Aaron Contorer, Secretary

Aaron is president of the Contorer Foundation, which focuses on environmental sustainability and wealth studies. He is a partner and board member of San Diego Social Venture Partners, working to increase regional philanthropy, and is cofounder and chair of SDSVP's Environment Accelerator Fund.

 

He is a board member of Equinox Center, a new environmental policy center for the San Diego region. He served for eight years on the board of Northwest Environment Watch (now Sightline Institute), focusing on sprawl and sustainable economic development, and also helped to build the Kirkland (Wash.) Teen Center.

 

Aaron is a former executive of Microsoft Corporation, where he helped to build products including Windows, MSN, Visual Studio, and in-house engineering tools. He served on the CEO's staff, and founded the Microsoft Big Gift Club for new philanthropists. He was also an inventor, named in several patents in computer networking and security, and was an executive of three other small software companies.

 

Aaron holds degrees in computer science and psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

Marcela Escobar-Eck, Chair

Marcela has over 21 years of experience in the land use and development field with various government agencies and elected officials, and is now President of her own land use consulting firm, The Atlantis Group.

 

In her role as Director for the Development Services Department for the City of San Diego, she oversaw all operations of a complex, regulatory department with a $68.9 million dollar budget and 655 budgeted staff.

 

Marcela holds a Bachelor of Science degree in landscape architecture with an emphasis in urban and regional planning from the University of California at Davis. Her career with the City of San Diego began as a planner, and she also held the positions of Council Liaison for the office of the City Manager, and private development manager and fiscal development manager for the Community and Economic Development Department. She served as the Planning Director for the City of Carlsbad from September 2005 through September 2006, overseeing daily operations and the implementation of the General Plan, Growth Management Plan, Local Coastal Program, Habitat Management Plan and the California Environmental Quality Act.

 

Marcela is fluent in Spanish and a trained and seasoned mediator, with extensive experience in conflict resolution. She is also certified by the National Charrette Institute as a Complete Charrette Manager. 

 

Stephen Michael Haase, Chairman

Mr. Haase is Senior Vice President of Forward Planning at Baldwin and Sons, where he provides entitlement support for the company's land development projects, beginning with the entitlement process and including infrastructure improvements and project revisions. He oversees a project team which includes internal staff and professional consultants in the preparation of policy, environmental, and engineering documentation to achieve project approval. He is actively involved in project design and community outreach to achieve the company's goal of delivering the highest quality development.

 

Prior to joining Baldwin and Sons, Mr. Haase worked for Sudberry Properties, Inc. on retail and mixed-use projects, including the 230-acre Civita mixed-use development in Mission Valley and Watermark in Scripps Ranch. His professional experience includes 17 years in the public sector where he managed large, complex organizations responsible for all aspects of land use, planning and building safety. In March 2002 Stephen was appointed as the director of the Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement for the City of San José. His previous position was with the City of San Diego Development Services Department where he served as acting and assistant director. He has also served as an expert witness in the land use, planning, and entitlement disciplines.

 

Stephen earned a Masters of Business Administration from San Diego State University (SDSU) in August 1989. His undergraduate degree is also from SDSU where he majored in Public Administration. Stephen is an active member of the American Planning Association (APA), NAIOP, and the Building Industry Association (BIA) of San Diego. Stephen is certified in the field of planning through the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is an accredited professional under the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

 

Keely Halsey

Keely Halsey serves as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the City of San Diego. Working with Council President Ben Hueso, she is responsible for managing the City's legislative agenda and performing policy analysis regarding Citywide land use, regional planning, and local governance matters.

 

Keely's background includes experience in environmental policy and resource management, sustainability and climate change initiatives, as well as elections, ethics, and intergovernmental affairs. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and the University of San Diego School of Law, and is a member of the State Bar of California.

 

Keely's interest in transit planning stems from her involvement in long-range land use planning and smart growth initiatives. She promotes the development of safe and convenient transit in order to improve the quality of neighborhoods and help the region meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

 

Gary H. London

Gary London is President of The London Group Realty Advisors, a diversified real estate strategic advisory, development management, investment, capital access and analysis firm whose clients include investors, developers, lenders and public agencies.

 

In practice as an analyst and strategic advisor for four decades, Mr. London is well known throughout the U.S. as a counsel to many of the nations largest investors, lenders and practitioners. He has a reputation as a prescient, forward thinker who translates opportunities (or problems) into profits.

