Mayor David D. Ortega took office in January, 2021, as the 12th mayor of Scottsdale.

Mayor Ortega focuses on promoting public safety and well-being, maintaining family-friendly neighborhoods,

protecting the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and strengthening Scottsdale’s world-renowned reputation.

Under Mayor Ortega’s leadership, Scottsdale lowered the property tax rate by more than 10 percent to ease the

burden on our city’s families. He supported 10 percent funding increases for police and fire departments, and

significantly reduced the Public Safety Retirement System fund balance.

A life-long advocate for equality, Mayor Ortega led public outreach, formulation, and passage of the Anti-

Discrimination Ordinance by the City Council to ensure Scottsdale remains a livable and economically vibrant city

for all. Mayor Ortega championed the adoption of General Plan 2035 to revitalize our economy, support the arts,

and preserve Scottsdale’s natural beauty. He is leading efforts to reign-in excessive building height and density in

Old Town, while preserving our Western hospitality that draws tourists and visitors from across the globe.

To strengthen economic vitality and keep Scottsdale’s workforce competitive, Mayor Ortega and the City Council

established a Joint Education Committee with Scottsdale Unified School District and Scottsdale Community

College. Mayor Ortega chairs quarterly meetings to support scholarships, internships, and employment pathways.

Over the course of four decades as an Arizona architect, Mayor Ortega designed many landmark buildings in Old

Town. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona and was an apprentice to Bennie Gonzales, the award-winning

designer of Scottsdale City Hall, Library and the Center for Performing Arts. Mayor Ortega has spent most of his life

helping to shape Scottsdale’s “unique sense of place.”

Mayor Ortega represents the City of Scottsdale at the Maricopa Association of Governments Executive Regional

Council, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association Executive Board, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns

Executive Council, and the Greater Phoenix Mayors and Supervisors Economic Council. He is a member of the

Bloomberg-Harvard Mayors Leadership Initiative.

Mayor Ortega is a proud member of the following organizations:

 State of Arizona School Facilities Board

 Maricopa County Private Industry Council

 American Institute of Architects Arizona

 Registered Architect State Arizona and California

 Scottsdale Sunrise Rotary Club

 Scottsdale Leadership

 Friends of Scottsdale Library

 Coronado Foundation for the Future

 Family Promise of Greater Phoenix

 Chrysalis Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence

 Reading Coach at Pueblo Elementary

Mayor Ortega and his wife Rosemary Gannon live near Saguaro High School where they raised their children,

Alexandra and Luke.

Ryan Hibbert is the CEO of Riot Hospitality Group, a rapidly growing and creative firm.

“I am a real big believer in managing by doing. I grass-roots develop all my management. That’s the difference between me and most of my competitors. I run the restaurant business by developing talent and getting my hands dirty every day.”

Hibbert has been able to create successful concepts in a highly competitive market.

“In the hospitality industry you have to differentiate yourself with the environments you create, and the quality of product you serve. I’m very good at creating an environment, a culture. Riot Hospitality creates really unique environments that breed incredible cultures around our brands. The quality of the food, service and entertainment is exponentially better than what you get at other places, and that builds loyalty. We give local residents an opportunity where they feel like they belong, and they love what they are experiencing .”

Hibbert, a University of Arizona graduate, has a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology.

Setting, rather than following trends is one of the keystones of the firm’s success.

“People are always blown away by our level of execution. The level of our food quality, customer service and entertainment is something everyone else in the hospitality market is trying to emulate. But when we get it down, when we get it right, everytime.”

Arash Kashani is Director of Acquisitions for MG Properties, a vertically integrated real estate investment

and management company. Since joining the company in 2016, he has been involved with acquiring

over $9 billion in apartment communities totaling 30,000 units. During his career, he has been involved

with over $9.5 billion in acquisitions totaling 35,000 units. Prior to MG Properties, he held roles at other

private and public real estate investment companies. Mr. Kashani earned a Bachelor of Science Degree

in Business Administration with an emphasis in Real Estate Finance from the University of Southern

California.

Michael Burke is Senior Vice President for Commercial Development at DMB and handles strategic management and

leadership of DMB’s Arizona commercial activities. He has over 17 years of experience with DMB, including leadership

roles on a majority of DMB’s commercial projects and the management of commercial development operations for

DMB’s commercial assets. His leadership of DMBC resulted in the Company protecting and strategically positioning

its portfolio of commercial assets, which totals over 1,000 acres. He's currently serving as the general manger and

managing the 100-acre One Scottsdale mixed-use development on behalf of the owners of One Scottsdale.

