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Board of Directors & Advisors Directors Jeff Averill Christyne Buteyn
Phyllis Dubinsky, Principal of PDK Market Strategies, specializes in marketing and organizational strategies for service firms and owners in design, construction, development and related industries. Her expertise is in new market entry/positioning and unique strategic alliances. Prior to forming her own practice, she was a Principal for the southern California practice of Perkins + Will, an international architecture, interior design and planning firm. Her 25 years of experience includes leading the marketing and strategic efforts for both large international practices and smaller regional practices. Her work was recognized with the receipt of the prestigious Leonardo Award in 1995. Believing that the constant exchange of fresh ideas is critical to sustaining creative industries, she also has been active in academia over the years and currently is on the faculty of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). She has also taught at Woodbury University and UCLA. Phyllis has also published several articles on creative business strategies for architects, including the widely acclaimed "When Merger and Acquisition Promise Fails to Deliver" published in Design Intelligence and more recently "Small Design Firms are the Real Innovators (and Winners)" for the AIA Journal, Practice Management Digest. Phyllis is active in the community and has been on the board of the Westside Urban Forum for 14 years, serving as President in 1998/99. She is also very active in Turtle Will, an organization dedicated to helping the traditional peoples primarily of Niger, Mali and Ethiopia retain their cultures and their dignity. In the past she has served on the board of the Southern California Biomedical Council (SCBC), where she was Vice Chair the Real Estate Task Force and the University of Southern California Architectural Guild. Phyllis has a BA in English Literature and Linguistics from SUNY (University of) Buffalo and pursued her graduate studies in linguistics at the University of New Mexico. Maricela Gomez
Matthew A Haas is a Senior Multifamily Manager at Fannie Mae in Pasadena, CA. He oversees LIHTC acquisitions for Community Investments. Prior to his work at Fannie Mae, he worked for Bank of America Community Development Banking as a Vice President and Client Manager for three years. Mr. Haas has over 16 years of affordable housing and community development experience having worked in New York City, Chicago and now Southern California. Matthew Haas has been employed by the National Equity Fund as a Senior Acquisitions Officer and as a Senior Program Manager and for Illinois Housing Development. In addition, he was an Assistant Director of Development for St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation in Brooklyn, NY and as an Assistant Architect and Project Development in New York City. Matthew Haas has a M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University and a B.A. in Architecture from UC Berkeley. Thomas A. Jones Thomas A. Jones is the Vice President of Planning for Playa Vista, the new mixed-use, urban-infill community on Los Angeles' Westside. Having been with the project since 1998, Tom manages the design of the community amenities, parks, open spaces and streetscapes and also acts as a liaison to City Planning on matters of permitting, entitlement issues, planning, and clearance of tract conditions. He serves on the boards of directors of Playa Vista's Community Association, The Ballona Wetlands Conservancy, and is a member of the Design Review Committee. Tom brings to Playa Vista extensive experience in the planning, design and development of planned communities and resorts in the United States and Mexico. Prior to coming to Playa Vista, he worked on Rancho Santa Margarita, Palmilla and Cabo del Sol Resorts in Mexico, Gleneagles Lake Placid Resort in New York, and Castle Pines and Ken Caryl Ranch in Colorado. Tom received a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia and his undergraduate degree in Economics from Rhodes College. Before moving into real estate development he worked as a Landscape Architect with THK Associates of Denver, Colorado. He is President of the Board of Directors of The Ballona Wetlands Conservancy and serves on the Board of The Ballona Wetlands Foundation. He is member of the Urban Land Institute, The American Society of Landscape Architects, and The American Planning Association.
Andrew is a Project Developer in Forest City's Hispanic Retail Group, which is developing retail and residential mixed-use environments for Spanish-speaking communities throughout California and the Southwest. Prior to Forest City, Andrew did business development and corporate strategy consulting as a management consultant for PWC Consulting and IBM Business Consulting Services. He has worked with Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Technicolor, The New York Times Co., The Getty Conservation Institute, Best Buy, Guam Telecom Authority, and other clients in the media, real estate, retailing, and telecommunications industries. Andrew also has worked as a journalist, guidebook editor, and travel writer in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Turkey. Andrew holds an A.B. degree from Harvard College, an M.B.A. from Columbia University, and a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California.
