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  Samir Abdullahi

  Samir Abdullahi is the Deputy Director of Economic Development for Select Fulton, Fulton County’s economic development initiative. His role is focused on promoting and attracting commerce and industry to Fulton County through strategic partnerships, marketing and preparing incentive packages for developers and businesses. He also works with Fulton County’s leadership to ensure the community continues to be a business friendly place. Prior to his current role, he was the Economic Development Manager of the City of Alpharetta where he worked to brand the city as technology hub, establish a city driven tech incubator formally known as the Alpharetta Technology Commission and led the recruitment of large global and regional headquarter relocations like Fiserv Solutions and Halyard Health. He also previously worked for Partnership Gwinnett, Gwinnett County’s public-private economic development initiative. A graduate of the University of Georgia, Samir holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations. He also holds a master’s in Public Policy from Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies where he frequently lectures.

  Select Fulton

  Deputy Director, Economic Development

  Opening Remarks

  Samir Abdullahi

  Deputy Director, Economic Development

  Select Fulton

Six City Highlight--What's Going on in the Burbs?

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  Chris Scott

  Chris manages marketing and leasing for Greenstone, including asset management services. He also oversees new corporate acquisitions and dispositions. Prior to joining Greenstone, Chris Scott focused on office tenant representation, with both CRESA Partners and Trammell Crow. Earlier in his career, he worked for Staubach Retail Services focusing on retail tenant representation. Chris received a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Georgia.​

  Greenstone Properties

  Partner

  Parkway 400

  Chris Scott

  Partner

  Greenstone Properties

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  Alan Kennedy

  Alan Kennedy is a Managing Director at Hines and is responsible for securing and managing various real estate projects in the Southeast Region of the United States. Since joining Hines in 2005, he has been involved in the development, management and leasing of over 4.5 million SF of office, retail and multifamily projects and has led the master planning of over 7.5 million SF of mixed-use projects. Most recently in North Fulton, Mr. Kennedy is the development manager for 8000 Avalon (a 230,000 SF office building that delivered in 2017) and 10000 Avalon (a 250,000 SF office building that is currently under construction). Mr. Kennedy has a mechanical engineering degree from Georgia Tech and a MBA from Emory University.

  Hines

  Managing Director

  10,000 Avalon

  Alan Kennedy

  Managing Director

  Hines

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  Taylor Smith

  Taylor joined Rubenstein Partners in 2015. As Regional Director of the Southeast, he is responsible for the firm’s investment and asset management activities in the region with a focus on Atlanta and Florida. Prior to Rubenstein Partners, Taylor worked at Tishman Speyer, HFF and Deutsche Bank Securities. He graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in History. Taylor is a member of PREA, ULI and Real Estate Group of Georgia.

  Rubenstein Partners

  Southeast Regional Director

  Sanctuary Park

  Taylor Smith

  Southeast Regional Director

  Rubenstein Partners

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  Christine Gorham

  CHRISTINE GORHAM is the Director of Development for Caddis®. Caddis is a national development, investment and management firm focused exclusively on healthcare and seniors housing properties that started as a physician group and culturally remains extremely provider-centric. Christine oversees business development and executive project strategy in the Southeast. Her focus is on growing Caddis’ development, acquisition and property management portfolios. Christine brings with her a wealth of experience having spent 29 years in medical operations, with over 18 of those years focused in the healthcare real estate sector. She was CEO and Partner of Eastwood Real Estate Services, LLC, National Director of Asset Management for SRS Investments, LLC and spent a decade at Northside Hospital System in Atlanta, making her a uniquely qualified healthcare real estate professional. Christine serves as the Chair of CREW Network Foundation, is a Director on the Board for the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors and is the Chair for their Diversity Committee’s Mentor Program. She is on the Advisory Council for the Atlanta Women’s Foundation and is the Co-Chair of Membership for the Young Men’s Service League where she volunteers with one of her sons. She served as a Director on the international CREW Network Board and is a past President of CREW Atlanta. She was honored with the 2015 Shining Light Award by CREW Atlanta, was named one of Atlanta’s Top 40 Most Powerful Women in Commercial Real Estate by BISNOW and Top 100 Influential Leaders in Commercial Real Estate by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Christine holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Slippery Rock University and is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designee. She resides in Atlanta and enjoys traveling, boating and sports (especially her son’s baseball and Clemson football) with her husband. Together they love time spent with their three sons, extended family and friends.