Prior to joining DMB in 2005, Mr. Burke spent eight years in management and leadership roles in several prominent

real estate development companies after spending approximately 20 years as a licensed architect working on mainly

commercial mixed-use properties. He has managed the design/development/construction of several hundred million

square feet of commercial mixed-use properties during his career.

Mr. Burke is an active contributor to Arizona organizations that enhance our community and business environment.

He is a past President of Christmas-in-April-Phoenix, past Finance Board Member of his kids’ school, and past board

member for Tempe Sister Cities. He has served on his church building committee and has been active in the

construction of several Habitat for Humanity homes with his church. He currently serves on the Joint Review

commission and participates in Pipeline Worldwide. His wife and three kids keep him active and help to supply the

balance in his life. Mr. Burke holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Arizona State University.

For nearly 30 years, Lissa Druss has established a powerful reputation– from coast to coast—as a highly seasoned communications strategist, crisis management leader, and nine-time Emmy award-winning television journalist. Also, she has a strong reputation for building and advising relationships with federal, state, and local elected officials for her clients.

Since joining Riot Hospitality Group (RHG) in 2019, Lissa has led the company’s government relations, industry relations, and external communications in every RHG city. She is the executive director of RHG’s new foundation, Riot Gives Back, and leads the nonprofit organization Scottsdale Downtown Association—a coalition of business owners in the Entertainment District.

Born and raised in Chicago, Lissa earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Arizona.

Brian Cassidy, AIA is the President of CCBG Architects, Inc. with studios in downtown Phoenix and San Diego. He has been involved in many adaptive reuse, and mixed-use high-density housing projects in greater Phoenix, including more than 12,000 new apartment units. This work includes a diverse body of warehouse renovations that are breathing new life into our city. Brian passionately advocates to build Phoenix into a world class city in which to live, work, worship and play. He is a graduate of Arizona State University, and is the Chair of the Phoenix Warehouse District Council, which promotes and brands the District in concert with a series of creative volunteers and businesses.

Ben is the principal-in-charge of tax services for the Phoenix Arizona office. He has more than 27 years' experience as a highly respected business advisor and tax consultant to entrepreneurs and their businesses. As a principal with CLA, Ben's entrepreneurial vision and tenacious insight has helped clients build and retain capital by leveraging tax saving strategies such as cost segregation, like-kind exchange planning, use of federal and state tax credits, tax deferrals, and asset disposition plans. His commitment to private clients and their unique needs has also contributed to the successful transition of family businesses to new generations. In addition, Ben's persistence has benefited clients -and the profession - in a multiplicity of ways, including working with clients to create millions of dollars of tax savings. He is not afraid to tackle new problems and strives to create an atmosphere where others are encouraged to do the same.

Ben focuses on serving clients in the real estate industry. He has worked with Emerging Fund Managers and Sponsors, Private Family Offices, Private Equity Groups and business owners in the Southwest who acquire real estate including developers, investors and operators. He is highly knowledgeable in specialized technical areas such as mergers and acquisitions, business succession planning, pass-through taxation (partnerships and S Corporations), accounting method planning, and estate and gift planning.

Zach Haptonstall was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Rise48 Equity and Rise48 Communities. Zach’s main responsibilities as CEO include overseeing all acquisitions, sourcing capital, and building strategic partnerships. He resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife Grace Haptonstall.

He Founded ZH Multifamily in 2018 and grew his portfolio to $35M. ZH Multifamily founded the organization, The Phoenix Multifamily Association “PMA” where Zach hosted 200+ members and held monthly speaking and networking events. In order to scale and add experts to the team, he retired ZH Multifamily and PMA in 2020 and Co-Founded Rise48 Equity.

Zach’s professional background includes Healthcare Sales and Administration. He is the former President and Co-Owner of a Hospice Organization in Phoenix with 110+ Employees and $9M+ Annual Revenue. He is also a former live television news anchor and sports reporter for Arizona PBS and co-hosted a show on Fox Sports Network Arizona.

Zach holds a Master of Business Administration from the Colangelo College of Business at Grand Canyon University, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He attended Colorado Mesa University on a football Scholarship his Freshman Year of College.

Zach has been a licensed Real Estate Agent in Arizona since 2016. He is also an official member of the Forbes Real Estate Council, a Directors Council Member of GPEC, and is a #1 Best Selling Co-Author of “Success Habits of Super Achievers.”

