San Diego's 3rd Annual Evolution of Downtown

As President/CEO, Kris oversees the day-to-day operations of the 300+ membership organization with responsibility for implementing the Board’s Strategic Plan for downtown with oversight of the $6 million Clean and Safe program. Prior to her position at the Partnership, Kris served as Chief of Staff to Mayor Jerry Sanders where she ran the day-to-day operations of the Mayor’s Office implementing the Mayor’s agenda for city government. She was Vice President of the Sickels Group with oversight of risk management and government approval/entitlements for key projects. She was Vice President, Marsh Risk and Insurance Services, where she led the Real Estate/Public Entity Practice in the use of insurance as a business solution for government and real estate transactions. Kris was also the Vice President of Governmental Relations for the San Diego Padres, where she managed overall governmental relations coordinating the campaign in support of Proposition C, the successful ballot measure that led to the development of Petco Park and prior to that, she was Director of Community Outreach, and Chief of Staff for Mayor Susan Golding spearheading the City’s efforts in hosting the 1996 Republican National Convention. Boards of Service: San Diego County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, United Way of San Diego County, National Conflict Resolution Center, Workforce Partnership. She is a member of a variety of organizations including the Downtown Rotary Club of San Diego 33, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee, and the Ending Homelessness Leadership Team.

Mary Walshok, Ph.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Programs and Dean of Extension at the University of California San Diego, the author of more than 100 articles and reports on the innovation economy and aligning workforce development with regional economic growth. She has authored and co-authored Blue Collar Women (1981), Knowledge Without Boundaries (1995), Closing America’s Job Gap (2011), Creating Competitiveness: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policies for Growth (2013) and Invention and Reinvention: The Evolution of San Diego’s Innovation Economy (2013), Public Universities and Regional Growth: Insights from the University of California (2014) and the Oxford Handbook of Local Competitiveness (2015). Her particular focus is how globalization and rapid changes in technology are affecting the social dynamics and economic challenges of regions across America. A co-founder in 1984 of the internationally recognized CONNECT program, Walshok has been an integral player in the evolution of San Diego’s innovation economy for more than 30 years.

Tony Cardoza is responsible for Cityview’s acquisition activities throughout the West Coast. He has 21 years of experience in real estate investment and management. Previously, Tony ran the investment group for Real Estate Capital Partners in the Western U.S., which developed and acquired over 5,000 multifamily units. Prior to that, he worked for Prometheus Real Estate Group in a land and multifamily acquisitions role on the West Coast. Tony holds a B.A. in Economics from Middlebury College and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley

Luke Daniels, President of The Richman Group of California is located in the San Diego, California office and leads Richman’s development and construction business in California. Mr. Daniels graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Urban Planning and Real Estate Development.

Doug Austin, FAIA, is Founder, Chairman and CEO of AVRP Studios, a California-based architectural firm well known for its expertise in the design of affordable housing and the urban environment. Mr. Austin is recognized by his peers as a visionary design leader. Since establishing his firm in 1976, he has led teams in designing projects both domestically and internationally that have been recognized with over 150 awards for design excellence. Doug’s passion for architecture and his mission to make housing available to all, led him to some of the first micro-unit housing during the 80s in trying to make homes naturally more affordable through design as an alternative to unsustainable government subsidies. He challenged the building Industry, who was faced with inclusionary housing issues, to build two projects that ranged in size from 195 SF per unit to 295 SF. The premise was simple “if people can’t afford more there should be a good option to buy or rent less?” In its outside-the-box nature, the firm was recently awarded US and International patents for a new methodology involving prefabricating modules that act as the formwork for Concrete buildings up to 75 stories in height that hold the potential to save significant construction cost and time in the process. Austin serves as Chair of the Advisory Board for YIGBY (Yes in God’s Backyard), which is an organization committed to finding innovative ways to house its poor and homeless. YIGBY is one of many ways that represent AVRP Studios’ commitment to the larger goal of housing for all. Austin served as the Vice chairman of San Diego’s Redevelopment Agency and currently sits on the City’s Planning Commission. Austin received his B’ARCH from Cal Poly SLO, where he is an Honored Alum and serves on the President’s Council of Advisors. His firm sponsors a grant each year for “Housing Innovations”. Austin has furthered his post graduate education studying at the Harvard’s Graduate Center for Design and participating in the exploration of workforce housing at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing.