 

Mr. London is an Instructor at The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate, University of San Diego as well as an adjunct Professor at Arizona State University’s graduate program in real estate development (MRED). He had taught at the University of California, San Diego Extension for 24 years. Previously, he was West Region Director of Real Estate Consulting for Price Waterhouse and Executive Director of The Goodkin Group. He is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and received his Master's degree from San Diego State University.

 

A "Distinguished Toastmaster" in Toastmasters International, Mr. London speaks regularly to industry and business organizations, frequently writes and is often quoted in the media, and is a columnist for the San Diego Business Journal. He is also featured in the San Diego UnionTribune’s weekly “EconoMeter” sharing his views on the great economic issues of our time.

 

He was featured on CBS Evening News “Eye On America” for his commentary on the real estate market, and has also testified before the House of Representatives Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs. In 1995 he was featured in the San Diego Business Journal’s “Who’s Who In San Diego”; and was honored as “Member Of The Year” in 1996 from the San Diego Land Economics Society (Lambda Alpha International).

 

Sarah Kruer Jager

Sarah Kruer Jager is a Principal, Investment & Development of Monarch Group, a private real estate investment and development firm. Sarah joined Monarch in 2005 and is responsible for the identification, evaluation, and management of investments as well as various investor relations activities. Sarah is also a founding member of the Monarch Investment Funds real estate private equity funds family.

 

Prior to Monarch, Sarah worked at UBS Investment Bank in Chicago as an analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Diversified Industrials Groups. In this capacity, Sarah executed financing and advisory assignments across a range of industries, including the diversified industrials, engineering and construction services, consumer / retail, and business services sectors.

 

Sarah attended University of Michigan, where she was awarded a four-year full tuition athletic scholarship as a member of the Division I Varsity Women’s Golf Team. Sarah’s academic and athletic honors include being named by the National Golf Coaches Association to the Division I All-American Scholar Golf Team and receiving Academic All-Big Ten Conference Honors. Sarah graduated from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with High Distinction.

 

Sarah is currently involved in the following civic, charitable, and industry organizations: Founding Advisory Board and Membership Committee Member, Run Women Run; Committee Member, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce Land Use & Transportation Committee; Steering Committee nMember, Herb Klein Leadership Series; Golf Program Volunteer, Pro Kids Golf Academy & Learningn Center; Member, Urban Land Institute (ULI) and ULI Young Leaders; Member, Pension Real EstatenAssociation (PREA). In addition, Sarah was appointed by California State Assembly Speaker Karen Bassnin 2009 to serve as a member of the California Task Force on Youth and Workplace Wellness.

 

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, Pro Bono Counsel
Represented by John Ponder, Donna Jones, and Mike Hansen

Sheppard Mullin is a full service international law firm with more than 500 attorneys practicing in eleven offices located in California, New York, Washington D.C. and Shanghai. The California offices are located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego/Downtown, San Diego/Del Mar Heights, Century City, Santa Barbara, Silicon Valley, and Orange County.

Founded in 1927, Sheppard Mullin represents both start-up companies and Fortune 500 companies in a broad range of industries, including 55 of the Fortune 100 companies. It has a team of 60 attorneys throughout California with specialized knowledge and experience in land use, real estate, and environmental law, and an interdisciplinary team of attorneys specializing in global climate change and renewable energy law in California and other jurisdictions. California Real Estate Journal ranked Sheppard Mullin #3 among "California's Major Real Estate Law Firms" in 2007 and Best Lawyers ranked Sheppard Mullin #1 for "Land Use & Zoning Law" in California in 2007.

John E. Ponder and Donna D. Jones are partners in the Real Estate, Land Use, and Environmental Practice Group in the firm's San Diego/Downtown office, and each have many years of practice representing landowners and developers in a full range of real estate, land use and environmental issues, from permitting through litigation. Michael S. Hansen is an associate in the Real Estate, Land Use, and Environmental Practice Group in the firm's San Diego/Downtown office.

Jim Baross, Jr.
Jonathan Bradhurst
Carolyn Chase
Jay Corrales
Andy Hamilton
Marla Hollander
Craig Jones
Fredric Maas
Humberto Peraza
Scott Peters, Former San Diego City Council President
John Ponder
Chris Schmidt
Thomas W. Sudberry, Jr.
Reed Lewis Vickerman, Jr.