Economic and Political Forecast: Your 2018 CRE Playbook

James A. Fetgatter is Chief Executive of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE), a position he has held since 1992. AFIRE is a nonprofit association formed in 1988 whose members are foreign institutions with a common interest in international real estate investing. AFIRE members have $1 trillion in real estate investments worldwide. He has guided the growth of the association from a small group of Dutch pension funds to an organization of over 190 investors from 21 countries. Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive, Mr. Fetgatter spent 15 years in various aspects of the real estate industry. His last two positions before joining AFIRE were with Dutch and UK investment and development companies. Mr. Fetgatter served as an officer in the United States Navy and holds a Master in Business Administration from Harvard University and a BS from Oklahoma State University.

Mr. Abdo is the CEO and President of Abdo Development, a District of Columbia development and construction company that has built its reputation as a pioneering, innovative developer of award-winning residential, commercial, hospitality and retail development. Founded by Mr. Abdo in 1996, the company has a strong philosophy in smart growth and adaptive reuse. To date, the company has completed over thirty significant development projects, totaling nearly 1B dollars and approximately 2 million square feet, and has received critical acclaim from both the community and the press for its responsible approach to development and is considered a leader in the renewal of Washington’s historic districts. Mr. Abdo currently sits on the board of the Institute of Current World Affairs, and is an Honorary Trustee of Arena Stage. He is also a former board member of The Bank of Georgetown, Fight for Children, DC Building Industry Association, The DC Preservation League, the DC Chamber of Commerce, The College of Wooster Alumni Board and others. A long-time D.C. resident, Mr. Abdo also served as a board member and chair of the Development Committee for the Washington Convention & Sports Authority Board, which was responsible for the development of the $537 million convention center hotel. Mr. Abdo has been the recipient of numerous awards, including Trendsetter of the Year, Washingtonian of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, and CEO of the Year.

Ms. Bennett leads Bennett Group with over 30 years of experience in the real estate world. A seasoned businesswoman, she began her career in real estate in her late husband’s office where she assisted in growing the business from a small real estate ownership and property management firm to a substantial real estate development firm and office building owner and operator. More recently she managed the movement of the firm into the real estate service area, building upon many years of experience as a developer, owner and operator of both commercial and residential buildings to provide quality real estate services. Ms. Bennett is a LEED accredited professional and works primarily in areas of sustainable construction, business development, management, financial and legal services. In 2008, she was appointed by Governor Tim Kaine to serve on the Climate Change Commission for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Ms. Bennett currently serves on the following boards: The Virginia Health Care Foundation, Charity Works Advisory Board and National Children's Museum.

David Bowers is vice president and Mid-Atlantic market leader for Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. His work includes facilitating affordable housing and community development transactions and policy implementation in collaboration with public and private sector stakeholders in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas. His office provides access to financing, capacity building and technical assistance to local developers. Enterprise’s Mid-Atlantic office also participates with local coalitions advocating for increased resources for affordable housing and community development. Since David joined Enterprise in 2004, the organization has invested more than $800 million in capital to support affordable housing efforts in the Mid-Atlantic region, preserving or producing more than 11,000 homes. During David’s tenure, the office has been a co-initiator and co-convener of the Housing Leaders Group of Greater Washington, initiated several efforts including its Faith-Based Development Initiative, a transit-oriented preservation/resident displacement prevention initiative (GreenPATH) and the D.C. Green Communities Initiative. He currently serves on the board of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers. In 2004, David completed his service as a program manager for a single-family housing program at the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. Prior to joining the trust, David was a financial and programs advisor at the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. In that position, he developed and managed CDFI’s compliance monitoring review system. Before that, he worked in the office of U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, at the time the ranking member of the Senate VA-HUD Appropriations Committee. David served as the senator’s senior legislative assistant, with responsibility for analyzing and providing policy recommendations on legislation pending before various appropriations subcommittees. David earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his Master of Divinity degree from Howard University. He is an ordained minister and the founder of the all-volunteer NO MURDERS DC movement, launched in 2000. From 2013- 2015 David served as the mayoral appointee as chairman of the District of Columbia Housing Production Trust Fund Advisory Board. David is a founding member of the Greater Washington chapter of 100 Black Men and a member of Leadership Greater Washington (’09). David formerly served on the boards of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, Thrive DC, City First Enterprises, City First Homes, Jubilee Housing and the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance. He is a former member of the District of Columbia’s Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals and the District of Columbia’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Group.

