Alex Sauersmith, currently serves as a Planning Manager for the City of Columbus Planning Division in the Department of Development. Alex’s current focus is on Zone In (the City of Columbus’ zoning code update) and Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD) for the Central Ohio Transit Agency’s (COTA) LinkUS Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) initiative. Alex as also worked with the CelebrateOne infant mortality initiative, managed the Safe Routes to School program, and the Urban Infrastructure Recovery Fund for the City of Columbus. He has also led land use plans in the Hilltop and Linden areas of Columbus, been the lead author on Health Impact Assessments for Columbus Public Health, and had been involved in City initiatives from Smart Columbus to the Small Business Assessment to working with Esri to pilot their Hub application. Alex received his Master of City and Regional Planning (magna cum laude) and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (summa cum laude) from the Ohio State University, along with an Associate of Arts in Humanities from Columbus State.

MK Lindsey is Vice President of Real Estate Development for Crawford Hoying in Columbus, OH. Crawford Hoying has over $2.5B in total development and acquisition assets, including 17 hotels, over 3,000 residential units, and 19 million square feet of commercial space including food halls, restaurants, event centers, and entertainment complexes. MK leads Crawford Hoying’s development pipeline and specializes in large scale, multi-year, complex urban projects that often include public-private partnerships. She assesses new and existing markets for potential development and negotiates with local governments and economic leaders to make deals work. In her role, MK weighs factors such as local leadership, tax climate, planning and zoning regulations, value creation and investment returns, product brand and storytelling, construction costs, commercial and residential leasing opportunities, and partnership potential.

As Principal and Executive Vice President of Development for Thrive Companies, Steve spearheads the development department, overseeing and implementing a structured process cadence from predevelopment stages through construction to stabilization. Above and beyond his responsibilities as EVP of Development, he tends to the daily operations of Thrive Companies, ensuring alignment across the Construction, Community Management, Realty, Food & Beverage, and Wellness departments. Thrive prioritizes the well-being of its employees, recognizing that when they are cared for, all other aspects of the business will fall into place.

Parag Agrawal is the Chief Mobility and Infrastructure Officer, and Senior Director of Programming at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). Mr. Agrawal’s leadership plays a pivotal role in advancing the region’s capital improvement plans, shaping a future marked by innovation and collaboration. Mr. Agrawal has more than 20 years of experience leading high-performance, service-oriented work environments, promoting sustainable growth practices, and advancing economic development and multi-modal transportation networks. Prior to working with MORPC, Mr. Agrawal was the Executive Director at the Polk Transportation Planning Organization in Bartow, Florida. Agrawal led various multi-jurisdictional and interagency planning efforts to extend SunRail commuter rail and Brightline high speed rail, the Vision Zero planning process, and Polk Transit Vision 2032. Mr. Agrawal also served as the Planning Director of Prince William County in Virginia and as the Community Development Director of the city of Milton, Georgia. As a graduate student at The Ohio State University, he interned with MORPC. Upon graduation, Parag began his career with the City of Columbus’ Department of Development, serving as a representative for the Italian Village and German Village Architectural Review Commissions. Agrawal holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Aligarh University in India.

Chris is a managing director for Vista Site Selection. In his role, he assists private sector clients in achieving growth through the development of site selection and economic development strategies. Chris has significant experience consulting on capital investment projects and has strategically negotiated and analyzed tax credit, grant and loan-financing solutions for capital investment projects in 20 different states. Further, Chris utilizes data analytics to help better inform business leaders and site administrators on project ROI, economic impacts, site decisions and market conditions. Prior to becoming a consultant, Chris served as the executive director of the Ohio Tax Credit Authority for the Ohio Department of Development. In this role, Chris was responsible for managing more than $1 billion in business tax credit programs including Ohio’s flagship business tax credit programs, the Job Creation Tax Credit (JCTC), Job Retention Tax Credit (JRTC), the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit (OMPTC) and various abatement and exemption programs. Chris was named to the Columbus Business First 2022 40 under 40 Class and was the only private-sector representative selected for the 2014 Columbus Business First “20 People to Know in Government.” Chris also serves as the Vice President of the board of directors to the Ohio Statewide Development Corporation and has been published in Area Development Magazine. Chris earned a B.S. from Bowling Green State University and an M.B.A. from Ohio University. He also has a Certification of Data Analytics and a Certification of Economic Measurement from National Association of Business Economists. Chris is also an IMPLAN certified economist.

Kimberly Sharp, AICP, currently serves as the Senior Director of Development for the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) and is one of the founding planners of the LinkUS initiative in Central Ohio. Before this, she served as Westerville's Deputy Director of Planning and Development for six years, managing their first Comprehensive Plan; and as the Comprehensive Planning Manager for Flagstaff, Arizona, where she managed the creation of the Flagstaff Regional Plan, which was adopted by 70% of the voters as the long-range vision for Northern Arizona. Kim has been an Urban Land Institute member since 2007, serving as the ULI-Columbus co-chair of the Women's Leadership Initiative and now the ULI Program Committee. She is an alumnus of The Ohio State University, with a Bachelor of Science in architecture, and Virginia Commonwealth University, with a Master of City and Regional Planning.

Having been in the business for over 30 years, Lori Steiner is an expert operator with experience in real estate, architecture, HR, development, and marketing. She is a licensed Realtor with immense knowledge of all things design, construction, and property management. She has her BA from Wittenberg University, and she currently serves on the board of the Ohio Housing Finance Authority (OHFA). As a dedicated leader, she implements Borror’s vision and drives all daily operations. Lori leads asset management, marketing, HR, and project design for Borror. She is the creative visionary who turns ideas into reality. Her ability to understand, guide, and implement innovative ideas keeps our team and properties evolving and growing in all facets.

With a background in real estate finance and business development, Jeff Fontaine leverages his relationships with investors, bankers, and related business parties to facilitate optimal capital structure for all deals. His leadership inspires operational collaboration across all divisions, which optimizes tram camaraderie. Jeff has his BS from the University of Evansville and his MBA from Heidelberg University. At Borror, Jeff oversees construction, development, and finance. His involvement is critical from start to finish evaluating projects both financially and physically to ensure delivery of a successful asset for years to come.