ANDREW BUSH
Founder/Managing Partner
Morgan Creek Ventures
Boulder, Colorado

Andrew Bush is the founder and Managing Principal of Morgan Creek Ventures LLC, a real estate development firm based in Boulder, Colorado. The firm specializes in urban infill projects with a focus on design and sustainability. Working primarily in the western United States, Morgan Creek Ventures has managed the development and redevelopment of over 750,000 square feet of office, residential and mixed-use projects. The firm’s focus on sustainability has resulting in several pioneering efforts including the first LEED Platinum tenant improvement project in the country and the first privately developed green roof in Colorado, as well as one of the first Net Zero multi-tenant buildings in the country. Over the past decade, the firm has developed a variety of LEED Gold and Platinum designs, expanding their experience base in energy management, material science and user experiences, pushing the envelope toward Net Zero Energy.

Andy is currently developing a $250 million, 12-building portfolio of “all-electric” properties adjacent to Google’s Boulder campus. Ranging from office to multi-family residential, with first floor retail, the project is the central development in the city’s new transit hub. Working with Boulder Housing Partners, the new neighborhood provides a variety of commercial and residential project types as well as an innovative transportation demand “district” designed to reduce single-occupancy vehicle use. Andy has also pioneered a model “green lease” in partnership with Rocky Mountain Institute that ensures that commercial buildings maintain their Net Zero status even if individual tenants use more energy than allotted in their energy budget.

Prior to founding Morgan Creek Ventures over two decades ago, Andy was a Managing Principal with Redstone Group, a real estate consulting and construction firm, focused on resort and conservation development in the western United States. Previously, Andy spent six years as one of four Principals of Design Studios West (DSW), a consulting firm focused on city planning and urban design. Andy started his career over thirty-five years ago with URS Corporation, eventually holding the position of Vice President of Planning for the Northwest/Mountain Region. He was educated at the University of Wisconsin in Urban Planning and has served as a trustee and board member for several redevelopment associations and family foundations. He is a regular speaker on the topic of urban development and sustainable real estate development.

DOUG CRAIG
Vice President
RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture
Phoenix, Arizona

A well-traveled and broadly experienced landscape architect, Doug has over 35 years of experience in his field and is a Vice President with RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture. Doug is active in his local government, serving previously as a Commissioner on the Historic Preservation Commission and currently as the Vice Chair of the Development Review Board Member for the City of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Throughout his career, Doug has been responsible for all design aspects of project development, from concept planning through construction services. In recent years he has transitioned his role to focus on Business Development and Client Care for RVi’s Arizona office.

Passionate about travel, Doug believes that seeing the world and experiencing different cultures is important in the process of design inspiration. When we observe how design challenges are solved around the world, our minds are opened to new possibilities for our own clients and projects. Doug has worked extensively on the international stage, including projects in China, Haiti, North Africa, Middle East, and Central America. Closer to home, he has worked throughout the Western United States with a focus on workplace, mixed use, multi-family, healthcare, and hospitality design.

JANE JENKINS
President and CEO
Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Jane Jenkins has served as the President and CEO of Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership since March of 2009. Jane came to DOKC after serving in a similar capacity in Boulder, Colorado for nine years.

With over 35 years of experience in downtown revitalization and management, Jane is an internationally recognized speaker and expert on urban issues. She is a former Chairman for the International Downtown Association Board of Directors and has served on numerous local and national boards throughout her career. An experienced speaker and trainer, she has worked as a panelist and team member for the American Institute of Architects, the International Downtown Association, the National Main Street Center and the Urban Land Institute. In 2014, Jane earned accreditation from the Congress for New Urbanism and she was recently named a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Place Management in Manchester, England.

As President of DOKC Partnership, she has primary responsibility for the oversight of the Downtown Oklahoma City Business Improvement District. She holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University North Texas in Denton, where she served as president of Pi Alpha Alpha, the MPA honor society. A former high school educator, Jane was teacher of the year at Union High School in Tulsa in 1984.

