Mayor Lynne Robinson joined the City Council in 2014, and she has a long history of civic involvement. She is a champion for startups and small business, and has encouraged startup and equity crowdfunding workshops at City Hall. Her colleagues voted her deputy mayor in January 2018 and mayor in January 2020 and again in January 2022.

Lynne also advocates for the environment, parks and open spaces, human services and affordable housing in Bellevue. She proposed a property tax exemption adopted by the council for multifamily complexes that include affordable housing.

She represents the council on the King County Mental Illness and Drug Disability Advisory Committee, the King County Affordable Housing Committee and the Puget Sound Regional Council Executive Board.

Before her election to the council, Lynne served on and chaired the Bellevue Network on Aging and the Parks & Community Services Board.

A physical therapist with her own business, Lynne holds a doctorate in physical therapy from Regis University and a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from Northwestern University Medical School. She also earned a bachelor's degree in community services from California State University Chico. In 2015 Governor Jay Inslee appointed Lynne to a three-year term on the state Board of Physical Therapy. Lynne developed an interest in computer science while in college, and she is on the Washington Technology Industry Association Cascadia Blockchain Council.

Lynne and husband Dan Watson live downtown after moving from the Woodridge neighborhood, where they had resided since 1997. Their two children graduated from Bellevue public schools and are successful professionals.

Joe Fain is the President and CEO of the Bellevue Chamber. He previously served two terms in the Washington State Senate where he worked extensively on economic development, transportation, and education issues.

He was a leading negotiator of Washington’s 2015 statewide transportation package. He also led the negotiations and prime-sponsored Washington’s Paid Family Leave legislation, which passed in 2017.

Joe has also worked managing a boutique law and consulting firm in Seattle speciailizing in technology and healthcare; at the University of Washington office of technology transfer and commercialization; as a prosecutor for King County; and as Chief of Staff to a member of the King County Council.

Joe was selected in 2012 as one Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 under 40 and was a 2017 Rodel Fellow with the Aspen Institute.

He has a Joint JD/MBA from Seattle University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington.

Patrick Bannon has been president of the Bellevue Downtown Association, a membership organization of business and civic leaders who champion a strong economic and cultural heart for Bellevue and the Eastside, since 2013. He was the communications and public affairs manager there for seven years before moving into his current role. Patrick and the BDA team support members with advocacy, marketing and major community events, and strategic programs to help the Downtown area thrive.

Prior to the BDA, Patrick was an account executive for the Seattle and Los Angeles offices of Hill+Knowlton Strategies. He also worked for a year in Hokkaido, Japan as an English teacher for junior high students. Patrick serves on the board of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and he is a past chair and board member for Leadership Eastside. He graduated from Pepperdine University, where he also met his wife, Sunni. They are Eastside residents with two fast-growing kids and a yellow Lab.

Over 30 years ago, Mon began to build Wig Properties out of his home, and developed his own software to manage every property developed. Mr. Wig's philosophy is to focus on one development project at a time, hold onto his properties after development, stay local, and manage every property in-house to ensure it receives maximum attention and care. Mr. Wig received a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from North Carolina State under a full salary fellowship from Corning.

Patience Malaba is recognized for her leadership in addressing the intersecting crises of affordable housing, racial equity, and climate change and is the 2020 Bullitt Foundation Environmental Fellowship awardee. As Executive Director, at the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King County, she leads the association in a shared effort to increase access to affordable housing. A commitment to environmental and economic justice and her passion for an equitable society led her directly to the affordable housing sector. Prior to this role, she served as HDC’s Director of Government Relations and Policy. Previous positions include work with Seattle for Everyone, a broad coalition that was central to the success of Seattle’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA), Futurewise, and the Services Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 6. Patience co-chairs the Eastside Housing Roundtable, co-chairs Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC)’s Regional TOD Advisory Committee, Chairs the Seattle Planning Commission Housing and Neighborhoods Committee, and serves on the PSRC Growth Management Policy Board. She serves on the board of directors of the Transportation Choices Coalition and is a member of Sound Communities. Her appointments include the City of Seattle’s Redistricting Commission and Washington State Department of Commerce Homeownership Disparities Workgroup. Patience holds a Master of Public Administration from Seattle University, an Organizational Leadership Certificate from George Mason University, and a BA in International Development from Lupane State University in Zimbabwe.

Rachel Fenton is recognized for her work collaborating on and accelerating infrastructure projects with municipalities throughout the West. She has a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Utah, a strong background in Government Relations, and significant experience in the wireless industry. This diverse background gives her the ability to create and foster longstanding symbiotic relationships with Municipalities, commercial real estate developers, and partners in the wireless industry. As the Director of Wireless Solutions in the Pacific Northwest, Rachel is responsible for working with jurisdictions, building owners, developers, and wireless providers (T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T) to augment networks in hard-to-reach and dense places. Her role includes addressing one of the major challenges facing many cities right now, which is to bridge the digital divide. She brings with her twenty-eight years of experience and has spent over ten years working within the City of Bellevue. Working for Boldyn Networks, a wireless infrastructure powerhouse with a global presence, Rachel is part of an international team and works to deliver advanced shared network infrastructures that are needed for a smart, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Bret brings over 27 years of commercial real estate experience to Ryan, with a strong background in brokerage, development and investment, and experience with diverse product types such as office, build-to-suit, industrial, retail, healthcare, multifamily and senior living. As President of Northwest Region, he is responsible for sourcing new opportunities, supporting the region’s current work, coaching current and future staff, and developing and executing a plan to continue building Ryan’s success throughout the Seattle area. Aside from his many years of experience and community involvement, Bret is regarded for his genuine sense of empathy toward customers and their concerns and enjoys the challenge of navigating through conflict to a solution that works.

