GWINNETT PLACE CID - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Economic Development Manager for the City of Duluth
Chris McGahee is an economic development manager for the City of Duluth where he specializes in assisting individuals and companies interested in doing business in the City of Duluth. He joined the Gwinnett Place CID to help promote economic development and hopes the board will help bring redevelopment and growth to the Gwinnett Place area.
Prior to working for the City of Duluth, Chris was the economic development director for Northeast Georgia Regional Commission (NEGRDC) and has more than 30 years of experience in the economic development field. He's also a member of Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA) and is a graduate from the University of Georgia.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of Northwood Investors
As Senior Vice President of Northwood Investors, Christopher Caltabiano is responsible for overseeing asset management activities and for developing and executing investment strategies for a portfolio of office and mixed-use assets located across the country.
Prior to joining Northwood, Christopher was Senior Vice President at Shorenstein Properties where he was responsible for construction, leasing and financing trophy-caliber office properties along the east coast. He has also served as Vice President for AIG Global Real Estate, Associate for Rockwood Real Estate Advisors and as an analyst and consultant at Bloomberg Financial Markets.
Christopher graduated from St. John's University with a Bachelor of Science and received a Master of Science from the New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate where he is currently an adjunct assistant professor. Chris is a frequent lecturer on real estate, corporate finance, valuation and risk management and his research on these subjects has been published in the Real Estate Review.
Glenn Wisdom has been the Gwinnett Place CID's director of operations since 2010. Glenn's previous positions as the general manager of the JC Penney at Gwinnett Place Mall and Pleasant Hill Square stores during the GPCID formation have given him insight into the area's development and potential.
Glenn earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Carson-Newman University, and promptly began his career with JC Penney in Hixson, Tennessee. The Gwinnett Place CID was formed during his time at Gwinnett Place Mall, and Glenn instantly took an active role to support the budding organization in an effort to rid the area of trash and graffiti. He joined the Gwinnett Place CID board of directors in 2005, then left his position at JC Penney to join the staff five years later. It is his hope that the Gwinnett Place Community will continue to grow, thrive and remain relevant. Glenn strives toward building a safer and more attractive environment for both businesses and residents to call home.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President With United Community Bank
Jill Edwards is Senior Vice President with United Community Bank. Jill received a a BS in finance and minor in management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and has more than 30 years of business banking experience in Atlanta, the majority of which has been spent focusing on the Gwinnett market. Prior to joining United, she served as the Gwinnett Business Banking Manager for Wells Fargo where she was consistently recognized as a top performer in revenue production, sales and service. She has also served in commercial banking leadership roles at Wachovia, Washington Mutual and SunTrust.
She is heavily involved in Gwinnett County and is immediate past Chair of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Jill is also involved with the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services and Rainbow Village and Across the Bridge boards. Jill has 15 years of active membership in Kiwanis and leadership on Wachovia's United Way Employee Campaign for Metro Atlanta.
Jill's 30 years of managing Gwinnett County's team of business bankers makes her aware of the issues challenging the Gwinnett Place area, and she wants to be a part of the solution to continue to drive economic viability in the Gwinnett market.
Joe Allen has been the Gwinnett Place CID executive director since 2006. With a masters of public administration from Georgia State University, Joe has been serving Gwinnett County since 1991 with his positions as: director of administration and chief deputy tax commissioner at the Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner's Office, director of public affairs and business resources at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and division director, risk management and employees services at the department of financial services for the Gwinnett County Government.
With more than 20 years of directing executive-level administrative operations, economic development initiatives, marketing and public relations, strategic planning, budgeting and program management, Joe is a detail-oriented proactive leader who gets things done. He aspires to serve the board members and commercial property owners to advance in the shared vision that Gwinnett Place will be the model for an internationally diverse, livable urban community.
Joe is also heavily involved in the Gwinnett County community and is involved in the following organizations:
Partnership Gwinnett Economic Development Initiative, quality of life committee chair, 2008-2012; implementation committee, 2008-present; redevelopment taskforce, 2010-present
President, Partnership Gwinnett Public Funding Entity Board of Directors, 2016-present
Gwinnett County Redevelopment Agency, 2016-present
Rotary International, assistant governor, district board of trustees and past president of the South Gwinnett Club; Member Rotary Club of Gwinnett Mosaic
Leadership Gwinnett graduate; Regional Leadership Institute graduate
Mercer University, College of Arts and Sciences alumni board, past president and member, 1996-present
McClure Health Science High School Advisory Team, 2019-present
Ferguson Elementary School Foundation board of directors, 2016-present
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful board of directors, 2017-present
Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, board of directors, 2008-2014
June Lee is a partner with the Atlanta law firm, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. A graduate of the University of Georgia Law School, June is also the founding president of the Korean Bar Association of Georgia, the regional governor for International Association of Korean Lawyers, and is a member of the American Bar Association, Georgia Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association and Council of Korean Americans. June specializes in corporate law, foreign investment, immigration, and international law where she works to promote business relationships between U.S. companies and Korean companies. June is also a frequent speaker on women's issues, mentoring and economic development.
June is dedicated to being part of the process of the Gwinnett Place transformation. She intends to represent the concerns and interests of Korean-American owned businesses in the district, along with people of all origins, and will work to make Gwinnett Place the location in Atlanta to enjoy the diversity of culture, food, activities and music.
Job Titles:
- President of Ackerman Retail
As President of Ackerman Retail, the retail division of Ackerman & Co., Leo Wiener directs the growth of the group's national services platform, spearheading developments, acquisitions, leasing and property management. With
industry leadership experience spanning more than 25 years, Leo has made numerous strategic staff additions to strengthen Ackerman Retail's comprehensive services and deliver solid results to its growing roster of local and multimarket clients. To date, the Ackerman's Retail division has completed nearly 10 million square feet of transactions valued at more than $1 billion.
Prior to joining Ackerman, Leo was a Principal and Partner of Glenwood Development Company, concentrating on retail development and redevelopment in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic; and Managing Director at an Atlanta-based boutique real estate firm.
Mark Williams is secretary/treasurer of the Gwinnett Place CID board of directors. He is the owner of Printing Trade Company - a full-service print company his family started 39 years ago. He has served in appointed and volunteer roles with numerous civic efforts countywide and in the cities of Norcross and Duluth. Mark lives in Cardinal Lake, one of Gwinnett's oldest and largest neighborhoods.
Ondria Jett has acquired 25 years of experience in commercial property management by managing capital and tenant improvements with a value of more than $100 million. As a Regional Manager for Banyan Street Capital, she is responsible for the oversight of nearly 3 million square feet of commercial property in Atlanta and New York, as well as annual business plans and budgets with a net operating income (NOI) of more than $45 million.
Ondria's experience in commercial property management began as an Assistant Manager for a downtown Atlanta property that underwent a $26 million redevelopment. In her roles representing commercial property owners, Ondria has served as liaison for major tenants such as Salesforce, Google, RentPath, FDIC, Jacobs Engineering, Target, MarkeTeam, National Financial Services Group, Wells Fargo and the GSA. Ondria was named CBRE Real Estate Manager of the Year in 2004, won the 2004 Building Owners and Managers Association Atlanta Office Building of the Year Award and served on the board for the Perimeter Transportation Coalition from 2007 to 2008.
Ondria holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She also supplemented her education through the Institute of Real Estate Management and the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) earning her Certified Property Manager and Real Property Administrator designations.
Job Titles:
- National Director
- Member and past - President for the Gwinnett Mosaic Rotary Club
Tim Hur is the national director of inclusion and philanthropy at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, LLC. In this role, Tim is in charge of growing the brand presence focusing on the diversity markets, which includes maintaining strong relationships with The Asian Real Estate Association of America, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals and National Association of Real Estate Brokers.
Tim is also a charter member and past-President for the Gwinnett Mosaic Rotary Club, and serves many other nonprofit organizations within the Metro Atlanta area. He is a member of the Atlanta Realtors, Atlanta Commercial Board and Northeast Atlanta Metro Association of REALTORS®, having multiple designations obtained through the REALTOR® network, including the prestigious CRS, CIPS, ABR and GREEN designations.
Job Titles:
- Vice - Chair for the Gwinnett Place CID Board of Directors
Trey Ragsdale serves as vice-chair for the Gwinnett Place CID Board of Directors. He manages external relations for Kaiser Permanente in Georgia. In this role, Trey is responsible for securing government and community support for Kaiser Permanente's healthcare initiatives throughout Georgia. Prior to his role at Kaiser Permanente, Trey held leadership positions at MARTA, the United States Senate and The White House, King & Spalding law firm and The Coca-Coca Company.
Trey is also a part of other organizations, including the Atlanta Regional Commission Workforce Development Board, HINRI, Partnership Gwinnett Board, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Cherokee Chamber of Commerce, Cherokee Focus, Young Life, Chattahoochee Technical College, Reinhardt University and several more organizations.
He is the former chairman of the DeKalb Housing Authority, former president and Lieutenant Governor of Georgia Kiwanis, the former chair-elect of the Sandy Springs-Perimeter Chamber of Commerce, a 2005 graduate of the Georgia Academy of Economic Development, 2006 Leadership North Fulton graduate and a 2008 Leadership Atlanta graduate.
In addition, Trey has been extremely involved in the arena of politics having served in advisory and leadership roles to dozens of presidential, state and local campaigns. Trey is the chairman of Pure Politics, the world's largest political education portal and rated by Forbes.com as "Best of the Web" for political sites.
Trey was honored when Georgia Trend Magazine named him as one of the Top 40 rising Business Leaders under the Age of 40 in the State of Georgia and the Atlanta Business Chronicle selected him as one of the top 50 rising Business Leaders under the Age of 40 in the metropolitan Atlanta region. In 2008, Jezebel Magazine named him as one of the Top 25 Most Beautiful Citizens in Atlanta. Trey holds a bachelor's degree from Auburn University and a MBA from Georgia State University.