Jurors operate independently, applying the highest standards of evaluation and professional practice as reflected in the code of ethics of the Urban Land Institute.

2019 Jury Roster

Jacinta McCann, Jury Chair, Global Design Adviser, AECOM

Ms. McCann has worked for more than 35 years to enhance the quality of cities and communities around the globe. In the past 28 years while at AECOM, she has held both practice and management executive roles at regional and global levels. Originally from Sydney where she worked on large scale urban regeneration projects including the Sydney Olympics, Ms. McCann has continued to work on complex urban development projects including Mission Bay in San Francisco, Nova Luz in Sao Paulo, Bonifacio Global City in Manila, and the Los Angeles Waterfront.

Ms. McCann has served in various capacities with the ULI including the National Program Committee, the Global Awards for Excellence Jury, and as a ULI Daniel Rose Fellow. She is a currently a member of the Recreation Development Council. Ms. McCann’s professional appointments include President of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF), the San Francisco Bay Conservation Development Commission (BCDC) Design Review Board, and the University of New South Wales Faculty of the Built Environment Advisory Board. Ms. McCann was honored in 2014 by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the 100 most influential business women in the Bay Area.

 

Stuart Ackerberg, Chief Executive Officer, Ackerberg

Mr. Ackerberg is the owner and serves as the Chief Executive Officer of ACKERBERG.  Prior to forming ACKERBERG, Stuart served as General Partner, President and Chief Operating Officer for Birtcher Financial Services, and was Vice President for Heitman Financial Services, Ltd.

In addition to his work at ACKERBERG, Stu created a non-profit development corporation, Catalyst Community Partners, wherein he serves as its Chairman of the Board.

Stu is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”), serving as a Governing Trustee on an international level and in a leadership role within ULI Minnesota’s District Council. He is an advisory board member for the College of Design at the University of Minnesota and is a member of the Real Estate Advisors for the University of Minnesota Foundation. In addition, he serves as a director of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation and Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis.

Stu attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison where he received a Bachelor of Science degree with emphasis on Economics and Real Estate.

 

Amy Coburn, University Architect / Director of Planning Design & Construction, University of New Mexico

Amy serves as the UNM University Architect and Director of Planning, Design & Construction. Planning Design & Construction, a professional internal service unit, is dedicated to delivery of superior academic facilities. In this role, Amy provides broad leadership for the institution’s architectural and development activities. Amy also serves as Director of Design & Development of Lobo Development Corporation, a UNM Regent-owned, non-profit corporation where she supervised activities with partner American Campus Communities to provide high-density student housing at UNM.

Over her 30-year career, Amy has held positions with several distinguished development and architectural organizations across the country.  As Vice President of Planning and Design for Forest City Enterprises, she developed Albuquerque’s Mesa del Sol’s residential builder program and authored community public realm expression for this ambitious mixed-used master planned community.

Additionally, Amy has served as Vice President of Product Development for Pulte Homes in Las Vegas, NV, Associate Vice President for Development with Catullus Development in San Francisco and as an architect with SOM San Francisco. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and a Master of Architecture from Harvard. Amy has taught at several universities and is active in professional organizations such as Lambda Alpha International, SCUP and the Urban Land Institute where she serves as incoming ULI NM Chairperson.

 

Antonio Fiol-Silva, Founding Principal, SITIO architecture + urbanism

Antonio is a nationally recognized leader in planning and design, and the Founding Principal of SITIO architecture + urbanism.  His integrated design work has garnered numerous  awards and recognition that include: a ULI Global Award of Excellence for the SteelStacks Art and Cultural Campus; an AIA National Urban Design Award for the US House of Representatives Office Buildings & South Capitol Area Plan in Washington, DC; a U.S. Green Building Council’s GreenSource magazine cover feature in the for the Charlottesville Downtown Transit & Visitor Center; and a USGBC Project of the Year Award for Paseo Verde, the nation’s first LEED ND Platinum Certified project.

Antonio serves as a Global Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and as a Faculty and National Advisory Board member of the joint NLC/ULI Rose Center for Public Leadership.  He widely lectures on urban development, serves on industry juries, and appears in print and media.  He has been District Council Chair of ULI Philadelphia, President of AIA Philadelphia, and President of the Center for Architecture + Design.   He has served as Commissioner of the Delaware River Port Authority, the Philadelphia Historical Commission, and Board member of the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation. Antonio has a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University, a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University and was a Fulbright Fellow in Barcelona, Spain.

