Norman Jemal began his career in real estate in the early 1990’s. He serves as the Principal and Senior Vice President for Douglas Development Corporation and currently directs all of the leasing activity for the company and throughout his career has negotiated and leased over five million square feet with a cumulative value of over one billion dollars. As a principal with the company, Norman is involved in all aspects of the business including acquisitions and dispositions, development, finance and corporate strategic planning. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Washington, DC Economic Partnership, an organization that promotes business opportunities throughout the District and contributes to business retention and attraction activities, and on the Board of Trustees for Ford’s Theatre. He has also served on the Board of Directors for The Little Blue House, a family development center that serves as an oasis for low-income, poor and struggling families. As of 2015 Norman serves on the board of United Bank.

As Senior Vice President of Development, Matt serves as Project Director for The Wharf Phase 2 in addition to leading the company’s new large mixed-use master planned project initiatives across the East Coast including the D.C. metropolitan area along with new developments in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Matt joined Hoffman & Associates in 2005. Across his time with the company he has played a key role in the successful delivery of The Wharf Phase 1 in addition to serving as Development Manager for Constitution Square, a 1.6 million square foot LEED-ND Gold certified mixed-used project in NoMa. Matt brings over 15 years of industry experience in urban design, master planning, public-private partnerships, public financing and community outreach and engagement.

Matt received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Maryland. He is a graduate of the 2012 Urban Land Institute Regional Leadership Institute and holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Adam Gooch, the Director of Development and a Senior Vice President for Akridge, supervises the day-to-day efforts of the Development department and provides strategic guidance for the firm’s development and acquisition projects.

Since joining Akridge in 2005, Adam has completed over $550 million of acquisitions and development of mixed-use projects in the Washington metropolitan area. He has been primarily responsible for many of the firm’s downtown projects, including Half Street, 100 V Street, Carroll Square, the Cato Institute, and the International Monetary Fund Headquarters renovation.

Among many efforts, he has spearheaded the company’s efforts to locate a $150 million major league soccer stadium on Buzzard Point, created the Half Street Fairgrounds outside of Nationals Ballpark, and managed the acquisition of Burnham Place, a 3-million-square-foot air-rights parcel north of Union Station in Washington, DC.

Adam has over 16 years of experience in commercial real estate construction and development. Prior to joining Akridge in 2005, he worked for a large public REIT in New York City, where he assisted in feasibility analyses of new development projects in midtown Manhattan.

Adam also managed the construction of large hotel and multi-family projects for an international general contractor in Los Angeles, and worked as a civil and geotechnical engineer for an ENR top-100 engineering firm based in New Jersey.

Adam is affiliated with several professional organizations and has been a featured speaker for numerous industry groups focusing on urban mixed-use development. He is currently a member of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association and the Urban Land Institute.

Adam has a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University and Bachelor of Science degrees in Civil Engineering and Geology from Bucknell University.

Jim Renne is a Senior Vice President and National Sports Director at JLL with more

than 25 years of experience in creating innovative Sports & Entertainment districts

and destinations ,and world class sports and athletic facilities. With his extensive

sports planning and architecture experience, Jim understands the multi-faceted

objectives of stakeholders in the industry and works closely with his clients to make

their vision a reality. Jim was recognized in 2020 and 2016 by Sports Business

Journal as one of the top 50 Power Players in Sports Design and Development.

As National Director, Jim leads a dedicated team of experts who are passionate

about representing the best interest of their clients in the sports, university athletics,

and entertainment industry. His strategic approach to advising and collaborating with

his clients, representing their interests in leading large scale developments and

managing projects ensures their vision and business objectives are met, maximizing

the highest return on investment, and greatest impact for their constituents.

Experience

Prior to joining JLL, Jim was Sports Principal for ROSSETTI. His responsibilities

included managing the company’s Sports & Entertainment group domestically and in

East Asia; Project Executive for numerous clients; and led an internal team focused on

fan experience innovation and sports business analytics.

Most notably, Jim’s strategic approach to sports design led to the reimagination of

one of the most recognized venues in the U.S. at the Daytona International Speedway.

Jim directed the design team on the $400M Daytona Rising project (SBJ 2016 Sports

Facility of the Year), creating a new era of fan experience and sponsorship integration

for NASCAR. Jim’s background in retail, master planning and urban design combined

with sports gives him unique expertise in mixed-use and sports and entertainment

anchored development projects.

