The Future of EaDo & East End District

David Hightower presently serves as Executive Vice President at Midway Companies. He has been involved in the ownership, development and/or management of over 6,000 acres of commercial, residential and agricultural land investments and developments. He has primary responsibility for marketing, sales, project planning and development activities for the firm’s real estate assets, as well as new investment acquisitions. He is also responsible for regulatory approvals and other governmental related activities. He is active in various community and civic activities, and is presently serving on the boards and committees of several organizations that deal with issues affecting the real estate industry and overall community development, including the West Houston Association, the Urban Land Institute – Houston District Council, the Greater Houston Partnership’s Real Estate Advisory Committee and the Houston Real Estate Council. Mr. Hightower is a member of a number of other real estate-related organizations including: the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute , NAIOP – The Commercial Real Estate Development Association, Counselors of Real Estate, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, and Houston Association of Realtors. He has represented several of these organizations in serving on a number of City and County committees addressing a wide range of issues impacting the real estate industry. He is also a founding director and current President of Harris County Improvement District No. 4 (The Energy Corridor District). Mr. Hightower has earned the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) designations and is a licensed real estate broker and licensed professional engineer . He is a life member of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and has served on several committees. And, he is a member and past vice president of the Leadership Houston Association.

Carrin Patman is chair of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County. She is METRO’s first woman chair, appointed in 2016 by Mayor Sylvester Turner. She previously served on the board from 2010 to 2013. Carrin was a partner of Bracewell where for three decades she worked as a trial lawyer representing diverse clients in major litigation involving commercial disputes, securities matters, antitrust and competition issues, and regulatory compliance. She was the first woman elected to the firm’s seven-member Management Committee. Carrin retired from Bracewell in 2016. Carrin graduated from Duke University (with honors) and from the University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law Review). In 2014, Carrin completed a year‐long Advanced Leadership Fellowship at Harvard University. One area of focus concerned transportation (including urban transit) and infrastructure. She is also an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow (Class XXIX). Carrin’s civic involvement reflects her passion for community service. She is a founding board member of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law and a senior trustee of the UT Law School Foundation. Some prior activities include serving as a board or executive committee member of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Development Board, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Legacy Community Health Services Endowment, Texas Appleseed, Girls Inc. of Greater Houston and Sheltering Arms Senior Services. Carrin was vice chair of the Houston Bar Foundation, and former president of the University of Texas Law Alumni Association and UT Law Review Association. Carrin has chaired or co‐chaired fundraising events for worthy causes, including for Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, American Leadership Forum, the Texas Defender Service, the Houston Area Women’s Center, Girls Inc. of Greater Houston, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and the Houston School for Deaf Children (now the Center for Hearing and Speech). Carrin’s awards for professional achievements and community service include becoming the first woman to receive the Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award, given by the Anti‐Defamation League Southwest Region. In 2000, she was selected as a Woman on the Move by the Houston Chronicle, Channel 11 and Texas Executive Women. In 2012, she was inducted into the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame. In 2018, Carrin was named Distinguished Alumna for Community Service by the University of Texas Law School Alumni Association.

