Rhonda Bever-Winslow is the Vice President of Development Finance for the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority in Cleveland, Ohio. The Port Authority has a mission of assisting private industry in creating and retaining jobs through waterborne transportation services and innovative financing solutions. At the Port Authority, Ms. Winslow oversees the development finance program including over $1.5 billion in outstanding bonds issued through the Port’s development finance group. Ms. Winslow has worked extensively on numerous high-profile projects in and around Northeast Ohio, including two Amazon distribution centers, the Flats East Bank Development, the Lumen in Playhouse Square, the Intro in Ohio City, and the Sherwin Williams headquarters. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Ohio and has worked at the Port for over ten years in the economic development and public finance sector.

Dennis has over 25 years of experience advising private and public-sector organizations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in the areas of corporate site selection, feasibility analysis, economic incentives, public finance, economic impact modeling, and economic development strategy. Dennis provides strategic guidance to businesses, developers, economic development organizations, and governmental entities involved in large-scale economic development projects. Prior to founding Silverlode Consulting in 2002, Dennis was the Lake Erie Area Director of Site Selection & Incentives Services for EY. He also served as a Senior Manager in the Location and Incentives Advisory Services Group of PwC. Dennis began his career in the financial assurance practice of PwC. A certified public accountant, Dennis is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC). Dennis earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from John Carroll University. Dennis is also an IMPLAN Certified Economist.

Ken Kalynchuk is a Director and Principal, Financial Services, at Project Management Consultants (PMC), where he has worked since 2016. Ken’s work focuses on securing financing for construction projects, with clients including developers, companies, public entities, and non-profit organizations. Ken leads his firm’s brownfield incentives, economic impact analysis, and transformational mixed-use development (TMUD) tax credit practices. Ken’s recent client successes include helping three clients apply for and receive awards for TMUD tax credits in Round 2 of the Ohio program, securing 50% of total Major City category awards. Ken also helped more than a dozen clients apply for and receive brownfield remediation grants from the State of Ohio in application rounds one and three, achieving a 100% success rate in the competitive program for PMC clients. Ken resides in Detroit Shoreway and is passionate about redeveloping vacant sites and buildings in Cleveland. He is involved on the Board of Near West Theatre, with ULI Cleveland, TeamNEO Right Sites Council, and the Visiting Committee of the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.

McNair most recently served as the Executive Director of Ohio City Incorporated (OCI), a community development corporation serving Cleveland’s historic Ohio City neighborhood. In this role, McNair led a staff of eleven guiding the planning, promotion, and development in Ohio City, a diverse community of over 10,000 residents and over 250 local businesses. Before taking on the executive position, McNair served as OCI’s Director of Economic Development and Planning. McNair has led several planning processes that have been adopted by the Cleveland City Planning Commission including one for the City of Cleveland’s first protected bikeway, and one to that would create the first waterfront park in America directly connected to public housing while equitably tying together an emerging regional trail network. McNair is a native of Chagrin Falls and holds a bachelor's degree in interior architecture and design from Ohio University. He and his family are longtime residents of the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood.

Stephanie M. Mercado, Esq., serves as a Project Director for BLS & Co.’s corporate and institutional clients. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Mercado’s 16-year career includes serving as partner and economic development attorney for Kohrman Jackson Krantz LLP, senior director for Team Northeast Ohio, Commissioner of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, and executive director of the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development. Stephanie is skilled at utilizing public and private resources to solve development and growth obstacles related to infrastructure, utilities, environmental concerns, real estate, workforce and other factors companies consider as part of their site selection process. At BLS & Co. Stephanie addresses the increasing legal and regulatory complexities of redevelopment approval and financing, and in corporate site selection and incentives. Stephanie holds a J.D. from Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and a B.A. in political science from John Carroll University. A 2020 member of Leadership Cleveland, she was named a ‘40 Under 40’ leader by Crain’s Cleveland Business and received the Hispanic Heritage Leadership award from the National Football League in 2011. She also serves on the board of several non-profit organizations and is a regular presenter at industry relevant seminars, including those hosted by the Ohio Economic Development Association.