Rachel Rose Hartman

Executive Director, DowntownDC Foundation

Rachel Rose Hartman is the founding Executive Director of the DowntownDC Foundation, which serves and celebrates the DowntownDC community. Since May 2019, Rachel has created and led this new organization to effectively support homeless services, parks and public spaces and events and programming efforts in DowntownDC.

Rachel also serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID). Prior to the launch of the Foundation, Rachel held the position of Director of Interactive Marketing & Communications for the BID. In that role, Rachel created a robust summer event program from the ground up, established new partnership and sponsorships in the public and private sectors and increased awareness and communications for the organization and its stakeholders through coordinated PR, marketing and communications plans.

Rachel joined the BID after 10 years in political journalism, including working as White House Reporter for Yahoo News. Previously, she served as a national political blogger for Yahoo News, and covered politics and down ballot federal races for Congressional Quarterly.

Rachel in 2017 was awarded an Emerging Leader Fellowship from the International Downtown Association. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the board of directors for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Rachel holds a B.A. in print journalism from American University. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two sons.

Reed Brewer

Senior Development Manager, DowntownDC Foundation

Reed Brewer is a multidisciplinary professional with over a decade of experience supporting mission-driven organizations through development, marketing, and creative narrative strategy. As Senior Development Manager at the DowntownDC Foundation, Reed leads donor engagement, campaign execution, and grant development in support of inclusive public space initiatives and impactful community programs.

Reed’s career spans political campaigns, federal consulting, nonprofit advocacy, and journalism. He has led teams in developing fundraising and marketing strategies that secure major gifts, produce high-profile events, elevate brand visibility, and deepen stakeholder engagement. He brings a storyteller’s instinct and a strategic mindset to every project, with a focus on building trust, expanding audiences, and driving sustainable growth.

Reed holds a degree in English with a focus on Film Studies from Hendrix College. He lives in Washington, DC with his husband, Johnny, and their dog, Elmer.

Stela Patron

Strategy & Development Consultant, DowntownDC Foundation

Stela Patron is a development professional with over 20 years of experience spanning the fields of business development, nonprofit management and fundraising, higher education, and civil engineering.

She has worked for a variety of nonprofits including The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), the American Heart Association, KaBOOM!, and the National Association of Corporate Directors. As a lymphoma survivor since 2002, she has also served as a motivational speaker for LLS at cancer survivor events and pre-race inspirational dinners.

Stela has worked with a variety of Fortune 500 companies through her roles as a Director of Development for the American Heart Association, Account Manager for KaBOOM!, and Board Development Manager for the National Association of Corporate Directors. Stela also spent four years at Virginia Tech where she served several key roles for the Civil Engineering department including alumni relations, board development, marketing, student advising, and teaching. She received the 2011 Civil Engineering Teaching Excellence Award for the
course Professional & Legal Issues in Engineering, which focused on ethics, contract law, business principles, and professionalism.

Stela earned a B.S. in Engineering from Duke University and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from The University of Virginia. She and her husband are proud residents of Washington, DC.

Gigi Murphy

DowntownDC Foundation

CHAIR

Gigi Murphy has 23 years of experience in the Washington, DC real estate architecture, design and planning industry. She joined Gensler in 2006 as the Southeast Region Marketing Leader managing the marketing teams in Gensler’s southeast offices, and recently served as Director of Business Development for the Washington, DC Metro area.

Gigi is skilled in client relations, strategic partnership, coaching and business development. She has an expansive network in the real estate development, brokerage, architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Gigi is on the Trust for the National Mall Women’s Leadership Committee, is a past President of the Real Estate Group of Washington, previously served on the Board of Directors of the DCBIA, and is a member of CREW DC and NAIOP.

She received her B.A. in Business Management with a Finance concentration from North Carolina State University. Gigi, her husband, and four children are avid football, hockey and baseball fans and love biking, hiking, boating, traveling and everything outdoors.

Clare D. Archer

Vice President, Gilbane Building Company

VICE CHAIR

Clare Archer is a Vice President for Gilbane Building Company’s Mid-Atlantic Division.Based in Arlington, VA. Ms. Archer oversees client and business development and growth strategies for Gilbane’s business units in Washington, DC, Baltimore MD, Philadelphia, PA, Richmond VA, Raleigh NC and Charlotte NC, representing an annual construction volume of nearly $2 Billion.

Clare has been in the design and construction industry for 28 years, and a DC resident for over
20. Locally, Clare recently served as the President of AGC of Metropolitan Washington DC and has been active Board member there for 15 years. Clare is involved in the District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA), and is involved in Women in Construction, with a specific interest in enhancing growth and leadership opportunities for women in the construction industry.

Ms. Archer earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She currently lives in Ward 3 with her husband John and two young sons.

Lionel Lynch

Director of Community Development Banking Capital Solutions, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

TREASURER

Lionel Lynch is Director of Community Development Banking Capital Solutions for JPMorgan Chase & Co. He is a seasoned economic development and real estate executive with experience leading complex community investment, development finance, and infrastructure projects.

