Save the Date: Wednesday, August 26th at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts
Doors: 2:15pm | Show: 3pm
Join us for this year’s State of Downtown presented by PNC as we look back at 30 years of Downtown Raleigh Alliance shaping downtown’s growth and evolution.
Hear from the leaders, visionaries, and changemakers driving Downtown Raleigh forward, while getting an inside look at the ideas, investments, and opportunities influencing its future.
Attendees will get a first look at key insights from our annual State of Downtown Report, highlighting the trends, progress, and energy fueling downtown today.
State of Downtown is also a unique opportunity to network with local business leaders, city officials, and community stakeholders who are all committed to driving this community's success.
To stay informed about the event, sign up for DRA's Economic Development newsletter.
If you have any questions related to State of Downtown tickets, please email LucyMcInnis@downtownraleigh.org. For sponsorship opportunities and inquires, please email IleanaRodriguez@downtownraleigh.org.
2026 Speakers and Panelists
Introducing the program speakers for State of Downtown 2026 presented by PNC.
Cherisse Byers | Hone-Sharpen
Cherisse Byers has loved food for as long as she can remember, inspired early on by afternoons spent watching cooking shows. What began as a hobby stayed with her through college and eventually led her to pursue formal culinary training after earning a degree in Finance and Economics and raising her young family.
Determined to build experience while balancing family life, Cherisse worked across culinary education, events, and food retail before launching her own business focused on cooking classes and shared food experiences. Her approachable style and passion for helping others discover confidence in the kitchen allowed her to connect naturally with home cooks and aspiring food lovers.
Today, Cherisse continues to explore new ways to engage people through food with Hone-Sharpen—an innovative approach to culinary entertainment and education designed to be accessible, inspiring, and fun for all skill levels. Through creative use of the Hone-Sharpen facility she is able to contribute to the downtown Raleigh community while also cultivating meaningful experiences centered around food and connection.
John Cooper | Cooper Tacia
Originally from Hampton, Virginia, John Cooper moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1999 to attend North Carolina State University and study civil engineering.
While in college, he founded Cooper Tacia General Contracting Company, a firm that he grew from doing small bathroom and kitchen remodels with his own hands to a multimillion-dollar company executing commercial, municipal, higher education, airport and industrial construction work throughout the southeastern United States.
In 2023, John started The Cooper Charitable Foundation with funds generated from the success of his company.
Robbie Ferris AIA, REFP, LEED AP | SfL+A architects
Robbie Ferris is the CEO of SfL+a Architects and Firstfloor, Inc., bringing more than 30 years of experience in architecture, real estate development, and innovative project delivery. A nationally recognized leader in sustainable design, Robbie has helped position SfL+a as a pioneer in high-performance buildings, with the firm delivering 12 of the 17 net-zero energy projects completed in the Carolinas.
As an architect-developer and expert in public-private partnerships, Robbie combines design expertise with a deep understanding of finance, construction, and building performance to create complex projects that deliver lasting value for communities. Through Firstfloor, he leads an integrated approach to real estate development, bringing together public and private stakeholders, architecture, construction, and strategic planning from concept through completion.
Robbie is currently leading the development of City Gateway in Downtown Raleigh, a transformative mixed-use project redefining urban mobility, sustainability, and placemaking. Construction is underway on the project’s second phase, the Automated Parking Facility and Open Space Plaza, with future mixed-use development planned to further activate the site and strengthen its connection to Downtown Raleigh.
Thomas “Skip” Hill | Highwoods Properties
Skip is responsible for overseeing Highwoods Raleigh Division operations, including all leasing, property management, acquisition/ disposition and development activities for its 6.4 million square foot, 42-building office portfolio in Raleigh, Cary, and Durham.
Skip joined Highwoods in 2002 and originally served as Highwoods’ Corporate Vice President of Leasing where he was responsible for the company’s leasing activities nationally before being promoted to SVP-Raleigh.
Skip currently serves as Immediate Past Chair of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance Board of Directors and serves on the Board of the American Cancer Society Central & Eastern NC Area.
Skip enjoys serving in his community and has had the privilege of serving as Past Chair of the UNC Children’s Board of Advisors; Past Chair of the Cary Chamber of Commerce; Past Chair of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau; Past President of the NC State CCIM Chapter; and Past President of both Triangle and Triad NAIOP Chapters.
Skip earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1984 and is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designee.
Skip has been married to his wife Sondra for 40 years and has 5 children. He enjoys golf, boating, traveling, attending concerts and sporting events, and is actively involved in his church.
Sig Hutchinson | The Oakline
Sig Hutchinson is known in Wake County for his longtime efforts to preserve open space, expand the greenway system, and make communities healthy and livable. He has successfully led six bond referendums totaling more than $300 million in Wake County and the City of Raleigh for open space preservation, parks, greenways, transportation and affordable housing.
He has held leadership roles in numerous regional and state boards and associations, including the Wake County Board of Commissioners, Triangle Land Conservancy, Advocates for Health in Action and Triangle Transit. He is currently on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the Upper Neuse River Basin Association.
Among his awards and recognitions, Sig has been honored as Wake County’s Volunteer of the Year, Triangle Business Journal’s Green Advocate of the Year, Raleigh News & Observer’s Tar Heel of the Week and a recipient of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce A.E. Finley Distinguished Service Award.
