The Future of The Woodlands and Conroe

As founder and principal of The Signorelli Company, Danny Signorelli has more than 20 years of executive management experience in all facets of real estate development including: acquisitions, finance, residential and commercial development, leasing, marketing and property management. Danny founded the company bearing his name in 1994. Over Danny’s 20+ year career, he has played an active role in commercial and residential development in Texas and Oklahoma. From large scale master planned communities to niche infill / redevelopment and mixed-use projects, his broad experience and entrepreneurial skills have helped fuel the company’s unprecedented growth. Under his leadership, The Signorelli Company is unique to the real estate industry, with company divisions focusing on land, retail, medical, commercial development and residential development. Since its inception, the company has been involved in over 6,000 acres of residential, commercial and multi-family projects. Leading an experienced executive team and a company 50 people strong, Danny exemplifies the company’s focus of “Building better places and spaces to live, work and play.” After 20 years of dramatic growth, he has positioned the company with enviable projects and land positions to take the company to the next level.

Rives focuses on industrial development, build to suits, and other investment opportunities for InSite and its clients. Since joining InSite in 2001, he has has been involved in over 500 lease and sale transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $700 million. Experience, knowledge of the industrial market, and a desire to facilitate mutually beneficial transactions has enabled Rives to consistently achieve client’s objectives and execute successful development and build to suit projects. Rives is a Developer Associate Member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) and a NAIOP member. He currently serves on the NAIOP Development and Construction Committee. He earned Costar Power Broker Awards for industrial leasing in 2006, 2009, and 2010 and the HBJ Heavy Hitter Award in 2012. Rives is a native Houstonian and graduated from St. John’s School. He earned a BA from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts and an MBA from the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

As Executive Director of the Conroe Economic Development Council, Danielle is responsible for marketing Conroe to new and expanding businesses. In the last year and a half she has attracted 6 new projects or expansions to Conroe generating a capital investment of over $240M and 447 jobs. She received a B.S. from Texas A&M University and is a certified Professional Community and Economic Developer (PCED). Danielle is a graduate of both Community Development Institute (CDI) and OU Economic Development Institute (EDI). She was named a 2018 Top 50 Economic Developer in North America by Consultant Connect. Danielle’s professional memberships include the International Economic Development Council, the Texas Economic Development Council (where she serves on the Board of Directors), Team Texas (where she serves on the Advisory Council), the Texas Economic Development Corporation and a host of other commercial real estate organizations (NAIOP, CoreNet, and the Commercial Real Estate Association of Montgomery County). She was also recently appointed to the Houston Galveston Area Council Gulf Coast Workforce Board and to the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce Board. Danielle was recently honored with the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural ATHENA Award, honoring professional excellence, community service and active mentorship of women. She was also named a 2018 Trailblazer by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce. Danielle has been honored with a Woman of Distinction Award twice by the Montgomery County Women’s Council of Organizations – once for her work with Leadership Montgomery County and once for her work with the Executive Women’s Alliance. Locally, Danielle was recently elected to return to the board of directors for Leadership Montgomery County. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Conroe Regional Medical Center and is the Board representative to the HCA Gulf Coast Advisory Board. As the parent of a special needs child, Danielle is especially proud of her current involvement on the Board of Directors for New Danville, serving special needs adults. She also enjoys serving the food insecure in the community on the Board of Directors for Montgomery County Food Bank. Danielle is an ex-officio director for the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce and is a member of Executive Women’s Alliance. She has previously served as a Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County United Way, Executive Women’s Alliance and Leadership Montgomery County (where she is an active alumni association member). She and her husband Stacy live in Woodforest with their two boys and a menagerie of pets.

