Speakers

  • Raymond Connell

    Managing Director
    Holland Partner Group

    Raymond Connell is Managing Director of Seattle at real estate investment company Holland Partner Group. He previously served as development director in the San Francisco Bay Area. Connell joined Holland Development in 2015 and has more than 17 years of real estate experience. He leads the Seattle team in pursuit of site acquisition, deal underwriting and project execution. Connell holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College. 

  • Alexander Finale

    Senior Project Manager and Facility Planner
    Meta

    Senior Project Manager and Facility Planner with over 18 years of professional experience in design, construction, and operation of advanced technology facilities. Successfully ramped multiple semiconductor conversions and greenfield projects including cleanroom, central utility, and hazardous production material buildings. Experienced working with local jurisdictions on permitting, approval of alternative means and methods, and memorandums of understanding.

  • Charlie Foushee

    Executive Vice President
    Skanska USA Commercial Development

    Charlie Foushee leads the Seattle region of Skanska USA Commercial Development, which delivers customer-focused, highly sustainable office, mixed-use, and multi-family properties across the United States. Since joining Skanska in 2016, Charlie has supported the company’s most notable large-scale projects, this includes 2+U, Alley111 and 400 Fairview. Most recently, Charlie led the development of The Eight, Skanska’s new 25-story, 540,000-square-foot Class A office tower in downtown Bellevue. Prior to joining Skanska, Charlie was a Manager for Talon Private Capital. Charlie received his bachelor’s degree from Seattle University. He currently serves on the advisory board for Bainbridge Island, Little League.

  • Joshua Harris, Ph.D.

    Managing Partner
    Lakemont Group

    Dr. Harris is a leading real estate economist and investment strategist specializing in real estate development, finance, capital markets and business organizational leadership and strategy. His clients include national real estate developers, real estate investment trusts, private equity firms, law firms, and hospitality institutions as well as local governments and real estate companies.

  • Karin Liljegren, FAIA

    Founder and Principal
    Omgivning

    Karin Liljegren is a recognized leader of downtown Los Angeles’s urban revitalization. Her mission is to breathe new life into existing buildings. Liljegren founded Omgivning in 2009, an integrated architecture and interiors firm that has touched 500 buildings from small local cafes to a 2 million square foot historic landmark. She has become a leader in adaptive reuse of existing/historic structures in Los Angeles. Liljegren is a creative visionary with roots in practicality and strategy. She is heavily involved in real estate by finding new opportunities for redevelopment and instigating ideas for new value in existing properties.

  • Marco Lowe

    Chief Operating Officer
    Office of the Mayor, Seattle

    Marco Lowe is responsible for City functions and programs and the day-to-day tasks needed for operating the city. Lowe previously led teams in government and the private sector to improve affordability for housing in King and Snohomish counties and is an adjunct professor at Seattle University’s Institute of Public Service. His focus is on driving efficiencies in Seattle’s public utility agencies, making Seattle government more transparent and accountable, and streamlining housing and infrastructure construction. Lowe has a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington.

  • Phil Mobley

    National Director, U.S. Office Analytics
    CoStar Group, Inc.

    Phil Mobley has served the commercial real estate industry for nearly 20 years as a researcher, analyst, consultant and thought leader. His career includes stints at the commercial brokerage Avison Young, PropTech firm Building Engines, and the research consultancy Kingsley Associates, as well as serving as an independent advisor to industry clients. With a background in customer satisfaction and tenant experience research, he views the fundamentals of commercial office building performance through the eyes of the end users. As national director of U.S. office analytics, Mobley helps guide CoStar’s outlook on the office market and produces value-add analysis for subscribers.

  • Michael Vander Ploeg

    Northwest Regional Commercial Leader
    DLR Group

    As the Northwest Regional Commercial Leader for DLR Group, Vander Ploeg advocates for the growth of DLR Group's commercial market sectors across the Pacific Northwest. Guiding a team of integrated design and engineering professionals, he will continue innovating the future of workplace with existing client partners while sparking new partnerships in DLR Group's focus areas including science+technology, hospitality, multifamily residential, and sustainable design and development.

    His passion for design stems from his genuine curiosity and enthusiasm for the world we inhabit. As an architect and researcher, he finds better solutions to make our built environment safe, productive, and fun through technology, construction, and data. His interest in the correlation between how we work and the spaces in which we work drives him to be at the forefront of workplace design. His working relationship with multinational technology companies such as Boeing, Google, and Meta has allowed him to implement successful design strategies for various corporate and research paradigms.

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