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Speakers and Panels

Financing the Future

The Creative Structures, Alternative Capital Sources, and Innovative Terms that Fill Out Capital Stacks in 2026

Michael Stratton

Michael Stratton

Managing Director

Artemis

Philip Aftuck

Philip Aftuck

Managing Director, Investments & Development

The Bernstein Companies

Lee Chen

Lee Chen

Managing Director

HH Fund

Elizabeth Cotter

Elizabeth Cotter

SVP, Capital Markets

FCP

Ryan Riel

Ryan Riel

Chief Real Estate Lending Officer

EagleBank

Christian DeLisle

Christian DeLisle

SVP, Originations

PACE Loan Group

Michael Stratton

Managing Director

Artemis

Mr. Stratton is a Managing Director responsible for supporting the acquisition and asset management activities of Artemis. Mr. Stratton is focused on all aspects of the acquisitions and asset management process for the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions and takes a leading role in many of Artemis’ new product type initiatives, such as hospitality, manufactured housing, and rent-regulated housing. Mr. Stratton also leads Artemis’ debt platform, focusing on loan origination and portfolio management. Mr. Stratton joined Artemis in April 2013 and is based in Washington, D.C. He has closed over 60 transactions totaling $5.0 billion in total asset value during his time at the firm.

Previously, Mr. Stratton worked at Deutsche Bank’s Real Estate Special Situations Group, where he assisted in the execution of over $2.0 billion in distressed debt acquisitions and originations. Mr. Stratton earned his BS in Economics, with honors, from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Elizabeth Cotter

SVP, Capital Markets

FCP

Elizabeth Cotter joined FCP in September 2022 as Senior Vice President, Capital Markets. Prior to joining FCP, Elizabeth was Senior Vice President and Head of Debt Capital Markets at JBG SMITH, a REIT that owns, operates, and develops mixed-use properties in the Washington, DC market. At JBG SMITH, Elizabeth was responsible for sourcing and managing all aspects of the Company’s debt portfolio and capital planning. Prior to joining JBG SMITH in 2014, she spent 8 years at Bank of America where she underwrote and structured commercial real estate transactions for clients in the Mid-Atlantic region. Elizabeth began her career in the CRE Group at LaSalle Bank in Chicago. She holds a Masters in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University.

Ryan Riel

Chief Real Estate Lending Officer

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.

Christian DeLisle

SVP, Originations

PACE Loan Group

Christian DeLisle joined PACE Loan Group (PLG) in 2026 as Senior Vice President, Originations, where he’s responsible for loan origination, underwriting, and portfolio monitoring. Christian worked as an originator in the C-PACE industry prior to joining PLG, but spent the bulk of his career as a CRE lender. For more than 20 years, Christian worked at various banks, including Truist Bank (formerly BB&T Bank), FVCBank and Forbright Bank, where he originated nearly $500 million in C-PACE and traditional CRE financing.

Christian received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida, as well as a Master of Arts in International Business from a consortium of international universities.

Finding the Deal

The Markets and Projects that Attract Capital in the Greater Washington Region

Ron Dalal

Ron Dalal

Partner

Declaration Partners

Sondra Wenger

Sondra Wenger

Head of Capital Markets

KBS

Will Harsh

Will Harsh

Managing Partner

Tryline Capital

Michelle Johnstone

Michelle Johnstone

EVP, Client Relations and Capital Markets

Cortland

Brian Whitener

Brian Whitener

EVP, Head of Acquisitions

EastBanc

Ryan Dring

Ryan Dring

SVP

Hoffman & Associates

Ron Dalal

Partner

Declaration Partners

Ron Dalal is a Partner and member of the real estate investment team in the Bethesda, MD office, and is a voting member of Declaration’s Real Estate Investment Committee. Prior to joining Declaration in 2018, Ron was a Vice President at JBG SMITH Properties (formerly The JBG Companies). In this role, Ron focused on property-level real estate acquisitions, development joint ventures, and corporate initiatives. Prior to that, he was an Investment Manager at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), based in the UAE. While at ADIA, his primary focus was on real estate acquisitions and asset management in the US, Canada, and Latin America, across all property types.

Ron began his career in the investment banking and investment management group at Goldman Sachs. Ron graduated from University of Maryland. Ron currently serves on the board of the Robert H. Smith School of Business Foundation and is a member of the Global Exchange Council with the Urban Land Institute. Outside of work, Ron enjoys traveling, hiking, and attempting to fly fish.

Sondra Wenger

Head of Capital Markets

KBS

Sondra Wenger is Head of Capital Markets at KBS, where she leads institutional fundraising across separate accounts, co-investments, and funds. She partners with pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and endowments, aligning investor objectives with strategic real estate opportunities. A member of KBS’s senior executive leadership team and Investment Committee, Sondra works closely with acquisitions and investment management to drive portfolio growth. With more than 30 years of experience, she has helped raise $2.8 billion in capital and led over $17 billion in real estate transactions across core, value-add, and opportunistic strategies.

Will Harsh

Managing Partner

Tryline Capital

Will Harsh is the Managing Partner of Tryline Capital, a real estate investment firm focused on Core+ and Value-Add multifamily and mixed-use properties across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. He also serves as the Alternate Governor of FC Cincinnati on Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors, where he helps oversee the club’s real estate strategy, including the $300M West End Mixed-Use District adjacent to TQL Stadium.

