As chancellor of one of the world’s great public research universities, Gary S. May leads UC Davis as it advances its mission in several key areas, including:

Achieving equal access to education and opportunity for students of all backgrounds

Building diversity and nurturing success among students, faculty and staff

Deepening the university’s engagement with Sacramento, Davis and the surrounding region

Conducting useful research and outstanding scholarship in areas of critical need to California, the nation and the world

May became UC Davis’ seventh chancellor on Aug. 1, 2017 by appointment of the UC Board of Regents. He leads the most comprehensive campus in the University of California system, with four colleges and six professional schools that offer 104 undergraduate majors and 96 graduate and professional degrees. UC Davis enrolls about 37,000 students, brings in nearly $800 million annually in sponsored research and contributes at least $8 billion to the California economy each year.

An accomplished scholar and engineer, May came to UC Davis from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, where he had been for nearly three decades, most recently as dean of the institute’s College of Engineering — the largest and most diverse school of its kind in the nation, with 450 faculty and 13,000 students.

Prior to being dean, May was the Steve W. Chaddick Chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and previous to that, he was the executive assistant to Georgia Tech President G. Wayne Clough.

May is known as a dynamic leader with a passion for helping others succeed. He believes success is best judged by “the extent you enhance the lives of others.” Throughout his career, he has championed diversity in both higher education and the workplace. He developed and led programs to attract, mentor and retain underrepresented women and ethnic minorities in STEM — the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

In 2015, President Obama honored him with the Presidential Award for Excellence in STEM Mentoring.

May has won numerous research awards for his work in computer-aided manufacturing of integrated circuits and other devices. He has authored more than 200 technical publications, contributed to 15 books and holds a patent in this topic.

In 2010, he was named “outstanding engineering alumnus” of UC Berkeley, where he earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science.

A native of St. Louis, May is married to LeShelle R. May, a software engineer, and they have two daughters, Simone and Jordan, who are in college.

Mr. Romney joined Blue Rise Ventures as a Senior Vice President in 2023, where he is leading the Business Development efforts focused on strategic industry partner recruitment. He spent the previous 32 years with the University of California, Davis, where he most recently served as the Chief Industry Alliance Officer for the University’s Aggie Square Innovation District. In that role, Mr. Romney was responsible for securing strategic industry partners to collocate with the university in the 1.2M SF initial phase. In addition, Mr. Romney was responsible for the ideation and master planning of Aggie Square, leveraging his experience in innovation district development, industry partner curation and

facility master planning. Mr. Romney's expertise in innovation district development has made him a frequently asked guest speaker and panel moderator, and he is currently serving his second term on the Association of University Research Parks AURP National Board of Directors and Executive Council. In his free time, Mr. Romney enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, and traveling.

Barry Broome serves as the first President and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. The organization is the catalyst for innovative growth strategies in the Capital Region of California. Barry is responsible for leading community-driven efforts to retain, attract, grow, and scale new businesses; develop advanced industries; and guide new job-creation strategies throughout a six-county region. In his role, he has established the first-ever public/private partnership economic development organization in the State of California; the organization comprises 37 CEO’s and 19 communities in the Greater Sacramento region.

Previously, Barry was the President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) where he delivered more than 50,000 jobs and 250 company locates into the Phoenix Region. Under his leadership, for six out of the ten years, GPEC was named one of the top economic organizations in North America by Site Selection Magazine. In 2013 he was also named Arizona Economic Developer of the Year, Arizona Real Estate Executive of the Year, and received the Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce award.

Prior to Arizona, Barry was the CEO of Southwest Michigan First (SMF), where he built an organization from scratch that was later listed in the Top 20 companies in North America by Site Selection Magazine. In 2006, SMF was named one of the fast 50 companies in Inc. Magazine, the first nonprofit to have that honor. Barry built and co-developed venture funds, angel networks, and 31 new ventures – primarily in the life science space in the Kalamazoo region. Barry was named Michigan Economic Developer of the Year in 2001.

Preceding Michigan, Barry led the economic development in Toledo, Ohio, where he completed the largest industrial deal in the history of the United States called Project Jeep; which was built on 450 acres of brownfields in the North Central Toledo area.

