Speakers

Brian Bailey
Global Head of Research,
Trimont
September 24 | 8:30 AM - 9:20 AM
Economic Forecast
Brian Bailey has been the Global Head of Research at Trimont, a specialized global commercial real estate loan services provider, since May 2025. Previously, he was a Subject Matter Expert in the Supervision, Regulation, & Credit Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, where he was responsible for providing thought leadership and monitoring emerging trends in commercial real estate. He provided guidance on CRE industry dynamics, valuation, operation, and finance issues. Brian has been actively involved as a lead Wholesale reviewer in the annual stress test and capital review (CCAR & HCR) conducted on the nation’s largest financial institutions. Brian has been requested to share his thoughts on commercial real estate at hundreds of venues including the Federal Reserve System, multiple U.S. Federal Agencies, many universities such as the Wharton School, industry conferences, and syndicated radio.

Brian has extensive experience, spanning both the public and private sectors, with commercial real estate valuation, transaction, development, and financial issues. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Brian spent 15 years in various real estate industry positions. He was employed by the private equity firm Tavistock Group to oversee real estate finance and acquisitions. Before joining Tavistock, Brian was the Director of Real Estate Finance for Flagler Development Group, Florida’s largest commercial real estate developer. Brian’s experience includes working for EY (Ernst & Young), where he was an executive. Prior to joining E&Y, Brian founded and operated an industrial development company that specialized in the acquisition, development, and refurbishment of industrial properties. Prior to that, Brian got his start in commercial real estate as a local market appraiser.

Charles Baker, SRA, AI-RRS
Founder,
AppraisalPros
September 22
Charles Baker, SRA, AI-RRS, is the founder of AppraisalPros, a Southern California-based valuation and consulting firm established in 1988. With more than three decades of experience in residential real estate appraisal, review, litigation support, and consulting, he has completed over $26 billion in residential valuations since 2002.

 Throughout his career, Charles has appraised some of Southern California’s most notable luxury estates and architecturally significant properties, serving a diverse clientele that includes financial institutions, law firms, developers, relocation companies, real estate professionals, and private individuals. His expertise spans a wide range of high-value and complex assignments, including historic estates, celebrity residences, and custom-designed homes by renowned architects.

In addition to his appraisal work, Charles has provided expert testimony in state and federal courts on valuation matters involving significant real estate assets, earning recognition as a trusted authority in residential property valuation.

Ryan Clutter
Senior Managing Director
JLL Capital Markets, Americas
September 24 | 2:40 PM - 3:30 PM
Office Market Trends
Ryan is a Senior Managing Director in the Carolinas office of JLL Capital Markets, Americas. He joined JLL as part of the HFF acquisition and is primarily responsible for investment sales advisory transactions throughout the Carolinas region. Ryan is a co-leader of JLL’s National Office Group, he has completed more than $8 billion in commercial real estate transactions during his career.

Ryan started at HFF in July 2014. Before that, he was an executive vice president with CBRE in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office from 2012 to 2014, and the Charlotte office for 14 years prior to that time from 1998 to 2012. During his time with CBRE, Ryan was recognized by the Charlotte Region Commercial Board of Realtors (CRCBR) as the No. 1 Overall Market Producer for seven consecutive years from 2005 to 2011. While in Washington D.C., he was a Top 15 Producer for the firm both years he was in the market and was a Top 200 Producer in CBRE’s Americas region six of nine years between 2005 and 2013. While at HFF, Ryan earned this designation again in both 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Chris Fudacz
Senior Managing Director - National Data Center Practice Leader,
BBG Inc.
September 24 | 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
Data Centers
Chris Fudacz is BBG, Inc.’s National Data Center Practice Leader for Valuations, based in Seattle.  A true, well-rounded expert in the data center space, Mr. Fudacz possesses deep expertise in both valuation and strategic consulting.  He has valued and advised on more than 1,000 digital infrastructure assets primarily in the USA, including A.I. / next generation, hyperscale, turkey wholesale, colocation, powered shell, network-rich carrier hotel facilities, mixed-use properties with significant mission critical components, and powered land (if Highest & Best Use is data center).

Prior to leading BBG’s Data Center Valuation Practice, Mr. Fudacz spent eleven years at CBRE within both the Data Center Solutions Agency Practice and the Valuation and Advisory Services group, most recently serving as the Data Center Valuations Practice Leader from 2019 to 2025.  In his Agency role, he worked closely with REITs, private equity firms, data center operators and investors to help improve their market intelligence, decision-making, and achieve optimal transaction outcomes. In his Data Center Valuations Practice Leader role, Mr. Fudacz provided market value appraisals and consulting advice to data center providers, cloud providers, lenders, investors, and municipalities. 

