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Speakers and Panels

Long-Term Community Impact: Economic Growth & Investment

How Public-Private Alignment, Transit Access and Downtown Revitalization Are Helping Build a More Connected Westchester

Megan Guy

Megan Guy

SVP, Development

Simone Development Companies

Richard Ross

Richard Ross

Director of Development

HANAC

Adam Salgado

Adam Salgado

Development Commissioner

City of New Rochelle

Joan McDonald

Joan McDonald

Deputy County Executive

Westchester County

James Moran
Moderator

James Moran

Vice President

H2M Architects + Engineers

Megan Guy

SVP, Development

Simone Development Companies

Megan manages Simone Development’s ground-up and redevelopment projects as well as new acquisitions. She is responsible for executing investment strategy and overseeing all aspects of the acquisition, land use, design, construction, and marketing phases of development projects. Prior to joining Simone Development Companies, Megan served on the development team at The Related Companies and the investment sales team at HFF. Megan began her career at Duff & Phelps after graduating from The George Washington University.

Joan McDonald

Deputy County Executive

Westchester County

Joan McDonald is an experienced executive in public management, transportation, economic and community

development, public finance and public policy.

After serving as Westchester County Director of Operations since 2018, County Executive Kenneth W. Jenkins

appointed Joan Deputy County Executive on February 1, 2026 and she was unanimously approved by the Board

of Legislators on February 9. As second-in-command for the County, Joan is responsible for setting all public

policies and she has direct responsibility for overseeing the $2.5 billion budget. Joan has also served as Chair of

the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency and Local Development Corporation boards since 2018.

Some of the initiatives which Joan spearheaded for the County include the creation of the Downtown

Investment Grant (DIG) program, the housing Flex Fund, the Landlord Tenant Assistance Program (LTAP)

program, and overseeing the improvements and restructuring of the Capital Program. Joan managed the County

COVID-19 response including the $20 million small business and not-for-profit grant program, the $10 million

food insecurity program and the $5 million remote learning centers program.

Joan provided strategy and guidance to the County Executive as they restored stability to the County finances,

which lead to the restoration of Westchester’s Triple-A bond rating from both Fitch and Standard and Poors.

In August 2020, Joan was appointed Chair of the New York State Bridge Authority Board of Commissioners. In

April 2024, Governor Hochul appointed her to the Thruway Authority Board of Directors. Joan Co-Chaired the

transportation group of the NYSERDA New York State Climate Impacts Assessment. She is also on the Board of

Directors of NY CREATES.

Joan served as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation from 2011 - 2015, overseeing

8,300 employees with an annual budget of $4 billion. Under Joan's leadership NYSDOT implemented 30

design/build, best value contracts, including the $550 million Koscziusko Bridge, the Department's largest

contract. As Commissioner, Joan chaired the Northeast Corridor Commission; served on the Tappan Zee Bridge

Blue Ribbon Selection Panel; co-chaired the Tappan Zee Bridge Mass Transit Task Force and served on the

Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board.

As Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development from 2007 to 2010

Joan led CT's economic development efforts through the "Great Recession". During her tenure, Joan chaired

Connecticut Innovations, investing funds in various start-up companies in the biotechnical, aviation and IT

sectors. Under her leadership, the State developed its first ever strategic economic development plan;

negotiated agreements with several Fortune 500 companies and initiated transit oriented development in all of

Connecticut’s major cities.

Joan has served in senior management positions for the City of New York, Metro-North Railroad and the

New York State Assembly.

From August 2015 through December 2020, Joan served on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC),

where she participated in studies related to water resiliency and cyber security on a national level. From

September 2016 through December 2020 she was on the TRB policy committee to evaluate the future of the

Interstate Highway System, including the impact of climate change.

Joan received her Bachelor of Arts from LeMoyne College and her Masters of Public Administration

from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.

James Moran

Moderator

H2M Architects + Engineers

James (Jim) Moran is a civil engineer with more than 30 years of experience in

municipal management. His experience includes leading major projects for the City of

New Rochelle, City of Yonkers, New York City Department of Environmental Protection

(NYCDEP), and Verizon. Prior to joining H2M, Mr. Moran served as the Commissioner

of the City of New Rochelle DPW, where he was responsible for managing an operating

annual budget of $25 million, a $44 million capital budget, and staff of approximately

125 employees. He served as administrator of all public works functions and operations,

including engineering, street maintenance, storm and sanitary sewer systems, public

buildings, sanitation collection, city vehicle fleet maintenance, traffic services, and right-

of-way permitting.

