DC, Maryland And Virginia's Economic Forecast

Mr. Buchanan is a Principal of Buchanan Partners, a full service real estate development company in office, retail, industrial, residential, and large mixeduse planned communities. Mr. Buchanan is the President of the 2030 Group, an association of Washington metropolitan area business leaders focused on regional long-term decision-making and solutions. The mission of the 2030 Group is to advance a strong regional economy with new employment opportunities and sustainable prosperity for current and future residents of the Washington metropolitan area. Mr. Buchanan was recently recognized in the Washington Business Journal’s “Power 100” list of the region’s most influential business leaders. Until recently, Mr. Buchanan was chair of VisArts, a premier visual arts organization in the capital region that’s based in Rockville. His extensive past community involvement also involves Chair of Loudoun County Economic Development Commission and Founding Member of the Ballston Partnership.

Kathy E. Hollinger is President and CEO of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW). Since 2012 her visionary leadership has led RAMW -- which represents over a thousand restaurants and the food service industry in one of the nation’s largest and most visible regions -- through its most dramatic period of sustained growth and innovation, with overall operating budget and new revenue growth of 30%. She also raised the profile of the association and industry across the region and nationally, resulting in an epic year of national accolades that included Bon Appetit Magazine’s 2016 Restaurant City of the Year and ZAGAT’s Hottest Food City of 2016. As RAMW’s official voice and advocate, Kathy drove unprecedented growth and development in the industry, while guiding members through a continuously evolving legislative and regulatory landscape; providing marketing and small businesses consulting and resources; and spearheading visionary programming and industry events, including the internationally lauded RAMMY Awards. The RAMMYS honors exceptional ability and accomplishments in the restaurant community and has been named one of the nation’s top Food and Restaurant events. Kathy founded STORYBOARD, a Washington DC-based strategic communications firm, in 2010 and served as its CEO between 2010 and 2012. Appointed to DC Mayor Adrian Fenty’s executive cabinet in 2008, Kathy served as Film Commissioner of the District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television from 2008 to 2011. With Kathy at the helm, Washington, DC experienced a 15% increase in volume of film activity and an increase of more than $38 million in industry direct spending and revenue generation. Prior to her appointment as Film Commissioner, Kathy led external and regulatory affairs for Comcast in Washington, DC, increasing company visibility and presence, brand and newly launched products and services. She negotiated Comcast’s cable franchise with the District of Columbia and created a public-private partnership focused on lifelong learning. Under her leadership, Comcast received DC Chamber of Commerce’s vaunted Business of the Year award and the US Conference of Mayors Champions of Excellence Award. Kathy began her career with the City Council of the District of Columbia, working as the Campaign Press Director and Director of Communications for DC Councilmember Charlene Drew Jarvis; and as Chief of Staff for DC Councilmember Kevin P. Chavous. Kathy has been recognized as one of the Most Influential Minorities in Cable and honored by Washington Business Journal as one of 20 Women Who Mean Business. In 2015 she was named as one of the region’s most influential business leaders in Washington Business Journal’s Power 100, and most recently in 2017 Washington City Paper named Kathy one of the People of the Year in their 2017 People Issue. Kathy serves on numerous boards, including the Federal City Council Policy Center, Destination DC, DC Central Kitchen and the National Cherry Blossom Festival Foundation. She holds a BA from American University’s School of Communication and a master’s in public communication and public policy from George Mason University. In 2010 she returned to American University as an adjunct professor in the School of Communication. Kathy and her husband, Anthony, live in Washington, DC with their young son, Bijan.

Monica Backmon is the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) and has led NVTA since May 2014. Bringing more than 25 years of public and private sector transportation experience, Ms. Backmon oversees the region’s long-range planning, prioritization, and funding of regionally significant projects bringing multimodal transportation solutions to Northern Virginia. Managing an annual revenue stream provided through House Bill 2313 that is trending at $425 million per year, Ms. Backmon led the NVTA through the adoption of all seven funding programs, the most recent occurring in July of 2024. With the implementation of NVTA’s funding programs, NVTA is advancing 140 regional multimodal transportation projects totaling more than $3.8 billion for congestion reduction throughout the region. Ms. Backmon also oversees the distribution of $110 million annually to the Authority’s nine member localities for their local transportation priorities, which surpassed a total of $1 billion in September 2023. Ms. Backmon holds a B.A. in Psychology and a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Maura is a talented, dynamic leader and urban planning professional who has been engaged for many years in advocating to advance Washington, DC’s broad public interests, including the creation of affordable housing, supporting the region’s public transit system, and improving public spaces. As President and CEO of the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID), Maura oversees all activities of the NoMa BID and is responsible for executing the organization’s strategic mission in partnership with the BID’s exceptional Board of Directors and staff. With a background in urban planning, Maura has spent her entire career in DC, working on issues related to housing, transportation, and the economy. Maura has a unique appreciation for the value of coalition-building among broad and diverse stakeholder groups, having worked in both community-focused and business-driven organizations. Maura is excited about all of the opportunities on the horizon for NoMa, and is mindful of the important role that the BID will play in shaping the future of the neighborhood. Maura sits on the Board of Directors of the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC) and as Vice President of DC Sustainable Transportation (DCST). She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Elon University and a MPS in Urban and Regional Planning from Georgetown University.

