Fresno General Plan Implementation / Infill Development Task Force
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Fresno General Plan Implementation / Infill Development Task Force Co-Conveners Ken Alex Director, Office of Planning and Research, California Governor’s Office Ken Alex is a Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Jerry Brown and the Director of the Office of Planning and Research, focusing on energy, environment, and land use issues. As California moves towards a population of 50 million in a climate change constrained world, Ken and OPR work on issues and policies that protect and promote the State’s environment and economy. Before joining the Governor’s Office, Ken was the Senior Assistant Attorney General heading the environment section of the California Attorney General’s Office, and the co-head of the Office’s global warming unit. From 2000 to 2006, Ken led the California Attorney General’s energy task force, investigating price and supply issues related to California’s energy crisis. During his tenure at the Attorney General’s Office, Ken negotiated dozens of significant settlements, including agreements with San Bernardino County and ConocoPhillips for the first required reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in the country. California Lawyer named Ken an “Attorney of the Year” in 2004 for his work in energy law, and he received the ABA award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy in 2007 for global warming work. He has taught courses on environmental law and policy at Stanford, Hastings, and Golden Gate University. Ken is a graduate of Harvard Law School and holds a B.A. in political theory from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Mayor Ashley Swearengin Mayor, City of Fresno Elected Mayor of Fresno in 2008, Ashley Swearengin is a dynamic leader who focuses on building coalitions of experienced and capable experts to solve problems in honest and thoughtful ways. She has dedicated nearly her entire professional career to improving Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. Mayor Swearengin was born in Texas and raised in Arkansas. When she was in high school, her family relocated to Fresno – the city she has called home ever since. After high school, Mayor Swearengin earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees, both from California State University, Fresno – graduating with honors. She then entered the marketing field, where she served in leadership roles with several private sector firms. In 2000, she accepted the position of Director of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State where she worked to improve the lives of Fresno families through workforce development strategies and educational initiatives. Then, in 2002, Mayor Swearengin co-founded the Regional Jobs Initiative (RJI), a comprehensive, industry focused effort aimed at attacking chronic unemployment in Fresno County. During her tenure as Chief Operations Officer for the RJI, job creation in the Fresno region was her primary focus. In 2005, Mayor Swearengin became lead executive for the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, a high-level working group established by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to address critical Fresno General Plan Implementation / Infill Development Task Force _ Updated 7/9/2013 1 resource needs in our community. Through the Partnership, hundreds of community and business leaders, government officials, educators, policymakers and residents from all walks of life in the eight- county San Joaquin Valley and beyond are working together like never before to find and implement solutions that will improve the quality of life for all in the region. Mayor Swearengin now serves as the deputy chair of the Partnership’s board of directors. Mayor Swearengin’s past honors include being named Alumna of the Year by Leadership Fresno and one of Fresno’s Top Business and Professional Women of the Year by the Marjaree Mason Center. The Swearengins have two children, Sydney and Samuel. Task Force Members Darius Assemi President, Granville Homes Granville Homes President Darius Assemi came to the United States as an immigrant from Iran, more than 30 years ago. He graduated Cum Laude from California State University, Fresno in 1983 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Darius is committed to creating livable master planned neighborhoods in the Central Valley. Also an ardent supporter of the revitalization of Downtown Fresno, Darius has led Granville Homes and GV Urban in the creation of several highly sought after residential developments which have brought an estimated 500 new residents to the Downtown area. Granville’s mission is to promote the well-being and prosperity of everyone in the Central Valley. On a personal note, Darius strives to promote causes that provide food, shelter, employment, health care, education and hope to under privileged people and neighborhoods both in this country and around the world. Ignacio Barandiaran Principal, Arup Ignacio Barandiaran is a Principal at Arup’s San Francisco, California office. He heads Arup’s Transaction Advice business in North and South America, leading a team