  CADDIS Healthcare Real Estate

  Director

  Healthcare Real Estate

  Christine Gorham

  Director

  CADDIS Healthcare Real Estate

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  Brandon Beach

  Brandon Beach was named Executive Director of the North Fulton Community Improvement District (CID) in January 2018. Previously, he was President of the North Fulton CID and President & CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. Under his leadership, the North Fulton CID has invested more than $20 million to help bring more than $100 million in new infrastructure for the District area. Beach was also elected to the State Senate in 2013. He represents District 21 which includes portions of Cherokee and Fulton counties. Senator Beach is the Chairman of the Transportation Committee. He is also a member of the Economic Development, Higher Education and Science and Technology committees. Senator Beach served as the Chairman of the Public Private Partnership Committee (P3 Committee). Under his leadership, the P3 Committee was able to acquire key local transportation projects approved for Cherokee and North Fulton. In 2001, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Sen. Beach to the board of Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA). In 2008, he was selected to chair one of GRTA’s most important committees — The Land Development Committee. In this role, Sen. Beach is responsible for leading a review of every significant development brought before the 16-county area that GRTA serves. Sen. Beach was elected to the Board of the GDOT by state legislators from the 6th Congressional District in 2008. Senator Beach is a member of numerous community boards including the Regional Business Coalition, Grady Hospital Board of Visitors, the Greater Metro Atlanta American Heart Association, the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Encore Park and the Historic Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau. Senator Beach received an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University and a Masters in Business Administration degree from Centenary College. He is also a graduate of the Regional Leadership Institute and a former member of the Alpharetta City Council and the Alpharetta Planning and Zoning Commission. He and his wife, Shuntel, have two children and have lived in Alpharetta for the past 24 years.

  North Fulton CID

  Executive Director

  Moderator

  Brandon Beach

  Executive Director

  North Fulton CID

Live, Work, Play in North Fulton County

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  Kerry Armstrong

  Joining the Pope & Land Team in July 2012, Mr. Armstrong is primarily involved in the development, marketing, leasing and management of commercial real estate. He is the current Chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency for the 10-county area including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties, as well as the City of Atlanta. Prior to joining Pope & Land, Mr. Armstrong, as a senior vice president, worked with Duke Realty Corporation for nearly 22 years where he played a leadership role in building Duke Realty’s Atlanta Office portfolio from about 460,000 SF in 1990 to more than 4.5 million SF through development and acquisition. Mr. Armstrong holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. He is a member of several key organizations in the commercial real estate industry, including the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, CoreNet and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

  Pope & Land

  Managing Director – Development Partner

  Northwinds Summit

  Kerry Armstrong

  Managing Director – Development Partner

  Pope & Land

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  Jeff Fuqua

  Jeffrey S. Fuqua is the founder of Fuqua Development, LP. He was previously Board Member, Partner & President of The Sembler Company. In his nearly 25-year tenure there, Fuqua developed in excess of 14 million square feet in over 80 projects valued at $4 billion. During Jeff's tenure with Sembler, The Atlanta Business Chronicle named The Sembler Company Top Developer for eleven consecutive years since 2000. Major real estate projects include The Prado, Town Brookhaven, Edgewood Retail District, Lindbergh Plaza, Perimeter Place, Lenox Marketplace in Atlanta. In Florida, Fuqua developed Legacy in Palm Beach Gardens, and Boynton Beach Town Center.

