Bachow Ventures is a single family office that develops and owns multifamily in South Florida. Currently Bachow Ventures has over $1 Billion in active developments in Broward County and Miami-Dade County and is actively looking for new projects.

Austin Fox is the Founder and Principal of Austin Fox Architecture, a South Florida–based firm specializing in multifamily, mixed-use, and high-end residential design. His work spans boutique developments to large-scale housing projects, with a focus on practical, buildable design that balances creativity with financial feasibility.

Austin is known for guiding developers through zoning, entitlement, and permitting processes with a strategic, solution-oriented approach. Through both his practice and industry education efforts, he advocates for smarter development and streamlined collaboration between architects, municipalities, and builders.

As Senior Vice President / Division Manager of Kast’s South Florida Business Unit and Partner in the firm, Mike leads the Business in our region and is based at the company’s West Palm Beach corporate headquarters.

Mike has 30 years’ experience as a General Contractor in the South Florida Market and has been with KAST for ten of those years. His experience and expertise include the successful pursuit, construction, and delivery of Luxury High-rise Condo, Hospitality, and Multi-Family projects. “We are proud to build our business based on highly valued relationships and uncompromising standards. I am driven by an exciting Culture, accountability, and results.”

Mike is a ULI member and serves on the Multi-Family Council. In the community Mike is proud of his charitable work benefiting such organizations as, Project Lift, American Heart Association, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Quantum House. Mike and his wife Lisa reside in Jupiter, and he is a proud girl dad to two beautiful daughters.

Mike’s vision for KAST along with his partners in the firm is to lead the organization into the next generation of the company building on the solid foundation that exists today. With their exceptional leadership KAST is strategically positioned to serve and succeed with our clients. Kast exists to make visions become reality. We build people, lead teams, and execute our mission focused on collective success.

Timothy P. Wheat is a partner at Pinnacle, a Miami-based full-service real estate development and construction company that builds high-quality affordable, workforce and market-rate housing across Florida. Mr. Wheat joined Pinnacle in 2002 and is the company’s lead affordable housing developer, and has guided the expansion of Pinnacle’s portfolio throughout Florida. Mr. Wheat has overseen successful and trend-setting developments across the state, including many of Pinnacle’s efforts with local governments, public housing authorities and non-profit organizations to develop new, modern and affordable rental communities through innovative public/private partnerships.

Mr. Wheat’s professional career spans nearly 40 years and has almost entirely been dedicated to the development and preservation of quality affordable housing for both families and seniors. Mr. Wheat began his career as a housing planner in Palm Beach County government, moved to the non-profit sector and then into private for-profit development. Mr. Wheat has overseen the development, financing and management of thousands of rental housing units in Florida and throughout the United States.

Mr. Wheat is acknowledged as an industry advocate and an expert in fostering collaborative efforts to create affordable housing. In recognition of these accomplishments, he was appointed to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council, where he served from 2013-2017, and was elected Vice Chairman in 2016. In 2011, Mr. Wheat received the key to the City of Lynn Haven, Florida, for his role in developing affordable housing in the area.

He also actively engages with multiple community organizations focused on creating affordable housing opportunities. Mr. Wheat is a founding Board Member and President of the Community Land Trust of Palm Beach County, formed in 2006, which develops and creates housing opportunities for both renters and homeowners utilizing a cutting-edge mechanism for preserving long term affordability. Mr. Wheat is also a Board Member of the Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County. The HLC’s “Housing for All” plan and its advocacy for affordable and workforce housing was instrumental in the adoption of a $200 million housing bond initiative approved by Palm Beach County’s voters in 2022.

Mr. Wheat is a native Floridian and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Fordham University.

Jorge Camejo worked for the City of Boca Raton for over 28 years. Over this time

span, he served as the Executive Director of the CRA from 1989 to 1998. In 1998

he took on the development role as CRA Executive Director and Director of the

Development Services Department until 2009 and subsequently served as

Director of Community Development. During his tenure with the City of Boca

Raton he brought to fruition numerous projects and achievements including:

 Coordinated and supervised implementation of the $44.5 million dollar

Visions 90 Infrastructure and Beautification Plan for Downtown, including

Palmetto Park Road, US 1 and Mizner Boulevard.

 Oversaw the design, construction and implementation of all phases of

Mizner Park, which opened in December of 1990.

 Instrumental in bringing about the construction of Jacobson’s Department

Store, enabling the store to open for the 1996 season.

