How Texas A&M Fort Worth will be a Catalyst for Change
November 19 | 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
@Palmwood Events
Make plans to join us and find out all about the new innovation district that will transform Downtown Fort Worth. Texas A&M is anchoring a new research complex where businesses will work side-by-side with researchers as together they create new ideas and new innovation. The panel will present viewpoints from the various parts of the collaboration—business and academia. This innovation district is changing the way universities conduct research and the way businesses interact with universities. It's a whole different model and it's going to produce a whole different level of results. The panel will also discuss how Fort Worth is drawing on the lessons learned from other cities that have leveraged universities to catalyze economic growth.
Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed and engaged in shaping the future of
Fort Worth’s downtown.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
We are currently accepting sponsorships for this event, providing excellent visibility and aligning your brand with Fort Worth's economic growth.
Program Sponsorships are $1000 and include:
8 Tickets
Recognition as a host sponsor
Prime placement of your logo at the event and information table
Your logo featured on all marketing and PR material, emails, social media
Tables of 8 are $575 and include:
Your logo on table signage
Mention in the Program announcements
8 tickets to the event with prime seating in the front of the room
Email Kelle@recouncilgfw.com if you are interested in sponsoring this event.
Registration Is Closed
FEATURING
Robert Ahdieh
COO Texas A&M Fort Worth
Vice President for Professional Schools & Programs Texas A&M University
Dean Texas A&M School of Law
Texas A&M
Robert B. Ahdieh has served as dean of the Texas A&M University School of Law since 2018, in addition to his more recent appointments as the university’s Vice President for Professional Schools and Programs and COO of Texas A&M Fort Worth. A graduate of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Yale Law School, Dean Ahdieh served as a law clerk to Judge James R. Browning of
the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit before his selection for the Honor’s Program in the Civil Division of the US Department of Justice.
While still in law school, Dean Ahdieh published what remains one of the seminal treatments of the constitutional transformations of post-Soviet Russia: “Russia’s Constitutional Revolution - Legal Consciousness and the Transition to Democracy.” His work has also appeared in the Boston University Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, NYU Law Review, and Southern California Law Review, among other journals.
Dean Ahdieh’s scholarly interests revolve around questions of regulatory and institutional design, especially in the financial arena. His particular focus has been on various non-traditional regulatory structures and modes of regulation, including those grounded in dynamics of coordination. Though relatively less studied in the legal literature, the framework of coordination holds significant promise both in helping us theorize existing regulatory patterns and in defining new regulatory constructs for the future.
Dean Ahdieh has served as a visiting professor at Columbia and Georgetown law schools, as well as at Princeton University. He has also visited at the Institute for Advanced Study, at the University of British Columbia, the University of Warsaw, and Singapore Management University, among other overseas institutions.
Dean Ahdieh was awarded Downtown Fort Worth, Inc’s Innovation Trailblazer Award for his role in helping to inspire and encourage the creation of Texas A&M - Fort Worth, a several hundred-million dollar research and innovation campus. Construction is now underway.
Dean Ahdieh and his wife, Krista Forsgren, have three children - Na’im, Ari, and Mae.
Omar Blaik
CEO
U3 Advisors
Born to Lebanese parents in Cairo, a historic, vibrant, and dense city that is anchored by one of the oldest universities in the world, Omar Blaik’s commitment to urban environments and higher education runs deep.
As an immigrant, first as a Lebanese citizen in Egypt and later as an Arab American, Omar thrives in the spaces that bridge across communities and cultures. He founded U3 Ventures LLC, a predecessor of today’s firm, in 2006 with the belief that anchor institutions hold the key to sustainable community and economic development for their cities.
Omar’s work engages university presidents and trustees, philanthropic leaders, government officials, and community organizations to unlock higher education, healthcare, and other non-profit institutions in order to transform themselves and their communities. Since 2006, Omar has overseen U3’s efforts to regenerate two neighborhoods in Detroit – Midtown and the McNichols Corridor; the Memphis Medical District; College Park, Maryland (the home of the University of Maryland), and Chicago’s South Side, home to the University of Chicago.
Prior to forming U3, Omar was the Senior Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate at the University of Pennsylvania from 1996 to 2006. Under his management, Penn embarked on more than $2.0 billion in new construction and $700 million of real estate development projects, which transformed the campus and the surrounding community. During his tenure, Penn received multiple AIA and Business Week awards.
