Laura is the Deputy Director for the Community Planning & Implementation (CPI) Division of the

Planning Department within the City of San Diego. Laura has been with the City for over 17 years in

various departments. Laura oversees the City’s long-range planning efforts consisting of Community Plan

Updates and Land Development Code updates. She has been recently involved in getting the Affordable

Housing Regulations, the 11 th code update (55 items), the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan

Update, the Old Town Community Plan Update approved by City Council. She’s currently working on a

new base zoning package for Mixed Use (residential and commercial), a Middle Income Density Bonus

Program, the 12 th code update (56 items) and the Mission Valley Community Plan update that are all

anticipated to be presented at City Council this year.

Melisa Gonzalez is Senior Director of Lodging Development for Marriott International’s Select Brands in the Western United States. She is responsible for franchise and managed growth of AC Hotels, Aloft by W, Element by Westin, Fairfield Inn, Courtyard, Four Points by Sheraton, Moxy, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, and TownePlace Suites within Arizona, New Mexico, Northern Nevada and North and South Dakota.

Mrs. Gonzalez began her career with Marriott International in 2001, joining the Development team in 2014. Her professional career includes over 18 years in the hospitality industry including property and market-level positions in

Operations, Sales, Revenue Management and Development.

Having opened two hotels, she can speak to the critical partnership between construction and Operations. In her Development role, she has helped to increase the participation in Marriott’s Modular Initiative.

Mrs. Gonzalez earned her bachelor’s degree in Management from W.P. Carey’s School of Business at Arizona State University. A native of Arizona, Melisa lives in Phoenix with her husband and daughter.

Josh Katzin is Chief Investment Officer of AECOM Capital, where he is focused on sourcing, structuring, and negotiating complex development and value-add projects.

Previously Mr. Katzin was a Managing Director at ACORE Capital, a leading commercial real estate finance company, where he was responsible for the origination of transitional and construction debt in the Western U.S. Prior to joining ACORE, Mr. Katzin was Vice President of Acquisitions at Starwood Capital Group, where he sourced and executed direct commercial real estate acquisitions and joint ventures across asset types.

Mr. Katzin holds an A.B. in economics from Harvard College, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an M.B.A from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the California Bar and the Urban Land Institute.

David Kersh is the Executive Director of the Carpenters/Contractors Cooperation

Committee (C/CCC), a non-profit organization comprised of signatory contractors

and the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters. For over 19 years, Mr. Kersh

has been at the forefront of regional efforts to promote the creation of good

paying jobs, fair competition and high quality construction industry standards. He

is actively engaged in the areas of land use entitlement, labor compliance,

economic development, transportation and contracting policies, where he has

focused on ensuring that construction projects are built by top-quality contractors

who generate good paying middle class jobs and rewarding training opportunities.

Mr. Kersh graduated with a degree in History from UC Santa Barbara and

completed additional studies in Madrid, Spain. Born in Lima, Peru, he lives in

Culver City with his wife Pilar and his teenage children.

A graduate of Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo, David formed McCullough Landscape Architecture as a sole proprietorship in 1999 while consulting for another firm. After wife and partner, Catherine joined the business in 2001 and became Chief Executive Officer and President in 2002; the firm became a woman-owned corporation and a certified Small Business by the State of California.

With offices in San Diego and the Bay Area, McCullough creates spaces for hospitality, retail, mixed-use and institutional properties around the world. As principal landscape architect, David oversees all aspects of the design and production of firm projects at McCullough. He serves as head designer on all projects and maintains quality control on all work completed. Previous projects have earned awards and recognition in several national publications.

David finds time in his schedule to take leadership in creative organizations such as the the San Diego Architecture Foundation (SDAF) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) local Urban Design Committee. He currently serves as Chair of the Pecha Kucha Night program, which is on its sixth successful year. He finds it inspiring to take part in such a diverse mix of creative minds while bringing them together to share with the public their wild ideas.

In addition, recently David was appointed by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to serve on the Historical Resources Board as Chair, which governs the identification, protection, retention and preservation of historical sites in San Diego. Concurrently, he has been invited to serve on the city’s Code Monitoring Team (CMT).

David’s design philosophy is centered around merging context and creative passion with grit, soul, and style. The firm takes every project with a uniquely creative approach that centers around diversity, discovery and conservation. David feels it’s important to engage the human spirit with nature, while expressing empathy.

Recent projects include a large waterfront development in Shanghai, China, Seaport San Diego redevelopment, several multifamily projects in Calgary and Vancouver, along with other notable hospitality, entertainment, and mixed-use collaborations in the Western US and Canada.

With over 30 years of industry experience, Chris

has a deep understanding of the Southern

California commercial real estate landscape

and insight into what creates a property of

enduring value. As President of Ryan’s West

Region, Chris provides leadership and direction

of the development, design, construction and

real estate management teams in our San

Diego office. A widely respected leader, he is

responsible for expanding Ryan’s presence in the

West Region and developing strong, productive

relationships with partners and market players

across the spectrum. Chris specializes in multi-

tenant distribution/manufacturing projects and

high-tech research and development facilities

with an emphasis on defense, electronics,

telecommunications and biotech.