Lionel has worked in a variety of roles throughout his career, including Senior Advisor for Housing Finance and Policy at the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Director of New Development and Strategic Planning for Roadside Development; and Principal of HR&A Advisors economic development and public policy advisory firm.

He earned his bachelor’s degree and MBA from Harvard University. Lionel is passionate about cities and volunteers with organizations that are advancing innovative models for sustainable and equitable development. Lionel proudly resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife and daughter.

Nora Abramson

Chief Strategy Officer, The Tower Companies

Nora Abramson is currently the Chief Strategy Officer for The Tower Companies, where she is focused on Tower’s internal operations, strategy and people systems, sustainability Initiatives, marketing & communications and residential property management. Prior to joining Tower, Nora spent over 15+ working in educational consulting, educational policy innovation and charter school development. She managed NYC school district-wide policy change initiatives under the Bloomberg administration’s Dept. of Education and supported nonprofit organizations through making substantive changes to the way they lead and organize programming, build Boards, and retain employees.

Nora holds a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) in Organizational Management from New York University (Wagner Graduate School of Public Service) and a B.A. in English from Columbia University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Academy of Hope Public Charter Schools. She has recently served on the Board of Directors for the Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce and was Vice President of Operation Understanding DC’s Board of Directors, a leadership program for teenagers to combat all form racism and discrimination.

When not working, Nora can often be found with her husband by a soccer field watching their kids (or dogs) clock a lot more steps than her. She might also be found in her vegetable garden.

Edward K. Brown Jr., DDS

Brown Prosthodontics

Edward K. Brown Jr. DDS, D.Med.Sc is a graduate of Howard University and Harvard School of Dental Medicine in Boston where he completed a 6 year Post-Doctoral Fellowship and a Doctorate of Medical Sciences in Oral Biology. He received his specialty training in the area of prosthodontics with a focus on Implants, crowns, bridges, dentures and TMJ disease.

Over his career, he has focused on highly specialized clinical care but has always had calling towards community service. In July of 2019, Dr. Brown and his business partner opened the Terrell A Waters Community Dental Center focused on addressing the oral health needs of Wards 7 and 8. Along with serving the community, Dr. Brown sits on the advisory boards of Salvation Army’s Washington DC Area command and Robert T Freeman Dental Society.

Currently, Dr. Brown’s philanthropic efforts concentrate on three special interest groups 1) Victims of Human trafficking 2) Veterans 3) Individuals suffering from drug dependency. Dr. Brown has been serving his patients and the community for the past 13 years and is proud to call Washington his home.

Liz DeBarros

CEO, District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA)

Liz DeBarros serves as CEO of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA), where is a driving force for the economic, community, and civic impact of the DC real estate development industry and its leaders. With more than 20 years of experience across public and private sectors, DeBarros brings to the Foundation deep expertise in real estate development, business, public policy, and high impact community engagement.

DeBarros previously served as Senior Advisor at DCBIA and Chief of Staff / Legislative Director at the DC Department of Employment Services and as Vice President of the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C. and currently serves on the boards of the Washington DC Economic Partnership and the Workforce Investment Council. She is a member of the Leadership Greater Washington Class of 2018 and resides in Kingman Park in Ward 7.

Rafael Etzion

Metro Shipping LLC

Rafael “Rafi” Etzion was born and raised in Israel. He is the principal of Metro Shipping LLC, a real estate holding company. He is intimately involved in all aspects of property development, improvement and management for office space, industrial and mixed-use, with assets in New York, New Jersey and Washington DC.

From 1973 to 1980, Rafi served as an officer in the Israeli Air Force, Major. He directed a team of engineers and technicians in R&D projects. In 1980, Rafi moved to New York City. In 1984, he acquired a manufacturing company engaged in the development, manufacturing and distribution of consumer products. As CEO, he led the company through successive years of dramatic growth and expanded manufacturing to Central America and China. He built and acquired manufacturing facilities and distribution centers in the United States, Central America and China. In 2007, he sold the company and transitioned to holding and managing real estate.

Rafi graduated Summa Cum Laude from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering.

Ann B. Friedman

Founder and CEO, Planet Word

Ann is the Founder and CEO of Planet Word, a language arts museum set to open in 2020 in the historic Franklin School building, located across from Franklin Park. Ann was a reading and writing teacher in the Montgomery County Public School system for many years and also worked as a copy editor and translator.

She serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the SEED Foundation, the parent body of the nation’s only public inner-city college prep boarding schools. She serves on the board of the Aspen Institute and is a trustee of the Aspen Music Festival and School. She has served on the board of the National Symphony Orchestra for more than a decade and was a director of Conservation International.

She and her husband, Tom Friedman, live in Bethesda, MD, and have two adult daughters.

