Racial Equality: Diversity & Mentorship In CRE

Graham helps clients obtain government entitlements and solve problems with units of local government. With a focus on the city of Chicago and Cook County, he helps secure necessary approvals for land developments in the Chicago metropolitan area. A consensus builder and negotiator, he maintains excellent relations with community organizations, local elected officials and other stakeholders. Graham provides legal counsel for compliance, regulatory, public policy and encompasses zoning, land use, building code compliance, licensing, construction agreements, government contracts, procurement and legislative approvals. In the land use area, his experience includes securing all types of land use entitlements through planned developments, zoning map amendments, special uses, variations, text amendments and public way approvals. He represents property owners, real estate developers and every classification of real estate including retail, residential, commercial, industrial and myriad specialized land uses. He regularly represents clients before the Department of Buildings and the Fire Department. In addition, he has obtained approvals through boards and commissions, including the: • Building Board of Appeals • Chicago Plan Commission • Committee on Standards and Tests • Chicago Plan Commission • Committee on Zoning • Chicago City Council • Commission on Chicago Landmarks • Community Development Commission • Zoning Board of Appeals Graham also serves as legal counsel to one of the five annuity and benefit funds of the City of Chicago, advising in a broad range of areas including compliance with the Illinois Pension Code, investment management agreements, open meetings and freedom of information act compliance and the fiduciary obligations of the trustees of the pension fund.

Kimberly Dowdell is a licensed architect and frequent speaker on the topic of architecture, diversity,sustainability and the future of cities. In her current role as the 2019-2020 national president of theNational Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), she is working closely with her board of directorsand staff to increase opportunities for women and people of color to gain more equitable access to thebuilding profession. Kimberly’s career aspirations are rooted in her upbringing in Detroit whereshe wasinitially driven to utilizearchitecture as a tool to revitalize cities. She earned her Bachelor of Architectureat Cornell University and her Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. Her professionalexperience has spanned from architecture to government and teaching to real estate development.Kimberly is currently a Principal in the Chicago studio of HOK, a global design firm. She is a LEEDaccredited professional, a co-founder of the SEED Network and an AIA 2020 Young Architect of the Yearawardee.Kimberly’s overarching mission is to improve the quality of life for people living in cities

Damona is an experienced real estate development project manager responsible for over 4 million square feet of building projects valued at over $1.2 billion for mixed-use, commercial office, retail & entertainment, multifamily residential, and higher education uses. Her involvement has included all phases: planning & due diligence, budget & schedule development, benchmarking & programming, entitlements & approvals, design, documentation, value engineering, permitting, utility coordination, construction, tenant coordination, FF&E and occupancy. Damona has served as consulting project manager on build-to-suit projects. She is a strong manager, able to successfully assemble and lead a project team and deliver on-time, on-budget, with the utmost quality and the client's complete satisfaction. Prior to joining JLL, Damona served as Vice President of Development at Boston Properties where her responsibilities included leading development projects for the firm’s commercial office portfolio and for corporate office and higher education clients. Project requirements included both new, ground up development and interior fit out. Before that, Damona served as Project Director of Design & Construction at The Peterson Companies. Her responsibilities included leading a mixed-use, retail, entertainment district development in a public-private partnership. Damona is a licensed Architect in the state of Illinois and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Architecture, and BS Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a LEED accredited professional.

Hard work and discipline are not unfamiliar to Nosa. Born in Nigeria, and moving here at the age of 6, he watched his dad create a life for him and his family with not much. It was during his childhood that Nosa realized, early, nothing was going to come easy and that he would have to work for the life that he wanted – just as his father did. Nosa’s father first stepped on American soil in 1988. He started his career in the United States as a cab driver, and worked hard to break through into Real Estate to progress his aspirations. Nosa recognized this effort, took heed from his father to work for something greater than yourself. In his early years, Nosa served as a laborer working several on residential properties in the city of Chicago, gaining a life-long passion for construction and a focused work ethic. Nosa was an All-American athlete beginning from 6th grade to his time in college. As an All-State and All-American athlete, Nosa committed time to his athletic talents for competition events. That same level of commitment easily transferred to his pursuits in Construction. Currently, Nosa still holds multiple school records in track and field. His successes on the track resulted in him being nationally recruited by top ranking colleges. Nosa accepted a full athletic scholarship to The Ohio State University where he was later deemed a Big Ten Champion and an Olympic qualifier in the triple jump. At The Ohio State University, Nosa decided to focus his educational pursuit in Construction Systems Management with a minor in City and Regional Planning in the Knowlton School of Architecture. Upon graduating, Nosa accepted a full-time position working at Gilbane Building Company where he quickly worked his way up the professional ladder. He then advanced his education receiving a Master of Business Administration from Purdue University. Nosa soared above his peers by becoming a Project Managers at the corporation. Because of Nosa’s high-powered drive and motivation, he became one of the youngest Project Managers at the company. After serving 10 years at Gilbane Building Company, Nosa decided to forge his own path in the construction industry by starting Bowa Construction, a Division of The Bowa Group. A deeper understanding of his family’s history in construction was the inspiration for the mission of Bowa Construction, a division of The Bowa Group. The mission, “Creating Tomorrows Diverse Future One Building At A Time”, is his commitment to providing opportunities that impact the future the way his great ancestors did over 500 years ago. Throughout his career, Nosa has managed multi-million dollar projects in K-12 Education, Mission Critical, Higher Education, Retail, Healthcare, High-End Residential, and Financial Institutions. It is with that knowledge and experience that Nosa has been able to lead Bowa in having 300% growth over past three years, being the only minority General Contractor to complete a concession renovation project at O’Hare International Airport, and landing such iconic projects as the UC Medicine South Side trauma center and interior renovations for the Alpha Kappa Alpha National headquarters office. Nosa’s passion, drive, and leadership will secure Bowa’s success and long-lasting impact in the industry.

Bob started Clayco with the goal of finding new, better ways to do business, and hasn’t looked back since. Over the past 35+ years, Bob has grown Clayco into one of the top full-service building firms in North America while building Clayco’s commitment to the communities in which they work and becoming a national civic and business leader. Bob has established and nurtured a culture of innovation, collaboration and a can-do attitude that continues to make Clayco the best option for clients, and one of the best places to work in the country.