Jennifer Schrader has served as the President and COO and as a director of Caliber since its inception. Since co-founding Caliber in 2009, Jennifer has overseen the acquisition, design, repositioning, and disposition of over $500 million in assets to date. In addition, she leads the company’s daily operations, inclusive of Caliber’s asset management activities, focusing on the execution of each investment’s business plan over the asset’s full lifecycle.

Prior to forming Caliber, Jennifer was the Managing Partner of First United Equites, LLC, a Michigan business focused on acquiring, renovating and selling homes for profit.Jennifer serves as Chair of the Caliber Foundation, which was launched in 2021, and on the Colangelo College of Business Advisory Board for Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Jennifer attended Lawrence Technological University in Michigan where she studied architecture and interior architecture. She holds a Real Estate Broker’s license from the Arizona School of Real Estate and Business.

Councilwoman Tammy Caputi has lived and worked in Scottsdale for over 20 years. She’s the President and Owner of Yale Electric West, Inc, a company she founded here in Scottsdale in 2001. Councilwoman Caputi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Wellesley. College in Wellesley, MA and a Master in Business Administration from Simmons University in Boston, MA. She’s a Fellow with the Flinn-Brown Arizona Center for Civic Leadership and Leading for Change. She recently served a 3-year term on the Development Review Board for the City of Scottsdale. She’s the Chair of SCOTT (Scottsdale Coalition of Today and Tomorrow), an organization dedicated to promoting,

enhancing and improving Scottsdale’s quality of life and economic vitality through community education and involvement in public policy issues.

She has been interested in health and fitness all her life and participates regularly, along with her husband Steve, in many outdoor activities and physical pursuits. They have 3 young daughters who attend our local public schools.

Nick joined ZOM Living in 2014 and is responsible for pursuing and implementing ZOM’s multifamily development activities in its Arizona region, initially focusing on the Phoenix metro area. During his tenure with ZOM, Nick has been involved in the structuring and capitalization of nearly 5,500 units with an investment value in excess of $1.5 billion. He moved from capital markets to ZOM’s development team in 2018, and has been directly involved in the development of four projects in Dallas, totaling 1,569 units and approximately $400 million in aggregate cost. Nick’s commercial real estate career spans over 13 years, and prior to joining ZOM, he served as Acquisitions Associate for Boston Financial Investment Management, where he assisted in identifying and structuring low income housing acquisition and development opportunities, including the placement of $285 million in institutional LIHTC equity. ZOM’s current Arizona development pipeline consists of 6 projects and over 1,650 units. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate from Virginia Tech, and is an active member of the National Multifamily Housing Council, participant and Sponsor in the Valley Partnership, and the Urban Land Institute, where he serves on the Multifamily Local Product Council.

Larry Kush is a Senior Vice President at ORION Investment Real Estate, specializing in land sales. His skills, knowledge and expertise of the area are invaluable in helping his clients find the best sites on which to develop or hold.

Kush, a 35-year industry veteran, was previously founder and member of the Citadel Land Advisory Group, also headquartered in Scottsdale. Launched in 2009, Citadel Land Advisory Group worked on behalf of local and national debt and equity groups and national home builders to find and acquire land and lots for residential construction. Citadel’s client base included Kaplan Communities, JLB Realty, JMB Financial, K Hovnanian Homes, Wolff Cos., Quantum Capital, Raintree Partners, Desert Troon Cos. and Pulte Homes. Kush also held executive positions with Montevina Estate Homes, Saddleback Homes and AM Homes Arizona. Larry was five times selected as Phoenix Homebuilder of the year and is the recipient of over 30 local and national housing awards.

Kush is active in the real estate industry and community. On the community side, he recently finished a six year stint as the Planning Commissioner for the city of Scottsdale, and received the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Breath of Life and Bronze Sierra awards. Professional organization affiliations include the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (where he is past board chairman and honorary life board member) and the National Association of Home Builders. In his work with NAHB, he was the National Area Chairman for a six-state area in the Southwest and Inter-Mountain West.

He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in design from California State University-Northridge, attended U.S. Army Engineer School, and served as a captain in the U.S. Army. Kush is married, with two children and five grandchildren.

Jason Morris is a founding partner of Withey Morris, PLC. Experienced and effective, his dynamic presentations at public hearings on behalf of his clients prove that an attorney can be both personable and tenacious.