Michael Liu has over 40 years of experience in housing policy and finance beginning from his service as a Delegate to the 1978 Hawaii State Constitution Convention. His career has also included service with the federal government as U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary for Small Community and Rural Development and U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. In the private sector, he practiced real estate law for 13 years, and held executive officer positions with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, Bank of America (FSB), and Dutko Grayling. Prior to joining Swerdlow Group, Michael served as senior advisor on housing to the City of Miami’s City Manager, which followed a 9-year term as Miami-Dade County’s Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD) Director, the largest housing agency in the State of Florida.

Among many accomplishments, Michael can point to creation of HUD’s Capital Fund Financing Program (like the Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD)) a financing tool that involves leveraging private sector funds with public housing subsidy) that raised over $2 billion in its first 18 months of private sector funds for investment in public housing; expansion of the Native American home mortgage program 184 to assist with homeownership on non-tribal lands; establishment of RAD as the formal basis for the redevelopment approach for all of public housing in Miami-Dade County; improving PHCD’s 7 year public housing sub-standard designation to standard after 1 year; and establishing the redevelopment of public housing sites “Liberty Square/Lincoln Gardens” and the Senior Campus (now known as River Parc), developments that will involve in over $1 billion in equity, debt, and grants, and upon completion result in over 15,000 new and/or total rehabilitated units.

Michael is a graduate of Stanford University (BA) and the University of Hawaii’s Richardson School Law. He is a member of the Hawaii and Washington, DC bar associations.

Danny has more than 25 years of extensive international experience in real estate investment, private equity, venture capital,

investment banking, and asset management. Danny co-founded GAIA in 2009. He previously founded and was Co-CEO of Tamir Fishman, an investment bank with billions of dollars in assets under management. He has held board positions with numerous government housing,

development, and real estate investment companies and is the former co-head of the Israeli government’s privatization sector. Danny earned a B.Sc. in Economics and an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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.

With nearly 16 years of experience as a commercial real estate broker,

Alfredo Riascos is the Founder and Managing Broker of Gridline Properties, a

full-service commercial real estate firm based in Miami’s urban core.

With a decade of experience under his belt, Alfredo founded Gridline

Properties in 2018. The firm specializes in commercial real estate brokerage

services, including investment sale representation, landlord and tenant

representation and strategic real estate consulting. Riascos manages a team

of 12 successful agents and represents a variety of private and institutional

clients, participating in some of the most notable projects in Miami’s urban

core. Throughout his career, Riascos has brokered over $500 million in real

estate transactions and has participated in some of the most transformational

projects in Miami, including the Magic City Assemblage, multiple development

sites in the Wynwood neighborhood, as well as pioneering into the Allapattah

and Little River markets.

Over the years, Gridline Properties has been recognized for its track record

and rapid growth. In 2023, the South Florida Business Journal ranked Gridline

Properties number three in a list of South Florida’s 50 fastest-growing

companies in a category of companies with revenue under $25 million. In

2024, the same publication included Riascos in their 2024 Power Leaders 250

series, spotlighting leaders in South Florida that help grow South Florida’s

business market and advance the local economy. In 2022, he was selected as

an honoree for South Florida Business & Wealth Magazine’s 2022 Up &

Comer Awards – showcasing young professionals for their expertise and

innovation.

Alfredo is an active member of the Miami Realtor’s Association and holds a

Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Florida International University. An avid

runner, Alfredo has completed five half and full marathons.

Steven J. Wernick is an experienced land use attorney and maintains a

multi-disciplinary practice throughout South Florida. He has significant

experience representing real estate developers, property owners, and other

real estate industry clients – skillfully navigating the intricacies of local

government regulations and the development approval process to help

clients deliver on great projects and revitalize urban core neighborhoods.

Steve's work in recent years has been most prominent with projects under

development in Wynwood, Miami's emerging arts district undergoing a

significant transformation into a 24/7 live, work, play neighborhood that has

become an epicenter for global art tourism and expansion of Miami's tech

hub. Starting with his work for Goldman Properties on a portfolio of adaptive

reuse projects and the award-winning Wynwood Garage, Steve has worked

with local and national developers on entitlements for over 7 million square

feet of new retail, office, multifamily and hospitality development constructed

in Wynwood over the past decade.

Previously, Steve worked as special counsel for the Wynwood Business

Improvement District (BID) in the creation and adoption of the Wynwood

Neighborhood Revitalization District (NRD-1), recognized by the American

Planning Association with the 2017 National Planning Award in Economic

Development. Additionally, he has secured zoning and development

approvals on multifamily office, and hospitality projects within the City of

Miami, Bay Harbor Islands, North Miami, Miami Beach and other waterfront

communities in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. Steve was

intimately involved in securing entitlements for the Miami Design District

Retail Street Special Area Plan – including infrastructure improvements,

nonstandard covenants and a regulating plan to facilitate over 1 million

square feet of development of luxury retail, art and civic space.

Steve has built a reputation as a trusted advisor for creative zoning tools to

support neighborhood revitalization in South Florida's emerging

neighborhoods. As a trained urban planner and credentialed by American

Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Steve has the ability to communicate

with diverse community stakeholders, and experience shepherding code

amendments and overlay districts to unlock the potential for mixed use

redevelopment. In 2021, Steve secured approval from City Commission for

adoption of the Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District (NRD2), including land use map amendments and rezoning of 140 acres to spur

development of multifamily housing and millions of dollars in reinvestment in

one of Miami's oldest neighborhoods.