In November 2014 Jon Scholes became President and CEO of DSA following six years as the organization’s Vice President of Advocacy and Economic Development. He believes downtown Seattle is an essential voice of leadership in a rapidly growing and evolving city.

Jon’s passion for taking on big issues is reflected in his 15 years of work in nonprofit advocacy, local government, and senior positions on statewide political campaigns. At DSA he leads a diverse team focused on creating a healthy, vibrant and inviting downtown.

Jon is a member of the Visit Seattle Board of Directors and the Downtown Transportation Alliance and has served on a number of city and county task forces on transportation, homelessness and housing. He is a Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40 award winner and a graduate of Leadership tomorrow. He attended the University of Texas in Austin before graduating from the University of Washington.

Jon lives in downtown Seattle with his wife and seven-year-old twins, Parker and Avery. In his spare time Jon sails, skis and rides motorcycles. He loves how much mental focus and presence each activity requires.

Ivar’s is one of Seattle’s oldest and favorite restaurant companies, operating dozens of locations in Washington. This is to include Ivar’s restaurants, seafood bars, the Kidd Valley hamburger collection, and Grounders Garlic Fries. The company operates 18 locations in sport venues including at the Mariners’ Safeco Field, at the Seahawks’ CenturyLink Field, Husky Stadium and the Tacoma Rainiers’ Cheney Stadium. In each stadium the company’s stores are the

highest grossing stands-one of every 11 fans buys garlic fries! In addition, the company sells its World Famous White Clam chowder in about 13,000 locations nationwide and in China, Japan, and Mexico. Bob Donegan has managed Ivar’s since 9-11, when the company’s prior managing partner died. Prior to that, Bob held the role of CFO at Ivar’s. Previous to his time at Ivar’s, he spent some time at Peet’s Coffee as an Executive Vice President and CFO. He and his wife Lisa live in Richmond Beach.

Meg McCann’s deep experience serving the local community as a lawyer and leader of nonprofit and government organizations has taught her a great deal about creating and sustaining institutions that are healthy, vibrant and equitable.

A lifetime love of the ocean brought Meg to the Seattle Aquarium as chief operations officer (COO) in 2024; she assumed the role of president and CEO in April 2026. Throughout her tenure, she has prioritized ensuring that staff and operations have a solid foundation to advance the Aquarium’s conservation mission and successfully led initiatives to improve operations, set strategic priorities and strengthen communication and culture.

Highlights from Meg’s prior leadership experience include interim CEO for Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST); interim deputy director for operations and policy at the Washington State Office of the Governor’s Office of Equity; court administrator for Seattle Municipal Court; and deputy director for the Washington State Department of Licensing. She holds a J.D. from the Seattle University School of Law.

Sean is a Principal with GGLO and serves as Principal-in-Charge of mixed-use high-rise projects, multi-family urban developments, and urban design, leading teams in designing tall buildings across North America and in southeast Asia. Sean sees architecture and urban design as a calling that allows us to make the world a better place, a commitment informed by his global experience living and working around the world. As part of GGLO’s Design Leadership Group, Sean developed GGLO’s design philosophy and approach, and reviews projects across the office to help refine the essential principals of our craft. Sean passionately believes in the importance of research and questioning to understand, in discovery as a path to innovation, and beauty and artistic expression as essential principals of our work. Sean is a Board member of the Seattle chapter of Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats, is active in ULI and NAIOP, and is a design instructor in the University of Washington’s Commercial Real Estate program.

As the founder and CEO of Urban Visions, Greg governs the strategy, direction, and value creation for the firm’s development portfolio. A fifth-generation Seattleite, Greg has over 30 years of industry experience and has formed more than 30 ventures with value in excess of $1.5 Billion. Notable past projects include Millennium Tower, 4th & Madison, 5th & Madison, 901 5th Avenue, and the Reedo Building. Current projects under design and construction include 200 Occidental, Second and Pike, Stadium East, and 888 2nd Ave. Prior to forming Urban Visions, Smith was a Principal of his father’s real estate property management firm, Martin Smith Inc., and the Founder/President of MSI’s development subsidiary, Martin Smith Development Corporation. A respected leader and frequent speaker in the community, Greg is embedded in the fabric of Seattle real estate. He is known for his strong engagement with key stakeholders as well as leadership roles in shaping land use and development patterns throughout key neighborhoods in Seattle. Greg currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Pacific North West chapter of the World Presidents Organization (Chapter Chair), and the University of Washington Foundation.

Matt has been involved in a wide range of product types as an owner, developer, manager, and contractor. Matt is the managing partner of Pine Street Group. Based in Seattle, PSG’s particular strength is visualizing, developing and managing complex urban development projects, and delivering value to its clients.

Matt is currently finishing the 1.5-million-square-foot Seattle Convention Center Addition. The project also includes a 400-unit residential tower and a 500,000 square foot office building. Prior to the convention center, Matt oversaw the development of Via6, a 654-unit apartment building. Via6 is the largest single phase apartment project ever built in downtown Seattle.

Matt is a past board chair and director emeritus of Woodland Park Zoo, a current board member of Seattle Academy and Seattle Seawolves, serves on several other non-profit committees, and is a member of Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 under 40, class of 2014.