Lisa C. Merkel, a resident of Herndon since 2002 and a resident of Northern Virginia

since 1996, was first elected Mayor of the Town of Herndon in 2012 and is currently

serving her third term. She previously served as Herndon’s Vice Mayor during the 2010-

2012 term.

As Mayor, Merkel serves as the chief executive officer of the town. She serves on the

Inter-Jurisdictional Committee with Loudoun and Fairfax counties, represents the town

as a Commissioner of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, and is a member of

the Novaregion Foundation.  She has also served on the Northern Virginia

Transportation Authority’s Planning Commission Advisory Committee and has worked

closely with Fairfax County in planning for pedestrian and bicycle access to the Herndon

Metro Station, serving on the Herndon Metro Station Access Management Study Group

(HMSAMS) for two years.

Prior to her service on the Town Council, Merkel served on the Herndon Homes Tour

Committee, and participated in the Citizen’s Planning Academy and the Downtown

Master Plan Citizens Advisory Group. She was appointed by Fairfax County Supervisor

John Foust to represent the Town of Herndon on the Dranesville District Area Plans

Review Task Force, a group that reviewed the proposed development surrounding the

Route 28 Metro Site and its future impact on the town.

Merkel is a member of Arts Herndon; the Herndon Historical Society; the Dulles

Regional Chamber of Commerce and Sister Cities International.

Merkel worked for Fairfax County Public Schools as a classroom teacher, reading

specialist and staff developer from 1996 until 2004 by.  Her classroom strategies have

been featured in two professional books, "Shared Reading for Today's

Classroom" and "Catching Readers Before They Fall.”

Merkel holds a bachelor’s degree in Education from Auburn University and a master’s

degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech.  She and her husband, Dave,

are raising their family in a circa 1895 farmhouse in Herndon’s historic downtown.

John Begert has 22 years of experience in the multi-family industry and pursues multi-family residential and mixed-use acquisition and development opportunities for MRP Realty. Prior to joining the firm in early 2011, Mr. Begert worked for JPI Mid Atlantic for over ten years and oversaw the acquisition, entitlement, development and construction of over 2,000 residential units valued at over $450 million in the Mid Atlantic region. Mr. Begert has multi-family acquisition and development experience across a variety of product types and jurisdictions in the Mid Atlantic region. Mr. Begert has developed high-rise, mid- rise, and urban-wrap rental products as well as mixed-use urban condominium product in Washington, DC.

Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., is the president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority in Fairfax County, Virginia, one of the largest office markets in the nation. He has been with the FCEDA since late 1983, during which time office space in the county grew from 32 million square feet to more than 115 million, and jobs in the county grew from 243,000 to almost 600,000. As a result, the real estate tax rate has decreased from $1.47 to $1.09.

Dr. Gordon has also worked for Arlington County, Virginia, and the United States Department of Labor. Dr. Gordon was instrumental in creating the Emerging Business Forum and bringing the 1998 World Congress on Information Technology to Fairfax County. In 2005, the FCEDA was named by Site Selection magazine as one of the Top Ten Economic Development organizations in North America. In 2007, Time magazine called Fairfax County “one of the great economic success stories of our time.” In 2011, the Washington Post said that “Fairfax County remains the economic wunderkind of Virginia and in many ways of the Washington area.”

Dr. Gordon has taught at Catholic University, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. He has consulted with city and state governments throughout the United States and around the world, as well as the governments of Poland, the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico, and Micronesia. He has also served as a consultant to various government agencies, the United States Navy, businesses, non-profit organizations, associations, colleges and universities, and the United Nations.

Dr. Gordon holds a bachelor’s degree from The Citadel, a master’s degree from The George Washington University, and a doctorate in international economics from The Catholic University of America. He is the author of 12 books on strategic planning and economic development. His most recent book is "The Economic Survival of America's Isolated Small Towns" (CRC Press, 2015). Other recent books include “The Economic Viability of Micropolitan America” (CRC Press, 2013), “Reinventing Local and Regional Economies” (CRC Press, 2011) and “The Formula for Economic Growth on Main Street America” (CRC Press, 2009).

Dr. Gordon is the 2003 recipient of the prestigious Israel Freedom Award of the Israel Bonds organization. In 2006, Dr. Gordon became the first American to address the All-Parliamentary Exports Group in the British House of Commons. In 2007, he was accepted for inclusion on the roster of Fulbright Senior Scholars. Also in 2007, he was named a Fellow of the International Economic Development Council.

In 2010, Virginia Business named Dr. Gordon its “Virginia Business Person of the Year.” That year he also received the James Rees Award from the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. In 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, Virginia Business tapped Dr. Gordon for its “50 Most Influential Virginians” list.

Leadership Fairfax, Inc. named Dr. Gordon the recipient of the 2011 Northern Virginia Regional Leadership Award. In 2012, Transwestern, Delta Associates, Baker Tilly and PNC Real Estate honored Dr. Gordon as a TrendLines Trendsetter of the Year for the Washington metropolitan area for his contributions to the commercial real estate industry.

Edythe Kelleher is the Executive Director of the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation, which works on revitalization and economic development issues in the Richmond Highway Corridor in partnership with Fairfax County. Edythe has more than twenty years of local government experience, including serving on the Vienna Town Council, the Executive Committee of the Virginia Municipal League, and on the staff of Mason District Supervisor Penelope Gross. She holds an MBA from George Washington University, a Bachelor’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University, and is a Sorensen Institute Fellow.