Barry was also the keynote speaker at Arizona State University’s 2009 graduation and has been a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago, Notre Dame, Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Kalamazoo College, and Western Michigan University.

Monique Brown has spent over 30 years working alongside visionary leaders to launch innovative projects, companies, and initiatives. For the past 15 years, she has been a key architect of the Greater Sacramento region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, driving initiatives that foster innovation, economic growth, and strong community partnerships.

As the Knowledge Community Director at Wexford’s Connect Labs Sacramento, Monique manages the execution of a diverse portfolio of programs designed to cultivate a vibrant knowledge community, enhance tenant experiences, and actively engage the local community. Monique is also responsible for developing strategic partnerships, collaborating with cross sector stakeholders, and ensuring that all initiatives align with the Aggie Square Innovation District’s mission of catalyzing innovation that supports economic and community development.

Committed to developing next-generation talent, Monique serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at Sacramento State’s Carlsen Center and Sierra College, integrating entrepreneurial education and resources across disciplines. She also sits on the boards of Growth Factory’s nonprofit, Teach for America Capital Valley, and the Sacramento Metro Chamber. She has a B.A in International Relations with a focus on sustainable development from The American University, is a certified Design your Life Coach, and most importantly, she is a proud mom of five daughters.

With over 20 years professional experience, Brian enjoys the innovative advancement of building design and applies his talents to invoking solutions to our client's expectations.

Brian is involved in every aspect of design and delivery of our project process with careful consideration. He is also involved in developing our staff and project engineers to their path as structural engineers.

Industry expert in Facility Development, Construction Project Development, Management, and Consulting in Manufacturing & Life Science. Cross functional team leadership to meet schedule and cost targets on multiple concurrent large and technically complex projects with excellent understanding of existing facility infrastructure, contract and procurement, site selection and planning, real estate planning, capital investment, cost controls, design development and implementation, and ultimate end user goal planning.

Peter is a member of a Transwestern team that assists clients in every stage of the

real estate process including: Real estate leasing or disposing of facility leases;

providing strategic, long-term planning via portfolio analysis, site selection and

employee location consulting. We excel in assisting early, mid and late stage

funded start-ups in managing growth in terms of cost analysis with the goal of

increasing their bottom line.

Additionally, Peter is the Bay Area head of Transwestern's BioTech Advisory

Group, leading the company's efforts in life science and biotech office and

laboratory disposition, having years of professional lab experience with the USDA

and public/private cancer research departments before working in brokerage. He is

also a LEED® Accredited Professional, and member of the United States Green

Building Council, helping to merge green building and leasing practices into

commercial real estate.

Jennifer Tanner brings over 26 years of commercial real estate experience. She is responsible

for providing real estate strategic guidance and decision-making for CommonSpirit’s national

portfolio within Joint Ventures, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Partnerships. Her responsibilities

encompass joint venture development strategies for both ambulatory and acute real estate,

physician practice acquisitions and partnerships, and hospital system acquisition and

dispositions.

She has been a member of CommonSpirit's National Real Estate Services Team for 21 years

during which time she also served as the Regional Director of Real Estate Transactions. Prior to

that, she previously served as a Commercial Real Estate Broker with CBRE for five years.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nevada, Reno, a Certificate of

Leadership and Management from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master of Business

Administration from Colorado State University. She is also a Certified Commercial Investment

Member (CCIM).

With over two decades of experience in the architecture industry, Vishal has a portfolio of work in complex project types, including healthcare, life sciences, behavioral health and justice. As health principal in our San Francisco architecture studio, he is focused on leading the health practice in the Bay Area to new heights. He is known for his smart problem-solving, optimistic nature and deep expertise. He actively nurtures team development, demonstrating a natural talent for inspiring creativity in the design process and cultivating collaboration among diverse, multidisciplinary teams. As a hands-on leader he prioritizes strategic goals, patient-centric design, community well-being and innovation.

Vishal holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado at Denver and is a member of the Lean Construction Institute Member Advisory Board. Committed to excellence in project design and delivery, he is an advocate of integrated project delivery and has extensive experience leading large healthcare projects, most recently the UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital.