Jared Smith serves as the President and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) where he leads economic development initiatives to attract, retain, and expand businesses within key industries in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Jared is joining MCEDC in December 2025 after spending over a decade in Nevada’s economic development ecosystem. As the Director of Economic Development for the City of Henderson, he supported a community within the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistica Area (MSA) of more than two million residents. During his tenure, Smith played a key role in diversifying a tourism-driven regional economy and supported the creation of more than 20,000 jobs. Prior, as Chief Operating Officer of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, he helped deliver $17.2 billion in regional economic impact – the highest in the organization’s history.

His economic development and business experience spans business attraction, retention, and expansion, as well as workforce development and long-term strategic planning. He has collaborated with companies across a wide range of industries, from established to high-growth sectors. Before moving to Nevada, Smith was the Director of Business Development at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Manager, Business Retention and Expansion at the Louisiana Economic Development, where he designed and deployed a comprehensive economic development strategy and outreach program to expand corporate businesses statewide.

Throughout his career, Jared has interfaced with elected officials on local and state levels and led various international missions. A Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), he is an active member of the International Economic Development Council and has been recognized twice—2024 and 2022—as one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers by Consultant Connect. Jared holds an MBA from Southeastern Louisiana University, a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University, and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute.

Andy serves as Co-President of Minkoff Development Corporation, a family-owned real estate firm based in Germantown, Maryland that provides development, construction, management and brokerage services. He is focused on day-to-day top line revenue generation, managing strategic tenant and platform partnerships as well as identifying value enhancement opportunities through conversions or new development. He is a 2011 graduate of Leadership Montgomery, as well as having served on the boards of the Bender JCC, Pinkney Innovation Center for Science and Technology at Montgomery College, and C&O Canal Trust.

As General Counsel of The Tower Companies, Sandy Paik leads the company’s legal strategy, overseeing corporate governance, risk management, ethics, compliance, and strategic planning. With more than 20 years of legal and leadership experience, she brings deep expertise in community development, infrastructure, and real estate, with a strong track record in public-private partnerships, capital markets securitizations, and structured finance transactions.

Sandy’s career spans housing and commercial real estate, economic development, financial services, and green finance. In addition to her role at Tower, she has contributed her expertise to numerous boards and committees. She was appointed in 2025 to the Gaithersburg Economic and Business Development Committee and previously served on the District of Columbia Bar Association’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Task Force from 2022 to 2025. She currently serves on the boards of Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture, Community Opportunity Fund, Association of Corporate Counsel National Capital Region, and the Carbon League. Her past roles include Adjunct Professor at American University’s School of Public Affairs, Treasurer and Finance Chair as well as Facilities Chair for the Montessori School of Northern Virginia, and Co-Chair of the ACC NCR Leadership Academy.

Sandy is admitted to the bars of Maryland and the District of Columbia. She is also an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Washington Chapter, the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA), the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater Washington DC.

She earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, an A.M. in Policy Analysis and Evaluation from Stanford University School of Education, and a B.A. in History from Tufts University.

Eric Morales is the Maryland Market President of United Bank, a premier community bank headquartered in Greater Washington, D.C. As Market President, he is responsible for the

management and operation of all nine United Bank offices in the Maryland Market, including maintaining client relationships and new business development. Morales has an extensive background in commercial real estate lending, having financed the acquisition and construction of multiple commercial and residential real estate projects in and around the D.C. metro area.

He is also active in the local community, notably with United’s financial literacy programs, educating local youth through the Bank’s Teach Children to Save initiative, and volunteering with

Junior Achievement Finance Park. He has also served on the board of numerous organizations, most recently with the Catholic Business Network of Montgomery County and the Arlington

Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Eric was a proud recipient of the Washington Business Journal’s 40 under 40 awards in 2024.

Prior to his time at United Bank, Morales worked as a Financial Manager at TIER REIT, Inc. and a senior associate at EY. Morales holds both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Accounting degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jason K. Sartori was appointed Planning Director by the Montgomery County Planning Board in November 2023. As Planning Director, he oversees the efforts of more than 150 department staff focused on community planning, the review of development applications, housing and zoning policy, forest conservation and restoration, historic preservation, placemaking, equitable community engagement, transportation planning, transportation networks and modeling, public infrastructure adequacy monitoring, and environmental resilience. Prior to becoming Planning Director, Jason served as Chief of Montgomery Planning’s Countywide Planning and Policy Division from 2019 to 2023. Since joining Montgomery Planning in January 2016, he has led updates to the county’s adequate public facilities ordinance, known as the Growth and Infrastructure Policy, and oversaw efforts to develop the county’s Complete Streets Design Guide and first Pedestrian Master Plan, visionary documents to systemically improve the experience of all roadway users in Montgomery County. Jason previously served as the Associate Director of the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland. While there, he led numerous coalition-building initiatives and projects related to housing, transportation, program evaluation, access to opportunity, economic development, visioning, and scenario planning.