Timothy Trifilo is a partner in CohnReznick’s Tax Practice with more than 18 years of experience. He advises global clients in the asset management, private equity, and real estate industries including opportunity funds, venture capital, public and private REITs, institutional investment advisors, and real estate owners/developers. Tim specializes in structuring global private equity funds and investments with diverse investor profiles and in providing transaction support and advice on fund formation, public and private equity offerings, capital structures, REIT formation and qualification issues, real estate workouts, and M&A transactions. He also has significant experience in partnership taxation and joint venture transactions with specific focus on sovereign wealth funds (SWF). Prior to joining CohnReznick, Tim was a partner with a Big 4 firm. His tenure there included serving as a member of the firm’s SWF thought leadership group, obtaining a leadership position for its financial services real estate tax practice in Washington, D.C. He also led the strategy for growth and development of the financial services, asset management, and real estate tax practices in the Greater Atlanta market. Timothy is a CPA in New York, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

As Chief U.S. Economist, Andrew develops the firm’s economic and market perspectives and provides strategic advice to the firm’s clients. In collaboration with the U.S. leadership team, he is responsible for driving Colliers’s research agenda and leading the U.S. research team in providing insight, thought leadership and guidance about commercial real estate, capital markets and financial investment and related sectors. Prior to Colliers, Andrew spent eight years at Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, most recently as Director, Research & Strategy in the Americas, where he managed the U.S. Research team and was the retail sector and sustainability specialist. Previously he held a variety of leadership positions in both the public and private sectors including Vice President of HOK Advance Strategies, where he served as national practice leader of the Portfolio Services service line. He also managed a construction-lending program for the World Bank in Russia, held a two-year “Community Builder” fellowship with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and managed the regional real estate consulting practice at Deloitte & Touche in San Francisco. Andrew holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from Harvard University and is the author of numerous articles on real estate sustainability, macroeconomics, retail sector dynamics and other topics in property economics, market research and demographics. Among other industry involvement, Andrew sits on the editorial board of the Journal for Sustainable Real Estate and was outgoing Chair of the North American Research Task Force for the International Council of Shopping Centers. He is also a certified general real estate appraiser in California and a member of the Urban Land Institute. He was a 2015 Gold Medallion Award for research from ICSC. Andrew has been the invited speaker at numerous professional conferences including for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Urban Land Institute (ULI), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), and the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA).

Economist and former fixed income professional with nearly 20 years of macro strategy experience. Strong econometric modeling skills and extensive research experience. CFA holder; Master's degree in Mathematical Finance. Specialties: Quantitative and econometric modeling; scenario analysis; solid knowledge of labor market dynamics. (Also: curve trading/relative value strategy, trading and execution. ALM and interest rate/FX hedging.) Knowledge of eViews and MATLAB. Authored "An Examination of Transparency in European Bond Markets", CFA Institute

As CBRE’s Americas Chief Economist, Jeffrey provides the broader commercial real estate community with thought leadership on real estate trends, the macro-economy and economic events. He works with investors, occupiers and other users of commercial real estate to better understand real estate and capital markets in order to make better investment and leasing choices. He is also responsible for guiding the CBRE Econometric Advisors (CBRE EA) team. CBRE EA provides best-of-class research, data, analytical tools and forecasting services to its clients. With its staff of highly-qualified economists, CBRE EA assists clients in achieving maximum returns while managing risk in commercial real estate. Before joining CBRE, Jeff served as the Director of Research at National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. During his time there, he created and published a monthly thought piece to explain NCREIF data, analyze trends and educate membership on new topics, including for senior leadership a quarterly executive summary with additional data from NAREIT to summarize investment returns in the public and private markets. Jeff also worked as a Global Strategist with Property & Portfolio Analytics, leading the company’s global expansion effort by coordinating real estate market coverage across North America, Europe and Asia. As a Vice President at Equity Office Properties, he spearheaded long-term strategic research projects to support and advance the company’s $25 billion portfolio and future expansion. Jeff currently serves as a board member of the Real Estate Research Institute (RERI). He has co-authored several research papers, including “The Case of Real Estate,” “Derivatives Markets: How Far Does Real Estate Have to Go,” and “The Use of Leverage by Institutional Investors: Pros, Cons and Implementation Considerations.” He is also a Homer Hoyt Fellow and he became a Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) in April 2016. Jeff holds a masters in economics from University of Virginia and a B.A. in Economics from Lehigh University.

