management from her time at Pfizer and Deloitte Consulting. Her experience spans many therapeutic areas as well as across early and late stage R&D. Sue earned her MBA from NYU and her Bachelor's degree in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Brooks has played a pivotal role in the growth of SGA’s Manhattan office, where he leads both

the architecture and interior design practices. His responsibilities are all inclusive: He oversees

all New York-based projects and several commissions around the country, encompassing new

construction, adaptive reuse, corporate interiors, and master planning. He also mentors

colleagues, provides design direction, cultivates new business, and guides the continuing

evolution of the Manhattan office, with the aim of cementing SGA’s position at the forefront of

technology. An advanced REVIT user, he is a strong advocate of fully intergraded integrated

BIM project delivery.

Before joining SGA in 2015, Brooks ran his own studio for 10 years, where he focused on

commercial, institutional, and residential projects. Previously, he served as a design architect at

I.M. Pei’s office (Pei Cobb Freed), a project manager at HOK, and a senior project architect at

Polshek Partnership (Ennead). During his tenures at these firms, he developed expertise in a

number of markets, including science and technology, healthcare, cultural institutions, and

courthouses.

Brian Aronne, Senior Vice President, Operations Manager with Hunter Roberts Construction Group, brings over 35 years of construction experience in New York City. Brian has served as project

executive on several successful life sciences and laboratory projects including the New York Genome

Center, New York Stem Cell Foundation Lab Fit-Out, BioBAT renovation and infrastructure upgrades,

NYU School of Medicine Smilow Research Building, FDA Laboratory and Office Facilities Group,

Columbia University Northwest Corner Science Building and East River Science Park. Brian currently

acts as the project lead on multiple challenging projects throughout the metropolitan area and has successfully delivered several high-profile assignments in New York City. His pre-construction experience and operational expertise allows him to manage many challenging projects from inception

through close-out.

Bill Hunter is Managing Director at Perceptive Real Estate Equities, Inc. With more than two decades of experience as a life sciences and healthcare real estate investor, developer and operator, his career spans a period dating back to when institutional life sciences real estate was still emerging as a distinct asset class. His career spans acquisitions, leasing, development, and asset repositioning across major US life sciences markets, with involvement in more than $10.5 billion of acquisitions, 12.4 million square feet of leasing, and 4.6 million square feet of campus repositioning projects in Boston, the Mid Atlantic, Research Triangle Park, San Francisco, San Diego, and Miami. Bill was a pre-IPO hire at BioMed Realty Trust and an early team member at Wexford Science and Technology, where he helped build two of the platforms that shaped the modern life sciences real estate market. His experience spans the full life cycle of laboratory, GMP, clinical, and R & D environments, including technical infrastructure, regulatory requirements, and the operational needs of pharmaceutical, bio technology, medical device, CDMO, and university research users. More recently, Bill has focused on complex and dislocated situations, supporting owners, lenders, and investors in navigating stalled projects, capital structure challenges, and asset repositioning decisions, with an emphasis on restoring stability and long-term optionality.

Nadir is a managing director and is responsible for all aspects of New

York office real estate investments.

Nadir’s experience includes various positions from asset management,

acquisitions, and product development. Prior to joining Nuveen Real

Estate in 2012, Nadir was involved in both asset management and

acquisitions roles at Silverstein Properties and RLJ development Urban

Lodging Trust (formally RLJ Development LLC).

Nadir graduated with a B.A in Business Administration from St. John’s

University, an M.B.A. from Villanova School of Business and an M.S. in

Real Estate Finance from New York University.

Patrick Li is a Senior Director at Nuveen who oversees life science and office acquisitions in the Northeast. Since joining Nuveen in 2013, he has completed over $3 billion in investments on behalf of the company's various funds.

John Cahill is a Senior Vice President in JLL’s Midtown New York office. He focuses on tenant representation and agency leasing services for life sciences and biotechnology clients throughout the New York metropolitan area. He is highly experienced in evaluating new markets for clients, as well as in the leasing and disposition of office space, research and development facilities, and laboratory and manufacturing buildings.

