Members of the Jury represent a range of expertise in real estate and land use, including finance, investment, planning, development, design, public affairs, and professional services, et al. Jury members typically serve a three-year term.
2020 Prize Jury
Jodie W. McLean, Jury Chair
Chief Executive Officer, EDENS
Washington, D.C., USA
Jodie W. McLean is Chief Executive Officer of EDENS, one of the nation’s leading private owners, operators and developers of retail real estate. With a more than 25-year tenure at EDENS, she has established herself as a key player in the company’s growth and expansion to its current marketplace leadership, capitalized by blue chip investors and assets valued at $6.5 billion. McLean is responsible for EDENS’ strategy to move the portfolio to major urban centers, creating a portfolio of assets that are the center of community life. She was named Chief Investment Officer in 1997, President in 2002 and CEO in 2015. Overall, she has been responsible for the development, redevelopment, acquisition and disposition of more than $15 billion in retail assets. McLean passionately believes that retail should evolve beyond a shopping experience, and advocates for connectivity to the communities surrounding the company’s retail centers. To ensure this, each EDENS development is crafted to serve as an authentic gathering place, including a unique merchandising mix and welcoming design elements, fostering a sense of engagement with its neighbors. A native of Chicago, IL, McLean holds a B.S. in Finance and Management from the Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina and a degree from South Carolina Honors College. McLean serves as Trustee and Executive Board Member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and Trustee of Urban Land Institute. She serves on the boards of Cushman & Wakefield, The Real Estate Round Table, Wofford College and Extended Stay America, as well as boards of several other institutions and charities. McLean is a member of the Liberty Fellowship (Aspen Institute) Class of 2009.
Maurice Cox
Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), City of Chicago
Chicago, IL, USA
Maurice D. Cox was appointed Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) by Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and confirmed by the City Council on October 16, 2019. Celebrated for his experience merging architecture, design and politics through multiple public, private and elected positions, Cox is responsible for leading DPD’s economic development, planning and zoning functions while fostering community-improvement initiatives throughout the city. His primary focus is under-invested neighborhoods on the South and West sides. In his previous capacity as director of planning and development for the City of Detroit, Cox created a new, resident-centered planning and development department and led innovative urban planning and revitalization strategies that championed the equitable redevelopment of neighborhoods that fostered population growth and new mixed-use, mixed-income investment. Cox was formerly the design director of the National Endowment of the Arts under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, where he represented the federal government for architecture and design matters and served as an advisor to more than 120 mayors on urban design issues. He also served as mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia, from 2002 and 2004, following six years as a City Councilor. As an elected official, Cox implemented numerous community visioning processes and strategic planning initiatives that resulted in Charlottesville’s consistently high ranking as one of the most livable cities in the United States, as well as the smallest city in the country to maintain a AAA-bond rating for excellence in fiscal management. He also chaired the city’s Housing and Development Authority Commission, Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization, and Mayor’s Taskforce on Urban Housing Policy. Cox is a former professor at Syracuse University, the University of Virginia and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design; a former associate dean for community engagement at Tulane University; and former director of the Tulane City Center in New Orleans. He also practiced architecture for 10 years in Florence, Italy, where he met his wife and raised their two children. Cox has been named by Design Intelligence as one of the “most admired design educators in America” and by Fast Company magazine as one of “20 Masters of Design” in the United States. A native of Brooklyn, he has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Cooper Union in New York City and an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Detroit Mercy. He hopes to continue his 30-year tradition of walking and biking to work from a home he will share with his wife on the Near North Side.
Chris Frampton
Managing Partner, East West Partners
Denver, CO, USA
As Managing Partner, Chris oversees all of the company’s development and sales activities. With East West pioneering new communities in Charleston, Denver, Snowmass, Deer Valley and Kauai, Chris works with folks from coast to coast and helps guide these destinations toward the future. From his perspective, the agenda is actually quite simple, “We build places that put people first, where the experience drives design and sustainability governs construction techniques.” Chris is a founding member and the board President for the Civic Center Conservancy, the City of Denver’s private partner at Civic Center Park. He is also Board Chair for the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization, and a member of the Board of Governors’ for the Denver Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Randy Rowe
Chairman, Green Courte Partners
Chicago, IL, USA
Randy Rowe is Chairman of Green Courte Partners, LLC (“GCP”), a private equity real estate investment firm focused on niche real estate strategies. GCP currently has three active niche strategies: 1) near airport parking (“The Parking Spot”); 2) manufactured housing communities; and 3) active adult/independent living properties.
Previously, Mr. Rowe was a co-founder and Chairman of Transwestern Investment Company, LLC and Chairman and Director of Transwestern Commercial Services, LLC. Mr. Rowe was also Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hometown America, LLC, a large owner of manufactured housing communities.
Mr. Rowe is a Trustee and former Global Chairman of the Urban Land Institute, an Emeritus Trustee of the Steppenwolf Theatre, and a member and former Chairman of The Real Estate Roundtable.
Mr. Rowe holds a BA from Denison University, an MBA from Harvard University, and a JD from the University of Michigan.
Leslie Woo
Chief Planning and Development Officer, Metrolinx
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Leslie Woo is Chief Development Officer (CDO), leading Transit Oriented Development (TOD) program for Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario. Leslie has been named, one of Bisnow’s 2019 Toronto Power Women in Commercial Real Estate, one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2017, Spacing Toronto’s Transit Change-maker in 2016 and Canada’s Women’s Infrastructure Network’s 2015 Outstanding Leader.
Leslie leads the TOD development program for both provincial crown agencies, the goal of which is to leverage the Metrolinx transit land assets through a fair exchange value with qualified third-parties, so as to increase transit ridership, improve the customer experience and ultimately create more complete and connected communities. Metrolinx’s over $50 billion transit expansion program, plus its existing real estate portfolio is enabling extensive market driven opportunities for stations that integrate multi-use development with subways, electrified heavy rail, and LRTs.
In her 11 + year career at Metrolinx, Leslie led key strategic initiatives such as the regional transportation plans that led to the first major $9.6B capital investment and the development of the transit business case methodology. She continues to be a champion for driving sustainability and supporting women’s leadership. Prior to Metrolinx Leslie worked in the municipal, private and not-for-profit sectors. She was the key author of the original Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan (2006), which by 2016 had resulted in urban intensification totaling over 18 per cent increase in multi-family residential development, a two-thirds reduction of greenfield lands consumption, and conserved about 800 square kilometres of agricultural and rural land.
Leslie is a Global Governing Trustee, a member of the Americas Executive Committee with the Urban Land Institute and is a retired member of the Ontario Association of Architects. Awarded a 2011/12 Fellowship with International Women’s Forum, Leslie is a Director on the board of Womens’ College Hospital and for eight years was a director on the board of YMCA for the Greater Toronto Area (2009 – 2017).
Leslie is the creator of the blog shebuildscities.org celebrating women city builders around the world. Leslie holds a BEnvironmental Studies, a BArchitecture and a MPlanning from the University of Waterloo. She is also the 2015 recipient of the Renison University College Distinguished Alumna Award. Born in Trinidad, Leslie is the mother of two thriving global citizens.