The Sixth Annual Real Estate Strategies for Associations & Law Firms

Catherine Heath is the Founder and CEO of HYL Architecture, providing vision and strategy and overseeing all operations of the firm out of both offices in Washington, DC and New York, NY. Catherine is recognized as a design leader by her industry peers, elected to the International Interior Design Association's College of Fellows in 2021. Her design career has included a leadership role on some of the most notable corporate headquarters, law firm, and government agency projects in the US and abroad. Catherine has worked at scales ranging from 1,000 to more than 4 million square feet. Projects under her direction have won more than 30 design awards and been published in numerous design and business books and periodicals. She was featured in the book Women in Design published by Interior Design Magazine, and was included in the Built By Women exhibit at the National Building Museum. Catherine has established herself as an international leader in law firm workplace strategy. She is also highly valued for her abilities to dissect complex programs and help craft buildings from the inside out. She has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the ABA Journal and has been published in Legal Management. Catherine holds a MArch degree from University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. Arch degree from the University of Virginia. She is a licensed architect in DC, VA, MD, DE, PA, IL and NY. Outside of the office, she is heavily involved in CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women), and will be President-Elect of the 600 member DC Chapter in 2024. In 2017, Catherine won the CREW Annual Achievement Award, and in 2011 she was Co-Chair of Programs for the CREW National Convention. HYL Architecture is a full service boutique architecture firm. HYL designs work environments that help individuals succeed and organizations soar. The firm’s focus is on creating destination workplaces and renovations to the buildings in which they are located. HYL’s expertise in the operational and cultural issues that drive real estate decisions for corporate, and professional services clients is sought

Bill Apple, Partner in the Tax and Assurance Group, has been with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP since 2007. Bill has more than 25 years of experience advising clients in their business and personal income tax matters, financial planning and various other types of business transactions.

Mark is vice president for CDUS in the Washington metro area. His responsibilities include the pursuit, acquisition and execution of development projects. He oversees project development teams and supports the executive vice president/area manager in growing Skanska’s development business throughout the region. Mark has more than 20 years of industry experience and has worked with site acquisition, site planning, design, development, construction management and the disposition of income-producing properties. He previously served as regional director of development for JPI, a national development firm. Mark’s development experience includes land, office, retail, multifamily and hotel development projects, primarily in the Washington and Baltimore markets. Mark holds a Masters of Architecture degree from The Catholic University of America and a Masters of Engineering Management degree from The University of California at Berkeley.

Washington, DC, Office Managing Partner Jeff Lesk is as a nationally recognized finance attorney. He works with investors, lenders, sponsors, developers and other private and public industry stakeholders to finance high-impact, socially oriented community developments.

Sherry Cushman has spent her nearly 30-year career exclusively advising tenants in the legal sector throughout the United States. She is headquartered in C&W’s Washington, DC office and travels the country working with law firms to develop long-term business and real estate strategies that support and fulfill their strategic business goals and objectives. Ms. Cushman’s focus is on implementing real estate solutions that closely integrate her clients’ business, financial and operational goals with a focus on profitability impact for single, multi-office and large portfolio users alike. As leader of C&W’s national Legal Sector Advisory Group, Sherry coordinates the group’s initiatives, national benchmarking, as well as serves as a Thought Leader and Chief Strategist to C&W law firm clients. The Legal Sector Advisory Group consists of over 100+ highly sophisticated law firm real estate advisors, who draw on multi-disciplinary teams of C&W professionals, to deliver strategic solutions specifically tailored for the legal industry. Ms. Cushman has represented law firms in over 12 million square feet of law firm prime lease, lease restructures/renewals, build-to-suits and base building negotiations. During her career, she has been the lead broker and/or team member in representing the real estate portfolios for numerous global, national and regional law firms. In 1985, Ms. Cushman began her career in commercial interiors, designing interior space for law firms. She transitioned her career in 1993 to commercial brokerage, specializing in tenant representation and incorporating her design expertise into developing real estate strategies for her clients. During her 30-year tenure, she served for nine years as a Corporate Managing Director at Studley and founded the company’s Law Firm Practice Group. She then spent a decade at CBRE as a Senior Vice President and was one of five founding members of its Law Firm Practice Group. Sherry’s tenure and extensive expertise provides her clients with unparalleled service and legal sector knowledge.

Monty Hoffman formed Hoffman & Associates in 1993 with a single townhouse conversion and has since then transformed the company into a market leader of real estate development in the Washington, DC, metro area and beyond. With more than 30 years of experience, Monty actively leads the company’s business development and market strategy, as well as the design initiatives for every Hoffman project. Monty has been recognized in Washington’s SmartCEO’s Future 50 list and the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100. He is a founding board member of the DC Students Construction Trades Foundation, which provides educational and apprenticeship opportunities for District students interested in design, engineering, and construction. He served on the DC Public Schools Engineering Advisory Board and is a current board member of the Federal City Council and Southwest Business Improvement District. Monty graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown with a Bachelor of Science in Civil/Structural Engineering Technology. He is married with three children and lives in Potomac, MD

Saul M. Levin, M.D., M.P.A., is the Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of the American​ ​Psychiatric Association (APA). Prior to assuming this role in October 2013, Dr. Levin led the District of​ ​Columbia Department of Health (DOH). There, Dr. Levin was responsible for the health of the nation’s​ ​capital, including primary care for from infants to the seniors on Medicaid and Medicare, DC-funded health care, HIV/AIDS, addictions, health professional licensing and regulation, policy and planning. He​ w​​as also responsible for health emergency preparedness, planning and coordinating alongside dozens of​ ​federal and local agencies to ensure the public’s health during major events such as President Obama’s second inauguration. Moreover, he promoted the development of a citywide health information​ ​exchange that connects health care providers, shares critical information to promote patient care, tracks​ ​outcomes, prepares for disasters and provides for public health surveillance. Dr. Levin also served on the D.C. Health Exchange Board and chaired the​ ​Essential Health Benefits​ ​Package Subcommittee, where he successfully led the effort to ensure that residents of the District of​ ​Columbia had access to a full range of substance abuse and mental health services. He also co-chaired the committee that oversaw the integration of substance abuse and mental health services into the new​ ​Department of Behavioral Health. In 2012, Dr. Levin served briefly as Senior Deputy Director of DOH’s Addiction Prevention and Recovery​ ​Administration. During his tenure, Dr. Levin promoted substance abuse prevention efforts in all eight​ ​wards of the city through the work​ ​of the Prevention and Access to Recovery teams, including implementation of over $20 million in federal grants for services, assessed and referred an increasing​ n​​umber of individuals into treatment services, and connected more clients to recovery support services. Dr. Levin has long been involved in organized medicine and psychiatry. He served as Vice President for​ ​Science, Medicine, and Public Health at the American Medical Association. There, he oversaw programs​ ​related to evolving health delivery systems, such as in the areas of prevention and health care disparities. He also led efforts to improve the interface between clinical medicine and public health. Among other positions Dr. Levin has held includes serving as a special expert appointee in the Substance​ ​Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he led the initiative to integrate primary care, substance abuse, mental​ ​health, and HIV/AIDS response. While serving as President for Access Consulting International Inc., he​ ​worked with federal, state, and local governments and private companies to provide health policy, program, and research and evaluation services. He is a former President and CEO of Medical Education for South African Blacks, an anti-apartheid​ ​education trust that provided scholarships to South African black students in health care. He helped​ ​award more than 11,000 scholarships to students studying to become physicians, nurses, substance abuse counselors and other health care professionals. In 1982, Dr. Levin received his M.B.B.Ch. (M.D.) from the University Witwatersrand in Johannesburg,​ ​South Africa, and completed his residency in psychiatry at the University of California, Davis, Medical​ ​Center. In 1994, he received his master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians – Edinburgh, and​ ​Clinical Professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in​ ​Washington DC.

John Graham IV, CAE became the President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Society of Association Executives August 1, 2003. During the first year of his tenure, ASAE and GWSAE completed an historic merger resulting in a new organization, ASAE and Center for Association Leadership. ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership help associations and association professionals achieve previously unimaginable levels of performance. ASAE & The Center are more than 22,000 association executives and industry partners representing nearly 11,000 organizations, with a budget of $35 million and a staff of 135. Our members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies, and voluntary organizations across the United States and in 50 countries around the globe, as well as provide products and services to the association community. Before ASAE, he served the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in Alexandria, Virginia for 24 years, the last thirteen as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to becoming CEO, John served the ADA in numerous capacities including Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Affiliate, National Director of Affiliate Development, Associate Executive Vice President for Operations and Deputy Executive Vice President. In his tenure as CEO, ADA quadrupled in size, from $50 million to $200 million in annual revenues and successfully moved from 53 independent, separately incorporated affiliate organizations to one nationwide organization with one staff, one budget and one plan. Before joining the American Diabetes Association, John served the Boy Scouts of America for nine years. He has a bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College and serves on the Association Committee of 100, US Chamber of Commerce; BBB Wise Giving Alliance Board of Directors; Convention Industry Council Board of Directors and America’s Promise Board of Trustee’s.

Douglas Olson has been a leader in the Washington metropolitan real estate community for more than 25 years. Doug joined Monument Realty in 2002, and as a partner in the firm, he serves on Monument’s management and executive committees. Doug’s astute knowledge in the areas of property acquisition, development, leasing, and marketing has contributed to the success of many of Monument Realty’s most significant business development opportunities and partnerships. He oversees the acquisition of existing assets, plays a key role in procuring development initiatives and third-party ventures, and directs the leasing and management of the firm’s commercial portfolio. Prior to joining Monument Realty, Doug worked with CarrAmerica Realty Corporation and the brokerage firm Smithy Braedon Company. He is the past president of the Greater Washington Commercial Association of Realtors and has served consecutive terms on the board of governors of the Washington Building Congress. He has also served on the board of directors and the executive committee of the Downtown DC Business Improvement District, and was a mayoral appointee to the Interactive Downtown Task Force. A native Washingtonian, Doug is a recipient of the DC Building Industry Association’s President’s Award, recognizing distinguished service to the industry and the community. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business.