His capabilities extend beyond traditional valuation work. Mr. Fudacz offers consultative insight into the key factors influencing data center viability and value, including power access characteristics, fiber availability, infrastructure resiliency, geographic positioning, local economic incentives and physical characteristics.  His ability to leverage his understanding of physical characteristics while integrating the necessary economic analysis driven by current market insights & assumptions makes him uniquely qualified to advise clients on data center assets of varying caliber & type.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Fudacz was an Associate Director at Newmark (formerly NGKF / Grubb & Ellis, Landauer), delivering valuation and consulting services for acquisition, disposition, and financing of investment-grade real estate. In addition to his data center specialization, Mr. Fudacz has a broad background in other property types, including industrial, retail, office, multifamily, and special-use assets.

Justin Gohn, MAI, SRA
Principal, Gohn and Company; 
2025 President, Philadelphia Metro Chapter of the Appraisal Institute
September 24 | 9:20 AM - 10:10 AM
Artificial Intelligence
Justin Gohn was the 2025 President of the Philadelphia Metro Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and has 20 years of experience specializing in litigation support and AI integration in real estate appraisal. For the past three years, he has focused on implementing artificial intelligence throughout his practice and shares these innovations at industry conferences, webinars, and podcasts nationwide.

Malinda Griffin
Founder,
Malinda Griffin & Co
September 22
Malinda Griffin is the founder of Malinda Griffin & Co, established in 1990 in Upstate South Carolina. She is a Certified Residential Appraiser and Real Estate Abstractor, serving lending institutions, attorneys, accountants, appraisal management companies, and private clients. In 2018, she expanded her professional services to include South Carolina Appraiser and Realtor Continuing Education.

 Malinda is a national leader in the appraisal profession. She served as President of the South Carolina Professional Appraisers Coalition in 2020, was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Appraisers in 2021 and was installed as NAA President in 2024. She currently serves as 2025–2026 Chair of The Appraisal Foundation Advisory Council (TAFAC) and is a member of the South Carolina Real Estate Appraisers Board.

A designated MNAA member, Malinda holds HMS and Appraisal Review certifications. She is also the recipient of the 2026 Louise Lee Lum Award (Appraisal Institute), the  2025 ATA Lone Star Award, and the 2025 SCPAC Lifetime Member Award.

Steve Johnson
Executive Vice President,
Newmark Valuation & Advisory
September 24 | 1:50 PM - 2:40 PM
Regional & State Self-Storage Market Trends
Steve Johnson has been in the valuation business 22 years, starting in 2004 with Charles R (Ray) Wilson & Associates with a focus on self storage. While he serves clients on a wide variety of property types, this physically boring but economically exciting property type has remained a focused specialty his entire career. Steve joined Newmark from Integra Realty Resources, where he served as a primary manager. Steve joined Newmark Valuation & Advisory in 2018 and currently serves as Executive Vice President and leader of the Self Storage practice. The national self storage team includes nearly 40 persons and is one of the most active teams in the valuation of the storage sector.

Dr. Jessica Lautz
Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research 
National Association of REALTORS®
September 22
Dr. Jessica Lautz is the Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®. She has been with NAR since 2007.

The core of her research focuses on analyzing trends for both NAR members and housing consumers. She is in demand as a speaker and by major media outlets to provide commentary on the real estate market. She has testified before Congress on behalf of NAR.

She also volunteers at Nottingham Trent University as an industry fellow mentoring real estate graduate students, is a committee chair at the National Association of Business Economics, bakes birthday cakes for underserved youth with Cake4Kids, and sits on the board of the Food Recovery Network.

Dr. Lautz has been recognized by Housing Wire's Women of Influence and RISMedia's Newsmaker award.

Jessica received her Doctorate of Real Estate from Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. She also holds a Master's in Public Policy from American University and undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Law and Justice from Central Washington University.

Nick Leverett
Director of Market Analysis,
Costar Group
September 24 | 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM
MF Market Trends
Nick Leverett is a Director of Market Analytics for CoStar. Nick analyzes commercial real estate data and trends to provide CoStar’s view of the market and outlook for the multi-family, office, industrial, and retail sectors in markets including Raleigh and Durham. Nick is a regular speaker at key industry events and his research and analysis have been featured in numerous media outlets including the Triangle Business Journal, the Charlotte Business Journal, and CoStar News.