Jody Feerst Litvak Jody Feerst Litvak currently serves as Regional Community Relations Manager for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) where she is responsible for representing Metro's interests in the Central and Westside area, stretching from downtown Los Angeles to the ocean. Recently, she has been involved in efforts to win approval for Metro's first new bus operating facility in over 25 years, Phase I of the Exposition Light Rail Transit project, and the start-up and expansion of a dedicated bus lane on Wilshire Boulevard. She originally joined one of the Metro's predecessor agencies, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, in 1990. She has previously worked as the Government & Public Affairs Manager for the Congestion Management Program, eventually serving as the overall Manager of that program, and worked as the agency's Manager of Government Relations. Ms. Litvak previously worked for the California State Senate, US House of Representatives, Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, GTE-California (now Verizon), the City of West Hollywood, and campaigns for candidates and initiatives. In these positions, she has assessed, planned and managed a wide range of projects with complex and political and community concerns. Ms. Litvak holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the
University of California, Berkeley, and a Master's Degree in Public
Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of
Government. She lives in the Westwood area of Los Angeles with her
husband and two children.
Kristen Montet Lonner, a member of Cerrell Associates' seven-person ownership team, manages the Land Use and Planning practice. She is an experienced land use planner and political strategist with an extensive career in the public sector working on a variety of development projects. Kristen began her career as an intern with Los Angeles City Councilmember Laura Chick. While volunteering with Councilmember Chick, Kristen also participated on the campaign for Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski. Following a winning campaign, Kristen joined the council staff as a field deputy. Kristen quickly promoted to become chief planning deputy where she served as Miscikowski's liaison to the council's planning and land use management committee. Kristen worked on projects such as Playa Vista and land use programs like the Citywide signage ordinance and the creation of the residential and accessory services (RAS) zone. In October of 2003, Kristen was named the Director of Land Use & Planning for the Los Angeles Unified School District's new construction program. This program is currently building 300 school projects in the Los Angeles area and is the largest public works project in the U.S. LAUSD promoted Kristen to Chief of Staff to the Deputy Chief Facilities Executive of New Construction. In this position, she tackled difficult political decisions and negotiated with city councilmembers and state elected officials on a wide range of issues. Following her time at LAUSD, Kristen served as vice president of land use for GCG Rose & Kindel, representing developers seeking entitlements for projects throughout Southern California. A UCLA graduate, Kristen sits on the Board of Directors for the Alumni Association and also participates on the Scholarship Steering Committee. She is the previous State Chair of the Ralph J. Bunche Scholarship where she has volunteered for over 7 years. In addition to her volunteer work at UCLA, Kristen is the Vice President of Programming for the Westside Urban Forum and the previous president of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats. She is a graduate of the Los Angeles Business Council's Leadership LA program and currently sits on the land use committees for several business organizations including the Los Angeles Business Council, the Central City Association and the Los Angeles Chamber.
As an Associate Principal with Cuningham Group Architecture and serving as the firm's Director of Marketing, Rebecca is responsible for maintaining the the firm's long-term client relationships, developing new business opportunities and establishing teaming strategies with consultants, owner's representatives and other related firms. She uses her extensive experience to provide overall leadership for the marketing efforts of the firm and works closely with the principals of each of Cuningham Group"s studios to implement the company's marketing goals. Rebecca helps to establish corporate strategy in developing the urban, entertainment, retail, and mixed-use market sectors, focusing on work with developers, public agencies, and private corporations to design and build successful projects. UrbanPlan & ULI LA ULI LA currently brings the award-winning UrbanPlan program to nearly 200
students at ten Los Angeles urban high schools. ULI LA encourages, rewards, and
supports the students and teachers who participate in the program. This is an
amazing program and she is proud to be a part of its continued growth and
success.