P. David Tarter was born and raised in Northern Virginia, where he has been a lifelong resident. He is the founder and principal of the law firm Tarter Nova Law in Arlington Virginia, where he specializes in commercial real estate and business law. Prior to his term on Council, Mr. Tarter was a member of the City’s Economic Development Authority, where he served as Chair. He obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia. He is also a graduate of St. Stephen’s School in Alexandria. Mr. Tarter has traveled widely, having lived and worked or studied in London, England, Tokyo, Japan, and Riga, Latvia. He is married with three children who attend Falls Church public schools.

Term: January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2019

Elected Mayor: January 6, 2014, January 4, 2016

First Elected to Council: July 1, 2012

Memberships:

Liaison to City Boards & Commissions:

• Planning Commission

Regional Boards & Commissions:

• Northern Virginia Regional Commission

• Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments Board of Directors

• Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments Corporation (Vice-President)

Ross Draber is the chief operating officer of United Bank, a subsidiary of United Bankshares, Inc., a $19.3 billion bank holding company. He is responsible for the performance and profitability of the Bank, directing commercial and consumer banking sales and service operations throughout the Washington, D.C. metro area. Draber oversees the region’s market presidents and works alongside them to drive growth and develop business strategy and execution plans.

Draber has played an integral role in United Bank’s expansion since assuming the role in 2015. During that time, United Bank has grown to over 70 branches in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. It has the number one deposit market share among community banks in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area. Draber is highly involved with the merger and acquisition team and was instrumental in the Bank’s successful acquisitions of Cardinal Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries George Mason Mortgage, LLC and Cardinal Wealth Services, Inc. (2017); Bank of Georgetown (2016); and Virginia Commerce Bank (2014).

Draber previously served as a senior vice president of treasury and corporate finance. In this role, he managed the capital adequacy and regulatory risk of United Bankshares, Inc., serving on the Asset Liability Committee (ALCO) and stress test development team. He oversaw the mergers and acquisitions analysis and supervised commercial loan pricing and term sheet structuring within United Bank. Prior to that, Draber held several positions in treasury and credit administration.

Draber is a CFA® charterholder and a 2017 Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree. He graduated from Washington and Lee University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration.

Mr. Small is the founder and president of Renaissance Centro as well as the former Renaissance Housing Corp., one of Washington, DC’s most highly recognized developers and home builders. Renaissance Housing Corp. received the coveted America’s Best Builder Award from the National Association of Home Builders and Builder Magazine, and earned recognition as Builder of the Year, as well as over 30 other industry awards.

During his more than 20 years at Renaissance Housing Corp., the firm achieved sales revenue in excess of $2 billion on over 3,500 homes and lots. In 2005, Renaissance Housing Corp. was sold to WCI Communities, and Mr. Small turned his attention to the larger scale commercial projects that Renaissance Centro has been undertaking.

Mr. Small has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Tulane University and a master’s degree in real estate and urban development from American University. He is a director of United Bank Corporation, a director of Griffin Land & Nurseries, and is active in YPO, civic boards and philanthropic organizations.

Mr. Womack is responsible for leasing Tishman Speyer’s suburban Washington, DC, portfolio. He has over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry. Prior to joining Tishman Speyer in 2007, Mr. Womack was a senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle, Spaulding & Slye, and Grubb & Ellis. His former clients include Archon Group, MetLife, AEW Capital Management, The Peterson Companies and Brandywine Realty Trust. He is on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Northern Virginia chapter of NAIOP and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Rosslyn Business Improvement District. Mr. Womack graduated from Texas A&M with a BA in business administration.

Mr. Otteni holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia and

a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Real Estate from the Kenan-

Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. He joined Boston Properties

in 2000 upon his graduation from KFBS, and has since taken on increasingly complex

roles in the development of the company’s projects. As a Senior Vice President in the

Development department in Washington, DC, Pete has direct responsibility for all aspects

of development, acquisition and disposition projects throughout the greater DC region,

including acquisition/land acquisition, financing, entitlement, design, construction, and

leasing. Since joining Boston Properties, Mr. Otteni has managed or been directly

involved with over 4.5 million square feet of completed or in process development.

Mr. Trimmer has over 15 years of experience overseeing mixed-use and build-to-suit office development. He oversees several large scale redevelopment projects in Montgomery and Fairfax Counties, and GSA build-to-suit commercial buildings. He served as Project Executive for the delivery of a 575,000 SF build-to-suit for a new research campus for The National Cancer Institute, the 935,000 SF renovation of the Parklawn Building for Health and Human Services, and the development of a new 491,000 SF headquarters for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Prior to joining The JBG Companies in 2007, Mr. Trimmer was a Development Executive at Clark Realty Capital and had a previous tenure with JBG as an Associate. He is a member of ULI, NAIOP, the DC Real Estate Group, and is an accredited member of the Congress for New Urbanism. He is currently serving on the Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force and the Phase 2 Dulles Rail Transportation Improvement Advisory Board. In the community, he is a board member of The Non-Profit Village, on the Special Gifts Committee for the Arlington Free Clinic, and on the Golf for Babies Committee for the March of Dimes. B.S. in Civil Engineering, The University of Virginia; M.B.A., Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

A native of Fairfax County, Lynne has been with WCL&W since graduating from law school in 1988. She is experienced in all phases of the land use and development process in Fairfax County and surrounding jurisdictions including Fairfax City, Falls Church, and the Towns of Vienna and Herndon. Lynne specializes in land use and zoning issues for commercial, residential, and mixed-use development and has extensive experience with special permit, special exception, and variance applications. Over the years, Lynne has developed an extensive practice representing non-profits, including numerous places of worship and schools