Mid-Atlantic Student Housing Summit

Dorothy Parrish-Harris is the Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students at Coppin State University, where she oversees departments such as Housing and Residence Life, Student and Campus Life, Recreation and Wellness, Community Conduct, and Counseling and Accessibility Services. With over 40 years of leadership experience in higher education, she has held leadership roles in student affairs, strategic enrollment management, disability support services, and TRIO programs. Her commitment to student engagement and success is evident through initiatives such as the Coppin Corner food resource center, which addresses food insecurity among students, a Student Housing Initiative partnership with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC), Maryland’s first program of its kind, and a partnership with the American Heart Association and the University of Maryland Medical Systems to revitalize the campus community garden, providing students with access to fresh produce and opportunities for nutrition education. Through her leadership, Dean Parrish-Harris continues to drive innovative programs that empower students to achieve personal and academic success, reinforcing Coppin State University’s commitment to transformative student experiences.

John T. Childress holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Rutgers University School of Business. John is certified trainer/facilitator in the Predictive Index, Balanced Scorecard, and Kauffman FastTrac tools and programs. John began his career with Domino’s Pizza where he became one of the first African American Franchisees in the 4,000-store chain. John served as Executive Director of the African American Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia. John was chosen by New York City Business Solutions to facilitate and train entrepreneurs and trained over 3,000 and launched the groundbreaking Food Business Pathways Program, trained over 350 people on starting a food business with the goal of gaining self-sufficiency. The program was highlighted in Wall Street Journal New York Teaches Food Business to Public Housing Residents. In 2018, John joined Mosaic Development Partners as Director of Business Development. His vast professional experience is integral to managing the needs of the MDP team, for which he leads major development projects and special projects including master planning and strategic higher education support. John was promoted to VP of Development & Special Projects has helped build the Mosaic pipeline of impactful development projects while supporting Mosaic’s growth in Prince George’s county, Delaware, and other new areas.

With over 10 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, William Shell, Senior Director, is responsible for new loan originations for multifamily properties across the country. Throughout his career, Mr. Shell has developed extensive expertise in the manufactured housing and student housing asset classes. Mr. Shell also specializes in conventional multifamily loan originations through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, bridge, CMBS, and HUD executions. Mr. Shell joined Walker & Dunlop in 2007 as a member of the company’s multifamily underwriting department. In 2012, he was promoted to the multifamily finance department, joining Will Baker in loan originations. Since then, he has assisted Mr. Baker in the origination, underwriting, and closing of over $5.0 billion in Agency financing. Mr. Shell holds a Bachelor of Science in economics and business from Hampden-Sydney College where he was captain of the lacrosse team.

David C. Bagnoli, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is a Founding Principal at StudioMB, an architectural practice based in Washington DC’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. He has over 32 years experience in Architecture and Urban Design, including academic, master planning, commercial mixed use, multi-family housing, and hospitality architecture. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Notre Dame, he retains an active interest in academics serving as visiting critic and guest lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, The Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Catholic University and The University of Maryland. David’s work for Higher Education includes Student Life, Academic, Administrative, Athletic and Performing Arts as he draws from his vast experience in private, civic and non-profit projects to provide a dynamic viewpoint for clients, stakeholders and consultants. David has a deep understanding of campuses and their communities, having written and lectured on the dynamics of Town/Gown relationships at NACUBO’s Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference, the National Smart Growth Conference, and at the National Building Museum. Proud to be a generalist in a world full of specialists, Mr. Bagnoli takes a broad view of architecture, and understands the most successful projects consider both the visionary and pragmatic concerns of a particular site, program and client. Under his leadership and inspired by a wide range of aesthetics’ and influenced by historical and cultural references, local context, proposed uses and integrated technology StudioMB has emerged as a prominent design voice in the architectural community. Mr. Bagnoli’s projects have received numerous design awards at the highest level of the profession, including both American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Awards and AIA Housing Awards, Architizer, Charter Awards from the Congress of the New Urbanism, and awards from a variety of regional and state AIA chapters including the State of Maryland, New York, the Boston Society of Architects, Washington, DC, and the Virginia Society of Architects.