Mike leads Lowe’s Western region commercial property development, investment and management activities. He is responsible for $1.9 billion of current development projects and 1.5 million square feet of commercial properties managed. Mike is a past-President and current executive committee member of the San Diego Chapter of NAIOP, and a member of the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers. Mike and his wife Tami enjoy hiking, camping and skiing in the Sierra Mountains. Education: United States Air Force Academy, BS; Chapman University, MBA

Throughout his career in real estate, David has demonstrated the ability to conceptualize and implement unique solutions for each site he has encountered. No two projects are the same. Each place, whether it be primarily retail, entertainment, office, or multi-family, draws its inspiration from the site’s context and history, and is therefore fully integrated into its surroundings. This approach has resulted in places that produce long-term value for the community as well as ownership. In 2011, David and Pete Garcia formed I.D.E.A. Partners to lead the development of the I.D.E.A. District (Innovation + Design + Education + Arts) in downtown San Diego. This transformative initiative, located on 35 city blocks in the Upper East Village, aims to create a vibrant, sustainable mixed-use neighborhood that will generate thousands of high-paying design and technology jobs in the next 10 years. David has also led the development of signature projects including The New Amsterdam Theater, NYC; Disney Ice, Anaheim, CA; Hollywood and Highland, Hollywood, CA; and Paseo Colorado, Pasadena, CA

Brad Richter is Assistant Vice President, Planning for Civic San Diego, formerly Centre City Development Corporation.  Brad has worked on planning and redevelopment in Downtown San Diego for eighteen years, working on the entitlement and design review of new development during Downtown's greatest growth period where the population doubled and major growth occurred around Petco Park, the Marina District, Cortez Hill and Little Italy. Brad also participated in the adoption of the Downtown Community Plan and implementing ordinances in 2006. He currently heads the Planning Division which is actively involved in overseeing the continued population and employment growth of Downtown; public park planning, design and construction; and, bicycle and mobility planning.

Sajan Hansji is the president of J Street Hospitality, a lodging real estate firm specializing in hotel development and asset repositioning. Saj was born in Anaheim, CA, graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science from the School of Hotel Administration, and went on to co-found Hansji Hotels, Inc. in 2004. In 2011, Sajan spun off and started J Street Hospitality where he oversees all aspects of development and acquisitions with a focus on urban locations in high barrier to entry markets. Saj currently lives in Coronado, CA, is a board member of the San Diego Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society, and in his free time enjoys tennis, basketball, traveling, entrepreneurship, and spending time at the beach.

Ricardo Jinich is a co-founder of Paragon. Since the Company's inception in 1998, Ricardo has played a key role in the acquisition and management of Paragon's real estate investments. His expertise includes sourcing, analyzing, structuring and managing investment opportunities for Paragon. His experience in real estate transactions includes multifamily, retail and industrial properties, as well as commercial and residential development. He currently oversees the asset management of Paragon's retail, mixed use, office and industrial holdings, and manages the acquisition and disposition of all of Paragon's investments. Ricardo received his BS in Civil Engineering from Tufts University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. Ricardo is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).

A graduate of Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo, David formed McCullough Landscape Architecture as a sole proprietorship in 1999 while consulting for another firm. After wife and partner, Catherine joined the business in 2001 and became Chief Executive Officer and President in 2002; the firm became a woman-owned corporation and a certified Small Business by the State of California. With offices in San Diego and the Bay Area, McCullough creates spaces for hospitality, retail, mixed-use and institutional properties around the world. As principal landscape architect, David oversees all aspects of the design and production of firm projects at McCullough. He serves as head designer on all projects and maintains quality control on all work completed. Previous projects have earned awards and recognition in several national publications. David finds time in his schedule to take leadership in creative organizations such as the the San Diego Architecture Foundation (SDAF) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) local Urban Design Committee. He currently serves as Chair of the Pecha Kucha Night program, which is on its sixth successful year. He finds it inspiring to take part in such a diverse mix of creative minds while bringing them together to share with the public their wild ideas. In addition, recently David was appointed by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to serve on the Historical Resources Board as Chair, which governs the identification, protection, retention and preservation of historical sites in San Diego. Concurrently, he has been invited to serve on the city’s Code Monitoring Team (CMT). David’s design philosophy is centered around merging context and creative passion with grit, soul, and style. The firm takes every project with a uniquely creative approach that centers around diversity, discovery and conservation. David feels it’s important to engage the human spirit with nature, while expressing empathy. Recent projects include a large waterfront development in Shanghai, China, Seaport San Diego redevelopment, several multifamily projects in Calgary and Vancouver, along with other notable hospitality, entertainment, and mixed-use collaborations in the Western US and Canada.