Education, Speaking and Media Engagements, and Affiliations

Jim received a Bachelor of Architecture degree and a Master of Architecture degree

from the University of Michigan. Jiim continues to be invited as an expert panelist and

speaker for numerous organizations; and interviews on numerous media outlets.

Member of ASLD’s Board of Advisors, Detroit Sports Operating Committee Associate

Board; and University of Michigan’s School of Sports Management Advisory Board.

Toby Millman is the Regional Partner for Transwestern Development Company in the Mid-Atlantic, where he is responsible for overseeing and directing the company’s development pipeline in the region. Over his nearly 30-year career, Toby has been involved with the development of over 15 million square feet of residential, office, and retail space. Prior to joining Transwestern, Toby was Senior Vice President for Brookfield Properties where he oversaw the development pipeline in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. Prior to Brookfield, he was Senior Vice President at Vornado Realty Trust, creating and leading the multifamily development group for Vornado’s Washington division. Earlier in his career, Toby also owned and operated Agora Development, a development and homebuilding company and worked for Washington-area developers EYA and Abdo Development. Toby earned an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Mr. Millman holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a Master’s Degree in City Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

As the Director of Investments, Mr. Startt is responsible for overseeing the financial performance of Jair Lynch’s sponsored investments and fee-for-service third party client projects. Mr. Startt’s responsibilities include evaluating investment and acquisition opportunities, site and financial analysis, structuring transactions, negotiating term sheets and project documents with debt and equity providers, and managing due diligence, closing and ongoing compliance on assigned projects. Mr. Startt also has significant experience in obtaining project entitlements and approvals, and leasing of both retail and office properties. Mr. Startt serves on the company’s internal investment committee.

Since joining Jair Lynch in 2001, Mr. Startt has overseen the acquisition and development of more than 6.8MM square feet of apartments, office, retail, and community assets valued at more than $3.2MM. Mr. Startt oversaw the acquisition, development, leasing, sales, and stabilization of the Kelvin Apartments and eNvy Condominiums at Half and N Streets SE, Washington, DC, including the lease-up of 55,000 square feet of retail space in a high-energy entertainment corridor. Mr. Startt also led Jair Lynch’s efforts as a member of Vision McMillan Partners to develop the multifamily and retail components of the 25-acre historic McMillan Sand Filtration Site. When completed, McMillan will include more than 500 mixed-income apartments, 90,000 square feet of retail including a full-service grocery store, more than 1M square feet of medical office, 146 townhomes, a 17,000 square foot community center, and 8 acres of parks and open space.

Currently Mr. Startt is overseeing the development of the 600 block of Rhode Island Ave NE, Washington, DC into more than 400 Class A apartments and convenience retail, the redevelopment of 899 Maine Ave SW, Washington, DC into more than 500 Class A apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail, and the master planning for the renovation and redevelopment of the 1,334-unit Barcroft Apartments in Arlington, Virginia.

Jason Berry was raised in Los Angeles with a passion for cooking and dining. From a young age, he gravitated to the restaurant industry where his love of all things food could be combined with a deep respect for genuine hospitality. He received a BS in Business Entrepreneurship and Japanese from the University of Southern California and later earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In over three decades in the restaurant business, Jason has worked with a wide variety of concepts from Wendy’s to California Pizza Kitchen and Houston’s (Hillstone) in both front and back of house positions. In 2004, he joined Rosa Mexicano as Regional Director of Operations, overseeing the company’s growth from three to nineteen locations around the world. He was named Chief Operating Officer in 2011. In 2014, Jason moved to Washington, D.C. and formed KNEAD Hospitality + Design with his partner Michael Reginbogin. Together, they have collaborated on the design and creation of what is now the KNEAD family of restaurants.

Andrew Poncher has 15 years of experience in the retail real estate industry. Andrew has a passionate focus on integrating solutions utilizing deep analysis of all available location intelligence data, client proprietary data, business intelligence information and market analytics - creating custom innovative solution s for his clients success. Andrew has played an integral role in the retail evolution of Downtown DC, leasing over 750,000 sf of core retail in the city over the last four years.

