DC, Maryland & Virginia's Hottest Corridors

County Executive, Prince George's County, since December 6, 2010. Board of Visitors, R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland Medical System, 2010-. Born in Valdosta, Georgia, October 24, 1958. Howard University, B.A. (history), 1982; Howard University Law School, J.D., 1986. Attorney. Admitted to Maryland Bar. Captain, U.S. Army Reserves Judge Advocate General Corps, 1987-2001. Senior Congressional Black Caucus Fellow, office of U.S. Senator John Kerry, 1986-87. Contract complaints officer, Department of Housing and Community Development, District of Columbia, 1987-89. Legal Counsel and Special Assistant, Peoples Involvement Corporation, a nonprofit community development and social services organization, 1989-99. Senior Partner, Baker & Perry, LLP, 1998-2002. Former executive director, Community Teachers Institute, Lanham. Member, American Bar Association; J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association. Board of Directors, Leadership Maryland, Inc., 1999-. Delegate, Democratic Party National Convention, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016. Board of Directors, American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, 2002-04. Member, Legislative Committee, Maryland Association of Counties, 2011-. President, County Executives of America, 2014-. Chair, Legislative Committee, Gladys Noon Spellman Parent Teacher Association. Member, Maryland Chapter, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; Howard University Alumni Association. Mots Innovative Executive of the Year for Minority Business, Maryland-Washington Minority Contractors' Association, 2012. National Leadership Award in Public Service, National Forum for Black Public Administrators, 2012. Phyllis Campbell Newsome Public Policy Leadership Award, Center for Nonprofit Advancement, 2012. Outstanding Service Award, University of Maryland College Park Foundation, 2013. Public Officials of the Year, Governing magazine, 2015. Married; three children.

In November 2006, Isiah Leggett was elected to a four-year term as Montgomery County Executive. He is the first African American to be elected to this public office. In November 2014 he was reelected by County voters, with winning over 65% of the ballots cast in each election. Isiah Leggett was the first African American to be elected to the County Council. Ike Leggett served four terms as an At-Large Member (1986 – 2002). He also served as the Council's President three times (1991, 1998, 1999) and as its Vice-President three times (1990, 1997 and 2002). As a Council Member he also chaired the Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee and served on the Education Committee. His other political service includes chairing the Maryland Democratic Party from December 2002 – December 2004, which involved working with local officials throughout the State of Maryland. Leggett was elected as president of the Maryland Association of Counties in January 2015. He holds four higher education degrees: Bachelor of Arts from Southern University, a Master of Arts degree and a Juris Doctorate degree from Howard University, and a Master of Laws from George Washington University. Ike Leggett graduated from Southern University in 1967 as a Distinguished Military Graduate. In 1981 he was selected as the Southern University Outstanding Alumni. He finished first in his class from Howard University Law School, graduating Magna Cum Laude. At the time of his Howard Law School graduation, he held the third highest academic average in the law school's history. In 1985 Leggett received the Outstanding Alumni Award from Howard University Law School. In earlier leadership experience he served as an infantry Captain in the United States Army. His tour of duty in the Vietnam War earned him the Bronze Star Medal, the Vietnam Service, and Vietnam Campaign Medals. As an administrative aide he specialized in small business concerns for Congressman Parren Mitchell of Maryland's 7th Congressional District. He also worked as a Social Security Administration claims examiner and as a staff attorney for the Department of the Navy. In 1977 Ike Leggett was selected as a White House Fellow, one of a small number of citizens selected from across the country for their exemplary civic, professional and educational achievement. This program assigns the Fellows as staff members to the President of the United States and Members of the Cabinet. After his term as a Fellow, the Board of Directors of the White House Fellows Foundation elected Leggett as its Treasurer. He served as a Professor of Law at the Howard University Law School from 1975 - 2006. He ran the day-to-day operations of the Law School as its Assistant Dean from 1979 – 1986. Ike Leggett lives in Burtonsville with his wife, Catherine, who is Vice President for Human Resources of the International City Management Association; ICMA is a non-profit company that assists retired public service employees with financial matters. His daughter, Yaminah, a bio-medical researcher, and her family live in Silver Spring. Ike is a member of the Resurrection Baptist Church of Olney.