James Watt McCormick James Watt McCormick has more than 30 years of experience in developing, managing and constructing real estate. His firm, JAMES McCORMICK & COMPANY, A PUBLIC TRUST COMMONWEALTH DEVELOPER SM engages in diverse projects. Mr. McCormick has been honored by the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Architects with their coveted Hon. AIA award and as "Citizen Planner" by the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning's Alumni. He was elected to membership in Lamda Alpha International, An Honorary Land Economics Society. He is also the founding president of the Westside Urban Forum. Mr. McCormick is an urbanist and has written extensively on these broader issues of urban development. For further information please visit www.common-wealth.net. Connie Pallini-Tipton
Conni Pallini-Tipton is a planner with the City of Los Angeles. She is the community planner for San Pedro, currently updating the general plan for the San Pedro Community. In addition to her advance planning responsibilities she has worked on special projects such as the Cargo Container Ordinance for Wilmington, and the Citywide Industrial Land Use Policy Study.
Shannon Clements Parry Shannon Clements Parry is the founder of Sustainable Places where she consults on sustainable city indicators, sustainable practices in the film and television industry, green building and a host of other urban planning and sustainable city projects. Shannon has done extensive work with the City of Santa Monica's Sustainable City Program where her work focuses primarily on municipal sustainability indicators. She is a LEED accredited professional committed to creating sustainable, livable and walkable communities that serve multiple audiences and include mixed-use, infill development and public and open spaces. Shannon is affiliated with the Center for Sustainable Cities at USC where her work focuses on Executive Education leadership trainings in urban sustainability. Shannon received her Masters Degree in Urban Planning from UCLA where she was the Director of the Environmental Coalition and founding member of the UCLA Sustainability Committee. She received the Erin Brockovich/ Ed Masry Fellowship for Leadership in Environmental Justice, as well as the GSA Jeffrey L. Hanson Distinguished Service Award. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management and a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley. In addition to her practice, Shannon is committed to education and has developed curriculum for college students and the general public that promote sustainable practices in the urban environment.
Paul is a land use and transactional real estate lawyer representing governmental entities, nonprofit educational institutions, developers, and property owners in land use and entitlement matters, the acquisition, sale, optioning, and ground leasing of real property and in the making of various agreements including joint development agreements and construction related agreements. He has worked extensively with public/private transactions, air-rights or "TFAR" transfers and in the creation of special use districts for signage. Paul has appeared in front of city councils, planning and architectural commissions and community redevelopment agency boards in support of his clients' projects. He works with governmental officials, private parties and nonprofit entities to create development solutions that are economically and socially viable. In addition, Paul actively participates in the consideration, drafting and passage of state and local laws and special use districts to facilitate smart growth, transit-related density and the provision of affordable housing. He was a member of the task force that drafted the air rights or "TFAR" transfer ordinance for the City of Los Angeles.
Tibby Rothman Tibby Rothman is the founder and editor of VenicePaper. Known for its even-handed coverage of development issues, the publication is respected by politicians, activists, architects, developers and community members. VenicePaper has frequently been at the nexus of planning policy in the area and has featured interviews with nationally and internationally acclaimed architects such as Thom Mayne and Mark Mack. While developers and community members often find the entitlement process a combative one, Rothman instituted a "Development of the Year" award to acknowledge positive urban planning contributions. In addition to the built environment, the publication covers surfing, skating, art and hard news. It has broken numerous stories ahead of larger publications. In 2005, a VenicePaper cover was awarded "Best Magazine Design" by the Los Angeles Press Club. Ms. Rothman's credits include "To Live & Draw in LA," a website feature for the architectural firm of Pugh + Scarpa. The feature was touted by Taschen Publishing in their book "1000 Favorite Websites." Maria Rychlicki Maria Rychlicki has been with the City of Beverly Hills since 1981, serving in numerous capacities including Planning Associate/Advanced Planning, Transportation Planning Manager, Director of Transportation, Director of Community Relations/Ombudsperson and professional support to the Human Relations Commission. A problem-solver by nature and Certified City Planner, Ms Rychlicki has facilitated community strategic planning, neighborhood improvement and general plan update processes, and participated in inter-jurisdictional transportation planning/engineering processes to improve mobility withinLos AngelesCounty. Ms Rychlicki received her Masters in Communication from