  Fuqua Development

  Founding Principal

  360 Tech Village

  Jeff Fuqua

  Founding Principal

  Fuqua Development

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  Jerome Hagley

  As an executive vice president, Jerome focuses on complex urban mixed-use, multi-family developments to expand and strengthen Carter’s business. Jerome joined Carter in 2014 with more than two decades of diverse real estate industry experience. He has a unique understanding of all aspects of real estate from due diligence and structuring/financing through deal execution, as well as overall oversight and management of the design and construction process. Prior to joining Carter, he spent 22 years in various roles at The Dawson Company, including his most recent role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. During his time there, Jerome was the key development principal of over $1 billion of development in multi-family, office, retail and mixed-use real estate assets totaling over 3,000 residential units and 2 million square feet of commercial mixed- use development. Jerome has extensive expertise in property and facilities management, development, operations, advisory, capital markets/finance, marketing, leasing and sales, and public/private partnerships.

  Carter

  Executive Vice President

  Sandy Springs City Center

  Jerome Hagley

  Executive Vice President

  Carter

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  Chad DuBeau

  Chad DuBeau is the Senior Managing Director of Mill Creek's development efforts in the North Florida and Atlanta, where he is responsible for pursuing new development opportunities, product design, and the pursuit of entitlements to meet all local jurisdictional requirements. Prior to this position, Chad served as Managing Director in Mill Creek's Mid-Atlantic region where he notably had oversight of the 703-unit apartment community, Avenir Place, at the Dunn Loring Metro Station in Merrifield, Virginia. Prior to joining Mill Creek, Chad was a Managing Director with Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) and was with the company from 2004 through 2010. Prior to joining TCR, Mr. DuBeau was a Regional Operations Manager/Team Leader with the Bozzuto Group, a role in which he was active throughout the Mid-Atlantic region with a concentration on the Washington, DC and Baltimore markets.  At Bozzuto, he was responsible for all phases of development for multiple product categories, including multifamily homes, town homes and single-family homes, and land development projects.  Prior to Bozzuto, he worked as a Project Manager for Milestone Communities and as Project Engineer for VIKA, Inc. Chad obtained a BS from University of Delaware in Civil and Environmental Engineering and an MBA from the George Washington University.

  Mill Creek Residential

  Senior Managing Director

  Modera Sandy Springs

  Chad DuBeau

  Senior Managing Director

  Mill Creek Residential

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  Bethany Usry

  Bethany is the Vice President, Economic and Talent Development for the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (GNFCC). After joining the GNFCC staff as Project Manager in 2013, Bethany quickly rose to her current position as the leader of GNFCC's economic and talent development team. A proud alumnus of the Regional Leadership Institute and Leadership North Fulton, she currently serves as Vice Chairman for the Innovation Crescent Regional Partnership and on the Board of the Fulton County Workforce Innovation Act. In addition, Bethany is a Member of the Prosperous Sub-Committee for the Atlanta Regional Commission Strategic Implementation Plan and the CATLYST Steering Committee. She is also the current Chair of the United Way North Fulton Campaign Cabinet. In 2017, Bethany was selected as "40 Under 40" by Georgia Trend, a distinguished honor meant to recognize the state's best and brightest in business, government, politics, nonprofits, science, healthcare and education. After obtaining a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from Samford University, Bethany refined her sales and marketing skills for highly-respected companies such as Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and Details Communications before relocating from Birmingham, AL to Alpharetta with her husband in 2010. A proud native of Knoxville, TN, Bethany can be found on most Saturdays in the fall passionately rooting for her University of Tennessee Volunteers. Her other interests include couponing, weight training and Zumba. Bethany has served as a Community Group Leader and is active in the MoneyWise program at North Point Community Church, where she serves as a Mentor to individuals seeking guidance with personal financial matters.

  The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce

  VP, Economic and Talent Development

  Moderator

  Bethany Usry

  VP, Economic and Talent Development

  The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce