PAST SPEAKERS
KENT STUDEBAKER
Mayor
City of Lake Oswego
About Kent. Mayor Studebaker attended school in Lake Oswego from grade school through high school. After earning his undergraduate and doctor of jurisprudence degrees from the University of Oregon, he served on active duty with the Marine Corps for 3 years. He then practiced law in both governmental and private corporate offices. Following that, he owned his own successful manufacturer’s representative business for 21 years. He served on the Lake Oswego Citizens Budget Committee. Kent is married to Kim, his wife of over 40 years, and has two adult daughters.
STEVE KOUNTZ
Sr Economic Planner
City of Portland
About Steve. Steve is a Senior Economic Planner at the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS). He specializes in land use planning for business and industrial districts, policy analysis, and economic research. His work at BPS since 1999 has included economic policies in the Comprehensive Plan and Portland Plan, employment land supply planning, employment zoning, wage inequality analysis, and infrastructure and brownfield strategies. His education includes degrees in urban planning and economics. He has worked in city planning and economic development in Oregon, Ethiopia, Montana, and California.
CHERYL TWETE
Director Economic Dev.
City of Beaverton
About Cheryl. Cheryl currently is the Community Development Director for the City of Beaverton, serving in this capacity for the past five years. Ms. Twete leads the Community Development Department which delivers a broad range of functions, including all development review services, urban renewal, planning, economic development, affordable housing and transportation planning. Cheryl’s professional career has focused on public sector development, including 23 years at the Portland Development Commission (now known as Prosper Portland) and six years working at Metro and MERC. She understands the importance of creating strong working relationships with private sector partners and providing high-quality and timely customer service.
Cheryl received her Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Oregon and an undergraduate degree in planning from Minnesota State University.
CHRIS NELSON
Principal/Co-Founder
Capstone Partners
About Chris. Chris co-founded Capstone Partners LLC in 2002. He brings over 26 years of real estate investment, development and asset management in all product types. Chris has personally sourced and directed the development, investment and management of over 8 million square feet of industrial, multi-family, retail and office properties in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Nevada for institutional partners and clients including Morrison Street Capital, Prudential Real Estate Investors, PCCP, LLC, Washington Capital Management and several family offices. Chris received a BA in Economics from University of California, Davis in 1989.
He serves on the Advisory Board for the PSU Center for Real Estate and is a Board Member of KairosPDX, a PPS K-5 Charter School. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute and The Forest Park Conservancy.
SARAH ZAHN
Dir. of Development
UD+P
About Sarah. Sarah is an experienced real estate development professional with a passion for projects that strengthen communities and improve the urban environment in which we live. Over her 15+ year career in real estate, Sarah’s project track record includes mixed use infill, multifamily, office, higher education, civic uses and affordable housing. At UDP, Sarah focuses on new business and acquisition, as well as management of predevelopment of activities and finance.
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Sarah served on the Portland Housing Advisory Commission from 2011-2018 and currently is co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Institute, an initiative of the Urban Land Institute, of which is also a member. She also sits on the board of the Portland Streetcar and Oregon Smart Growth.
EVAN BERNSTEIN
Principal
NW Properties
About Evan.
Evan is a “first one in, last one out” kind of guy who takes great pride in his significant role at Pacific NW Properties, which includes company vision and leadership, as well as overseeing all leasing, project acquisitions and marketing of the company. In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Evan volunteers his time with numerous charitable organizations and sits on several boards, including an executive role on the NAIOP Oregon Chapter Developers Board. Prior to his transition to the ownership side of the business, Evan was an accomplished industrial broker who earned the SIOR “Industrial Deal of the Year” award in both 2008 and 2010, as well as the prestigious Commercial Association of Brokers (CAB) “Bill Naito Award” in 2012, presented to the broker in Portland/SW Washington who closed the most complex transaction of the year.
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In 2017, Evan was honored with Portland Business Journal’s coveted “Forty Under 40” top business executives honor, which is based on career, influence, leadership, and community involvement, and in 2019, he was recognized nationally, as one of the most influential commercial real estate executives in the entire country by both the Portland and National Business Journals.
DOUG BLACKWELL
Vice President
IPX 1031
About Doug. With over twenty years providing services to the 1031 Exchange Industry and having been personally involved in over seventeen thousand 1031 Exchange transactions in his career Doug delivers true passion, experience and vast knowledge to IPX1031 and the investors they serve. As Vice President, Major Accounts and Account Executive, he has delivered impactful and thorough messages to thousands of investors, real estate professionals, CPA’s, attorneys and financial planners alike in their quest to “Get the facts, before they pay the tax”. Whether speaking to a single investor or presenting to many, his ability to convey this often complicated topic of 1031 Exchange is truly effective and memorable. Doug is a US Navy veteran, has been married to his wife Lynda for over twenty eight years and is dedicated to his family, company and clients he serves.
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Jonathan McGuire, CPA
Aldrich CPAs + Advisors
The Tax and Jobs Act at the end of 2017 garnered in new tax incentives, one of which are called "Opportunity Zones". These zones are economically-distressed communities where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. Come and learn about these new incentives, where they are located and also how you can invest in these areas and increase your returns on investment.
Jonathan has over eight years of experience providing strategic tax planning and compliance expertise to private middle-market clients. He has a deep focus as a real estate accountant, working with investors, developers, realtors, property managers, and other professional service providers in real estate. He works with a wide range of property types ranging from single and multi-family residential to commercial properties. Jonathan specializes in repair regulations and the effects they have on those who own real estate.
Prior to joining Aldrich, he spent time in public accounting in Seattle, Washington. Jonathan graduated with a master’s in taxation from the University of Denver. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management from Corban University in Salem, Oregon. Jonathan is also an adjunct professor Corban University’s business school.
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Jonathan was recently featured in Forbes.
Lou Ogden
Mayor of City of Tualatin
Lou Ogden was first elected Mayor of Tualatin in 1994 after serving as a City Councilor. He has been active in a multitude of positions locally, regionally, state-wide, and national. These include President of League of Oregon Cities; Chairs of both the National League of Cities Advisory Council and Institute for Youth, Education, and Families; ODOT Local Officials Advisory Committee; Metro Joint Transportation Committee; Washington County Public Health Advisory Council; Board of Trustees City County Insurance Services; Board of Directors Greater Portland Inc; convener of the Metro Regional Mayors Consortium; Tualatin Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Tualatin Rotary. In his professional life Lou is a Life and Health Insurance broker, as well as a farmer. He is a husband, father, musician, and avid runner.