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

2018 Jury Roster

Stuart Ackerberg
Chief Executive Officer
The Ackerberg Group
Minneapolis, MN

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.

Lynn Carlton
Vice President | Regional Leader of Planning
HOK
Kansas City, MO

Lynn oversees planning for HOK’s Kansas City and Columbus practices and is a nationally recognized expert on urban design and development. Over her two-decade career, she has led a variety of planning, design and landscape projects with a focus on downtown corridors, mixed-use developments, urban districts, waterfront locations, civic campuses and regional sustainability initiatives.

Lynn works closely with all stakeholders to build consensus, resolve barriers to implementation and inspire collaborative efforts toward a shared vision.

An active member of Urban Land Institute, Lynn has served as the chair of the Kansas City chapter, a jurist for the ULI Global Awards of Excellence, a trustee for the group’s national body and a cofounder of its NEXT Leadership Initiative that champions the professional growth of early-career planners. The Kansas City Business Journal named Lynn to its list of “Women Who Mean Business.”

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

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.

Glenda Hood
CoFounder
TriSect
Orlando, Florida

Hood is a founding partner of triSect LLC, a strategic consulting firm focused on civic innovation serving the business, government, and independent sectors. Hood was Florida’s Secretary of State from 2003 to 2005 and Mayor/Chief Executive Officer of the City of Orlando from 1992 to 2003. Before being elected Orlando’s first woman mayor, she was a city council member for 10 years and president of her own public relations business.

As Mayor, Hood was a strong advocate of growth management and smart-growth principles to build safe, livable neighborhoods, a revitalized downtown, and a strong local economy. Under her leadership, the city’s land area grew by 50 percent; older and historic neighborhoods were revitalized; compatible new mixed-use infill was constructed; the city’s largest parks initiative built new parks and refurbished existing ones; unprecedented partnerships in education were established; transportation alternatives were championed; Orlando became a high-tech center and competitive world market; and the arts became a civic priority.

She spearheaded the redevelopment plan for the Orlando Naval Training Center, the most ambitious economic development project in the city’s history. That undertaking has been recognized as one of the country’s best examples of the reuse of former government properties and a model for incorporating all elements of smart growth and civic engagement. In addition, Hood has been a key adviser on domestic security and disaster preparedness for Florida and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

As Secretary of Florida’s Department of State, Hood was responsible for the department’s Divisions of Administrative Services, Corporations, Cultural Affairs, Elections, Historical Resources, and Library and Information Services and was instrumental in crafting the state’s Strategic Plan for Economic Development and leading international business initiatives.

Hood has served as president of the National League of Cities and the Florida League of Cities and as chair of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. She is a global trustee of the Urban Land Institute, an active participant on ULI’s Advisory Services panels and the Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership, a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and longstanding board member and past chair of Partners for Livable Communities. She chairs the corporate boards of SantaFe HealthCare and Axiom Bank N.A. and serves on the board of Baskerville- Donovan Inc., as well as the Florida Gubernatorial Fellows Program and Junior Achievement Academy.

Hood received her BA in Spanish from Rollins College after studying in Costa Rica and Spain. She attended Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government executive pro- gram and participated in the Mayors Urban Design Institute at the University of Virginia and the Society of International Business Fellows.

Mehul Patel
New York, NY

Mehul J. Patel has enjoyed a career in real estate and economic development spanning the public, private and non-profit sectors over the past two decades. Most recently, Mehul was the Chief Operating Officer of Midwood Investment & Development which owns, develops and manages retail, office, residential, hotel and mixed-use properties in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

Prior to joining Midwood, Mehul was the Chief Operating Officer & Chief of Staff at Empire State Development, New York State’s real estate and economic development agency. Previously, as a Vice President of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, Mehul worked with various public and private sector stakeholders to expand New York’s Penn Station into the historic James A. Farley Post Office Building. Prior to that, he was a Senior Project Manager at The Hudson Companies where he oversaw the development of J Condominium in DUMBO and was responsible for managing all aspects of the 33-story, 267-unit new construction project. And before joining Hudson, Mehul was a Senior Analyst at HR&A Advisors, which specializes in real estate, economic development, and public policy consulting.

Mehul is currently a Board Member of the Coro New York Leadership Center, a Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and was named to the Global 40 Under 40 by Urban Land Magazine. He also serves as a Director on the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation. Previously, Mehul served as President of the Columbia Real Estate Development Alumni Association, co-chair of the Yale Alumni Real Estate Association, and co-chair of the ULI New York Young Leaders Group. Mehul received a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and Urban Studies from Yale University and a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University.

