Atlanta's Millennial Revolution

Amanda Rhein is Senior Director of Transit Oriented Development and Real Estate at MARTA, the nation’s ninth largest transit system which includes heavy rail, bus and paratransit services. She oversees the Office of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and Real Estate, whose vision is to create transit oriented communities that connect people to opportunities, drive sustainable community development and promote regional prosperity. Ms. Rhein previously served as Interim Managing Director of Redevelopment at Invest Atlanta, Atlanta’s Development Authority and the economic development agency for the city of Atlanta. She oversaw the team responsible for managing and marketing the City’s primary economic development tools, tax allocation districts (TADs) and New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs). While at Invest Atlanta Ms. Rhein doubled the number of TADs and funded over 30 projects which resulted in the investment of $3.5 billion in Atlanta’s most underserved communities. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Ms. Rhein graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2002. She earned a Master of City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2004. Ms. Rhein is a regular guest lecturer at the School of City and Regional Planning and has presented at numerous national and local conferences on TOD and economic development and in 2015 gave a TED talk at the TEDxAtlanta Conference. She has also authored articles in Urban Land Magazine, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and contributed to several best practice case studies for the Council of Development Finance Agencies. Ms. Rhein is active in the Urban Land Institute at both the local and national level. Ms. Rhein is a member of the national Transit Orineted Development Council, a group of 50 national industry experts. Locally, she is active on the Livable Communities Council, a facilitator for the UrbanPlan program and a member of the Atlanta District Council Advisory Board. During her tenure as the inaugural co-chair of the ULI Atlanta Center for Leadership she designed and implemented an innovative leadership program for real estate professionals which now serves as a national model. Ms. Rhein served on the Board of Directors Dad’s Garage Theater Company from 2010 to 2015. She is presently a member of the board of Directors of Rebuilding Together Atlanta and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Atlanta Preservation Center for which she also serves as a Downtown tour guide. She is a member of the Outstanding Atlanta Class of 2011 and the 2006 class of Leadership Atlanta’s LEAD Atlanta program, which she co-chaired from 2008 to 2009 and co-chaired the inaugural Alumni Steering Committee. Ms. Rhein was named one of Atlanta’s 40 Power Women in Real Estate and the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Commercial Real Estate Who’s Who. In 2015, Ms. Rhein recieved the Longleaf Award from the Georgia Conservancy’s Generation Green for her work to promote and implement sustainable growth and multi-modal transportation options in Atlanta.

Alysha is a Senior Associate in Cooper Carry’s Mixed-Use and Residential studios. After receiving her Masters degree in Architecture from Georgia Tech, Alysha founded a design firm in Atlanta, specializing in single family residences and renovation/ adaptive re-use of historic structures. Since joining Cooper Carry in 2010, Alysha has gained expertise in a variety of project types, including master plans, high-rise apartments, and mixed use environments. Alysha is a member of several organizations, including the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU), and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. She is also involved with the Atlanta chapter of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), as a member of the Young Leaders Committee and the Womens Leadership Initiative. She is registered to practice architecture in the state of Georgia.

MARK TORO founded Atlanta-based Toro Development Company in 2021 to create value by building community. As Chief Vision Officer, Toro will use a metric-driven approach to identify properties that have significant potential based on the promise of the locale. He and his team have multi-dimensional experience, positioning Toro Development Company to choose the right use or mix of uses for each redevelopment. Prior to starting Toro Development Company, Toro cofounded and led the North American Properties (NAP) Atlanta office where he oversaw $3.1 billion in real estate development, totaling 9.4 million square feet. He delivered industry-leading returns to his capital partners, became known nationally as a leader in experience-driven commercial real estate and left a legacy of great communities. His successes at NAP include the repositioning of Atlantic Station, development of Alpharetta’s $1 billion Avalon and the redevelopment of Colony Square. Toro currently serves on ICSC’s Board of Trustees, Midtown Alliance’s Board of Directors and serves as vice chair of the City of Refuge Board, where he chaired the $25 million “Shining the Light” capital campaign. He also serves on the Board of Directors of The ATL, a State authority that governs the expansion of public transportation in Metro Atlanta. Before cofounding NAP’s Atlanta office in 1996, Toro served in several leadership positions with Faison and Cousins Properties. He has developed, redeveloped or repositioned more than 70 properties totaling almost 30 million square feet during his career. He attended Rutgers University, where he met his wife, Nancy.

George is a twenty–year retail real estate veteran and a graduate of the University of Virginia. With an extensive food + beverage and entertainment background, he has been involved as a principal and consultant in the development and operation of a number of notable destination retail projects in his career, including the Atlanta Dairies and award–winning Krog Street Market.