Veteran sports business executive John Walker was introduced as the President of Business Operations for the Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash and BBVA Compass Stadium on Nov. 1, 2019. Walker brings more than 30 years of experience in the sports industry to the role, including the previous three as Executive Vice President for Business Operations with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. He also brings experience in Major League Baseball, college athletics and with third-party ticketing companies. As President of Business Operations, Walker oversees all aspects of the club’s business operations and all of its entities, including the Dynamo and Dash as well as BBVA Compass Stadium and Houston Sports Park. He is also responsible for maintaining strong business relationships with the Dynamo-Dash Youth Club, Rio Grande Valley FC and the Brazos Valley Cavalry. Throughout his career, Walker has progressively taken on larger leadership roles in professional sports and entertainment with an emphasis on identifying new revenue streams and growing existing ones, introducing new technology and creating a winning culture. With the Grizzlies, Walker held many of the same responsibilities, overseeing all aspects of the team’s business, including ticket sales, service and operations; sponsorship sales and activation; arena operations; marketing and communications; human resources; finance; analytics and customer relationship management; and community relations. Under Walker’s leadership, the Grizzlies business operations unit set franchise records in ticket sales and total revenue, and he helped the club sell its first-ever jersey partnership along with other key partnerships. He also led the effort to acquire a new G-League franchise in 2017 and the launch of an NBA2K e-sports franchise. A data-focused leader, Walker led the Grizzlies’ implementation of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to streamline the team’s ticketing, sponsorship and marketing efforts with a focus toward return on investment. He also worked closely with the team president to cultivate and manage key relationships with team ownership, basketball operations leadership, local elected officials and other key stakeholders within the Memphis community. A native of Morgantown, West Virginia, Walker earned his bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University and a Master’s of Sports Management from the University of Oklahoma. He started his career in sports at OU, working as a ticket manager in the Sooners’ athletic department from 1990-95 before joining the Kansas City Royals’ ticket office as Director of Ticket and Revenue Operations. Walker made his first move into the NBA with the Phoenix Suns in 2000 as the team’s Vice President of Business Development and was promoted to Sr. Vice President in 2005. In those roles, he oversaw sponsorship, led the efforts to create new revenue streams and created the Suns Sixth Man program, a holistic season ticket service initiative designed to increase fan engagement and affinity. After a decade in the Valley of the Sun, Walker transitioned into a different aspect of the sports industry in 2010, venturing into third-party ticketing efforts as the President and CEO of Tickets.com. Under his leadership, the company increased revenues three consecutive years and signed groundbreaking contracts with five Major League Baseball clubs along with the America’s Cup and Southampton FC of the English Premier League. He served as the President of PrimeSport for six months in 2014 before being recruited to the Grizzlies, and in that time he improved the company’s e-commerce efforts, initiated a dynamic ticket pricing model and negotiated new contracts with two MLB clubs. While with the Grizzlies, Walker served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Make-A-Wish’s Mid-South Chapter. He and his wife Lisa have four daughters: Brandi, Brooke, Audrey and Dakota.

Ryan Pera is known for his thoughtful approach to cooking and his strong dedication to sustainable practices. The chef and co-owner of seven celebrated concepts--Revival Market, Coltivare, Eight Row Flint, Night Heron, Indianola, Miss Carousel and Vinny's--has built businesses allowing him to source products from within, whether it's vegetables grown in Coltivare's 3,000-square-foot garden or charcuterie cured in-house at Revival Market. He moved to Houston with his wife, a vascular surgeon, in 2003 for her residency and soon found work as chef de cuisine at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston. He landed his first executive chef position at 17 Restaurant in the Sam Houston Hotel and was revered for his modern American menu. He opened The Grove as executive chef in downtown Houston before building craft butcher shop and cafe Revival Market with co-owner Morgan Weber three years later. Named one of the five best new artisan butchers in America by Bon Appetit, Revival Market allows Ryan to showcase his skills in craft butchering and charcuterie, giving the public a place to buy quality, sustainably raised meats. In 2014, Morgan and Ryan opened Coltivare, a cozy neighborhood restaurant and garden inspired by Ryan's Italian heritage featuring Gulf Coast ingredients. Named one of Texas Monthly's 10 best new restaurants in the state, Coltivare was also included on Bon Appetit's list of the 50 best new restaurants in America. The duo turned to bourbon and tacos in 2015 when they opened Eight Row Flint, a modern Texas ice house. They opened Night Heron, a neighborhood bar serving dishes and drinks inspired by their travels, in February 2018. In late 2018, Agricole Hospitality opened three concepts in East Downtown: Vinny’s, for pizza by the slice or pie; Indianola, a restaurant serving modern American cuisine; and Miss Carousel, a cocktail bar. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill grad got his start in the culinary industry washing dishes in his college town. He immediately took to the business and began cooking in some of North Carolina's finest restaurants. Ryan moved to Manhattan to further his career, working under Chef Sottha Khun at the four-star Le Cirque and Chef Jonathan Waxman at Washington Park, where he was sous chef. Ryan is a founding member of the Organized Collaboration for Restaurant Affairs (OKRA), a group of like-minded restaurant and bar owners who pursue community and charitable initiatives in Houston. The organization opened the OKRA Charity Saloon in 2012, a not-for-profit bar in downtown Houston that has raised to date more than $1 million for local charities. He is on the culinary boards for both Recipe for Success, a foundation combatting childhood obesity, and No Kid Hungry, an organization aiming to end child hunger. Ryan was named Food & Wine magazine's People's Best New Chef for the Southwest region in 2015, as well as Chef of the Year at the Houston Culinary Awards that same year. Ryan was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Southwest in 2018.

