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1900 Reston Metro Plaza

1900 Reston Metro Plaza

The first of three iconic office towers rising above the Reston Metro Plaza, this 365,000 square foot, LEED Silver, Trophy-Class tower designed by internationally renowned architect, Helmut Jahn, is the most recognizable landmark in the Dulles Corridor.

With unobstructed panoramic views stretching from the National Cathedral in Washington, DC to Tysons Corner’s skyline to Dulles International Airport and beyond, this headquarters quality building combines world-class amenities with unmatched services, accessibility, sustainability, and convenience.

Speakers and Panels

Keynote: Setting the Economic Stage

Spencer Levy

Spencer Levy

Global Client Strategist & Senior Economic Advisor

CBRE

Spencer Levy

Global Client Strategist & Senior Economic Advisor

CBRE

Spencer Levy is Global Client Strategist and Senior Economic Advisor for CBRE, the largest commercial real estate services firm in the world. In this role, he focuses on client engagement and public-facing activities, including thought leadership work performed in conjunction with CBRE Research. He also serves as Co-Chair of the Real Estate Roundtable’s Research Committee.

Spencer is frequently quoted in major business publications and appears on business television, including CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, PBS and Fox Business. Spencer is the host of CBRE’s podcast “The Weekly Take.” He is considered one of the most insightful commentators on issues of importance to commercial real estate.

Spencer has 27 years of experience in commercial real estate, including the past 15 at CBRE. In this time, he has served as a lawyer, investment banker, capital markets and senior research leader. He leverages that varied background to formulate advice and create presentations that go deep and touch on all aspects of commercial real estate. His thoughtful analysis, coupled with a highly engaging presenting style, has made him one of the most sought-after commentators and advisors in the industry. Spencer regularly speaks at major events of the country’s leading commercial real estate organizations, including CORENET, NAIOP, ULI, ICSC, NAREIM and CREW. He also has guest lectured at his alma maters Harvard and Cornell, as well as Columbia, NYU, Johns Hopkins, Indiana, Georgetown, Pitt, UCLA, USC, Ohio State and many others.

Spencer is a recipient of multiple industry awards, including a two-time winner of the CORENET Luminary Award for Excellence in Public Speaking, the CBRE Trammell Crow Master Builder Award, the CBRE Gary J. Beban Teamwork Award, the CBRE Capital Markets “MVP”, and was named a State of Maryland Influencer in Real Estate and was recently given the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Commercial Real Estate by the Daily Record.

While a New Yorker for most of his life, Spencer currently resides in Baltimore with his wife of 23 years and their three children. Spencer serves on the board of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women.

Creative Financing Opportunities in Multifamily

1. Learn how new fund structures and creative financing opportunities are impacting the CRE capital stack 2. How the capital stack shifts with smaller transactions

Dwight Dunton

Dwight Dunton

Founder and CEO

Bonaventure

Christian Gorissen

Christian Gorissen

Senior Originator

PNC real estate

Michael Vu

Michael Vu

Principal

Artemis Real Estate Partners

Lacy Rice

Lacy Rice

Managing Partner

FCP

Ryan Riel

Ryan Riel

SEVP

EagleBank

TC Cosby
Moderator

TC Cosby

Director

Greysteel

Dwight Dunton

Founder and CEO

Bonaventure

Dwight Dunton is Bonaventure’s Founder & CEO.

Bonaventure was formed in 1999 under Dwight’s leadership and has evolved into an integrated alternative asset management company focused on multifamily developments, acquisitions, operations, and finance. Today, Dwight operates as the company’s visionary leader and strategic problem solver. He is a master predictor and ingenious intellectual who guides Bonaventure’s goals and ambitious growth trajectory. Dwight works across all lines of the business to ensure the team operates as one, using Bonaventure’s core values as its guiding principles.

Dwight received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. He resides in Northern Virginia with his wife Camille and is a father of four daughters.

Christian Gorissen

Senior Originator

PNC real estate

Christian R. Gorissen is a credit trained, multilingual, multifamily & commercial real estate, finance, acquisitions, capital markets and investment sales professional.

