Howard County Boom!

Mr. Williamson has been with St. John Properties since 1993. He supervises the Leasing, Marketing and Interior Design Departments and oversees all of the Baltimore area leasing of the St. John Properties portfolio. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and a M.B.A. from the University of Baltimore. Mr. Williamson serves on the Board of Directors of the BWI Business Partnership, The University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, The National Association of Industrial and Office Parks and The Edward St. John Foundation.

Greg Fitchitt joined The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) as Vice President, Development in 2013. In 2014 Greg relocated to Maryland to focus on the development of Downtown Columbia, a 14 million square foot mixed use development plan to transform the suburban town center of the acclaimed master planned community into a 21st century urban village. Most recently Greg led the efforts over the past 2 years resulting in the Howard County Council’s approval in November 2016 of a $90 million TIF for public infrastructure and a comprehensive plan for affordable housing in Downtown Columbia. Before joining HHC, Greg completed nine shopping center redevelopments as a developer for Westfield on the west coast, including leading the development efforts for Westfield UTC in La Jolla, CA, obtaining entitlements for a $1.0 billion LEED Gold mixed-use revitalization, and completing the $180 million first phase in 2012. Together the Westfield projects completed under Greg’s direction represented over $530 million in investment. Greg holds a BA in Philosophy from Pomona College and an MBA from UCLA. In addition to his professional activities, Greg served for ten years on the boards of non-profit affordable housing developers in California. He currently serves as president of the Downtown Columbia Partnership and on the Howard County Chamber of Commerce board. Greg lives in Ellicott City with his wife Cristiane and their two young children.

Todd D. Brown is well-known for his client focus, detailed knowledge of the people and processes affecting land use and for delivering successful results in a timely, predictable manner. Leonard Greenberg, Greenhill Companies, notes, "Todd has represented our land use interests in Bethesda, Wheaton, Rockville and North Bethesda for 25 years, and we have had outstanding success." In addition to the successful outcomes Todd has gained for real estate developers and builders, he has secured land use authorization for private schools and other not-for-profits, individual and business clients before local and state administrative and legislative bodies having jurisdiction over land use and real estate development. James Gentile, of The National Labor College, said, "Todd's help in securing special exception and subdivision approvals for our 65,000 square foot conference center, 85 bed dormitory and new dining facility in Silver Spring was invaluable. He managed the process seamlessly and kept us apprised of the progress throughout each phase of the project." Todd regularly guides individuals, local, regional and national clients and their technical consultants through complex legislative, master plan, zoning, subdivision, site plan, forest conservation, historic preservation and permitting processes to successful outcomes. He also helps clients before Boards of Appeals and has a noteworthy record of success in gaining approval for special exception (conditional use permit) applications, zoning variances and administrative appeals; and before the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission on issues concerning public water and sewer service; and the courts on appellate matters. In addition to his land use work for his land developer clients in the area, Todd has gained land use approval, often through Special Exceptions, for major expansions for private schools and not-for-profit institutions in Montgomery County, Maryland. In Howard County, Maryland, Todd has drafted and gained approval for millions of square feet of office and retail development and for over 5,000 residential units and more than 600 hotel rooms slated for development over the next decade. Todd has been honored with inclusion on both the Maryland and District of Columbia Super Lawyers listings, which recognizes the top five percent of attorneys in the area. He has received Martindale Hubbell AV (highest) rating and is recognized as a Top Rated Lawyer in Land Use and Zoning designation. He has held leadership positions in many local Chambers of Commerce, Urban Advisory Boards and industry groups.

Owen joined MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services, LLC in 2019 as Vice President of Investment Sales, leading the firm’s investment sales team which specializes in the third-party acquisition and disposition of commercial real estate assets in the State of Maryland and surrounding region, and advises clients on investments strategies, value maximization, and stabilization. Prior to joining MacKenzie, Rouse was affiliated with Manekin, LLC of Columbia, MD. He was recruited in 1995 to unwind Manekin’s position in institutional joint ventures which ultimately gave rise to a boutique investment sales platform. As Director of Manekin’s Investment Services practice, Rouse represented clients in the purchase and sale of investment real estate, site selection and assemblage, underwriting, and structuring transactions. Rouse then assumed the position of Director of Brokerage overseeing 22 brokers across three offices. He finally shifted his role with Manekin to Capital Markets, identifying and structuring potential projects – and the venture partners to fund them – as well as playing an active role in the strategy and direction of the firm. Rouse is active with area nonprofits including the Advisory Council for Stevenson University where he is currently serving as President; and, Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake. He has also served as President of CORFAC International, a national/global network of commercial real estate services organizations and former President of the local chapter of National Association of Office and Industrial Properties.

Before joining the Authority, he was the Director of the Carroll County Department of Economic Development, where he spent over six years guiding business development, business retention, workforce development and tourism. Before that, Larry spent almost seven years with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, where he held several positions including managing the statewide regional office system. Major accomplishments include launching a regional business retention program and playing a key role in coordinating and facilitating major expansion projects in the Baltimore Region. Larry also spent seven years in management in a Fortune Global 500 manufacturing firm and three years as a manager of a small business. From 2013 to 2015, Larry served as the President of Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA). Currently he serves on the MEDA Board of Directors and is President of the MEDA Foundation. Larry holds a Master's Degree of Business Administration from Loyola University, Maryland and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from the University of Maryland. He earned Certified Economic Developer credentials in 2009.