the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania, and Bachelor degree in Communication from Hunter College. Tarek Shaer Tarek Shaer is a co-founding principal of Urbanest Group Inc. a privately held California real estate investment and development Corporation that focuses on midsize mixed-use projects in urban market areas. Prior to forming the corporation, Mr. Shaer served as Vice President of Land Acquisition with Lennar Homes of California, a subsidiary of Lennar Corporation. He was responsible for sourcing out and processing urban infill and mixed-use land acquisition in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Mr. Shaer has conducted more than $1.0 billion in transactions in the last two years alone, equating to more than 3,400 residential units, retail, and office buildings. Prior to the Los Angeles Urban division, Mr. Shaer was a member of the Executive Committee and a Director of Land Acquisitions for Greystone Homes, another subsidiary of Lennar Corporation, where he was responsible for leading and directing the acquisition and feasibility effort of numerous high-density infill communities in Los Angeles and Orange County cities. Prior to joining the South Coast Division, Mr. Shaer managed the planning, design, and product selection of Lennar's 42-acre Central Park West site in Irvine, California, a 1,380 multifamily home mixed-use urban master plan community including 225,000 square feet of office buildings, and a 55,000 square foot retail center. Before joining Lennar, Mr. Shaer worked for the New York Based investment firm Lazard-Ferre, and earlier for the Los Angeles-based shopping center REIT "Haggen Company", as the in-house shopping centers planner and designer; and also worked for the international award-winning architecture firm of Perkins & Will at design and planning capacities. Mr. Shaer sits on the board of the Urban Land Institute (Los Angeles chapter), and the board of the Westside Urban Forum (WUF). He received both his Masters in Real Estate Development and Bachelors in Architecture degrees from the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. He holds a California Broker's license and a California General Contractor's License, and an international architecture license. Mr. Shaer is involved with various sustainable development projects, Green design (LEED Certified), and creative architecture forums, and has been an advocate in alternative construction methodologies and prefab homes partnering up with "Dwell Homes"and other manufactured home companies. Roger Sherman Roger Sherman is principal of Roger Sherman Architecture and Urban Design (RSAUD) in Santa Monica, CA, a 4-6 person practice founded in 1990. His work, which includes large-scale planning projects, design of public spaces, commercial and multi-family residential development, is known for its innovative approach to architecture which contribute to the creation of unique urban places. Sherman has been the recipient of numerous awards, most recently including AIA Awards in 2007 for Railyard Park in Santa Fe, NM and Gateway Park in Toledo, OH. Among his widely-acclaimed projects are an award-winning proposal for RePark, an end-use plan for FreshKills Landfill in Staten Island, NY (2001); a Transit-Oriented District (TOD) plan for North Hollywood, CA (1998); and the West Hollywood Civic Center (1989). Prior to forming his own practice in L.A., Sherman worked for Rafael Vinoly in New York, where he served as a Project Designer on the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Snug Harbor Music Hall. Sherman is also the author of "Under the Influence: "Negotiating the Complex Logic of Urban Property" (Univ. of Minn. Press, 2007). He serves as Co-Director of cityLAB, an urban design thinktank at the University of California Los Angeles, dedicated to the development of more agile planning practices designed to address the dynamic nature of today's metropolis. He has lectured widely, including at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he was a visiting studio instructor. Mr. Sherman received a B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980, and an M.Arch with Distinction from Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1985.
Mott Smith is principal of Civic Enterprise Associates LLC, a Los Angeles-based firm that develops infrastructure for vibrant, emerging neighborhoods in areas such as public schools, shared parking and housing. He has built his career by crafting innovative real estate projects from within both private industry and government. Prior to forming CEA, he was Acting Director of Planning for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), where he helped launch the District's $1.6 billion Phase II school construction program. Prior to that Mott expanded the use of joint-ventures, mixed-use and public-private development models in public-benefit projects. His work in this arena included (a) launching a public-private housing partnership serving neighborhoods impacted by L.A.'s public school construction program, (b) innovating the use of private non-profit corporations to expedite public real estate acquisition, (c) executing the first mixed-use public school/affordable housing project in the City of Los Angeles, and (d) serving as the founding Executive Director of New Schools-Better Neighborhoods, an L.A.-based nonprofit that develops and advocates creative, community-based approaches to school development. Prior to that Mott developed affordable housing from within the private sector and served as editor/business manager of industry publications The Planning Report and Metro Investment Report.