Jackson Siegal, a Principal of In-Rel Properties, leads the firm's growth strategy and oversees day-to-day operations in the Washington, D.C. region. He is involved in acquisitions, asset management, leasing, and capital markets initiatives that support the company's continued expansion. Jackson joined In-Rel in 2023 after practicing law in Washington, D.C. and holds a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University and a J.D. from the University of Miami.

Robin Bettarel leads EYA’s multifamily development efforts, overseeing the planning and execution of large-scale residential and mixed-use communities across the D.C. region. She brings over 20 years of experience in multifamily and mixed-use development across the Mid-Atlantic, including major redevelopment projects such as West Falls and The Wharf Phase II. Robin holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and lives in Washington, DC with her family.

Nick is a Vice President at MRP Realty, responsible for sourcing new acquisition and development projects throughout the DMV. Since joining MRP in 2019, Nick has delivered over 1,500 units and acquired over a million square feet of commercial space. Since 2022, Nick’s primary focus has been on distressed commercial acquisitions. Prior to joining the firm, Nick worked for Heitman in their North America Private Equity and Private Debt divisions for four years, specializing in acquisitions and financings across all major asset types. Nick transferred to Heitman’s European Private Equity Group in London, where he focused on the emerging rental residential sector in Europe. Nick is a native of Montgomery County and has a particular interest in seeing the County succeed.

Mychael D. Cohn is a seasoned real estate professional with over 22 years of industry experience, rooted in a family legacy from Washington, D.C. He has been involved in transactions exceeding $1+ billion throughout his career. As a relationship-driven broker and deal enthusiast, Mychael founded CPG as the brokerage arm of Cohn Property Group and serves as the Principal Broker across Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

Mychael’s real estate journey began in 2003, where he focused on land brokerage for residential and mixed-use projects in the suburban and urban markets. He collaborated closely with key figures in the building and development sectors and landowners. In 2009, he expanded his expertise at Sandmar Properties, a mid-sized asset management firm, where he played a pivotal role in growing their portfolio, which included grocery-anchored shopping centers, strip retail centers, mixed-use developments, and assisted living facilities. During his tenure at Sandmar, Mychael also established a brokerage arm, serving as its Principal Broker in his key markets.

Mychael holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Richmond, where he was a member of the Division 1 Golf Team. He continues to support his alma mater as an Assistant Coach for the Landon School’s varsity golf team. Outside of work, Mychael is married, has three children, and shares his home with a dog named Champ.

Jeff Perkins serves as Market Leader at Matthews™, where he plays a key role in driving the firm’s growth and expansion throughout Washington D.C. and the Mid-Atlantic region. In this leadership position, Jeff is responsible for recruiting, mentoring, and developing brokerage talent, helping agents build strong foundations for long-term success.

With experience in single-tenant retail (STNL) investment sales, Jeff is recognized for his deep market insight, transactional expertise, and commitment to delivering client-centric solutions. His success in representing both institutional and private clients across complex retail deals has made him a highly trusted advisor in the net lease space.

Jeff’s unmatched work ethic, proactive leadership style, and relentless pursuit of excellence have been instrumental in advancing Matthews™’ presence in key Mid-Atlantic markets. His dedication not only supports agent growth and performance but also reinforces the firm’s reputation as a national leader in commercial real estate.

Stephen Morel is the Chief Executive Officer and was formerly the Chief Investment Officer of the Montgomery County Green Bank (MCGB). He comes to MCGB with a professional background in corporate and project finance, with a particular interest in the use of public and private funds to fill market gaps and catalyze investment into high impact sectors. Stephen brings his strong skills in financial management and project-related investment to MCGB in order to accelerate the deployment of programs and products towards achieving the Bank’s clean energy and energy efficiency objectives.

Prior to the MCGB, Stephen led a financial consulting company dedicated to connecting infrastructure developers with debt and equity financing sources. This role followed almost a decade of experience as an investment officer and project finance specialist for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Stephen began his financial career in investment banking at Taylor-DeJongh and Friedman, Billings, Ramsey.

Phillip Hummel is a land use and zoning attorney at Shulman Rogers, advising

developers, property owners, nonprofits, and senior living facilities throughout

Montgomery County and the broader Maryland region. He represents clients before

municipal, county, and state agencies on matters ranging from zoning and entitlements

to historic preservation and development impact taxation, and brings litigation

experience to disputes arising after project approval. Phil's strategic advantage lies in

his deep ties to the Montgomery County market and his extensive relationships with key

government and organizational contacts.