John has more than 16 years of experience in commercial real estate, primarily focusing on life sciences and biotechnology transactions. Prior to joining JLL, John was a principal at Cresa New York, where he served as senior advisor and head of the life sciences practice, overseeing the expansion of the firm’s pharmaceutical, medical and biotechnology client base both in the New York metropolitan area and nationally. Earlier, John specialized in life sciences leasing for Colliers International and, before that, Cushman & Wakefield. Prior to joining the real estate industry, he worked in pharmaceutical sales and marketing at Johnson & Johnson and Alcon Laboratories.

Joseph Rigazio is the CEO of Talisen Construction Corporation. Talisen is a commercial construction firm founded in the New York Metro marketplace in 2009. Focusing on the Healthcare and Education markets has brought Talisen success in the hospital, ambulatory centers, medical office buildings, charter schools, private universities, and special projects areas.

Trained in both Electrical Engineering, Business Economics, and Construction Management, Joseph entered the professional world with a strong vision. After a 23-year-long career in technology, in which he managed Fortune 100 company relationships in sales management, ran marketing organizations, and ultimately, lead a major business unit at Texas Instruments, Joseph chose to utilize his expertise and leadership skills to start Talisen.

Concentrating on growing a team bonded by a common vision, Talisen has become a trailblazer in the New York construction field. Focused investments on employees, processes, and the NY Metro subcontractor ecosystem, along with an innovative approach to project management, differentiates Talisen from the competition. Founded on the key tenants of safety and collaboration, Talisen has grown into a premier New York construction firm that truly partners with their clients to bring their vision to life.

Matt oversees Taconic’s commercial property portfolio and is responsible for all aspects of asset management including marketing, leasing, development, contract negotiations, portfolio strategy, and dispositions. Since joining Taconic in 2006, Matt has been responsible for or directly involved in repositioning over 7 million square feet of commercial space. Matt earned his Master of Science in real estate with a concentration in development from New York University and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Deborah Novick is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation within the Westchester County Office of Economic Development, where she directs Launch1000, Westchester RISES, the Element 46 incubator program, the Westchester County Biosciences Initiative, and oversees the Biosciences Accelerator program. In addition, she looks for opportunities to enhance and expand the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Westchester. Since February 2020, she has been a member of the Board of the Westchester County Association.

Novick was most recently Director of the Biotechnology Incubator at New York Medical College, a position she held since late 2017. Among her responsibilities was creating a collaborative community within the incubator and recruiting new start-ups. She was also responsible for overseeing the design and physical expansion of the incubator, which doubled in size after achieving full occupancy during her tenure.

Her background also includes having served as an instructor for a course on entrepreneurship at the Women’s Enterprise Development Center; co-founded a successful real estate staging firm and served as fund manager for several venture capital funds.

A resident of Larchmont, Novick earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University’s College of Industrial and Labor Relations. She holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

How do we deliver challenging life science projects in today’s fast-paced, results-oriented marketplace? “Collaboration is key”, according to Jason Lukes, Associate Principal and HVAC Engineer with BR+A Consulting Engineers. Over 23 years of engineering building systems for intensive academic research, technology, laboratory, and healthcare buildings, Jason has delivered successful projects across a broad range of size and complexity utilizing a variety of delivery methods.

Examples include small, single-room design-build pharmaceutical projects all the way up to a mammoth 3.5 million square foot life science expansion, the largest in the nation. Jason’s experience with conceptual planning, HVAC design, design-assist, lean-design practices, building simulation modeling, life cycle analysis, and building automation compliment his drive to provide truly innovative, integrated, and high-performance building systems. These tools secure positive outcomes for his team, his clients, and users of buildings they create together.

Jason’s implementation strategies include early benchmarking and goal-setting, leading set-based design discussions, fostering inter-disciplinary coordination, bringing decision makers to the table at appropriate inflection points, and soliciting input directly from users. His clear vision and a pro-active approach to engineering design problems make him a valuable contributor from the first sketch through facility activation.