Specialties: Multifamily & Commercial real estate financing, investments and acquisitions, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA, structured finance, capital markets, term sheet, operating and joint venture agreement negotiation, international equity capital raising, underwriting, asset management, Agency CMBS trading, blockchain and commercial real estate tokenization.

Michael Vu

Principal

Artemis Real Estate Partners

Michael Vu is a Principal and sits on the Investment Committee of Artemis Real Estate Partners. Mr. Vu is responsible for developing and implementing the acquisition and asset management activities of Artemis. Mr. Vu joined as a founding member of Artemis in 2010, has been involved in over $1.9 billion in new investments, and is based in metropolitan Washington, DC.

Previously, Mr. Vu was an associate at The Carlyle Group, where he served in the Transactions Group within U.S. Real Estate. Mr. Vu was focused on property and portfolio acquisitions, dispositions, and financings across all major property types. Prior to The Carlyle Group, Mr. Vu was an analyst at Lazard Frères & Co. where he focused on mergers and acquisitions within the U.S. Real Estate group in New York.

Mr. Vu earned a bachelor's degree in Politics and Finance from Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude. Mr. Vu was awarded the Lyman H. Atwater Prize for the top thesis within the Politics department. Mr. Vu is the Vice Chair on the board of the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., which focuses on providing a second chance to high schoolers and young adults to put them back on track towards a high school diploma or equivalent credential and a path for a productive post-secondary career. Mr. Vu is also an active council member with the Urban Land Institute.

Lacy Rice

Managing Partner

FCP

Founding partner Lacy Rice has 38 years of experience in real estate and corporate finance. Prior to co-founding FCP, Mr. Rice was a Principal at The Carlyle Group, where he and Esko Korhonen helped raise and invest Carlyle’s first real estate private equity fund ($457 million). Mr. Rice also served on the fund’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Rice was a member of the Investment Banking Group at Alex. Brown & Sons, where he was involved in $2.5 billion of real estate M&A and underwriting transactions. Mr. Rice also developed residential communities as a Principal at Haas & Hayne Corporation and structured and closed loans, private placements, and interest rate swaps as a Corporate Account Officer at Chemical Bank. Mr. Rice serves on the boards of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDQ: USBI) and The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. He has served as Board Chairperson of American Community Properties Trust (NYSE AMEX: APO) and as a member of; the Shepherd University Board of Governors, the WV Economic Development Authority Board, the BB&T D.C. Advisory Board, and the Mercersburg Academy Alumni Council. Mr. Rice received a Masters of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University.

Ryan Riel

SEVP

EagleBank

Ryan Riel has worked in Commercial Real Estate with EagleBank for more than 20

years and currently oversees the Bank’s $5 billion CRE lending portfolio. Throughout

his tenure, he has worn multiple hats and participated in originating more than $6

billion in real estate transactions of various types across the DC region. Since

February 2025, in addition to CRE Lending, Mr. Riel oversees more than 200

employees across retail banking, small business lending, loan and deposit

operations, and information technology.

Mr. Riel sits on the Board of Directors of the EagleBank Foundation, and on the Board

for George Mason University’s Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship. He is a

current Trustee for The Children’s Inn at NIH and previously served on the Board of

Directors at the Inn for ten years. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from

West Virginia University.

DC 2023 Financial Outlook

1. How is inflation and the economic uncertainty impacting the ability to get deals financed? 2. Who is investing in the DC region from outside the DMV, and what unique opportunities are they finding in this market?

Jeanine Lester

Jeanine Lester

MD & Head of DC Regional Office

MetLife Investment Management

Bill Collins

Bill Collins

Executive Vice Chairman

Cushman & Wakefield

Jason Hernandez

Jason Hernandez

Head of Real Estate Debt, Americas

Nuveen Real Estate

Eric Ekeroth

Eric Ekeroth

Regional Director

Northwestern Mutual

Jessica Lee
Moderator

Jessica Lee

Partner

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

Chris Guthrie

Chris Guthrie

Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President

Comstock

Jeanine Lester

MD & Head of DC Regional Office

MetLife Investment Management

Jeanine Lester is head of Washington, D.C. regional office. She assumed her current role in 2018 and is responsible for the Washington, D.C. region’s commercial mortgage and real estate equity portfolios.