Mitchell J. Silver
Commissioner
City of New York, Parks & Recreation, The Arsenal
New York, NY

Mitchell J. Silver became Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in May 2014. Commissioner Silver  is also the immediate past president of the American Planning Association (APA). He is an award-winning planner with more than 30 years of experience and he is internationally recognized for his leadership in the planning profession and his contributions to contemporary planning issues. He specializes in comprehensive planning, place making and implementation strategies.  As Parks Commissioner, Mitchell Silver oversees management, planning and operations of nearly  30,000 acres of parkland, which includes parks, playgrounds, beaches, marinas, recreation centers, wilderness areas and other assets.

Prior to returning to his native New York City as Parks Commissioner, he served as the Chief Planning & Development Officer and Planning Director for Raleigh, NC. His career has included roles as a policy and planning director for New York City’s Department of Planning, a principal of a New York City-based planning firm, a town manager in New Jersey, and deputy planning director in Washington, DC.

Commissioner Silver lectures extensively throughout the United States and abroad on a variety of planning topics. He is a contributing author and editor of International City/County Management Association’s (ICMA)  latest edition of “Local Planning: Contemporary Principles and Practice,”which is a resource for local governments engaged in planning. Known by his colleagues as a passionate communicator, creative thinker, problem-solver and visionary leader, Mitchell Silver has been at the center of many cutting edge trends, innovative solutions and visionary plans, including Harlem on the River and Vision for Jamaica Center in New York City and the revitalization of neighborhoods in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, and Raleigh. As president of APA, he led an international effort to elevate the value and rebirth of planning in the 21st century.

One of the nation’s most celebrated urban thinkers, Commissioner Silver has been elected to Planetizen’s list of the 100 Most Influential Urbanists (2017), and named an honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (2017), a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences (2016), an honorary fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia (2015), a fellow of the American Planning Association (2014), and an honorary lifetime member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (2014). In addition, he has been honored as one of the top 100 City Innovators in the world by UBM Future Cities, and in 2012 the Urban Times named him one of the top international thought leaders of the built environment.

When Mayor Bill de Blasio named Mitchell Silver as New York City’s Parks Commissioner, he called him “a visionary.” The Mayor went on to say:  “He has a passion for fairness and equality, and he brings it to the work of government, and understands that we have to ensure that parks and open spaces are available in every community, and are well-maintained in every community in this city.”

As planning director in Raleigh, he led the comprehensive plan update process and a rewriting of the development code to create a vibrant 21st century city. Mr. Silver served in Raleigh from 2005 until taking his job at Parks. He was an outspoken advocate for Raleigh and helped transform it into a world-class city with great streets, great places and great neighborhoods.  His work has been featured in Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Guardian (U.K.), Philadelphia Inquirer, Huffington Post, Associated Press, Atlantic Cities, the Urban Times, Planning Magazine, the News & Observer, the Charlotte Observer, the Triangle Business Journal , Crain’s Business Journal, BBC World News and National Public Radio (NPR).

Commissioner Silver has taught graduate planning courses at Hunter College, Brooklyn College, Pratt Institute and North Carolina State University.  He is  the Dunlop Lecturer in Housing and Urbanization at Harvard University.

Mitchell Silver was born in Brooklyn and grew up near Prospect Park. He attended Midwood High School and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute and a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Hunter College.  He is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners and is a licensed Professional Planner in the State of New Jersey.  He lives in Brooklyn with his family.

F. Karl Zavitkovsky
Principal
Enterprise Bridge USA
Dallas, TX

Based in Dallas, Karl Zavitkovsky is Managing Director and Southwest Division Executive for Bank of America’s Real Estate Group. Karl joined the bank in March 1989. Previously he served as Vice President and Southwest Regional Director of Citicorp Real Estate, Inc. He began his real estate career in 1971 when he joined International Charter Mortgage Corporation in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1975, Karl joined Citibank in Puerto Rico. He moved to Venezuela with Citibank in 1978 as a Vice President and Corporate Bank head, a title he held until moving to Dallas.

A native of New Jersey, Karl Earned a B.A. degree in economics from the College of William and Mary and an M.S. degree from Georgetown School of Foreign Service. He was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and served with the Peace Corps as regional director in Bolivia. Karl is a ULI Trustee, a member of the ULI Executive Committee, Policy and Practice Committee, Smart Growth Advisory Group and the Residential Development Council (multi-family). He is a past Chairman of The Real Estate Council in Dallas and serves on its executive committee. He is past Chairman of the Dallas Affordable Housing Coalition and the Dallas Ballet. He additionally serves on the boards of Paul Quinn College, The Shelton School, The South Dallas Development Corporation, The National Multi Housing Council and The Enterprise Foundation in Texas.