PAUL MORRIS
Chief Executive Officer
MCP Foundation, INC.
Atlanta, Georgia

Working to build a better, more beautiful and enduring world.

As Chief Executive Officer | Mission Maker at the MCP Foundation, I lead the Midtown Connector Transportation Improvement Project (MCTIP), a unique public-private partnership with a vision to restore the transportation network and create a park and greenspace while responsibly tackling environmental and equity issues in our community. The MCTIP will combine vertically integrated transportation solutions with public gathering spaces, enhanced roads and connectivity, improved mobility in Midtown – transforming life in Atlanta and beyond for generations to come. For five years prior to the MCTIP I served as Atlanta BeltLine President and CEO, leading the most comprehensive urban revitalization effort in the history of Atlanta and among the largest, most wide-ranging redevelopment projects in the United States. During that tenure, I focused on forging non-traditional partnerships among public, private and non-profit organizations at the local, regional and national levels to stimulate more than $4.8 billion in public investment over 20 years which has already catalyzed more than $5 billion in direct private redevelopment. Prior to my tenure in Atlanta, I served as Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), leading 900 employees and an $800 million annual budget for NCDOT’s five multi-modal transportation divisions along with the department’s sustainability blueprint and public-private partnership initiatives.

I gained more than 25 years prior experience in private sector planning and development through previous roles with consulting, investment and advisory services to public and private sector clients across North America and around the globe.

At Cherokee Investment Partners, I directed sustainable investment policies, programs, and partnerships for institutional and corporate investors of a $2.5 billion real estate portfolio across North America and Western Europe. At Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc. (PB), I served as executive vice president and global director of strategic consulting and sustainability. At McKeever/Morris, Inc. (acquired by Parsons Brinckerhoff), I oversaw a diverse array of environmental preservation, public policy and sustainable development initiatives for corporate, institutional, non-profit, and government clients across the United States, Canada and Japan.

My work has received numerous citations, honors and awards including induction into Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Fellow of Rotary International and the American Society of Landscape Architects, and recipient of the US Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General’s Medal of Excellence. I have also provided pro bono and community service to more than 40 organizations from local to state and federal levels, including serving on the Vice President’s Council on Sustainable Development. I have taught at the university level and lectured widely, addressing more than 600 conferences and symposia – including the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Congressional Black Caucus, National Design Forum of Israel and Royal Institute of British Architects. I have been featured in more than 150 publications on topics ranging from community revitalization, public-private partnerships, and land use + transportation connections to public health, active living, brownfield redevelopment, and civic monuments & memorials. I studied at the University of Oregon and Harvard University and hold membership in several professional organizations, including the American Planning Association, Urban Land Institute, National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Society of Landscape Architects, where in 2003 I served as national president.

BENEDICT TRANEL
Principal
Gensler
San Francisco, California

Ben Tranel is an architect focused on the transformational power of design—how the built environment communicates values and shapes our experience, every day. His creative process is centered around listening and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Over his 14 years in Gensler’s San Francisco office, Ben has grown the firm’s practice, refined its working methods, and strengthened its relationships, both locally and abroad. His portfolio spans mixed use, residential, office, hospitality, civic, and cultural projects. Highlights include the 632-meter Shanghai Tower, the Tower at PNC Plaza in Pittsburgh, multiple developments in the Bay Area, and the recently completed headquarters building for Alexandria Real Estate in Pasadena, CA.

Ben is sought out for his ability to connect divergent viewpoints and align to competing agendas—be they aesthetic, commercial, societal, or financial. He’s an effective, empathetic leader and a master of his craft. He’s an expert at helping clients address needs they may not have even articulated on their own. The ninth of ten children in a big Montana ranch family, Ben understands, deeply, the power of hard work and the mechanics of consensus. Twice Ben has been granted “40 Under 40” awards, and he’s led his teams to many design honors, granted by organizations including the American Institute of Architects, Architect Magazine, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habit, World Architecture News, and Engineering News Record. Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from Washington University, in St. Louis, and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University.