Mr. Dealy has over 44 years of real estate experience in the public and private development arena with over $5 billion of projects entitled of which over $3 billion are completed. With hands-on experience in all aspects of real estate development including being a licensed architect, general contractor, and fiduciary representative, Mr. Dealy brings a broad set of skills that have been crucial to his success in strategic planning, acquisitions and development.

Since founding Dealy Development, Inc. in 1992, Mr. Dealy has been primarily responsible for project pre-development, master planning, entitlement phase, and overall project implementation and completion. Recently completed projects include the expansion of the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego; the development of The Grand Del Mar resort, Clubhouse and Villas; the entitlements and pre-development acquisition of the Columbia Tower Hotel Downtown San Diego; the entitlement and pre-development for Phase III San Diego Convention Center Expansion; and the master plan and entitlement for the San Diego Union-Tribune redevelopment. In addition, he continues the development management of Manchester Pacific Gateway on San Diego's downtown waterfront.

Mr. Dealy is a former Marine/Vietnam veteran and holds a Master Degree in Urban Design/Planning in Architecture from NC State University/UNC Chapel Hill with a thesis focused on Architect as Developer. Mr. Dealy is active in the community with membership with Lambda Alpha International, the Downtown San Diego Partnership Executive Committee, Urban Land Institute, Lincoln Club, Mission Valley Community Planning Group Board member, as well as the San Diego River Park Foundation Board member. Mr. Dealy resides in Point Loma and is married with a son. He enjoys golf, hiking, travel, good friends and wine.

Chris Beucler provides strategic direction for Zephyr and oversees entitlements, forward planning, product development, construction, sales and marketing and has been instrumental in the growth of Zephyr since 2012.

Mr. Beucler brings incredible experience to his role at Zephyr, but also great perspective, as he has roots in multiple disciplines within the industry. He brings knowledge from the public home building sector, as he was a division president with Ryland Homes, as custom home builder, as he was principal of Beucler Signature Homes and Johnson-Beucler Communities, and as a licensed contractor, as he currently holds a California Class B Contractors License and is the General Contractor for Zephyr Construction Services, Inc.

Mr. Beucler takes an active role as a leader in Zephyr through education, coaching and development of his team. Throughout his tenure in the home building industry, he has been known as a visionary builder, with a vast understanding of everything from construction to advertising. He continues to work closely with many of the same colleagues, subcontractors, partners and vendors from his very start in the industry, and these lasting relationships that span more than 25 years have afforded him the ability to develop a true team of experts and artisans who share his vision for excellence.

Mike leads Lowe’s Western region commercial property development, investment and management activities. He is responsible for $1.9 billion of current development projects and 1.5 million square feet of commercial properties managed. Mike is a past-President and current executive committee member of the San Diego Chapter of NAIOP, and a member of the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers. Mike and his wife Tami enjoy hiking, camping and skiing in the Sierra Mountains. Education: United States Air Force Academy, BS; Chapman University, MBA

Mr. Grossman is a Senior Managing Director at Meridian Capital Group. He opened the firm’s San Diego office in May 2011 charged with expanding the company’s presence throughout the western and southwestern states. In his 10+ years leading the west coast for Meridian, Mr. Grossman has built a team that has originated and closed more than $12 billion of debt and equity transactions spanning more than 600 loans across primary and esoteric asset types.

Prior to opening Meridian’s San Diego office, Mr. Grossman was a Structured Finance Analyst Fitch Ratings, a Principal at Mission Peak Capital, and worked in Meridian’s New York City office where he closed in excess of $3 billion.

Mr. Grossman attended NYU, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Management.

Industry Recognition:

2013: Named to Commercial Observer’s national list of “Top 20 Commercial Mortgage Brokers under 35”

2015: Named to Commercial Property Executive’s list of 17 national “Stars to Watch” in the real estate industry

2015: Named by Real Estate Forum as one of 20 “Tomorrow’s leaders of Southern California”

Brent leads the Commercial and Hospitality Core Market groups in Southern California for DPR

Construction, one of the country’s top technical builders. With over 20 years of construction

experience, managing projects and pursuits in commercial and hospitality, residential, retail and

mixed-use projects, Brent works with project teams in Southern California to enhance overall

project delivery and quality of service for the DPR’s customers. His project leadership includes

setting up projects and teams for success, strategic planning, establishing and maintaining

relationships, and delivering numerous LEED® certified and sustainable projects. Brent has

delivered high-profile projects for industry leaders such as Lucasfilm, the University of California

San Diego, the United States Navy, Greenland USA, EVA Airways, Gatehouse Capital, Bentall

Kennedy, Menlo Equities, Wilson Meany and S.D. Malkin Properties.

He received his B.S. in Construction Management from California State University, Chico and is

certified by the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA).