Officers
Kristen Montet Lonner
President
kristen@cerrell.com
www.cerrell.com
As VP, Land Use & Planning at Cerrell Associates, Kristen Montet Lonner is responsible for oversight of Cerrell's Land Use and Planning division. She is an experienced land use planner and political strategist with an extensive career in the public sector working on a variety of development projects. Her expertise helps clients successfully navigate the public entitlements process. A former Los Angeles city council deputy, Kristen has worked with Los Angeles City Councilmembers Laura Chick and Cindy Miscikowski. In October of 2003, Kristen was named the director of land use planning for the Los Angeles Unified School District's new construction program. The program brings over 300 school construction projects to the Los Angeles area and is the largest public works project in the U.S. LAUSD promoted Kristen to Chief of Staff to the deputy chief facilities executive of new construction. In this position, she tackled difficult political decisions and negotiated with city councilmembers and state elected officials on a wide range of issues.
Following her time at LAUSD, Kristen served as vice president of land use for GCG Rose & Kindel, representing developers seeking entitlements for projects throughout Southern California. A UCLA graduate, Kristen is the chair of the Ralph J. Bunche Scholarship for the UCLA Alumni Association and serves on the UCLA Alumni Association scholarship steering committee. Kristen is also the president of the 900-member Los Angeles County Young Democrats. In addition to her leadership in those groups, Kristen serves as the public relations chair for the Westside Urban Forum and sits on land use committees for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Central City Association, and the Los Angeles Business Council assisting them with policy development and outreach. Kristen is a graduate of the Los Angeles Chamber's Leadership LA program.
Patrick Tooley
Chief Financial Officer
Wilson Meany Sullivan
ptooley@wmspartners.com
Patrick Tooley has extensive experience in development and investment including significant mixed-use residential, retail and office projects throughout California. At Wilson Meany Sullivan, Patrick is responsible for major development projects in Southern California and identifying new development opportunities in the region. Prior to joining Wilson Meany Sullivan, Patrick formed and was Managing Member of Tooley Interests, a company focused on the development of neighborhood scale infill projects in the greater Los Angeles area. Patrick has been directly responsible for the development and redevelopment of projects totaling more than 750,000 square feet with a focus in high barrier to entry markets, including those located in California's coastal zone. Patrick's experience includes projects completed in partnership with Community Redevelopment Agencies both in Northern and Southern California. Prior to Tooley Interests, Patrick was a Project Director for Wilson Meany LLC in San Francisco and has held positions with Robertson Stephens in the real estate investment banking group and The RREEF Funds in San Francisco. Patrick holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University.
Jody Feerst Litvak
Vice President Programs
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
LitvakJ@metro.net
Jody Feerst Litvak currently serves as Regional Community Relations Manager for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) where she is responsible for representing Metro's interests in the Central and Westside area, stretching from downtown Los Angeles to the ocean. Among her several responsibilities is leading the outreach efforts for the "Westside Extension Transit Corridor Study" that is evaluating a possible extension of the Metro Rail subway. She has been directly involved in outreach and communication efforts surrounding the development of the 2008 Long Range Transportation Plan and efforts to place a transportation sales tax on the ballot. She originally joined one of the Metro's predecessor agencies, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, in 1990. She has previously worked as the Government & Public Affairs Manager for the Congestion Management Program, eventually serving as the overall Manager of that program, and worked as the agency's Manager of Government Relations. Ms. Litvak previously worked for the California State Senate, US House of Representatives, Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, GTE-California (now Verizon), the City of West Hollywood, and campaigns for candidates and initiatives. In these positions, she has assessed, planned and managed a wide range of projects with complex and political and community concerns.
Ms. Litvak holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She lives in the Westwood area of Los Angeles with her husband and two children.
Shannon Clements Parry
Vice President Membership
sustainableplaces@gmail.com
Shannon Parry manages the City of Santa Monica's Sustainable City Program. She focuses on the development, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies related to the Sustainable City Plan. Her work includes sustainable city indicators, business and community greening, green building and a host of other urban planning and municipal sustainability projects. Shannon is a LEED accredited professional. She is a founding member of Green Cities California and is currently on the organization's Steering Committee. She is the founder of Sustainable Places where she consults on sustainability indicators, sustainable practices in the film and television industry, green building and sustainability management. Shannon has authored curriculum for college students and the general public that promote sustainable practices in the urban environment.
She received her Masters Degree in Urban Planning from UCLA where she was the Director of the Environmental Coalition and founding member of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability. Shannon received the Erin Brockovich/ Ed Masry Fellowship for Leadership in Environmental Justice and the Jeffrey L. Hanson Distinguished Service Award. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management and a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley.
Phyllis Dubinsky
Vice President Events
Phyllis@pdkmarketstrategies.com
Phyllis Dubinsky, Principal of PDK Market Strategies, specializes in marketing and organizational strategies for service firms and owners in design, construction, development and related industries. Her expertise is in new market entry/positioning and unique alliances. Prior to forming her own practice, she was a Principal for Perkins + Will, an international architecture, interior design and planning firm. Phyllis' 25 years of innovative marketing successes were recognized with the receipt of the prestigious Leonardo Award in 1995. She also has been active in academia over the years. Prior to joining the faculty of SCI-Arc she taught at Woodbury University and UCLA. Phyllis has published several articles on creative business strategies for architects, including the widely acclaimed "When Merger and Acquisition Promise Fails to Deliver". She has also published articles in the AIA Journal, Practice Management Digest.
Phyllis has been on the board of the Westside Urban Forum for 14 years, serving as President in 1998/99. She is also active in Turtle Will, an organization dedicated to helping the traditional peoples primarily of sub Sahara Africa retain their cultures and dignity. She has also served on the board of the Southern California Biomedical Council as Vice Chair of the Real Estate Task Force and the USC Architectural Guild. Phyllis has a BA in English Literature and Linguistics and pursued her graduate studies in linguistics.