Capital Markets, Investment & Acquisitions

Finding the Upside: How Buyers, Developers and Lenders Are Positioning for Opportunity in Westchester's Evolving Market

Rebecca Wing

Rebecca Wing

VP, Investments

Regency Centers

Jared Toothman

Jared Toothman

EVP, NYC Market Leader

Lincoln Property Company

Steve Simonelli

Steve Simonelli

Senior Managing Director

JLL Capital Markets, Americas

Andrew Dansker

Andrew Dansker

CEO

Dansker Capital Group

David Cooper
Moderator

David Cooper

Partner

Zarin & Steinmetz

Andrew Dansker

CEO

Dansker Capital Group

Andrew Dansker is the CEO and founder of Dansker Capital Group, a national mortgage brokerage firm with six U.S. offices and one international office. He oversees a team of 30 professionals originating commercial mortgage debt across all major asset types, with a particular focus on retail and multifamily properties. The firm primarily arranges bank and credit union financing while also executing agency, CMBS, life company, and bridge loan transactions as appropriate. Since its establishment as an independent company in 2020, Dansker Capital Group has placed well over $3 billion in commercial real estate loans nationwide.

Andrew believes the middle-market debt marketplace is under-served by professional, high-quality national firms and sees a significant opportunity for an enterprising company to fill that gap. His leadership vision is to build an organization that delivers institutional-quality service, execution, and results to the national middle-market debt space.

Andrew is a published industry commentator whose writing on the real estate lending market has appeared in The Commercial Observer, Real Estate Weekly, and New York Real Estate Journal. He is also a frequent industry speaker and contributor at conferences and events organized by Bisnow, GlobeSt, Interface, Commercial Observer, ConnectCRE, and other leading commercial real estate platforms. He has more than 15 years of experience in the real estate industry. Andrew earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Chicago and a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law.

Westchester Development & Design Landscape

From Approval to Delivery: How Developers Are Navigating Zoning, Community Pushback and Design Pressures to Advance Projects Across the County

Ernesto Padron

Ernesto Padron

Development Director

The Hudson Companies

Rebecca Parelman

Rebecca Parelman

VP

RXR

Peter O'Keefe

Peter O'Keefe

Director Development

Rose Associates

Saverio Battaglia

Saverio Battaglia

Vice President

Turner Construction

Vincent Altieri
Moderator

Vincent Altieri

Partner

Citrin Cooperman

Saverio Battaglia

Vice President

Turner Construction

As Vice President and Preconstruction Manager, Sam oversees Turner’s estimating professionals, who provide a wide range of services for clients, including conceptual estimating, design development, value management, market studies, and facility diagnostics.

In addition, Sam is directly involved in preparing Cost Guarantees and Design-Build contracts, working hand in hand with clients to turn visions into reality.

Prior to his current position, Sam held various leadership positions at Turner, including Preconstruction Manager of the Interiors Division and Senior Cost Engineer. Sam joined Turner as a field engineer in 1994 after completing his Mechanical Engineering degree from Manhattan College.

In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Sam is actively involved in supporting his local community. He is a member of the Westchester County Association, Business Council of Westchester, and New York Athletic Club.

Vincent Altieri

Moderator

Citrin Cooperman

Vincent Altieri is an audit partner with more than 20 years of experience. He serves clients in a broad array of industries, most notably in the real estate and real estate-related sectors. He also provides or has provided tax and accounting services to retail enterprises, night-club and restaurant management, not-for-profit organizations, foundations, wholesalers, insurance brokers, and professional service firms.

He is highly skilled in all phases of audit and other attest engagements, including planning, program execution, and client relations and also prepares GAAP and income-tax basis financial statements and required disclosures for audits, reviews, and compilations.

Vincent also has experience overseeing construction management and monthly requisition processes, including preparation, updating, and maintenance of monthly budgets, interfacing with vendors on various issues, and ensuring timely and accurate submission of reports to lenders to expedite funding.

Vincent prepares domestic multistate corporation and partnership tax returns and income tax returns for tax-exempt organizations. He is extremely knowledgeable in analyzing partnership agreements, commercial and capital leases, financing agreements, insurance, and loan covenants. He conducts due diligence reviews and agreed-upon procedures and performs ratio and variance analysis. Vincent is skilled in evaluating clients’ internal control structures and assists in identifying potential fraud within a business.

Vincent has helped to introduce new technology systems and firm-wide efficiency strategies, time and billing, and other accounting software in addition to participating in implementation of firm-wide financial statement software, including template design, training, and policy development.

Prior to joining Citrin Cooperman, Vincent was an audit partner at Berdon LLP, which joined the firm in 2023.

Remarks From The Podium

Chris Lessard

Chris Lessard

President & CEO

Lessard Design

Chris Lessard

President & CEO

Lessard Design

Chris Lessard is the founding Principal of Lessard Design and is recognized worldwide as a design innovator, which can be partly attributed to his uncanny ability to recognize and understand market trends. His continued success is evidenced by the more than 500 national and local awards he and his firm have received including honors from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the Congress of New Urbanism (CNU), and the Best in American Living.

Keynote Fireside Chat

Inside the Mind of a Market Leader: From Founding TFK Bunside to Examining Westchester's Growth Drivers, Capital Trends and What's Coming Next

Ric Clark
Keynote

Ric Clark

Co-Founder

TKF Burnside

Kevin Welsh
Moderator

Kevin Welsh

Executive Managing Director

Newmark

Ric Clark

Co-Founder

TKF Burnside

Ric Clark is founder of Burnside Investments, a private investment company, and cofounder of the real estate investment partnership, TKF Burnside.