Rick Hausler is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Insight. He focuses on new business opportunities, acquisitions, land-use activities, development and debt and equity relationships. After a successful and productive 23 year career with Kettler Inc. where Rick served as President of the Company, Rick co-founded Insight in 2009 with Insight President Mike Blum. At Kettler, Rick was primarily responsible for the acquisition and development of apartment properties totaling approximately 9,000 units. As co-owner and partner with Robert Kettler, Rick was also instrumental in leading their company’s emergence as one of the area’s premier development and management companies. Under Rick’s leadership, Kettler developed numerous award-winning planned communities, residential, commercial and mixed-use projects throughout the DC area. Rick joined Kettler in 1986 and oversaw the company land and multifamily acquisitions, planning and development. He established new ventures and coordinated projects with government and regulatory agencies, local citizens and community leaders from inception through completion. In addition to apartment acquisition and development, Kettler projects included transit-oriented high-rise multifamily/mixed-use projects throughout the DC area; as well as major planned community and multifamily developments in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. These projects include planned residential and mixed-use developments totaling approximately 50,000 residential lots and 3,000,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. Rick, a native of Fairfax, has served as a member of the Virginia Housing Study Commission Subcommittee on preservation of affordable housing. Rick has presented trade seminars in Land Development, Community Revitalization, Affordable Housing and Real Estate Finance. Rick has also been an Urban Land Institute panelist on transit-oriented development, town centers in master planned communities, and downtown revitalization; and has assisted in planning repatriation housing in Russia. Prior to Kettler, Rick was a partner with the leading DC area land use and zoning law firm, Hazel, Beckhorn and Hanes, and served as Assistant United States Attorney, with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mr. Roberts is leading several Jair Lynch teams in the full range of development activities, including acquisitions, project visioning, entitlements, design, commercial leasing (both office and retail), securing debt and equity, construction and disposition. Mr. Roberts has 16 years of real estate experience and has acquired and entitled over 5.5 million square feet of commercial and multifamily mixed-use properties, totaling $1.2 Billion in value. Mr. Roberts has delivered over 1,400 multifamily homes, negotiated 150,000 square feet of office and retail leases and delivered 150,000 square feet of commercial space in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Maryland, as well as Alameda and San Francisco, California. Previously, Mr. Roberts was a Vice President at The JBG Companies where he entitled and developed two 30-acre mixed-use properties adjacent to WMATA transit stations. He successfully negotiated WMATA development and infrastructure agreements, jurisdictional annexations and entitled 3 million square feet. Earlier in his career, Mr. Roberts worked at Catellus Development in San Francisco, where he led the private redevelopment of a decommissioned military base, including negotiating development, infrastructure and environmental remediation agreements with the US Navy and City of Alameda. Mr. Roberts has held management positions in the infrastructure finance and renewable energy industries.

Eric D. Shaw was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to serve as Director of the DC Office of Planning January 2015. As director he manages a staff of 75 who are responsible for neighborhood and systems planning, urban design strategies, data and mapping, historic preservation and development review. Shaw also represents the Mayor on a number of federal and regional planning bodies. He is a strong proponent of equitable development, innovative community engagement and community led implementation of plans. Before joining the Bowser administration, Eric was the Director of Community and Economic Development for Salt Lake City where he was the lead city official on placed based and development policy. He managed a number of high profile projects including a new citywide engagement program, the restructuring of the small business loan program, and updates to nine city plans including the city’s general plan. He was a leader in planning efforts in post Katrina Louisiana as the Director of Community Planning for the Louisiana Recovery Authority and Vice President of Programs and Policy for Foundation for Louisiana. As Director of Community Planning, Shaw provided direct technical assistance to local leaders and managed the $10 million Comprehensive Resilience Pilot Program. At Foundation for Louisiana, he edited the nationally recognized Citizens’ Guide to Land Use, and Citizens’ Guide to Urban Design that trained residents on the principles of land use and urban design. Eric has also worked in the public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors in Silicon Valley and Miami. Shaw earned a Bachelors of Arts in International Development and Policy Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master’s degree in urban planning from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

A co-founding principal of Somerset Development Company, Ms. Hooff leads the company by overseeing the real estate development portfolio in pre-development and design, construction administration, asset management and resident services. She formerly co-chaired CNHED’s Resident Services Working Group, working with like-minded affordable housing developers and community groups to strengthen resident programs in the Washington DC area. Prior to starting Somerset, Ms. Hooff worked in the field of development economics, housing and community development, municipal finance and local government in the international arena for 15 years as a Foreign Service Officer and contractor with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Ms. Hooff managed USAID’s programs in local government, democracy, urban development and housing for Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union. This work included overseeing housing guarantee funds and the development of municipal finance systems. She also served in Mauritania, Tunisia, Guatemala, and provided technical and program support services to other countries of Central America. Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Hooff was founder and principal of a business consulting firm in West Africa. She has a Master’s Degree, with a specialization in international development economics, from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

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.

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.