Heath Melton joined The Howard Hughes Corporation® (HHC) in 2015 and was recently named President of the Phoenix Region with their 37,000 Acre purchase of Douglas Ranch/Trillium. Prior, he served as Executive Vice President, Master Planned Communities Residential in Houston. Heath is responsible for residential planning & development for the award-winning master planned communities of The Woodlands, Bridgeland and The Woodlands Hills. Prior to joining The Howard Hughes Corporation, Heath was a General Manager for Travisso working for Taylor Morrison, Austin Division. He also worked for Sueba and KB Home in the Houston market. Heath is a West Point Graduate and served in the US Army as a Field Artillery Officer for five years where he deployed to Kosovo and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Jody Czajkoski brings a fresh perspective to brokerage, construction, development, and investment of commercial real estate. His entrepreneurial expertise and spirit, combined with his extensive knowledge and passion for real estate, led to the founding of MHWRE. In 2012, Jody joined with Mitchell Oxman. Having worked in the tri-county area for over 13 years, his hands-on approach and vision for accommodating clients in every aspect of the real estate process has resulted in a service platform unique to the commercial real estate world. Prior to forming MHWRE, Jody served as vice president of the Investment Services Division of a local commercial real estate firm, where he was responsible for locating, listing, and marketing property sites for industrial, retail, office, medical, and multi-family developments. His experience also includes serving as one of the founding investment brokers with Moody Rambin Interests Investment Services Team, where he initiated and evaluated new development and marketing opportunities, oversaw existing portfolios of investments, performed feasibility studies and due diligence, coordinated purchase negotiations, managed contracts, mediated, and oversaw construction from inception to completion. Previously, Jody was President and owner of Ski Real Estate and Housing Inc., responsible and overseeing the design, development, construction, marketing and sales of over 2,000 homes in Montgomery and Harris Counties. In his multiple real estate ventures in Montgomery, Harris, and Walker counties Jody has brokered and developed more than 350 million dollars in commercial and residential properties. He received his undergraduate degree from Hill College and Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, and earned his license as a Texas real estate broker in 2000. Jody and his wife, Nicole, are longtime residents of Montgomery County, where they are raising their three children. They are active members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe where, in addition to being involved in the church’s numerous ministries, Jody served as Chair of the Parish Pastoral Council. Jody also sits on the board of the Montgomery County Homeless Coalition and is President and Founder of Faith Fest, Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit that promotes “Unity in the Community” and partners with local Churches to produce a yearly music festival in Conroe. All activities are a fundraising mechanism for local Christian-based charities, such as St. Vincent de Paul Society, Home of Hope, All the Kings Horses, and Compassion United.

Mr. Gordy Bunch is Founder, President & CEO of The Woodlands Financial Group (TWFG), TWFG Insurance Service, TWFG General Agency, TWFG Premium Finance and The Woodlands Insurance Company (TWICO), and Chairman – The Woodlands Township Board of Directors Richard “Gordy” Bunch and his family have been residents of The Woodlands since 1995. Gordy founded The Woodlands Financial Group (TWFG) in 2001. TWFG has become the largest independent insurance agency in Texas, ranked number 10 nationally in personal lines and number 28 in all lines. In 2015, Gordy earned the title of Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Gulf Coast Region. In a true demonstration of “Our Policy is Caring,” the company’s driving mantra, Gordy and the TWFG family have contributed to many local charities and community events. From the American Heart Association to the TWFG Gran Fondo Bike Race for Multiple Sclerosis, and as a 2011 Ironman finisher, TWFG has been a continuous sponsor of these organizations. As a community leader, Gordy was selected by his peers again to serve as Chairman of the Board of The Woodlands in 2018. He continues to demonstrate effective leadership that has lowered debt and taxes and represents the best interests of residents and businesses. Prior to be elected by his peers as Chairman of The Woodlands Township, Gordy served as Chairman of the Board of The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau, which markets Visit The Woodlands. Gordy is proud to be a veteran, having honorably served in the U.S. Coast Guard. Gordy and his wife Michelle have three sons. One son is attending Texas A&M University and his other two sons are attending The Woodlands Christian Academy.

Mr. Parsley has been involved in and responsible for all phases of commercial real estate brokerage activity over the past 35 years. A native Houstonian, he returned to Houston after graduating from law school in 1979 to serve as an attorney with Bracewell & Patterson, specializing in corporate law. In 1983, he joined Colliers International, where he is one of the company’s principal shareholders. He served as President and CEO of Collier’s Houston office before assuming the position of Co-Chairman in 2004. He brings a wide range of real estate experience, along with an understanding of the legal issues involved in real estate transactions. He has represented a broad range of corporate clients, both public and private, in office and industrial sales and office tenant rep lease transactions in Houston and throughout the USA. Bob currently serves as a member of Colliers’ Occupier Services Group, Healthcare Services Group, and Law Firm Services Group. Bob has been one of the top two producers in the Colliers Houston office for the past fifteen years. He has also been a Colliers Everest Award recipient since the inception of the award, which is granted to the top 10% of producers for Colliers International in North America. The SIOR designation that he carries signifies the highest level of accountability and ethical standards in commercial real estate.