Satchel Kaplan-Allen

Chief of Staff, José Andrés Group

Satchel Kaplan-Allen serves as chief of staff at José Andrés Group, where he oversees strategic engagement for Chef José Andrés, his celebrated collective of more than 30 restaurants, and a growing multitude of philanthropic and humanitarian efforts. A proud native Washingtonian, Satchel graduated from Carleton College with a B.A. in International Relations before serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica. He lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife Alyssa and their dog, Murphy.

Gregory Leinweber

Vice President, Development & Sales, Historic Hotels of America | Historic Hotels Worldwide

Gregory Leinweber is the Vice President of Development and Sales for Historic Hotels of America | Historic Hotels Worldwide. He was formerly the General Manager of Kimpton Hotel Monaco – Washington, DC. At Hotel Monaco, Mr. Leinweber oversaw all hotel activities including personnel, operations, guest relations and business development. He previously worked as Area Sales Director for four Kimpton hotels which included George Hotel, Donovan Hotel and Mason & Rook Hotel in addition to Hotel Monaco.

Greg was awarded the Bill Kimpton Leadership Award, the company’s highest honor for a member of the sales team, for his passion and dedication. A hotelier through and through, Greg got his start at the Westin Hotel Renaissance Center Detroit, where he quickly rose through the ranks both on the operations and sales teams. He then gained varied experience in the golf and ski resort industry as director of corporate sales at Boyne Resorts and the Inn at Bay Harbor and with luxury boutique hotels as the director of sales and marketing for the Townsend Hotel and the Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah, Ga. Before bringing his expertise to Kimpton’s Washington team in 2008, Greg served as the preopening director of sales and marketing at MGM Grand Detroit.

A Detroit native, Greg currently calls the District of Columbia home. An avid sailor, he enjoys the open water and travels back to Michigan often to spend time with family and friends around the Great Lakes. In addition to the DowntownDC Foundation, he currently sits on the board of directors for the DowntownDC BID, is a member of the Penn Quarter Neighborhood Association and serves as a mentor to many within the hospitality industry.

Amir Setayesh

Managing Director, Quadrum Global

Amir Setayesh is the Managing Director of Quadrum Global. Since 2013, Amir has been responsible for all of Quadrum Global’s development projects in sectors such as hospitality, residential and senior living. Amir is responsible for the management of Quadrum’s US personnel and offices and also provides senior leadership oversight for Quadrum’s Arlo Hotel portfolio.

Amir Setayesh is a development professional with a degree in Construction Management and over 22 years of experience, including effective supervision and management of over a billion dollars in development with Quadrum. He began his career working on high profile development projects in Sydney, Australia from the years 2000-2004. Thereafter, from 2004-2013 and prior to joining Quadrum, Amir worked with an international consulting firm managing and representing owners in development within the hospitality sector throughout the United States’ East Coast.

When he is not working, you can find Amir training for his next triathlon, enjoying the outdoors on a hike, or skiing. Amir is also a dedicated girl-dad—his favorite way to spend free time is enjoying the company of his two young daughters.

Kelley Shannon

Managing Director, Marketing, Customer Experience, and Revenue Management, Bozzuto

Kelley Shannon provides a customer-centric approach to marketing strategy and leadership for Bozzuto’s entire portfolio of managed communities. Joining Bozzuto in 2013, Kelley brings over 20 years of diverse marketing experience. From managing and launching products in consumer products companies like Sara Lee Bakery and Equal Sweetener, to leading global marketing strategies across online travel sites, and developing and managing strategic partnerships at Marriott International, Kelley’s broad experience has helped her achieve some notable successes, including being named Marketer of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards. Since joining Bozzuto, Kelley has led the team through continuous growth while refining processes and creating efficiencies, ensuring consistent application of marketing strategies and data, and creating and implementing marketing training programs. Kelley also led the strategic planning and implementation of some notable Bozzuto programs and platforms, including the development of Bozzuto Listens, Bozzuto’s very successful philosophy and program for providing great customer service by listening and responding to resident feedback.

Prior to her marketing career, Kelley spent several years working in accounting and obtained her license as a Certified Public Accountant. Kelley has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Maryland. She currently resides in Washington, DC and is the mother of 2 beautiful girls, Kelsie and Jami.

Gerren G. Price

President and CEO, DowntownDC BID

EX OFFICIO

Gerren G. Price brings to the DowntownDC BID more than 15 years of experience directing and supporting large-scale youth, workforce, and education programs and initiatives in the government and nonprofit sectors. He joined the BID as Director of Public Space Operations in 2018. Previously, he served as Senior Associate for National Community Strategies at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Gerren began his career managing a national youth mentoring program before serving in several capacities in the District of Columbia Government, starting in the Office of the Chancellor for D.C. Public Schools, then later serving as Director of Programs at the Department of Parks and Recreation and as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education. At the D.C. Department of Employment Services, he rose to hold the positions of Associate Director of the DOES Office of Youth Programs and Deputy Director of Youth Workforce Development, and also served as Deputy Director of Business Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and as the agency’s Interim Director.