 

Michael Grove, Principal, Sasaki Associates

Michael is the Chair of Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Ecology and sits on the Board of Directors at Sasaki, a global design firm with offices in Boston and Shanghai. Leading the firm’s work in Asia, he offers unique insight into the unprecedented transformation and urbanization of the region. Michael is a fierce advocate for the vital role that landscape architects play in shaping contemporary cities. Informed by a rigorous inquiry of economic, ecological, and cultural influences, he believes that the role of the designer is to make cities more livable, equitable, resilient, and just.

Michael’s distinguished career spans a variety of project types and scales including regional planning, new communities, urban districts, and waterfronts. He collaborates closely with clients to generate planning and design strategies that are inclusive of financial, cultural, and environmental perspectives. This integrated approach prioritizes creative solutions that balance development needs with ecological and social imperatives.

Michael is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in landscape architecture and a focus on planning and urban design. He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, sits on the Placemaking council of the Urban Land Institute, and serves on the board of the Landscape Architecture Foundation. His work has been recognized with numerous national and international awards, and he is a frequent lecturer at conferences and universities around the world.

 

Blake Olafson, Managing Partner, Asia Capital Real Estate Pte Ltd

Blake has spent the past 28 years in the real estate industry in Asia and is the founder and managing partner of Asia Capital Real Estate (2012), a private equity fund management business with over $1.2 B USD assets under management based out of Singapore. ACRE specializes in rental multifamily primarily in the US with over 10,000 apartment units and in 2018 returned to Asia with their first investments in the Thai residential rental market. Prior to founding ACRE, Blake was an SVP at Ivanhoe Capital, a large single-family office based in Singapore responsible for private global investments of the family office. Blake also spent a couple years at Arcapita as head of real estate in Asia (2008/2010), a large Shari’iah compliant investment firm. Blake spent 9 years from 1999 to 2008 at Lehman Brothers in the real estate group in Singapore and Thailand, responsible for principal investments for the firm.  Blake started his career in Asia with Ikoma in 1992 based in Tokyo. Blake has a Masters in Real Estate development from University of Southern California, is a global trustee of the Urban Land Institute and lives in Singapore with his family.

 

Gayle Starr, Managing Director, Prologis

Gayle is a trusted leader/advisor with deep knowledge and experience in debt structuring, compliance, public and private funds globally and negotiating complex financing. She brings a law degree and decades of experience initiating and closing financing through volatile market cycles, including the Global Financial Crisis. Previously, she has developed, managed and leased industrial and retail assets facilitating an understanding of real estate operations.

Gayle has created and maintained strong relationships with banking partners and closed over $38 billion of financings in nine currencies with over 70 lenders during her tenure at Prologis (formerly AMB). International experience includes securing financing in Mexico, Japan, Canada, China and throughout Europe. With regard to mergers and acquisitions, she took a leading role in analyzing, devising strategy and executing the debt aspects of over $15 Billion in activity.

Her current focus is to share her knowledge through board and advisory positions in growing companies and organizations. In addition, she is passionate about increasing diversity and inclusion through her role as a Global Governing Trustee for Urban Land Institute (ULI), and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Women’s Leadership Initiative of ULI and as an advisor to Prologis.

 

Becky Zimmermann, President, Design Workshop

Becky Zimmermann is the President of Design Workshop, an international firm providing urban design, land planning, landscape architecture and strategic services. Design Workshop, founded in 1969, with eight offices and 120 employees, has been involved with significant projects around the world. Becky has devoted her career to solving complex issues in the areas of community planning, market and economics, tourism planning and development strategy. She is recognized for her work in leading communities, companies and organizations in strategic and business planning, market definition and strategy, development entitlements, land use regulations, real estate economics, facilitation and advisory services.

Becky received her MBA from the University of Colorado and undergraduate degrees in business and communications from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO Gold), Urban Land Institute and the American Planning Association. She is vice chair of ULI’s new Travel Experience and Trends Council (TETC). Becky serves on the board of directors for AAA Colorado and Weifield Group Contractors and formerly the Front Range Center for Neuro Diversity. Becky also annually teaches Real Estate Marketing to real estate graduate students at the Universidad de Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala.