Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, Hon. ASLA Mitchell is a principal with McAdams, a land planning and design company. He is responsible for providing advisory services in urban planning, parks and public space planning. He is an award-winning planner with more than 38 years of experience and is internationally recognized for his leadership and contributions to contemporary planning issues. He is a prolific public speaker and specializes in urban planning, placemaking and implementation strategies. Prior to joining McAdams, Mitchell served as the commissioner for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation; Chief Planning Officer in Raleigh, NC and served as president of the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners. Mitchell is one of the nation’s most celebrated urban thinkers. He was selected to Planetizen’s list of the 100 Most Influential Urbanists in the world. In addition, he has been honored as one of the top 100 City Innovators in the world by UBM Future Cities, and the Urban Times named him one of the top international thought leaders of the built environment.

Lou is an asset management partner in PwC’s Trust Solutions practice based in Chicago. Lou has more than 22 years of experience serving financial services clients with an emphasis on both public and private commercial real estate companies and alternative investment products such as private equity funds and hedge funds. He has deep expertise in valuation of various asset classes including real estate, various types of portfolio companies, structured credit products and the like. Lou returned to Chicago in 2013 after working in PwC’s National Quality Organization for 2 years. In that role, he advised engagement teams in a number of technical areas including leasing, consolidation and various other related topics. He also closely monitored emerging accounting standards and has authored numerous thought leadership publications on the new leasing standard and revenue recognition standard. Lou is also actively involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation where he currently serves as Vice Chair on the National Board of Trustees and serves as the Audit Committee Chair. In November 2019, Lou was also elected to the Reporting Standards Council for the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), and he is currently serving his 2nd, 3 year term in that role. Lou received his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois. Lou is also a Certified Public Accountant in Illinois and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

David Rosenberg has served as Secretary of Commerce for the state of Indiana and a member of Governor Eric J. Holcomb’s cabinet since his appointment in August 2023. In his role, Sec. Rosenberg leads the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), guiding the strategy and growth of the state’s economy and its related economic development efforts. Rosenberg joined the IEDC in August 2021. Prior to becoming secretary of commerce, he served as the IEDC’s chief operating officer and chief of staff. As chief operating officer and chief of staff for the IEDC, Rosenberg oversaw the agency’s operations, cultural and young professional development team, as well as several strategic IEDC initiatives, including the Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI), and the LEAP Innovation and Research District in Boone County. Rosenberg helped build and lead the IEDC’s 100+ person international team that, under the leadership of Gov. Holcomb, has achieved unprecedented success for Indiana’s economy. This includes record-breaking committed capital from companies at $22.2 billion in 2022 and securing historic economic funding from the state legislature. Rosenberg is a proven leader within the state, boasting an impressive track record that includes a significant role as Deputy Chief of Staff under Mayor Greg Ballard where he oversaw the management of substantial development projects worth billions of dollars, optimizing operations across the enterprise, and represented the city in both the City-County Council and within the Statehouse. His previous experience also extended to the education sector, where he served as the Operations Officer for Indianapolis Public Schools, the largest school district in the state. Rosenberg spearheaded the reorganization and modernization of transportation services, effectively directed the management of over 9 million square feet of real estate assets, and also led the sale and development of the Bottleworks District. Rosenberg also served previously as a consultant for a versatile, multi-client firm, advising and advocating for clients across various levels of government. His areas of focus included K-12 education, facility financing, and operations enhancement. He currently serves on boards for Visit Indy, BSA’s Crossroads of America Council, and KIPP Indy Public Schools. Rosenberg was recently recognized as one of Indiana’s 250 Most Influential Leaders by Indiana Business Journal and is also a recipient of their ‘Forty under 40’ recognition. He is a graduate of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law and resides in Zionsville with his wife, Ali, and their children Will, Lily and Jack.

