Sam Black is senior reporter at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, a business newspaper in downtown Minneapolis. He’s been at the Journal for 12 years, reporting on commercial real estate, manufacturing companies and economic development in the Twin Cities. Before that he was a reporter for three years at the Grand Forks Herald in his hometown of Grand Forks, N.D. Sam has won reporting awards from the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists and from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Some of his biggest scoops have been about companies moving workers into, out of, and around the Twin Cities. He’s written breaking news stories about a lot of building development projects and building sales, like the $1 billion sale of the Mall of America to the Ghermezians in 2006. He’s also written lengthy profiles of many well-known local business leaders including Pentair CEO Randy Hogan, Medtronic’s Bill George and developers such as George Sherman, Jim Ryan and Kelly Doran.

Charles Carlson, AICP is the Manager of Transitway Projects for Metro Transit. In this role, Charles leads a group of planners that coordinate study, planning, design and implementation of bus and rail transitway investments for Metro Transit. Over nearly nine years of planning experience, Charles has worked in capital programming and project planning with Metro Transit Engineering and Facilities, in regional transportation policy planning at the Metropolitan Council, and for cities in the Twin Cities region. Charles is a Certified Planner and holds a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning and a Bachelor of Science in Geography, both from the University of Minnesota.

David Griggs currently serves as the Vice President of Business Investment for the Minneapolis Saint Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership or GREATER MSP. In this position, his responsibilities include strategic development of industry targets, managing a team of project managers assisting businesses considering expanding or relocating into the Greater MSP region, creating a regional business retention and expansion program, and establishing international business attraction and marketing efforts for the eleven-county Greater MSP region. David comes to the region from Buffalo, New York where he served in the same capacity for the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, a regional economic development group for western New York. David’s work at BNE had focused primarily on international business development, coordinated retention efforts, and strategic cluster development. David has a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the State University of New York at Buffalo and has earned the professional designations EDFP in finance and CEcD as a certified economic developer.

David has built a reputation of design integrity for complex, mixed-use urban projects throughout his twenty-one year career as an architect and urban planner. His projects are acclaimed for their design statements, community contributions, innovative use of materials and collaborative processes. As an award-winning architect, Davidʼs focus on design excellence and sustainable design creates projects of lasting beauty that are embraced by their communities, including projects in eleven different countries. His leadership in professional organizations builds relationships between design, construction, real estate and policy professions. David has more than 20 years of experience leading complex projects that promote clients’ business objectives while achieving high standards of design and sustainability. His experience includes interior design, architecture, master planning and urban planning for public, corporate, and higher education clients nationally and globally. He is a frequent speaker on architectural, workplace, global and marketplace issues. He has helped lead regional conferences, and served in leadership roles on membership organizations. David is a visiting lecturer and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota. David is a registered architect in 27 jurisdictions.

Jeff Jackson is a Trade Relations Manager in Xcel Energy’s Energy Efficiency Marketing group. He works with commercial product vendors and design teams to help them maximize the benefits of Xcel Energy’s rebate programs for new construction, cooling, lighting, and energy studies. Jeff has 12 years of experience in the energy efficiency industry. His background varies from utility account management to technical service management and medical laboratory sales Jackson is a Certified Energy Manager, and has a degree in Biology from Humboldt State University in Northern California.

Kris Leaf is a Principal with The Weidt Group. With more than 20 years of experience, his background includes extensive work in the utility industry, and he has also worked in building operations, mechanical contracting and in the architecture/engineering community. He is currently the Program Manager for Xcel Energy’s Energy Design Assistance program in Minnesota, where he provides program and project management services. Mr. Leaf received his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and he is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Matt Mullins brings 16 years of real estate consulting and advisory experience to Maxfield Research Inc. Matt has conducted and directed real estate analysis for projects locally, regionally, and nationally for a wide variety of private and public sector clients; including: housing, commercial, industrial, mixed-use, hospitality, tourism, entertainment, financial institutions, performing arts, transit-oriented developments, among others. Matt frequently presents real estate findings and emerging trends to public sector entities and professional trade organizations. In addition to his research and consulting responsibilities, Mr. Mullins also manages and implements business development strategies for Maxfield Research. Matt authors Sitelines, a publication distributed by Maxfield Research emphasizing current trends in real estate development. Mr. Mullins joined Maxfield Research in January 2003. Prior to joining Maxfield Research, Matt worked as an analyst for other nationally and globally-based advisory service firms providing real estate advisory services.

Tim has been in the hardscape industry for the past 20 years. He is currently a designer/consultant for Southview Design a full service Hardscape/Landscape design and installation company. He has been in sales or installation in the construction industry for most of his adult life. Tim has a passion for education. He has been teaching and training in various aspects of sales and installation for the last 25 years. His passion for hardscapes is evident in the enthusiasm he has for helping contractors become certified. Tim is an instructor for both ICPI and NCMA installation certification. He teaches both ICP and PICP installation. He is in favor of storm water management and promotes it through the use of permeable paver systems. He would like to see all paver contractors become certified installers, thus helping the industry continue to grow and prosper.

Aly Pennucci, AICP, LEED Green Associate, is a City Planner in the Department of Community Planning & Economic Development for the City of Minneapolis. She recently led the efforts to amend the Minneapolis Zoning Code in order to implement the Urban Agriculture Policy Plan. Prior to her work with the City, she worked as the project coordinator for Design for Health, a collaborative project that serves to bridge the gap between research on community design and healthy living, and the everyday realities of local government planning. Ms. Pennucci holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from San Francisco State University and a master’s of Urban and Regional Planning from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.

Julie has a Bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Marketing and International Business. She has held marketing and communications positions across the nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors. Recently, she worked at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, where she started their social media program. She is currently employed at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans as a social media specialist, focusing on corporate strategy and local social media outreach.