Sig is the president of Sig Hutchinson Communications. He has a B.A. from Texas Tech University, an M.Ed. from the University of South Carolina, and he lives on a greenway in Raleigh with his wife, Nancy. They have one son and three grandchildren.
Bill King | Downtown Raleigh Alliance
Bill King is the President and CEO of Downtown Raleigh Alliance, a position he has held since 2019. Since joining DRA in 2014, Bill has led Downtown Raleigh through the COVID crisis, built grant programs that have distributed over $600,000+ to local businesses, led the creation of the Sip n Stroll social district, more than doubled downtown’s safety patrols, added new events such as Live After 5 and Illuminate, and recruited multiple grocery stores to Downtown Raleigh, as well as numerous other retailers. He has a masters degree in urban planning from UNC-Chapel Hill and was awarded 40 under 40 awards by Triangle Business Journal and the University of Georgia.
Kenya Pleasant | Raleigh Housing Authority
Kenya Pleasant is the Chief Real Estate Development Officer for the Raleigh Housing Authority. In her role she is responsible for the redevelopment of the agency’s legacy housing portfolio. She currently manages the redevelopment of Heritage Park, which will greatly expand affordable housing options in downtown Raleigh, as well as several other significant affordable housing projects planned for development.
Prior to joining RHA, Ms. Pleasant was the Senior Director of Development for Harmony Housing Affordable Development where she played a leading role in the firm’s expansion into urban markets including Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, and Miami.
Kenya has played an integral role in the development and preservation of thousands of units and brings over 20 years of industry experience. She has served in a variety of capacities ranging from underwriting, transaction structuring, development, and asset management for various firms including two real estate investment trusts and a national tax credit syndicator. Early in her career she built a strong foundation in finance working in debt capital markets for JPMorgan Chase. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Wake County Housing Finance Corporation.
Brian Ray | Alchemy-ABR Investment Partners | One Nash Square
Brian Ray is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Alchemy-ABR Investment Partners, a New York based commercial real estate owner, operator, and development company with assets in New York City, South Florida, North Carolina and other strategic markets. Brian is responsible for overseeing the company’s day-to-day acquisition, development, capital markets, and operating activities.
Brian is an alumnus of George Washington University and holds a Master of Science degree in Real Estate Finance and Development from NYU where he was a recipient of NYU’s 2002 Lambda Alpha International Service Award for his contributions to the community, university, and program.
He currently serves on the Advisory Boards of the GW Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, the University of Miami School of Architecture and the NYU Schack Real Estate Institute, where he was an Adjunct Professor of finance and development.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife Allison, their daughter Sammie, and son Max.
Jamie Schwedler | Parker Poe
Jamie Schwedler's practice at Parker Poe consists of zoning and land use law, real property development, real property litigation, state and local tax matters, and related regulatory matters. Jamie advises developers and landowners on a full range of real property and development matters.
Her representation has included zoning requests for large land development projects and infill sites, conducting due diligence and entitlement review on real estate acquisitions, navigating local and state regulations affecting development, and analyzing legal issues of transportation and infrastructure improvements.
Her litigation practice focuses on real property, land use and zoning, contract, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and related business disputes. Jamie has appeared in the district and superior courts of North Carolina. Her appellate work includes cases before the Court of Appeals of North Carolina, the North Carolina Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Before joining Parker Poe, Jamie was a project manager for an international landscape architecture, planning, and economic development firm. Her experience as a landscape architect includes planned community design, urban revitalization design and construction, transit-oriented development, and large-scale master planning. In this role, she oversaw construction administration for Pittsburgh, PA’s North Shore Riverfront Park, the milelong riverfront park between the city’s NFL and MLB stadiums.
Dr. Yulia Shamis | The Newsagent’s
Dr. Yulia Shamis is a highly accomplished scientist with a proven track record of leading diverse teams to achieve ambitious goals. She has a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology (Tufts), a post-doctoral degree (Mount Sinai Hospital), and has global industry and start-up experience (Lonza; Stemson Therapeutics).
Dr. Shamis currently is a co-owner and proprietor of The Newsagent’s.
Eric Stone | White Lodging
Eric is the Vice President of Investments and Development for White Lodging. His role involves him in all facets of an asset lifecycle, including acquisition, development and disposition. Most of his time is focused on sourcing new opportunities to expand White Lodging’s owned portfolio and facilitating the development process. This includes site/asset control, due diligence, brand facilitation, entitlements, and internal coordination.
Eric joined White Lodging in 2016 as a Senior Development Manager. His career in hospitality started as a Banquet Supervisor in Michigan, and after serving in a variety of on-property roles at several hotels, he moved into hospitality finance and development with roles at Manhattan Hospitality Advisors and CBRE.
Eric is a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Hotel Management and Hospitality Business.
Kallie Walker | Kane Realty
Kallie Walker is Managing Director of Development at Kane Realty, where she has led over $1B in mixed-use projects across Raleigh, including The Dillon and the North Hills Main District Expansion. She is passionate about urban infill and creating vibrant, walkable communities through thoughtful redevelopment.
Neetzan Zimmerman | The Newsagent’s
Neetzan Zimmerman is a renowned audience growth and development executive with decades of proven experience helping dozens of media and direct-to-consumer businesses grow to mass scale. Bloomberg called him "one of the most powerful talents of the digital media era."
Neetzan is a co-owner and proprietor of The Newsagent’s.
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