Getting Up To Speed On Portland Today

Vanessa Sturgeon became president and CEO of TMT Development in 2003. Founded by her grandfather, Thomas P. Moyer, Vanessa started learning the business while still in college. Today, she leads a team that manages more than 6.5 million square feet of mixed-use high-rise assets, retail shopping centers and industrial parks in Oregon and Washington. Her grandfather’s entrepreneurial spirit and fierce commitment to Portland is evident in the way Vanessa leads TMT and serves her community. With countless business accolades and extensive board service to her credit, gratitude for the life she leads fuels her “love what you have” philosophy and her passion to help those who struggle with inequity. As a mom to three boys, Vanessa loves the feeling of family at TMT. “We all like each other. It’s authentic. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We laugh a lot … we have fun. I can dish it, but I can take it, too.” The company she leads places a high value on service. Service to tenants, business partners, coworkers and community. Empowering people to lead and serve from wherever they are is something she believes in; something she learned from mentors who let her make mistakes and build her reputation. “My grandfather placed a high value on service, on how you treat people … on being embedded in and connected to the community in lots of different ways. That’s how you impact change.” Vanessa attended Santa Clara University, Atkinson Graduate School of Management and Willamette University College of Law.

Jill leads Edlen & Co.’s public-private partnerships and build-to-suit projects for nonprofit and for-profit organizations, facilitating the important work of nonprofits and public agencies in our communities. Her projects at Edlen & Co., and previously at Gerding Edlen Development which she joined in 2003, include affordable housing, community facilities, student housing, academic buildings and mixed-use residential. Jill sources new deals and manages all aspects of the development process, with a depth of expertise at integrating non-conventional sources of financing including low income housing tax credits, new market tax credits, historic tax credits, tax-exempt bonds and urban renewal funds. She holds a Master’s of Urban Studies from Portland State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from University of Pennsylvania. She served on the City of Portland’s Planning and Sustainability Commission and currently serves on the boards for Architectural Foundation of Oregon and Earth Advantage.

Michael Gray has led the sales efforts for SageGlass in western North America since 2016, and has worked in the electrochromic glass field for nearly a decade. He enjoys working with a wide range of customers and bringing value to the design process while ensuring building occupants can enjoy the benefits of natural light in their buildings.

Alisa Kane is the Climate Action Manager at the City of Portland, Oregon USA. She and her team are taking a people-centred approach to climate action by creating equitable community benefits that reduce carbon emissions. Alisa is known for being an experienced manager with a demonstrated history of advancing leading-edge sustainability policies and programmes, a fierce project wrangler, adept facilitator, compassionate listener and innovative problem solver.

As PAE’s Chief Marketing Officer, Julie leads and inspires a team of marketing, graphics, and engineering design professionals. An integral part of the leadership team, Julie helps to strengthen relationships with clients and industry partners. PAE has a long history in healthcare design working with Stanford Health Care and Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) as well as on projects such as the University of Washington Behavioral Health Teaching Facility and Tacoma Behavioral Health. With over two decades of experience, Julie serves on the board of the American Institute of Architects San Francisco Center for Architecture + Design and spearheads the Women in Leadership committee at her firm.