Andrew’s developer clients include local groups such as Jair Lynch, The Meridian Group, Douglas Development, and Quadrangle/Wilkes, and institutional entities including Metlife, Grosvenor, Related, Brookfield, Hines, and JPMorgan.

Michael is the president of the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District (BID) in

the southeast riverfront area of Washington, DC – the city’s fastest growing, mixed-use

urban neighborhood. The Capitol Riverfront is one of the largest riverfront

redevelopment projects in the country and will contain over 37 million square feet of

development at build-out. For the past 13 years he has worked to achieve the vision of

a vibrant waterfront community in the Capitol Riverfront. His efforts led to the

establishment of the BID in the summer of 2007 and it is currently in its third 5-year

operating cycle. Michael is responsible for overseeing a staff of 8 full time professionals,

a 21-member board of directors, all external relations, development of work programs,

and budget oversight.

He helped coordinate the Center City Action Agenda of 2007 & 2010 – a new strategic

plan and framework to guide development and public investment in the center city

neighborhoods of Washington, DC. From 2000-2006 he served as the President & CEO

of the Washington, DC Economic Partnership and built that organization from a start-up

to a full partner in the District’s economic development initiatives.

Prior to coming to Washington, Michael was the VP of Development for the Memphis

Center City Commission, a combination of BID and economic development authority. He

oversaw the planning and economic development section that administered financial

incentives for downtown development projects such as the Memphis Redbird’s new

Triple A baseball stadium, hundreds of units of new housing, the South Main Arts

District, and a new downtown public elementary school.

Michael has been involved in the economic development, urban planning, and

downtown/neighborhood development fields for the majority of his 41-year career. He

has worked for public planning agencies, private planning firms, BIDs, and economic

development entities. He has participated in numerous downtown redevelopment efforts

for cities such as Wichita, KS; Lubbock, TX; Dallas, TX; Nashville, TN; Memphis, TN;

Jackson, MS; Washington, DC; and San Antonio, TX. He holds a Master’s degree in

Urban Planning/Urban Design from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, and a BA in Urban

Sociology from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS.

He serves in a volunteer capacity in the District by participating on boards such as

Barracks Row Main Street; the Leadership Council for a Cleaner Anacostia; DC

Sustainable Transit; DC Building Industry Association; the DC BID Council; and Friends

of the National Arboretum. He has participated in numerous Technical Advisory Panels

for ULI, IDA, and APA. Michael is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s

College of Continuing Studies where he teaches a class on economic development in

the Masters in Urban Planning program.

Kevin Reynolds is Executive Vice President and Regional President, Director of Sales for United Bank, a subsidiary of United Bankshares, Inc. with $14 billion in assets and over 80 branches in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Formerly president and director of sales for Cardinal Financial Corporation, Kevin joined United Bank in April 2017, following its acquisition of Cardinal Bank. Prior to establishing Cardinal Bank with a select group of community bankers in 1998, he held executive and management positions with several leading area financial institutions, including George Mason Bank and American Security Bank.

Kevin’s volunteer efforts, business expertise, and hands-on support have helped organizations throughout the area raise funds and awareness for their causes. His contributions have made a difference to organizations as diverse as the American Heart Association, Cornerstones, The Economic Club of Washington, DC, Rotary International, The Gladney Center for Adoption, Children’s Science Center, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Special Olympics, Homestretch and The Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Foundation. He serves as chairman of the United Cardinal Classic, an annual golf tournament that has raised $5.3 million to benefit Inova Kellar Center and community organizations around the area.

Kevin’s contributions toward improving the quality of life in the region are widely recognized and reflect his years of service and dedication. He was elected board chairman of the 2015 World Police & Fire Games, the second largest multi-sport event in the world, surpassed only by the Summer Olympic Games. He was awarded the 2012 Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year for Large Businesses, and was finalist for the 2012 Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce Executive Leader of the Year. Kevin was named the 2010 Business Citizen of the Year by the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce and was honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2009 as one of Washington’s most outstanding fundraising volunteers. That same year, he was honored by Leadership Fairfax with a Regional Leadership Award for fundraising leadership.

A graduate of The College of William and Mary, Reynolds earned an MBA in Finance/Business from The George Washington University. He lives in Oakton, Virginia with his wife, Stacey, their two children, and two golden retrievers.