Andrew Kozak joined BR+A in 2015, with over 20 years of industry experience as well as an extensive background in energy management and sustainable design. As a Licensed Professional Engineer and a LEED Accredited Professional, he has successfully completed an impressive array of projects in the commercial, residential, higher education, healthcare, mission critical, and industrial market sectors. He is a proud Alumnus of The New York Institute of Technology, earning both a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Energy Management. Andrew specializes in projects that require thorough analysis and innovative solutions. In 2018, Andrew had the privilege of becoming a Fellow Member of the Association of Energy Engineers, an honor bestowed upon individuals who are considered to “have made significant contributions to the energy management and alternative energy industry.” In addition to actively practicing engineering, Andrew is an educator, teaching undergrads about non-structural building systems and MEP for Healthcare Interior Design as an Adjunct Professor for the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and the New York School of Interior Design.

Jeff Kovacs is a Berdon Audit Partner and Technology and Life Sciences Industry Leader with more than 35 years of professional experience. Jeff built his national reputation as a thought leader and innovator by providing valuable and impactful insights to clients — advising in areas that include improving profitability, building infrastructure and initiating and implementing strategic plans. He has also developed and delivered an extensive body of accounting, auditing, financial reporting, and management training courses and thought leadership pieces. Jeff’s Technology and Life Sciences practice encompasses a broad and continually diversifying sector that embraces such areas as Software, Saas, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, robotics, and the ever expanding array of health technology companies. He spends significant time advising clients on building financial and operational infrastructures to allow them to grow from start-up through maturity and eventual liquidity. Over his extensive professional career, Jeff has served in roles of increasing complexity and responsibility at several major national accounting and consulting firms. In addition to technology and life sciences, his broad industry experience encompasses various business sectors, including real estate and construction, manufacturing, wholesale and distribution, and not-for-profit.

As Chief Investment Officer at King Street, Mr. Albro has a broad range of responsibilities including acquisitions, dispositions, development, and asset management. Prior to King Street, Mr. Albro most recently served as a Senior Vice President at Beacon Capital Partners, with responsibility for acquisitions and dispositions as well as asset management of the Boston region.

Trevor is a Senior Vice President and leads the WSP NY Science & Technology engineering practice. He has 15+ years of experience designing complex research facilities and buildings for critical applications including; cleanrooms, vivarium, high containment laboratories, general research laboratories, core labs, and laboratories for higher education. Trevor is a licensed professional engineer, LEED Accredited Professional, and achieved certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Peter Schubert, FAIA is a Design Partner at Ennead Architects. Peter has spent over thirty-years designing award-winning office, commercial life science, vertical laboratories, R&D and innovation centers, academic science, mixed-use residential, hospital and hotel projects in the US and around the world. Fusing a passion for urbanism with iconic architecture that integrates local culture, history and context, he creates purposeful buildings and civic spaces. His work includes: Center East: The New York Blood Center, on the Upper East Side; The Cove Jersey City, a 3,000,000 SF commercial science-led mixed-use development; DIVCO West’s Parcel U project at Cambridge Crossing in MA; and the Alexandria Center for Life Science at East River Science Plaza, the first ground-up commercial lab project in New York City. Ennead has close to 5,000,000 sf of ground-up commercial lab projects across the Northeast. The firm is responsible for projects in the New York area as diverse as The Standard Hotel Highline, the new Koch Research Center at MSK and The Rose Planetarium.

Mark works for Gil-Bar Health & Life Sciences where he is a Strategic Project Engineer. He is a professional engineer and LEED Accredited Professional with over 20 years of experience. Before joining Gil-Bar, Mark was a consulting engineer designing complex mechanical systems for pharmaceutical, healthcare, and higher education clients. At Gil-Bar, Mark specializes in modular operating room construction helping customers improve constructability and quality through use of prefabricated modular products.