Hans G. Nordby, Managing Director leads CoStar Market Analytics and CoStar Portfolio Strategy (formerly Property and Portfolio Research), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Mr. Nordby joined PPR as a Research Strategist in July 2002. In that role, he managed research projects for REITs, opportunity funds, plan sponsors, and commercial banks. Most recently, Mr. Nordby served as Director of Advisory Services, where he led risk management, investment strategy, and other projects for some of the world’s largest commercial real estate investors. Prior to joining PPR, he worked in portfolio management and acquisitions for a pension fund advisor and as a commercial real estate strategy consultant with KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Nordby received a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and an M.B.A. from Indiana University.

Phil Mendelson was first elected to the Council in November 1998 as an At-Large Councilmember. He served the District in that role until June 2012 when, following the resignation of the previous Council Chairman, Phil was selected by his colleagues to take over that role. In November 2012 and 2014, District voters elected and re-elected Phil as Chairman of the Council. As Chairman, Phil leads the Council on all legislative matters. Phil also presides over the Committee of the Whole which has purview over matters concerning: the DC Auditor, the District’s budget, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, federal relations, planning and zoning, procurement, regional bodies (Except WMATA and DC Water), the retirement system, statehood and the University of the District of Columbia. Phil has been an active participant in District politics since 1975, when he became a member of the McLean Gardens Residents Association. In that role he was a large part of the effort to save the 43-acre housing complex from destruction. In 1978, Phil successfully ran for a seat on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) and continued to serve as an ANC Commissioner until he took office as an At-Large Member of the Council. Prior to becoming Chairman, Phil served eight years as Chair of the Council’s Committee on the Judiciary. In this role, he was responsible for all legislation affecting criminal laws in the District, as well as oversight over the District’s public safety agencies–including the Metropolitan Police Department, Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department, and the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. During his tenure on the Council, Phil has authored hundreds of laws. Major accomplishments include: establishing an elected attorney general and an independent Department of Forensic Science (the city’s crime lab); authoring Budget Autonomy, the District’s gun control laws (post-Heller), marriage equality, Universal Paid Leave, and the District’s tree canopy protection law; recrafting Mayor Bowser’s homeless shelter pan to close DC General, and Mayor Gray’s plan to build the DC United Soccer Stadium; establishing the District’s first renewable portfolio standard for electricity generation; coordinating an increase in the minimum wage with Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties; and implementing the recommendations of the 2012 Tax Revision Commission that has made the District’s income tax one of the most progressive in the nation and that has reduced the business franchise tax by almost 20%. Phil believes that government should be an honest, efficient deliverer of services, and that the District should help those least able to help themselves to develop the skills to become self-sufficient and end the cycle of poverty. Phil believes that government must accomplish this without increasing the tax burdens already shouldered by our middle income residents. Throughout his years of public service, Phil has maintained that the District, as the nation’s capital, should be a model of service delivery in public education, public safety, and public health. Phil came to the District from Cleveland, Ohio in 1970 to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from American University. He grew up in a family dedicated to public service. His mother was a national crusader for nursing home reform. His grandmother, who had been President of the Michigan State League of Women Voters, was appointed by President Roosevelt to the Federal Office of Price Administration, and was a founder of the Grand Rapids Urban League. Phil has an adorable daughter Adelaide, who attends DC Public Schools. He lives in Southeast DC.

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.

Janene Jackson is a partner in Holland & Knight's Public Policy & Regulation Group who utilizes her extensive experience to help clients navigate the legislative and regulatory aspects of local government. Having worked in all branches of the government of the District of Columbia, Ms. Jackson brings a 360-degree approach to assisting clients with their government relations and lobbying needs, business development interests and legal representations in administrative proceedings.