An Alexandria native and Falls Church resident, Andrew has cultivated a unique set of skills, knowledge, relationships, and expertise in

the transactional aspects of real estate law. He has represented clients in 16 Virginia localities, from Arlington County to Winchester, and

specializesin securing zoning approvals and providing counselto residential,commercial, and industrial developers and landowners, advises

clients on all aspects of the land entitlement process and real estate matters, and frequently appears before planning commissions, town

and city councils,county boards of supervisors, localcitizen groups, boards of architecturalreview, and civic and homeowners associations.

Prior to joining The Land Lawyers in 2007, Andrew worked for two members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the County

Administrator of Caroline County, Virginia, and former Virginia Governor (now U.S. Senator) Mark Warner. In 2004, Andrew worked

for McGuireWoods Consulting, identifying business expansion opportunities and conducting comprehensive studies for public safety,

education, and transportation construction companies across thecommonwealth.

Andrew is an adjunct professor and teaches classes in political science, urban history, historic preservation, and city and regional planning

at the University of Richmond and the University of Mary Washington. He also leads courses for public and private civil engineers on the

land use entitlement process at the Engineers & Surveyors Institute to improve the quality of their plans and the process by which they are

approved.Having studiedNorthern Virginia’s geography and chronicled itsland development history, Andrew’sextensive knowledge of the

region has played a significant role in assisting clients and navigating issues related to development patterns, transportation concerns, and

environmentalchallenges in multiplejurisdictions.

Taylor O. Chess is Senior Manager Director, Development for Peterson Companies and serves on the Company’s Investment Committee. Taylor has developed retail projects valued over $250 million. He is a visionary, known for spotting acquisition opportunities, imagining the possibilities, divesting of property, acquiring land, and building joint ventures.

Taylor has been instrumental in leading the company’s expansion into new ventures and development and looks at all disciplines of real estate to find the best use based on market conditions and social and economic changes.

Prior to Peterson Companies Taylor was Senior Vice President, Investments at Regency Centers where he established the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast offices. During his eight years, he developed 11 centers valued at approximately $660 million and assisted in the acquisition of 140 centers.

Taylor studied at California State University, Northridge. He serves on numerous philanthropic boards and committees including Joe Gibb’s Youth For Tomorrow, Fairfax County Sports Tourism Tax Force and mentors real estate students through ULI’s mentoring programs. He was recently appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin as a member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of directors to help establish policy and provide direction to management for the operation of Dulles International and Reagan National Airports and the Dulles Toll Road. He served as ICSC’s State Director of Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia and has been a guest speaker for the GWU Real Estate Program.

FUN FACT: While studying in California Taylor tried his hand at Hollywood and landed roles in popular television shows and movies like Dynasty, Matlock, Solid Gold and Space Balls to name a few.

FAVORITE PROJECT: Creating new development opportunities. Once he’s achieved a goal, he looks forward to the next big thing.

Buddy Rizer serves as the Executive Director for economic development in Loudoun County, Virginia,

which was named the 2021 Economic Development Organization of the Year by the International

Economic Development Council. He leads the agency responsible for encouraging growth and

developing relationships with Loudoun’s business community in both the commercial and agricultural-

based business sectors. During his tenure, Rizer and his team have attracted more than $65 billion in

new commercial investment and more than 60 thousand new jobs. During this time, the growth in the

commercial based has helped lower the tax rate in Loudoun by more than 48 cents on the dollar, saving

residents thousands of dollars annually on their tax bill.

Mr. Rizer has been named a Tech Titan eight times by Washingtonian Magazine (2017 – 2024), one of

the 50 most influential Virginians six times by Virginia Business Magazine (2018 – 2023), a five-time

member of Virginia’s Power 500 (2020 – 2024), and three times named to the Washington Business

Journal’s Power 100 as one of the most influential businesspeople in Washington, DC (2020, 2022,

2023). In 2024, he was named as one of the 50 most influential people in Northern Virginia by Northern

Virginia Magazine.

Mr. Rizer is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), a certified Entrepreneurship Development

Professional (EDP), has a master’s in business administration/economics from Longwood University and

is a graduate of Virginia Tech's Local Government Management Graduate Program.

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.

Devin oversees acquisitions in five Northeast markets of the U.S. and is responsible for identifying, evaluating and structuring profitable retail development opportunities throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region.

Devin joined Regency as Vice President in 2010. He has more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate development, shopping center sales, and tenant and landlord representation within the Mid-Atlantic market.

Previously, Devin served as principal at KLNB Retail, a leading commercial brokerage and management company in the Washington-Baltimore area for about 15 years. He served as a representative for many national and regional companies in their retail real estate needs to include leasing, sales, development and new store openings.

Devin earned a Bachelor of Science in finance and business economics from the University of Southern California. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two children as well as skiing, golfing and coaching youth soccer. He is treasurer of the Arlington Soccer Association, a nonprofit youth soccer organization serving more than 6,900 kids in the Arlington, VA area. In addition, he is also on the board of New Community for Children, a Washington, DC inner-city nonprofit, which provides youth with learning experiences that build their academic, social and creative skills.