Omar came to Penn from Coopers and Lybrand, where he led a team of consultants providing real estate, facilities, operation and capital programs expertise. Omar is a founding member of ULI’s University Development and Innovation Council. He and his team were nationally recognized in 2003 when the University of Pennsylvania received the prestigious ULI Global Award of Excellence, a first for a university, and again in 2013 for Midtown Detroit Inc. Omar’s writing has been published in national publications and he is a frequent public speaker on the topic of anchor institutions, community and economic development.
John Goff
Chairman
Goff Capital/Crescent Real Estate
John C. Goff is an investor based in Fort Worth, Texas. His family office, Goff Capital, invests across multiple sectors including wellness, aerospace, energy, gaming, entertainment, and real estate. Among his holdings are Canyon Ranch – the world’s recognized leader in health and wellness, and Crescent Energy (NYSE:CRGY), where he serves as Chairman of both companies. John is also Chairman and principal owner of Crescent Real Estate which has assets under management, development, and investment capacity of over $10 billion.
John began his investment career in 1987 when he joined famed investor, Richard Rainwater. In the early 90’s, John co-founded Crescent Real Estate with Richard, designing the strategy and orchestrating the acquisitions leading to its initial public offering (NYSE) in May 1994. Under his leadership as CEO, Crescent grew from approximately $500 million at its IPO to $6.5 billion upon its sale to Morgan Stanley in August 2007. Crescent provided its shareholders with a 15.4 percent compounded annual return and more than $2.5 billion in cash dividends during its 13 years as a public company. In November 2009, John reacquired Crescent, in partnership with Barclays Capital, and in December 2017, he purchased Barclays’ interest to become the principal owner.
John also founded Goff Capital Partners during the credit crisis of 1998. The company went on to successfully invest in over $4 billion in distressed real estate debt and equity. In 2016, he combined the resources of Goff Capital Partners into Crescent Real Estate.
A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, John remains actively involved in The University, including serving as Chairman of the McCombs School of Business Advisory Council. Of the numerous donations made to The University, he is most proud of the John C. Goff Real Estate Investment Fund, which provides students with the opportunity to manage capital in both public and private real estate investments. John is a member of The University of Texas Distinguished Alumni and McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame. John is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year as well as a member of the State of Texas Business, Dallas Business, Fort Worth Business, and North Texas Real Estate Halls of Fame, and the recipient of the Fort Worth Trailblazer Award and Golden Deeds Award.
In 2020, John was appointed by the Mayor to Co-Chair Fort Worth Now to assist the city through the pandemic and emerge stronger economically. As part of this effort, John led the charge to attract Texas A&M to build a research and educational campus in Downtown Fort Worth, in addition to a new law school. John has now been appointed Chairman of the Fort Worth Tarrant County Innovation Partnership to help coordinate efforts in completing the campus and attract industry partners.
John, and his wife, Cami, are also proud to be Founding Donors and serve on the National Advisory Board & Leadership Committee for the National Medal of Honor Museum. Through the Goff Family Foundation, John and Cami are dedicated to advancing education in our local community.
MODERATOR
Alex Feldman
Managing Director
U3 Advisors
Alex leverages his expertise in architecture and urban planning to transform and uplift communities.
Alex is committed to developing innovative solutions for connecting anchor institutions and their surrounding communities. As one of U3’s lead strategists, he has played a major role in the anchor-driven transformations of communities in Midtown Detroit and in the Memphis Medical District (MMDC), where he worked with the leadership of eight major institutions to stand up a new non-profit organization and increase the economic and physical vitality of the district through anchor driven programs. These efforts, including a Live, Buy, Hire Local strategy have yielded more than $500 million in place-based, economic and community development impact in the Medical District since 2016.
Experienced in structuring public private partnerships, Alex has supported the University of Maryland College Park as a campus development advisor to the Terrapin Development Corporation (TDC), managed more than $500 million worth of real estate development transactions.
Alex joined U3 in 2009 from the architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, where he worked on master planning projects around the world. Alex continues to be active in the design community as a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Congress for the New Urbanism. He has been a featured speaker on the role of anchor institutions at universities including the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, the Clinton School for Public Service, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.
Alex has a BA and MA from the University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned a certificate in Real Estate Development. Additionally, Alex earned a MS in City Design and Social Science from the London School of Economics. He has been recognized as a Next City Vanguard and by Leadership Philadelphia as a Connector and Keeper. In 2022, he was recognized with City and State Magazine of Pennsylvania’s “Philadelphia 40 under 40” award. He currently serves on the Board for the Philadelphia Center for Architecture, Greene Towne Montessori School, and the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation.
QUESTIONS?
Contact:
Kelle Moulton
REC of GFW