In her 14 years with MetLife, Lester spent eight years originating or refinancing commercial mortgages totaling over $2 billion in the San Francisco region. In 2012, Lester transitioned to director of acquisitions in San Francisco and successfully led the team in over $2.8 billion of transaction volume with nearly $1.3 billion of equity investments. Prior to joining MetLife, Lester was a senior consultant with the Rosen Consulting Group responsible for co-authoring economic and real estate white papers and completing special projects on market strategies for real estate investor clients.

She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and a minor in economics from Santa Clara University, and an MBA with a concentration in real estate from the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley.

Bill Collins

Executive Vice Chairman

Cushman & Wakefield

William M. Collins has more than 30 years of commercial real estate experience focused primarily in the sale of commercial real estate office buildings and land in the Washington metropolitan area.

Bill works actively with institutional owners in the consultation and disposition of their real estate assets. During the past ten years, he has successfully completed more than $30 billion in investment property sales.

Areas of Specialization

• Investment Sales

• Finance, Debt, and Equity

• Land Acquisition & Disposition

Jason Hernandez

Head of Real Estate Debt, Americas

Nuveen Real Estate

Jason leads the originations platform in the Americas for Nuveen Real Estate and is focused on further expanding the firm’s third-party real estate debt business.

Prior to joining the business in 2018, Jason was a managing director at ACORE Capital where he led a team responsible for the sourcing and execution of structured finance investments, including mortgage, mezzanine and preferred equity. As one of the initial employees of ACORE, he helped grow the firm from a start-up, to one of the largest private lenders in the United States, with $9 billion AUM in just under three years. Jason has also held a number of roles at GE Capital Real Estate. Most recently he was a senior director in the strategic capital group focused on whole loan origination with institutional clients.

Jason graduated with a B.S. from Illinois State University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School. He is a graduate of the GE Capital Financial Management Programme with roles including finance, underwriting and M&A and is a member of Commercial Real Estate Finance Council.

Eric Ekeroth

Regional Director

Northwestern Mutual

Eric Ekeroth manages a team of investment professionals that are responsible for producing both mortgage and real estate equity investments throughout the Mid-Atlantic on behalf of Northwestern Mutual. The Mid-Atlantic has historically been one of the most productive regional offices for Northwestern and in 2018 it was responsible for originating 20 investments totaling over $900 million in mortgage investments plus $300 million in direct equity investments.

Eric has been active in real estate since 1989 when he began his real estate career at the American Security Bank in Washington, DC. His previous real estate experience includes production roles with Union Labor Life Insurance and GMAC. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and currently resides in Ashburn, VA with his wife and two sons.

Jessica Lee

Moderator

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

Jessica Lee advises clients in complex commercial transactions, from public-private partnerships to

multimillion-dollar construction financing

As a member of the Real Estate group, Jessica regularly advises clients on the acquisition and disposition,

development, deal structuring, financing and leasing for a wide variety of projects. She has an extensi

array of experience in navigating complicated transactions, closing deals and managing risks for her clients,

including developers, borrowers, real estate investment trusts and commercial landlords and tenants.

Chris Guthrie

Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President

Comstock

The first of three iconic office towers rising above the Reston Metro Plaza, this 365,000 square foot, LEED Silver, Trophy-Class tower designed by internationally renowned architect, Helmut Jahn, is the most recognizable landmark in the Dulles Corridor.

With unobstructed panoramic views stretching from the National Cathedral in Washington, DC to Tysons Corner’s skyline to Dulles International Airport and beyond, this headquarters quality building combines world-class amenities with unmatched services, accessibility, sustainability, and convenience.

Opening Remarks

Chris Clemente

Chris Clemente

CEO

Comstock

Chris Clemente

CEO

Comstock

Chris Clemente founded the Comstock organization in 1985 and has guided its growth and diversification since its inception. Mr. Clemente managed the growth of Comstock as a private enterprise until the 2004 initial public offering of Comstock Homebuilding Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHCI), now known as Comstock Holding Companies®, Inc. (“Comstock” or “Company”). Since the IPO, Mr. Clemente has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Comstock and is the largest individual stockholder of the Company. Mr. Clemente chairs Comstock’s Executive Committee, which charts strategic direction, evaluates acquisition opportunities, and oversees strategic partnerships, including multiple public-private partnerships. Mr. Clemente is also Managing Member of Comstock Partners, LC (“Partners”), a family-owned, private company founded by Mr. Clemente in 1999 to focus on commercial real estate development and investment.