Jordan Lott is President and CEO of Lake Washington Partners, a real estate development company he co-founded in 2006. The company was founded on the vision to build one of the US’s great real estate portfolios. In his role, Jordan oversees all aspects of the business including capital deployment, leasing and property management operations. Jordan takes a hands-on approach and fosters long-term relationships with LKWP’s staff, tenants, vendors, and the community at large. His passion for real estate was ignited by his grandfather, Manny Lott, a pioneer in Seattle’s real estate scene in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

Jordan’s dedication to mentorship and advancing industry standards is evident through his active roles in the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, as a lifetime Research Foundation Governor for NAIOP, and as a Board Member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). His educational background in Real Estate Development from University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business complements his practical experience, making him a versatile thought leader in the industry.

Mason Ward currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer at Alco Investment Company, a Pacific

Northwest-focused investment firm specializing in commercial real estate, joint venture development,

private equity, and venture capital investments. Since joining the company in 2015, Mason has been

instrumental in investing over $500 million in assets and projects on the East Side, including Bellevue,

Kirkland, and Redmond.

Prior to his tenure at Alco, Mason served as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army for nine years,

with deployments to Afghanistan in 2008-2009 and 2012-2013. This experience instilled in him a deep

sense of discipline, leadership, and strategic thinking, which he has carried over into his financial career.

Mason holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Business

Administration from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. His areas of

expertise include capital markets, macroeconomic fundamentals, joint venture and partnership

structuring, investment underwriting, portfolio management, and debt finance structuring.

Currently, Alco Investment Company is the lead equity investor in two East Side development projects:

The Somm Hotel & Spa in the Harvest Development in Woodinville, and a luxury apartment project in

Bellevue.

Ashley Sherwood is a partner at Seyfarth Shaw in Seattle and represents general contractors, subcontractors, and developers of all sizes on various sizes and types of projects. She helps clients navigate projects from start to finish and has a keen focus on commercial and residential building construction, heavy civil infrastructure, fabrication, and government contracts.

Kevin Wallace oversees all development and acquisition activity for the company. He is also responsible for all legal matters for the company’s three divisions: Brokerage, Property and Asset Management and Investment/Development. Wallace Properties builds sustainable, transit-oriented mixed-use development projects in urban centers throughout the Puget Sound region. Kevin and his team have developed several award-winning projects including Citizen, a LEED Silver, 107-unit project in the Pike/Pine Triangle of the Capitol Hill neighborhood; 507 Northgate and 525 Northgate which together contain 428 apartment units and 80,000 square feet of retail space; The Eddy, 130 units with 14,500 SF of retail leased to Bartell Drug in the Green Lake neighborhood; and most recently Prism, 134 units with 4 live/work lofts in Northgate. Kevin began his career as a Real Estate Attorney at K&L Gates in 1997, moving to Foster Pepper in 2001.

KGIP’s co-founder, Steve Kramer, has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate. Facilitating the needs of his clients in each phase of the investment life cycle, Steve focuses on establishing and maintaining relationships with institutional and private investment partners, providing them with his expertise in real estate acquisitions, development, finance, management, and disposition.

Steve has been directly involved in over $1.5 billion in real estate transactions utilizing his keen negotiating skills to execute his clients’ asset objectives. He is also involved in identifying and sourcing new real estate acquisition opportunities, as well as structuring joint venture partnerships for development projects.

Prior to founding KGIP, Steve served as the West Coast Senior Regional Manager for Principal Financial Group. Here, he was responsible for acquisition, disposition, development and asset management of a portfolio including 10 million square feet of commercial real estate. He relocated to Seattle in 1993, spending eight years as Director of Investment Services with Martin Smith Real Estate Services.

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 an award-winning retail and hospitality Principal Designer at MG2, Mitch Pride has always gravitated toward the creative aspects of architecture, resourcefully bringing together space, form, and volume to turn complex concepts into alluring yet functional realities. He is an expert at owning and facilitating the creative process, partnering with clients to realize their vision while never losing sight of the big picture. With a remarkable ability to immediately bring ideas to life through sketch, Mitch synthesizes aspirations into tangible outcomes, resulting in truly novel retail solutions that set brands apart in the marketplace. Inspired by the flow of exteriors into equally compelling interiors, Mitch is a strategic romantic who specializes in helping clients see beyond their perceived limitations, translating aspirations into design solutions.

Abigail provides critical insight and advice to residential, commercial, and institutional developers. She has devoted her career to understanding the challenges faced by developers, land owners, and architects throughout Washington in all aspects of land acquisition and development, from initial due diligence to full entitlement and defending appeals. Abigail takes great pride in offering an integrated suite of services, including providing land use, environmental, and real estate advice.

With a depth of experience in the Puget Sound Region, including in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Renton, clients benefit from Abigail’s solution-oriented approach and deep insight into their business challenges. Abigail’s practice has been particularly active in Bellevue since the Downtown zoning code update. Since then, she’s been involved with projects in Bellevue that total over 2.9 million square feet of commercial development and provide over 1000 residential units, with more in the pipeline.