Tom founded RRC MRE in 2003. He is responsible for making and executing on the company business plans. Tom has overall responsibility for all projects including the sourcing and structuring of those projects as well as overseeing all aspects of the organization. Tom has developed or acquired approximately 2,000,000 SF of mainly medical office buildings in Texas with a total value in excess of $500 million. Tom’s background is in the energy business, specifically natural gas commodities. His work in the energy business provided him with the ability and knowledge to be responsible for the development and acquisition of the current portfolio. Tom debuted the first “green” environmentally-friendly (LEED certified at the Silver) office building in the Greater Northwest/Houston area. He retired from Louis Dreyfus in 2010 as VP Trading. Prior to trading, Tom was an accountant for Coastal Corp and Direct Gas Supply. Tom attended St. Francis College of PA and Duquesne University studying Economics and Political Science.

Gil Staley has been with The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership for over 18 years and serves as Chief Executive Officer. In this position, he is responsible for recruiting new businesses to the South Montgomery County area as well as directing the business retention and expansion program. Gil also oversees the operational aspects of the EDP while maintaining the financial integrity of the organization. Prior to joining the EDP, he was the District Sales Director in Houston for Delta Air Lines. In this role, he was responsible for marketing, corporate sales and community affairs for Central & South Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Gil was with Delta for over 26 years. Gil is a 2009 Center for Houston's Future Business/Civic Leadership Forum graduate, as well as a 2006 Leadership Montgomery County graduate. He serves on numerous community boards including The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Coast Workforce Board and Conroe North Houston Regional Airport Advisory Board. Gil is a member of the Texas Economic Development Council, the International Economic Development Council and Commercial Real Estate Association of Montgomery County. Gil is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University with a B.B.A. degree in Business Management.

Township Director Bruce Rieser was elected to Township Office in November 2016. Bruce Rieser and his wife Sarah moved to The Woodlands in 1989. Married for 32 years, the Riesers have one grown daughter. Bruce retired from British Airways (BA) in 2010 as Director Properties, the Americas, where he managed BA's real estate assets and airport relationships in the Western Hemisphere. In 2011 he founded SKR Consulting, LLc, which provides tactical, operational and real estate advice to the aviation community. He is currently consulting on the proposed new International terminal at Houston George Bush Airport. In addition to his duties as a Director, Mr. Rieser also serves as the Township's representative to The Woodlands Road Utility district, as the Chairman of the Board of Visit The Woodlands and as Chairman of the Township Drainage Taskforce.

Sean provides leasing services for a diverse mix of commercial product types. He has a wide-array of experience in negotiating transactions and understands the importance of leveraging market knowledge, professionalism, and a strong work ethic to provide his clients with the highest level of service. Prior to joining the J. Beard Real Estate Company, Sean was an Associate in a national brokerage company and was responsible for leasing a one million square foot portfolio across the Houston market. He holds a bachelor's degree from Texas State University, an MBA from The College of William and Mary, and a Texas Real Estate License.

Paul H. Layne is President, Central Region for The Howard Hughes Corporation. He is responsible for the master planned communities of The Woodlands, Bridgeland, and The Woodlands Hills in Houston, Texas and the office development at 110 North Wacker in Chicago, Illinois. He also provides strategic oversight for Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada and Columbia, Maryland along with other smaller assets within the HHC portfolio. For more than 30 years, Mr. Layne has been a vital leader in Houston’s commercial real estate community as well as in national and international real estate. Mr. Layne received a bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Houston and attended South Texas College of Law. He currently serves on the boards for the University of Houston Graduate Real Estate Program, the Board of Trustees for Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston, advisory board member for Houston’s Urban Land Institute and Catholic Charities. He previously served on the boards for the Houston Downtown Management District, the Central Houston Association, the University of St. Thomas, Lone Star College Foundation, Houston’s Coalition for the Homeless and Houston’s Center for Hearing and Speech. He also serves as a Trustee for the Scanlan Foundation, a moderator and advisory board member for the Houston Business Ethics Forum and the South Texas College of Law Real Estate Conference and is a member of the Serra Club. He is President Emeritus of the Houston Downtown Management District Board and the Christian Community Service Center Board of Directors. Mr. Layne has been a speaker at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Business Ethics Conference.