Following its IPO, Comstock expanded its for-sale homebuilding operation into multiple key markets in the southeastern United States, while the commercial development operation of Partners remained focused on the Washington, DC market. Following the Great Recession, Comstock scaled back its for-sale homebuilding operation to focus solely on the Washington, DC market. Mr. Clemente managed the two companies as separate firms with distinct management teams and investment objectives until early 2018, when Comstock announced its plan to wind-down its for-sale homebuilding operation and refocus on commercial development, real estate asset management, and real estate related services. To execute this strategic plan, the operating platforms of Comstock and Partners were combined, and changes were made to the management team. To anchor the transition, Partners entered a long-term, cost-plus asset management agreement covering its portfolio of commercial properties, which had grown to include millions of square feet of stabilized buildings and development assets strategically located at key transit stations on Metro’s new Silver Line in the Dulles Corridor of Northern Virginia that have an estimated value at full build out of approximately $3 billion.

Key assets included in the portfolio of managed assets, include; Reston Station, a 4.5 million square foot transit-oriented and mixed-use development covering nearly 40 acres surrounding the terminus station of Phase I of the Silver Line in Reston, Virginia, and Loudoun Station, a 2+ million square foot transit-oriented and mixed-use development located adjacent to the terminus station of Phase II of the Silver Line in Ashburn, Virginia.

Mr. Clemente attended the University of Wisconsin and George Mason University where he studied Business and Psychology. Mr. Clemente and his wife, Tracy Schar, have been long-time supporters of numerous charitable organizations in the Washington, DC region that support international adoptions, foster care programs, and that provide educational, housing and other assistance to families and children in-need.

What You'll Learn

What You'll Learn: 

  • With interest rates projected to rise, what effects will this have on development in DC?

  • How are investors future-proofing their portfolios? What makes investors nervous about current investments and strategies?

  • How is the current access to debt impacting overall cap rates and deal flow and what does this mean for the industry?

  • What capital is coming down from NY or California to get deals done in DC, and what fresh and unique opportunities are they seeing in the market?

  • What are  new ways to make money in commercial real estate, including non-traditional fund structures and fresh approaches to the capital stack, and how is it impacting traditional means of raising capital?

How You'll Get Deals Done: 

Enhance your business and network by hearing from leading deal makers on the future of commercial real estate debt, value-add investments and how the industry is evaluating the geo-political impact of their investments. Hear from c-level executives and heads of real estate from the top owners, investors, debt providers and brokers on strategies to find the right deals. 

Who attends: Investors, developers, owners, lenders, equity raisers, brokers, lawyers, accountants, heads of real estate and consultants. 

Join us in honoring Women Leading Real Estate in the D.C. Region. Register now for our cocktail event December 6th. Click here.

For questions, speaker suggestions, or sponsor opportunities, email our Director of Event Production, Elizabeth Baker, at liz.baker@bisow.com

Venue

1900 Reston Metro Plaza
11th Floor
Reston, VA 20190


11389 Reston Station Blvd, Reston, VA 20190 Cost $5

Get Directions

Agenda

Time Activity
8:00 PM
8:45 PM
Registration & Networking
8:45 PM
9:05 PM
Keynote: Setting the Economic Stage
9:05 PM
9:45 PM
Creative Financing Opportunities in Multifamily

1. Learn how new fund structures and creative financing opportunities are impacting the CRE capital stack 2. How the capital stack shifts with smaller transactions

9:45 PM
10:30 PM
DC 2023 Financial Outlook

1. How is inflation and the economic uncertainty impacting the ability to get deals financed? 2. Who is investing in the DC region from outside the DMV, and what unique opportunities are they finding in this market?

10:30 PM
11:30 PM
Dealmaker's Cocktail Hour

Sponsors