From 1984 until 2021, Mr. Clark had been with Brookfield Corporation and its affiliates in various senior roles, including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Property Group, Brookfield Property Partners and Brookfield Office Properties. Under his leadership, the property group grew its assets under management from $5 billion to more than $200 billion, expanded its investment, operational and asset management capabilities beyond the office sector into the multifamily, industrial, hotel and retail sectors, and extended its geographic footprint beyond North America and Brazil to Europe, Australia, India and China. Today, Brookfield is one of the largest owners and operators of real estate with more than 600 million square feet of properties in key markets worldwide.

Mr. Clark currently sits on the Board of Directors of UDR, Inc., Captivision, Inc., and Vivion Investments S.à r.l. He was previously on the Board of Directors of several public companies including General Growth Properties, Rouse Properties(Chairman), Brookfield Property Partners (Chairman), and Brookfield Office Properties (Chairman).

Mr. Clark is the Chairman of the Alliance for Downtown New York and the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, The Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center and the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

Mr. Clark holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Kevin Welsh

Moderator

Newmark

Kevin Welsh joined Newmark Capital Markets team in 2017 as an Executive Managing

Director and has led the expansion of the company’s Tri-State capital markets platform

and its transformation into a market leader. Since joining Newmark, Mr. Welsh has

executed a number of record setting transactions including the sale of the Washington

Street Portfolio in Hoboken, NJ and the Center of Excellence in Bridgewater, NJ,

building upon the other record setting deals in his career. His proven track record in

maximizing value driven through superior execution has been integral in driving

business development. Mr. Welsh has successfully represented some of the nation’s

top institutions in acquisitions and dispositions valued in excess of $6.5 billion over the

last five years.

Prior to joining Newmark, Mr. Welsh was as an Executive Vice President in the New

York Institutional Group at CBRE where he was responsible for leading the New Jersey

capital markets platform. At CBRE, Mr. Welsh was consistently recognized as one of

the firm’s top producers nationally.

Why You Should Attend This 2026 Westchester State of the Market

What You'll Learn:

  • How are city-based investors evaluating suburban risk, returns, and capital allocation strategies today?

  • What does long-term residential demand look like, and how much additional multifamily supply can the county realistically absorb?

  • Which multifamily projects are moving forward now, and what does the 2026+ delivery pipeline look like across the county?

  • How are market-rate, affordable, mixed-income, and high-end residential offerings reshaping local housing dynamics?

  • How are municipalities using incentives, zoning flexibility, and approval processes to keep projects moving forward?

  • How is mixed-use development evolving to better serve aging populations, down-sizers, and changing lifestyle preferences?

  • Where are growth expectations strongest beyond established hubs, and which municipalities are gaining momentum next?

  • Why is public-sector alignment increasingly critical to securing financing and advancing complex development projects?

  • Where are pricing expectations resetting, and how are buyers and sellers bridging valuation gaps today?

  • In what ways are public-sector leaders and private partners collaborating to meet evolving commercial and community needs?

How you'll do more business:

Hear from owners, developers, investors and other commercial real estate professionals on suburban development, deal flow, construction speed-to-market and how local governments are partnering with commercial real estate leaders. 

Who attends:

Investors, owners, developers, lenders, brokers, architects, contractors, engineers, property managers and government officials. 

Why should you attend:

Bisnow events bring together the biggest power players in the industry to identify opportunities, build your network, and expand your business. With the largest audience of commercial real estate professionals in the world, no one knows how to help your business more than us.

For questions, recommendations, comments, or press inquiries please email our Senior Event Producer, Joshua Piquion at joshua.piquionr@bisnow.com. 

To request disability-related accommodations, please contact audrey.sullivan@bisnow.com no later than seven business days prior to the event.

Current Events, News, Articles and Projects

Venue

Scarsdale Golf Club
1 Club Way
Hartsdale, NY 10530


Valet Only - Complimentary

Get Directions

Agenda

Time Activity
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
Coffee, Breakfast & Networking
1:00 PM
1:30 PM
Keynote Fireside Chat

Inside the Mind of Market Leader, Ric Clark: From Founding TFK Bunside to Examining Westchester's Growth Drivers, Capital Trends and What's Coming Next.

1:30 PM
2:15 PM
Long-Term Community Impact: Economic Growth & Investment

1.) Aligning municipal priorities with private investment to support sustainable development.
2.) The role of infrastructure, transit access, and downtown revitalization in attracting capital.

2:15 PM
2:30 PM
Networking Break
2:30 PM
3:15 PM
Capital Markets, Investment & Acquisitions

1.) Discuss how current debt and equity conditions impacting acquisitions and refinancing.
2.) Examine how interest rates, construction costs, and rent growth assumptions are shaping valuations.

3:15 PM
4:00 PM
Westchester Development & Design Landscape

1.) Design trends across Westchester’s urban, suburban, and transit-oriented markets.
2.) Discuss how zoning, density, and community feedback are shaping project design decisions

4:00 PM
4:15 PM
Post Event Networking

PS - Want the attendee list for free?

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