A nearly lifelong resident of the Westside, Josh Stephens is the editor of The Planning Report and the Metro Investment Report, monthly newsletters covering land use, infrastructure, and public policy in the Los Angeles region. Prior to immersing himself in L.A.'s civic life, Josh taught geography, journalism, and speech and debate at the Archer School for Girls in Brentwood. He has also worked as a freelance journalist and coached club and high school volleyball. He serves on the steering committee of the Brentwood School Alumni Association and on the Brentwood Community Council. Josh graduated from Princeton University, where he majored in English and served as an editor on the Daily Princetonian. He also did graduate work in urban geography at the University of Arizona. Jim Suhr, principal of James Suhr & Associates LLC, has focused on urban infill development of all types throughout his career in Southern California. His twenty years in real estate encompass experience in acquisitions, entitlements, development and asset management of a wide range of land uses. Jim has been involved in developing a number of transit-oriented mixed-use projects on MTA sites, including Washington National Station in Culver City and Wilshire Vermont Station in Koreatown, as well as industrial, office, apartment, condominium and historic rehab projects in markets across the Western United States. Prior to forming JSA, he was Director of Land Acquisitions with BRE Properties, and also held positions with Newhall Land & Farming, Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., and The Ratkovich Company. He is a graduate of UCLA's Anderson School of Management and School of Urban Planning. Patrick Tooley Patrick Tooley founded and is President of Tooley Interests, LLC a company focused on the development of neighborhood scale retail and mixed use projects in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. As a second generation Los Angeles builder, Patrick leads TI in its development strategy including the conceptualization, design, entitlements and financing of new projects. Prior to forming TI, Patrick was responsible for the development of several urban infill, mixed-use projects in the City of San Francisco and on the San Francisco Peninsula. Patrick has held positions with Robertson Stephens in the real estate investment banking group, at Spieker Properties, and with The RREEF Funds. He is actively involved in the promotion of the recently adopted mixed use zoning ordinance in the City of Los Angeles, participates in the International Council of Shopping Centers and is a member of the Urban Land Institute. Patrick received a BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and an MBA from Stanford University. Board of Advisors James Favaro Jim Favaro is a principal with MDA Johnson Favaro, a diversified full service general practice based in Culver City, CA and Boston MA, offering design and consulting in the areas of architecture, urban design and interiors. Jim established the West Coast office with his partner Steve Johnson in l989. Since that time the firm has completed projects for both private sector and public sector clients. Most recent projects include the Pasadena Museum of California Art in Pasadena, CA, the Shops on Lake Avenue also in Pasadena, CA, the Los Angeles Trade Technical Campus Plan, and the Los Angeles Harbor College Campus Plan. Other recent projects include the University Park Campus Plan for the University of Southern California and the Storke Area Plan for the University of California at Santa Barbara. The firm's current projects include the West Hollywood Park Plan for the City of West Hollywood, CA and the San Pasqual Courts Residential Complex in Pasadena, CA. Jim is a graduate with honors from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Stanford University. Jim is a past president of the Westside Urban Forum, CA , Chair of the Environmental Committee of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and currently sits on the board of the Southern California Land Use and Transportation Coalition. Doug Holte Doug Holte is a partner at Hines, the largest private (and most international) commercial development firm. Responsible for property acquisition, development and management activities on projects throughout California, including Santa Monica's Lantana media tenant campus, office/biotech campuses in the Bay Area and the new San Diego Padres Ballpark. Doug received his undergraduate degree from USC and graduate business degree from Harvard. Active Board member of Covenant House and Santa Monica Film Festival, and former Board member of USC Architectural Guild and National Conference for Community Justice. James Watt McCormick |
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 Housing problem is supply, demand |
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Andrew Kaplan
Paul Rohrer
Mott Smith
Josh Stephens
James Suhr