of technical and financial transaction specialists delivering procurement strategic advice, commercial and technical due diligence, and project financing advice. He is also an accomplished architect and structural engineer with over nineteen years of experience. Ignacio’s technical and financial expertise has provided a notable impact to a variety of projects in the US and abroad. Within the last six years Ignacio has undertaken over fifty Transaction Advisory assignments representing over $60 Billion in aggregate project value, such as the Presidio Parkway and the Port of Miami Tunnel Project. Ignacio has applied his experience internationally in such projects as the Paranaguá Port in Brasil, the Costanera Norte toll road in Santiago, Chile, the El Dorado Airport concession in Bogota, Colombia, and the Linea Amarilla toll road in Lima, Peru. Ignacio is a graduate of Oxford University, England (B.A. Physics) and the University of California at Berkeley (M.Arch., M.S., and MBA). Claudia Cappio Executive Director, California Housing Finance Agency Claudia Cappio was appointed to the position of Executive Director of the CA Housing Finance Agency in April, 2011. Previously she held the position of Development Director for the City of Oakland, CA. Fresno General Plan Implementation / Infill Development Task Force _ Updated 7/9/2013 2 Claudia has been a planner in the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years, working for local governments on both large-scale and small planning and development efforts. Prior to that she served as the Manager of Major Development Projects for Oakland, worked as the Planning and Building Director for the City of Emeryville, and also held the position of Planning Director for the City of Albany. She has a degree in Urban Studies from Ohio Wesleyan University. Roma Cristia-Plant Assistant Executive Director, California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Roma Cristia-Plant is the Assistant Executive Director of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank where she oversees the I-Bank's administration and financing programs, including conduit bond programs and a municipal infrastructure loan program. She originally joined the I-Bank in September 1999 to start up and manage the I-Bank's Infrastructure State Revolving Fund Program. Under her tenure at the I-Bank, Roma has overseen the funding of over $7 billion in conduit bond financing for private development facilities, and $450 million of direct loans to local governments for a wide variety of public infrastructure. Prior to the I-Bank, Roma spent a total of nine years as a community/economic development representative and business loan officer for several California state financing programs including: the Community Development Block Grant Program, the Recycling Market Development Zone Loan Program, the Child Care Facilities Financing Program, the Rental Housing Construction Program and the California Disaster Assistance Loan Program. Roma also has a strong small business lending background with over six years of commercial lending experience while employed at the U.S. Small Business Administration - Disaster Division and The Money Store Investment Corporation. Roma is currently a SAFE-BIDCO Board member, and a member of several finance and community development organizations including the California Association for Local Economic Development, the Government Finance Officers Association and the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers. Roma has an M.B.A. in finance from CSU Sacramento, a B.A. in Human Development with honors from UC Riverside, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies. Vanessa Delgado Director of Development, Primestor Ms. Delgado is responsible for managing Primestor projects through the development cycle, community and government relations and marketing. She has recently developed or is working on over $300 million and 1.5 million square feet of commercial projects with an expertise in public-private partnerships. Prior to joining Primestor, Ms. Delgado consulted for a number of public and private clients, including the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles. She also worked in redevelopment for the cities of Anaheim, Downey, and Pico Rivera. Ms. Delgado received her undergraduate education at Stanford University and completed a Masters of Public Administration at the University of Southern California (USC). She received additional training through the Ross Program at the Lusk Center at USC and is a LEED Green Associate. Ms. Delgado has served on a number of boards and Commissions and currently serves as Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina’s appointee to the Small Craft Harbor Commission (Marina del Rey) and is an active board member for Mercy Housing, California. Fresno General Plan Implementation / Infill Development Task Force _ Updated 7/9/2013 3 Bob Fisher Public Member, California Strategic Growth Council Robert Fisher was appointed to the California Strategic Growth Council as the council’s public member. He and his family have owned Mendocino Redwood Company since 1998 and he has also worked as the director of Sugar Bowl Ski Resort since 2002.