Jeffrey Brown, FAIA, is Principal-in-Charge of Design for Powers Brown Architecture which he co-founded. Practicing architecture for more than 20 years, Brown has an array of experience working on multiple building types for both public and private entities; he is an accomplished designer with unique graphic communication and strategic planning skills. His ability to design utilizing an interactive process of project definition and interpretation has resulted in distinguished design awards and published works. Brown has been instrumental in leading the firm to numerous awards including a Citation in the 2012 Annual Design Review from Architect magazine and recognition from the Tilt-Up Concrete Association as the 2008 and 2014 recipient of the Irving Gill Distinguished Architect Award for the firm’s and his own contribution to the design and advancement of tilt wall construction. Additional accolades have come from the Texas Society of Architects, American Institute of Architects Houston, AIA DC|Washington, Design Excellence Awards and the Urban Land Institute. The firm’s work has been widely covered in magazines and books including his latest, Tiltwallism: A Treatise on the Architectural Potential of Tilt Wall Construction is available through book sellers nationwide. Brown has a passion for shaping architecture and the architects of tomorrow. He has taught as an assistant at his alma mater, Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and as an adjunct professor at both The University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Prairie View A&M. He has been a guest critic at the above-mentioned institutions, Rice University, Roger Williams University and the University of Texas at Arlington. Brown is also active in numerous professional organizations including NAIOP; and the Tilt-Up Concrete Association, where he serves as President on the board of directors.

Alex is a design professional whose work and collaboration across the AEC industry span several years. Exploration, curiosity, and due diligence have been essential in his commitment to perpetually improve as a designer. Prior to his roles in construction project management, his career began in practicing traditional architecture, where he worked in industrial, commercial, mixed-use, civic, and institutional real estate projects. He believes that architecture lifts the human spirit and is a champion of goals that lead to knowledge diversification, consensus-building, and effective strategies that result in profitable, healthy projects. Bridging the worlds of architecture and construction led him to develop passion and build knowledge in steel design and construction. He is happy to share this passion to derive viable design options in steel with his community of project stakeholders to best position for the delivery of healthy projects. His accomplishments in his profession have garnered several industry awards, including recent recognition by Engineering News-Record 2022 Top 20 Under 40 Texas & Louisiana, The American Institute of Architects Houston Presidential Citation, and the Building Design & Construction 2021 40 Under 40 Award. As a firm believer of the “it takes a village” adage, Alex has championed the development of career mentorship programs in his industry, including within the teams and firms with whom he has been a part. He is an alumnus of Texas A&M's College of Architecture and currently serves as Associate Director on AIA Houston's Board of Directors as well as serving on the Board of Directors for the Building Enclosure Council Houston.

As Method's Managing Principal, Rayburn ‘Jake’ Donaldson oversees the firm's four geographic market offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, 80 staff members, and 800+ projects annually. With over 20 years experience, Jake and his teams have designed millions of square feet of spec, manufacturing, cold storage, and distribution center facilities across Texas. Jake is passionate about exploring the next evolution of industrial building types including taller clear heights, innovative construction methods like 3d printing, AI, conveyance, and automation systems to help future-proof this asset class as a backbone of the U.S. supply chain.

A graduate of The University of Texas- Austin, Emily Arbuckle joined GSD Construction fall of 2017. Amidst her mission to cultivate new CRE relationships and diversify the firm’s project portfolio, she also uncovered a passion for the construction process. Fast forward three years, the GSD team has been awarded over 94,000 SQ FT of ground up construction, earned a spot on the 2020 Houston Business Journal’s “Fast 100” and the TAMU “Aggie 100”, and added three seasoned, construction professionals to the office. With a dedication to quality construction and the client experience, GSD looks forward to many more exceptional Houston projects.