Gary is the Chief Investment Officer and a Partner of Meridian. Gary is responsible for acquisitions, capital activities and investor relations.  He also serves as Chair of the Investment Committee. Gary led the fundraising and investing efforts of Meridian Realty Partners I and II, Meridian’s discretionary private equity funds raised in 2012 and 2016. Between these two funds, Gary has completed in excess of $2.5 billion in investments with over $1 billion of equity in 15 transactions. With over 30 years of industry experience, Gary represented Meridian in its first 3 years of investments as a partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Washington, DC. He then headed up the Real Estate Fund’s Acquisitions Group as a partner at The Carlyle Group, where he led and completed over $12 billion of investments with $3.4 billion of equity in nearly 200 transactions. These included the acquisition, development, structured financing, and recapitalization of office, hotel, retail, residential, industrial, land, senior living, and mixed-use properties. He also led the firm’s efforts in the formation of Carlyle Realty Partners I, II, III, IV and V – an aggregate of over $5 billion in investor commitments – before joining The Meridian Group in November 2007. Gary received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law. Gary is on the Advisory Board for George Washington University Business School's Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis.

Yesim Sayin Taylor is the founding Executive Director of the D.C. Policy Center. With over ten years of public policy experience in the District, Yesim is recognized by policymakers and advocates as a source of reliable, balanced analyses on the District’s economy and demography. Before joining the D.C. Policy Center, Yesim lead the team within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer that scored the fiscal impact of all legislation the District considered. She frequently testified on high profile legislation and worked closely with the executive and Council staff to ensure that policymakers fully understand the fiscal implications of their proposed legislation. She co-founded and blogged at District Measured and her work was highlighted in Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, City Paper, and the Governing Magazine, among others. Yesim also has worked in the private sector, and consulted with international organization on a large portfolio of public finance topics. Yesim holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from Bogazici University, located in Istanbul, Turkey.

Bob Murphy is the Managing Principal for MRP Realty. He has over 34 years of experience in commercial real estate operations, ownership and investment. He joined Trammell Crow Company (TCC) in 1987, managing the firm’s regional operations for many years as Principal. Bob’s last role with TCC was area president of the development and investment group in the Mid-Atlantic where Bob and his team completed $1.8B of investments totaling over 10 million square feet. He co-founded MRP Realty (MRP) in 2005, capitalizing on his in-depth knowledge of Mid-Atlantic real estate markets, extensive network of capital relationships, and his reputation as a collaborative and creative partner to drive the firm. Under Bob’s leadership, MRP has deployed nearly $7.8B of office, residential/mixed-use and industrial developments and acquisition investments with an active pipeline totaling over 8 million square feet. He has actively participated in leadership roles at NAIOP and ULI and at various charitable activities during his career; currently serving on the board of Habitat for Humanity of Washington D.C. Bob received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame; his M.B.A. in Finance at Columbia Business School; and was an officer in the United States Army.

Darin Mellott is a Senior Director of Capital Markets Research at CBRE. In this capacity, Darin leads a global team of Capital Markets Research Analysts and works with other members of senior leadership to provide analysis and develop “house views” on global markets and economic conditions, with a focus on their impact on real estate. Beyond this, Darin leads and contributes to research and strategy efforts across the globe on behalf of clients, and has authored numerous white papers for the firm. He also represents CBRE with the media and at public forums on a frequent basis. Prior to his current role, Darin was CBRE’s Director of Research for the Americas. Achievements Outside of his formal responsibilities, Darin serves on various boards for prominent institutions and is often called upon to provide expert opinion on a wide range of issues, including real estate, public policy and economic matters. He also regularly provides economic and real estate insights to policymakers at the local, state and federal levels. Darin currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah and is a member of the Utah Economic Council. Both in his native Utah and more broadly, Darin is a respected contributor to economic thought leadership and the business community. He was named a Forty Under 40 honoree by Utah Business, and Harvard Business School selected him to be a participant in the Young American Leaders Program—an extension of the school’s U.S. competitiveness project aimed at promoting cross-sector collaboration to solve pressing issues and achieve shared prosperity in communities. Darin completed his master’s degree in Real Estate Finance at the University of Cambridge and received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Brigham Young University.

Amy Carbins works with real estate clients in structuring, negotiating and executing complex commercial real estate transactions. Amy advises owners, developers, investors, lenders and tenants in acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, financings, restructurings, leases and other matters related to commercial real estate. Her experience includes transactions involving office buildings, hotels and resorts, shopping centers, mixed-use projects, multi-family and industrial properties. Amy’s clients appreciate her focus on creating practical solutions for complex problems with careful analysis and an emphasis on mitigating risk. Amy advises lenders and borrowers in construction, bridge and permanent financings. Her finance experience includes multi-jurisdiction/multi-property portfolios, preferred equity and mezzanine debt, CMBS and syndicated debt arrangements and other structured finance transactions. She also advises clients on leasing and asset management matters for office, retail and industrial properties including work with landlords and tenants on headquarters leases, single-tenant buildings, new construction leasing and representation of landlords owning large, multi-state portfolios. Prior to relocating to Washington, DC, Amy spent several years in the firm's San Francisco office.