 Spearheaded the discussions and eventual resolution through mediation

of the Boca Raton Road lawsuit resolving a dispute that existed since

adoption of the first Downtown Plan in 1982.

 Proposed and implemented a “Front Porch” code amendment to provide a

better sense of community and architectural interest for older

neighborhoods in Boca Raton.

 Directed the Boca Technology Notice of Proposed Change (NOPC) for the

former IBM site to revitalize the property as a major industrial site in 2001.

 Coordinated the Pearl City Master Plan for the City’s oldest residential

community by obtaining consensus and support from the residents and

neighborhood leaders on the “Pearl City Blue Ribbon Committee” in the

design and implementation strategy of the proposed master plan in 2002.

 Instituted the “Blueprint for Excellence” to improve the services provided to

our customers in the permitting and inspection process by obtaining

feedback through open forums with the construction community necessary

to implement enhancements and re-engineer processes in 2003.

 Coordinating the redevelopment of the North Federal Highway corridor,

obtaining input by conducting a charrette in November 2003 under the

auspices of a steering committee of residents and business owners to

promote such efforts.

 Oversaw implementation of the Downtown Master Plan update, including

Interim Design Guidelines.

Nick Pérez serves as the President of Condominium Development for Related Group (Related), one of

the country’s leading real estate companies. In this critical leadership role, Nick oversees all development

activity within the company's world-renown condominium group, with a portfolio worth over $15 billion.

Additionally, Nick collaborates closely with Related’s executive suite - including CEO and Founder Jorge

M. Perez and President Jon Paul Perez - to extend the firm’s 40+ years of industry dominance.

Known for his growth focus, Related’s condominium group has thrived under Nick’s leadership, forging

partnerships with distinguished brands, expanding into promising new markets and driving billions of

dollars in sales. The division currently has more than 20 individual condo projects under active

developments, with highlights including the St. Regis Residences Miami; Baccarat Residences, Miami;

NoMad Residences, Wynwood; Residences at 6 Fisher, and many more. Nick also led the development

of Related’s award-winning Coconut Grove headquarters, completed in 2021.

Prior to joining Related in 2018, Nick spent eight years in the New York City real estate industry, working

with some of the world’s most respected real estate companies. This included a four-year period with the

Related Companies in Manhattan, where he focused on a wide spectrum of properties, including 261

Hudson and 15 Hudson Yards.

Nick is deeply involved with Related’s sustainability efforts, playing a critical role in forging Related’s high-

profile partnership with the Aspen Institute and facilitating the firm’s title sponsorship of the “Ideas”

Summit. He is also involved in the Related’s Philanthropic Foundation and the Perez Family Philanthropic

Foundation, which have dispersed more than $214 million since being founded in 2015.

Nick graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a B.S. in Business Administration and received his

Executive MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Dev Motwani serves as President of Merrimac Ventures, a Fort Lauderdale based real estate firm that focuses on value-add investment and development opportunities. Property types owned and operated include hotels, condos, retail, office and rental apartments primarily in South Florida but also throughout the United States.

Dev is also Founder and Managing Partner of Ramesh Properties, a distressed real estate investment fund focused on opportunistic investments in residential and commercial development sites throughout South Florida. He currently oversees nearly $750 million in development projects. Current projects include the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, The Gale Boutique Hotel and Residences, as well as Las Olas Riverfront, all in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Dev is Founder and Managing Partner of Chieftain Residential, a yield-oriented distressed residential fund purchasing single-family homes and residential land, primarily in the Southeast US and Texas. The fund aims to balance current income opportunities through the rental markets for its single family home inventory, while also targeting capital appreciation in single family homes and land as the US Residential Market continues to rebound.

Prior to his current role Dev worked at Credit Suisse in New York City, where he first structured OTC Equity Derivative trades for the firm's largest corporate clients and then for the firm's largest hedge fund clients. Before that he worked in the White House and on the 2000 Gore/Lieberman Presidential Campaign.

Dev plays an active role in the South Florida Community, through his involvement with numerous charities and business organizations, currently serving on the board of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, Fort Lauderdale's Economic Development Advisory Board, and the Downtown Council. He was recently appointed to the Orange Bowl Host Committee.

He previously served on the boards of the Riverwalk Trust, Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, and Broward County's Small Business Advisory Board. Dev has served as Co-Chair for the Bonnet House's Annual Impressions Fundraiser, the Ghost Light Society's Annual Soiree, and the Jeb Bush Classic Beach Bash benefitting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This year the Motwani family co-founded the Laughing Out Loud fundraiser benefitting the Scleroderma Foundation, which raised over $170,000 for the charity.