Valerie Becker is a senior director at Scannell Properties and is responsible for all aspects of capital-related issues with a focus on structuring debt, developing lender relationships, and managing Scannell’s balance sheet. She has extensive experience in underwriting, financing and lending in the commercial real estate capital markets. Since joining Scannell, Valerie has led the Debt Capital Markets team to execute on over $6.5 billion of financing transactions across over 250 projects. Prior to joining Scannell Properties, Valerie held roles at The National Bank of Indianapolis, Simon Property Group, Fitch Ratings, and SunTrust Banks. Valerie serves on the board of The Milk Bank, recently ended a multi-year term serving as WLI co-chair and as a management committee member at the Urban Land Institute Indiana, and is a member of IndyCREW and Executive Women in Finance. She was recognized as a WLI Prologis Scholar in 2018 as well as a national 50 under 40 by Real Estate Forum in 2018. Valerie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Emil Ekiyor left his family (7 sisters and two brothers) in Lagos to pursue Educational opportunities in Daytona Beach, Florida age 15. Emil participated in basketball, soccer, and football in high school and received a full athletic scholarship to attend the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. At the University of Central Florida, Emil was named a football team captain. After an outstanding college career, Emil played six years in the National Football League (NFL) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, and Las Vegas Raiders (formerly Oakland Raiders). Upon retiring from the NFL, Emil started several businesses in the United States of America (US). He launched several projects in Nigeria as CEO of EnabekSolutions, which works with companies in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States to expand and take advantage of the rapid growth in Africa's imports and exports. He also served as the National Executive Director for the GEO Foundation, a nonprofit organization that partners with local community leaders to start, support, and manage high-quality K-12 charter schools in the country; President of the Indianapolis Chapter of Indiana Black Expo, President of Indy Youth Sports, Indianapolis Prayer Breakfast Leadership Team, and Board of Directors for the Friends of Education, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving K-12 education in the state of Minnesota since 1999 and Board of Directors of the NFLPA Former Players Indy Chapter. Growing up in Nigeria and then coming to the US without family, Emil's journey offers a unique perspective on the gaps in Black communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and the US. These experiences and the desire to close the wealth and opportunity gaps for African Americans and Africans are the driving force behind the creation of INNOPOWER.

Meghan Tooman serves as the Vice President and Co-owner at DORIS LLC, where her focus lies in enhancing workplace strategies through informed, data-driven insights. With a Masters in Applied Statistics from Purdue University and undergraduate in Statistics and Actuarial Mathematics from Saint Mary's College, Meghan brings a unique perspective to her work, blending rigorous statistical analysis with a nuanced understanding of workplace dynamics. Her professional journey, including the founding of Statistical Research Solutions LLC, showcases her dedication to applying statistical methodologies to real-world problems. At DORIS, Meghan's role involves not just operational leadership but also contributing to research in workplace behaviors and strategies. Accredited as a Professional Statistician® (PStat) by the American Statistical Association, Meghan's expertise is grounded in a commitment to quality and ethical practice. She frequently shares her knowledge at conferences and in publications, focusing on practical and accessible insights into workplace transformation and data application. Away from her professional commitments, Meghan enjoys the balance of family life, reflecting the same principles of harmony and fulfillment she advocates in her professional endeavors.

Dr. Dennis A. Trinkle, Executive Vice President Dennis Trinkle is Senior Vice President, Talent, Strategy, and Partnerships for TechPoint, Indiana’s tech ecosystem accelerator. Dr. Trinkle served as the system chief executive, provost and chief academic officer for Harrison College. Dr. Trinkle has served leading institutions across the higher education, corporate, and government sectors, including serving as the chief executive officer of IHETS, chief information officer, associate vice president for academic affairs, and Tenzer Professor of Information Technology for DePauw University, and Director of the Center for Information and Communication Sciences at Ball State University, and the president, chief executive officer, and board chair for many companies and non-profit organizations. He is the author and editor of 18 books and more than 75 articles on entrepreneurship, technology, leadership, teaching and learning, and history. A successful serial entrepreneur and investory, he is the developer with Kevin Allen, CEO of EiGames, of the award-wining video-game on the entrepreneurial process—Fireworks: The Entrepreneurship Experience (2018). His latest books: Recipes for Success: How to Start a Business and The Future Disruptors: Coming Transformations in Business, Technology, and Leadership were published in 2021.

Adam D. Thies, AICP, was appointed associate vice president for capital planning at Indiana University in October 2019. Thies had served as an assistant vice president for capital planning since August 2015. Thies oversees and advises on master planning as well as architectural design for all IU campuses. Thies also has oversight of space planning and landscape architecture, while contributing to efforts to incorporate sustainability into the campus experience. Prior to coming to Indiana University, Thies was director of the Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD) for the city of Indianapolis, where he managed a professional staff of 75 city planners, redevelopment officials, transportation planners, and design review/zoning professionals with an annual department budget of $32.3 million. In this role, he served as the executive leader of the city’s Community Development division, Planning and Zoning division, Historic Preservation division, Redevelopment Authority and Brownfields Program. Additionally, he served as the administrative leader of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), authorized all tax abatement compliance, directed the city’s New Markets Tax Credit Program, and served as a cabinet member to the mayor on economic development projects and strategy. Before working for the city of Indianapolis, Thies was the founder and president of EDEN Collaborative, a boutique real estate, landscape architecture, and city planning consulting firm. While at EDEN, he created the city of Indianapolis and central Indiana’s first transit-oriented development strategic plan to leverage an anticipated $1.2 billion investment in transit in the next 20 years through the Indy Connect transportation initiative. Additionally, he led and managed many of Indiana’s premier planning and design projects, including planning for the 2012 Super Bowl Legacy Neighborhood Project, the redesign of Indianapolis’ Monument Circle, and the creation of a plan for midtown In