Genevieve Hanson has spent 20 years overseeing real estate transactions and assets valued over $6 Billion and has more than 10 years’ experience as a strategy and operations consultant. Genevieve is the CEO and Founder of H & H Realty Group focused on leveraging real estate consulting and multi-family development to generate social and environmental impacts. Prior to H & H, Genevieve was a Partner at Ernst & Young, LLP, providing real estate strategy and transaction services to the Dept of Commerce, Veterans Affairs, Army, Navy, Air Force, HUD, City of Baltimore and University of Pittsburgh. As an Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Genevieve led real estate policy, asset management, leasing supply chain operations and sustainability program. While at U.S. General Services Administration and the DC Government Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning and Economic Development, Genevieve managed the strategy, solicitation process and deal structure for multiple acquisitions and dispositions for properties up to 110-acres. Genevieve has served in Leadership positions with several Trade Associations including Commercial Real Estate for Women DC; Urban Land Institute; African American Real Estate Professionals; and Federal Real Property Association. Genevieve earned a B.A. in International Relations from the College of William and Mary and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

LeVar Crooms currently holds the esteemed position of Market President at United Bank, where he oversees the Arlington and Alexandria markets. In this role, his responsibilities encompass strategically driving both commercial and retail production while ensuring the profitability and sustained growth of these markets. Crooms plays a pivotal leadership role in managing public relations efforts for Arlington and Alexandria, while also representing United Bank in the community through active participation in civic affairs and professional organizations. Before joining United Bank, Crooms spent a decade at M&T Bank, where he served as Senior Vice President in the Commercial Real Estate Finance Division. During his tenure, he successfully financed over $2 billion worth of residential and commercial projects in the Greater Washington DC area. His clientele ranged from institutional to middle-market and family office companies. Crooms's exceptional performance was consistently acknowledged, earning him the President's Council Sales Award four times within M&T Bank's Commercial Banking Division. His leadership and contributions to the Greater Washington community were further recognized with prestigious accolades including the 2022 Washington Business Journal 40 under 40 and the 2023 Northern Virginia Leadership Center for Excellence 40 under 40 awards. Crooms embarked on his professional journey at BB&T in 2006, where he completed the commercial credit training program. Within two years, he rose to manage a team of eleven before progressing to a portfolio manager, and ultimately a relationship manager. Beyond his professional endeavors, LeVar is actively engaged in various boards and committees. He serves as a Board Member of NAIOP (National Association for Industrial and Office Parks) Northern Virginia chapter since 2020, contributing his expertise to the Education Committee. He was recently appointed to the Board of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, the nation’s largest organization that teaches young people about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Previously, he held board positions with the Urban Financial Services Coalition DMV Chapter (2016-2019) and the Dr. William T. Syphax Education Foundation (2019-2023), where he served as Secretary and Vice Chairman. Crooms is an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. LeVar graduated with honors from Johnson C. Smith University in 2006, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. When not immersed in his professional pursuits, LeVar finds joy in family life, residing in Arlington, VA, with his wife Anshia and their son Zachariah. Crooms is an avid traveler and enjoys reading.

As Principal of Lessard Design, Joseph Ahmadi brings his experience with various projects within diverse markets, including but not limited to multifamily, adaptive reuse, student housing, planning and new construction of retail and entertainment-driven mixed-use environments. Joseph is a licensed architect registered in numerous states and has more than 20 years of professional experience in the industry from project conception through completion. He has a unique perspective on design, having studied and lived overseas, in addition to almost ten years of experience with international clients.

Felipe Ernst founded Ernst Equities in 2015 with a 3-unit acquisition in the heart of Shaw, Washington DC. He's since grown to over 500 units throughout the Washington DC metropolitan region. Mr. Ernst specializes in value-add, opportunistic multifamily acquisitions, development and management with a concentration in workforce and affordable housing (Class B & C). Mr. Ernst has been recognized by DCA as a 2020 Rising Star of Commercial Real Estate as well as a two time awardee of the Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Journal's 30 under 30. Previously, Mr. Ernst was an associate management consultant at KPMG in the technology enablement group. His largest client was Fannie Mae, where he helped build the Loan Accounting System platform. Mr. Ernst is a member of Urban Land Institute (ULI) and is a licensed real estate salesperson and property manager. Mr. Ernst received his BSBA from Georgetown's McDonough School of Business with a concentration in Finance, International Business and a certificate in Entrepreneurship. In addition, he received his Masters from Georgetown's School of Continuing Studies with a concentration in Real Estate Development & Finance. Mr. Ernst is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown teaching a class on value-add Multifamily investments.