Dev graduated from Duke University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Economics and Public Policy and from Columbia University's Masters of Science in Real Estate Development Program. He has also studied at the London School of Economics.

Mr. Defortuna is President, CEO and Founder of Fortune International Group, a Miami-based full- service real estate firm recognized throughout South Florida, Latin America and Europe as a leader in high-end luxury real estate. He oversees all of the company’s activities across all of its business units. Mr. Defortuna is involved with the strategic decision making of the group, as well as the day-to-day operations of each of its divisions.

He started the business in 1983, and quickly became a driving force in real estate. Through his company’s success and far reach into U.S., European and Latin American markets, Mr. Defortuna is widely recognized for having made a significant contribution to the internationalization of Miami and its reputation as a global business, trade and vacation hub. He currently serves as a member of the Mayor of Miami's International Council and also as Director of the Argentine-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in Miami. Additionally, he is a member of several charitable organizations in Miami, such as Manos del Sur, Mt. Sinai Hospital and St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

Mr. Defortuna holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical and Chemical Engineering from the National University of Argentina and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Miami. Fully fluent English and Spanish, Mr. Defortuna is married to Ana Cristina and has five children.

Mrs. Johnston is the CEO of M. Johnston Consulting, LLC, specializing in facilitating collaborations between developers and utility companies for relocations, overhead to underground projects, and new service delivery engineering. With a background that includes engineering, government affairs, and sales at AT&T, she managed a $100M revenue segment across five states, leading strategy formulation, P&L, and a geographically dispersed team. In her role as Regional Director of AT&T's External Affairs department, she managed community engagement, legislation review, lobbying, and represented AT&T on local boards in the South Florida market.

Mrs. Johnston holds the technical certification of Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) since January 1996, the first female employee in the AT&T/BellSouth region to have earned this certification. She designed Fiber and Copper facilities for customers in a deregulated environment and worked with Fiber companies to develop custom fiber cables based on the business needs. She holds an MBA in Strategic Management from Regis University in Denver, CO. She is a graduate of Leadership Florida class XXXIV and an Executive Education program participant at the Harvard School of Business.

Mrs. Johnston has received numerous accolades and awards during her career including the Hispanic Leadership award in Technology from the SFL Hispanic Chamber and Service Excellence Award from AT&T, she's served on various boards, including the Beacon Council Executive Board, Miami Dade College Foundation, Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation, Children’s Diagnostic Treatment Center (CDTC), and Leadership Broward Foundation. Currently, she holds the Director role on the 211 Broward Board and chairs the Legislative committee.

Fueled by his innate creativity and armed with a diehard entrepreneurial spirit, Harvey Hernandez began his involvement in real estate development as a hands-on investor in the rapidly expanding South Florida market. With more than two decades in South Florida, he has observed first-hand the region’s tremendous capacity for change and progress. Holding firm to excellence from the forefront of the industry, Harvey continues to revitalize the high-end residential market by developing innovative projects that deliver the best in location, cutting- edge amenities, luxury finishes and forward-thinking design. Harvey entered the real estate industry following a successful foray scaling a technology startup that sold in year 2000. The sale provided the initial capital for the $260 million-dollar multifamily development firm, H&H Development Company -- a pivotal catalyst to Harvey’s career. These ventures paved the way for Harvey’s subsequent endeavors, giving him the necessary momentum to launch Newgard Development Group and NGD Homesharing LLC. In 2017, Harvey partnered with Airbnb to create Niido, the first and only residential brand designed to encourage and facilitate home sharing. The partnership includes multifamily developments that are tailor-made to optimize flexible living, with a suite of technology, services and amenities. The first Niido, powered by Airbnb, communities are open in Orlando and Nashville with more locations coming soon. Following Niido’s launch, in June of 2019, Harvey expanded his partnership with Airbnb to create yet another revolutionary new hospitality brand, Natiivo. Purposely designed, built and licensed for home sharing, Natiivo is the first brand to offer ownership with home sharing as an amenity. On the heels of the success of Natiivo Miami and Natiivo Austin, which both sold out before breaking ground, his latest brand LOFTY has debuted its first iteration in Brickell, Miami. Harvey’s other notable projects include Gale Boutique Hotel Fort Lauderdale, Gale Residences in Fort Lauderdale; One Flagler office building, Centro Condominium Miami and BrickellHouse.