Prior to joining CoStar, Nick led the market research team at the real estate investment firm Dilweg, advising on company acquisitions and strategy in several Sun Belt markets. Nick’s research informed decisions on hundreds of millions of dollars of commercial real estate acquisitions. Nick began his career as a practicing attorney. He is based in Raleigh.

Chandra Mast
Certified General Real Estate Appraiser,
Red Rose Appraisals
September 24 | 9:20 AM - 10:10 AM
Artificial Intelligence
Chandra Mast is a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. With 18 years of real estate experience, she delivers defensible valuations for agricultural, residential, and commercial assets. Over the past four years, she has integrated advanced artificial intelligence tools—most notably custom GPT workflows—into every phase of her practice and shares these innovations at national conferences, webinars, and podcasts. As principal of Red Rose Appraisals, she directs complex appraisal projects, mentors lenders and brokers, and champions rigorous, data-driven standards across the valuation profession.

Kelli Mayhew
President,
Mayhew Group, LLC
September 24 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Litigation
Kelli Mayhew is a 30-year veteran of the appraisal profession, and established hew own company in 1999.  Mayhew Group, LLC serves the southeastern region of the United States, and provides commercial real estate valuation, market studies, feasibility analysis, litigation support, and appraisal review services. The company has consulted on multiple  urban planning and community development projects, and in that role, has served a broad array of clients including municipal governments, non-profit organizations, private investors/developers, community development corporations, as well as urban design and master planning groups.  The firms’ experience working within a variety of markets and for a broad spectrum of clients allows the team to provide critical insight into the real estate market forces impacting each project.

Kelli specializes in valuation and consulting for litigation purposes and has worked extensively on cases involving real estate throughout North and South Carolina.  She is also an instructor for the Appraisal Institute and has published multiple articles in Valuation Insights & Perspectives magazine.

Chuck McShane
Senior Director of Market Analytics, 
CoStar Group
September 24 | 10:10 AM - 11:00 AM
Industrial & Retail Market Trends
Chuck McShane joined CoStar in March 2021 as the Director of Market Analytics for the Carolinas and Coastal Georgia. Prior to joining CoStar, Chuck led the economic research team at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance and Charlotte Chamber, where he developed industry studies and supported relocation and expansion projects. His research has been featured in the Charlotte Business Journal, National Observer, and New York Times. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from UNC Charlotte and is based in Charlotte.

Roy Meyer
Co-Founder and Lead AI Consultant,
VuVu Global, LLC
September 22
Roy Meyer has more than 34 years of experience as a real estate appraiser and, for many years, owned and operated one of the largest appraisal firms in Southern California.

He has also spent over 25 years working with and consulting for appraisers and appraisal firms, giving him deep firsthand knowledge of valuation workflows, report development, market analysis, client communication, confidentiality, risk management, and the practical realities of the appraisal profession.

Roy was among the earliest appraisal professionals to focus on the practical use of artificial intelligence in the appraisal industry following the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022.

He is the Co-Founder and Lead AI Consultant of VuVu Global, LLC, an international AI consulting firm focused on helping professionals and organizations implement AI responsibly, practically, and effectively.

Roy consults with appraisal firms, valuation software companies, financial organizations, and colleges on AI strategy, workflow efficiency, data privacy, and responsible implementation.

He also helped create the first AI Certification Course for Appraisers in partnership with McKissock Learning and founded the world’s first AI International Internship Program.

As an instructor and speaker, Roy teaches appraisers how to use AI as a productivity, research, communication, and decision-support tool while maintaining the professional judgment, confidentiality, and credibility that define the profession.

Melissa Kramer Zevallos
Senior Vice President - Valuation & Advisory - Southeast Region
Newmark Valuation & Advisory
September 24 | 1:50 PM - 2:40 PM
Regional & State Self-Storage Market Trends
Melissa Kramer Zevallos, MAI, currently serves as a Executive Vice President in the Southeast Region with over 18 years of experience in commercial real estate. Zevallos has substantial expertise in office, retail, industrial, self storage, vacant land, and multifamily valuation.

Prior to Newmark, Zevallos served as an Associate Director with Integra Realty Resources – Atlanta for two years in Georgia. Prior to Integra, Zevallos worked as Director with NPV Advisors in the East Coast for eight years, which included New Jersey, New York, Washington, DC, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.