In addition, Will serves on the Advisory Board of Associate Capital, a San Francisco-based developer of complex mixed-use sites. He is also a Principal of Whitford Management, a family investment office.

Will’s civic and philanthropic commitments include his role on the Leadership Council at the Robin Hood Foundation and as a member of the New York Advisory Board of Teach for America.

Will earned a Master of Science in Real Estate Development and a Master of Public Administration in Urban and Social Policy, both from Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Politics from Princeton University.

Michelle Johnstone

EVP, Client Relations and Capital Markets

Cortland

Michelle leads capital-raising efforts across all investment strategies, focusing on US-based institutional investors and consultants. Drawing on her extensive experience in client relations, Michelle refines and executes business plans targeting institutional clients, fosters investor relationships, and implements innovative and strategic partnerships to strengthen investor relationships globally.

Brian Whitener

EVP, Head of Acquisitions

EastBanc

Brian Whitener joined EastBanc in 2012. He oversees all new acquisitions, due diligence and deal structuring. Additionally, he is responsible for debt and equity financing with EastBanc’s financial partners.  Brian previously worked in management consulting at Pace Harmon. Brian grew up and currently lives in Washington, DC and has B.S. from the University of Virginia in Commerce.

Ryan Dring

SVP

Hoffman & Associates

Ryan Dring joined Hoffman & Associates in 2018, and as Senior Vice President of Capital & Asset

Management oversees sourcing and negotiating financing for Hoffman & Associates projects across the

Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. In addition to overseeing project financing, Ryan manages the operational

and financial performance of the Hoffman & Associates portfolio. Ryan’s past project experience at

Hoffman & Associates includes managing the innovative financing of Waterfront Station II in the

Southwest neighborhood of Washington, DC and the financing of West Falls in Falls Church, Virginia as

well as Seaboard Station in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Prior to joining the company, Ryan served as a Senior Associate in the institutional client relationship

management division of J.P. Morgan Chase and as a Senior Associate at Deutsche Bank in their credit

trading and debt capital markets division.

Ryan graduated from The George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs

and holds a MBA from Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business.

Why you can't miss the 2026 DMV Capital Markets & CRE Finance Summit

What You’ll Learn:

  • Where investor appetite is strongest across asset classes and which DMV submarkets are capturing the most attention heading into 2027

  • How developers and lenders are structuring deals to make the math work in a still-challenging rate and equity environment

  • What the shift toward private credit, C-PACE, and alternative capital sources means for the region's development pipeline

  • What opportunities are emerging in distressed debt, loan sales, and the growing pipeline of office-to-residential conversions

  • How lenders are underwriting risk today, and what it takes to close in a market where equity remains the hardest piece to solve

Why This Matters:

The DMV's capital markets are in motion. After two years of frozen transaction volumes, liquidity is returning, selectively, strategically, and on lenders' terms. CRE loan closings surged 67% year-over-year in Q4 2025, deal activity is accelerating across multifamily and mixed-use, and some of the region's most consequential refinancing and acquisitions are back in the headlines. But the market is bifurcated. Equity remains scarce for new development, the downtown D.C. office market is still working through distress, and deal-makers are navigating a difficult  landscape. 

Join Bisnow as we convene the DMV's leading investors, lenders, developers, and capital markets advisors to break down where the smart money is moving, how the region's biggest deals are getting structured and closed, and what the capital markets landscape looks like heading into the next cycle.

For questions, recommendations, comments, press inquiries, or if you are interested in sponsoring, please email Ian Wheeler at ian.wheeler@bisnow.com. To request disability-related accommodations, please contact sabrina.cole@bisnow.com no later than seven business days prior to the event.

Venue

Hilton Washington DC National Mall The Wharf
480 L’Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington DC 20024

Ballroom/Floor: Gallery Room / 2nd Floor


Event Day Parking - $30/per car

Get Directions

Agenda

Time Activity
7:00 PM
8:00 PM
Registration and Networking
8:00 PM
8:50 PM
Finding the Deal: The Markets and Projects that Attract Capital in the Greater Washington Region

Capital is coming back to the DC Region, but it's not coming back everywhere or all at once. Institutional investors, debt funds, and family offices are all making selective bets across the DMV. This panel brings together the investors, equity partners, and deal-makers doing business in the region to map where opportunity is concentrated, which asset classes and submarkets are generating real conviction, and how buyers and sellers are bridging the gap on valuation to get transactions done.

8:50 PM
9:10 PM
Networking Break
9:10 PM
10:00 PM
Financing the Future: The Creative Structures, Alternative Capital Sources, and Innovative Terms that Fill Out Capital Stacks in 2026

The deals getting done in the DMV today are rarely straightforward. Construction loan extensions, C-PACE financing, preferred equity layering, debt-on-debt structures, and note sales have become standard tools in the capital markets toolkit. This panel brings together capital market and financing experts to discuss how deals are actually getting done, what terms look like in today's market, and where the capital markets infrastructure of the DMV's next development cycle is being built.

10:00 PM
11:00 PM
Closing Networking and Cocktail Hour

Tickets

General Admission

$155.00 /ticket

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