Moderno is a real estate company focused mainly on the development of residential urban projects and creative commercial spaces in Fort Lauderdale & Miami. Moderno manages over $250 million in development projects, totaling over 1,000 apartment units, 50,000SF of commercial spaces which are under construction or planning stages.

Dan McCawley focuses his practice on real estate matters. He has broad experience in the sale, purchase

and leasing of commercial and residential properties including shopping centers, office buildings,

industrial warehouses, apartment complexes, restaurants, golf courses, hotel projects and undeveloped

land. His practice also includes acting as lending counsel for several banks, structuring joint ventures and

partnerships and the negotiation of construction contracts and land use agreements. Dan's

representative experience includes loan workouts, lease workouts, distressed real estate investments,

and the acquisition and disposition of distressed loan portfolios. Dan represents several "serial"

entrepreneurs and technology clients and assists them with their general legal issues. He also represents

several restaurant chains regarding all their leases in the United States. Dan represents several

distressed asset funds acquiring distressed loan portfolios, bulk condo purchases, REO and other

distressed real estate.

Dean Trantalis was first elected mayor of Fort Lauderdale in 2018 and was re-elected in

Novembe 2020. His 2018 election represented the largest victory in city history for a candidate

running for a first term as mayor. The 2020 election was also by landslide proportions and

featured the largest turnout ever in a city race.

Mayor Trantalis previously served on the City Commission representing District 2 for eight

years. As mayor, he represents Fort Lauderdale on the Florida League of Cities, the Broward

County Tourism Development Council, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Greater Fort

Lauderdale Alliance and the Broward Workforce Development Board. He also served as a

member of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Re-Open Florida Task Force in 2020.

Born and raised in Norwich, Connecticut, he attended high school at Norwich Free Academy. At

Boston University, he majored in political science and graduated cum laude and with distinction

in 1975. He received a Juris Doctorate in 1979 from Stetson University School of Law.

Mayor Trantalis was admitted to the Connecticut and Florida Bar Associations in 1980 and has

practiced law in Broward County since 1982. He maintains a successful general law practice in

Broward County with some emphasis in the areas of real estate, probate, estate planning,

bankruptcy, and corporate matters.

His long track record of public service in our community began with his involvement in the fight

for civil rights. As mayor, he is committed to improvements to the city’s infrastructure,

responsible growth, community involvement in development decisions, increased fiscal

responsibility in city government and the maintenance of the great quality of life in our

neighborhoods.

Recognized for his leadership in our community, Mayor Trantalis has received multiple awards

and honors.

He was an inaugural honoree of the Diversity Honors awards presented by the Harvey Milk

Foundation in 2015 and was presented with their lifetime achievement award in spring 2018. He

also has been honored as a Community Champion by the Broward County Commission and the

Broward County Human Rights Board for his work on behalf of equal rights. In October 2019, he

received the Visionary Award from the Gay and Lesbian Business Exchange of the Greater Fort

Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce.

Mayor Josh Levy is honored to be serving in his second term as our city’s mayor.

Josh grew up in Hollywood. He graduated from Hollywood Hills High School. He attended

the University of Florida, where in 1996, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Josh went on to earn a Law Degree from Nova Southeastern University where he

graduated with Pro Bono Honors and a Certificate of Concentration in International Legal

Practice.

Mayor Levy began his volunteerism with the city 24 years ago, when he served as a law

clerk in the City of Hollywood City Attorney’s Office.

Years later, he was appointed to serve as a member of the city’s Planning & Development

Board, a position which Mayor Levy held for twelve years.

Mayor Levy is a graduate of the Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Leadership

Hollywood program (Class 29)

- the Hollywood Police Department’s Citizen’s Police Academy

- and is a recipient of the City of Hollywood’s Great Neighborhoods Challenge

Community Spirit Award.

Today, while serving as mayor, he also serves as a member of:

- the Broward County Planning Council,

- the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB’s Tourist Development Council,

- CareerSource Broward’s Council of Elected Officials

- and also now as an Executive Committee member of the Greater Fort Lauderdale

Alliance, Broward County's public-private partnership for regional economic

development.

Mayor Levy enjoys working together with his colleagues on the Hollywood City Commission

as they endeavor to make the City of Hollywood: South Florida’s TOP city to live, learn,

work, invest, and play.

Mayor Levy thanks his family and the entire community for entrusting him with the privilege

of serving as our city’s chief elected official.