POLICYConference

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Eddie's passion for social justice has been a constant. A product of the LA public school system and independent arts community, Eddie views his world through the lens of improving equitable street culture.

As a young rock musician (when christened the nickname "Fast Eddie"), Eddie discovered support through employment at local bars and restaurants like Three Clubs, Miceli's, and his personal sanctuary, Jabberjaw, a famed 1990s performance venue in the Arlington Heights neighborhood. He would learn that Jabberjaw suffered from small-business inequities, which would inform the work that he does today.

In 2002, Eddie founded FE Design & Consulting to help hospitality businesses get their doors open, providing a variety of services such as architecture, land use and kitchen design.

Eddie lives in Downtown LA and continues to advocate for independent food & beverage businesses as Co-Founder and President of the Independent Hospitality Coalition (IHC).

Misti is a 30+ year tourism and hospitality industry professional with a strong domestic and international business and economic development background. She is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and a Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME). She joined SMTT in 1997 and has served in her current role for over 27 years. Under her leadership, SMTT and Santa Monica have solidified a reputation as a multi award-winning destination and organization that recognizes the importance of sustainability, strategic marketing and community relations.

Kerns served an instrumental role in the development of Santa Monica's Platinum Adrian Award-winning Green Business Certification Program, and founded the 'I AM Santa Monica' program, which has certified thousands of local employees, residents, business leaders and community members as official Santa Monica ambassadors.

Kerns serves on several Visit California committees, is a former Chair and a current board member for the California Travel Industry Association (CalTravel), the U.S. Travel Association (USTA), and many local boards and committees including the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce. SMTT is the umbrella organization that leads Film Santa Monica for the city.

Born and raised in Santa Monica, Jon Farzam is the CEO and co-owner of Shore Hotel, Ocean View Hotel, and Santa Monica Hotel. Together, the three properties comprise 267 guest rooms and employ approximately 170 people.

Jon holds a bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management and has extensive experience in hotel operations, real estate development, and food and beverage. He is actively involved in the daily operations and long-term growth of the properties, overseeing continued investments in hotel renovations, expansions, and new dining concepts that enhance the guest experience and strengthen the local hospitality industry.

With deep roots in the community and a firsthand understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing local businesses, Jon brings both a personal connection and an owner-operator's perspective to Santa Monica's future. He is committed to the city's economic vitality, supporting local employment, encouraging responsible development, and maintaining Santa Monica's position as a leading coastal destination.

Paul Pruitt is the founder of New School, a Los Angeles-based hospitality consulting, management and creative group focused on restaurants, bars and hotels. Over more than two decades in hospitality, Paul has worked across independent concepts and major hotel brands including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, MGM, Sands, Starwood and Sydell Group, and has held leadership roles with José Andrés' THINKfoodGROUP, Stephen Starr's Starr Restaurants and Laurent Tourondel's BLT Restaurant Group.

He founded New School in 2012 around a philosophy he calls "Holistic Hospitality," combining creative concept development with disciplined operations. Paul is also a partner with Chef Roy Choi at Best Friend at Park MGM in Las Vegas and Nancy Silverton at Spacca Tutto in the Pacific Palisades.

Dan Fagan is Executive Vice President at URBANLIME Real Estate, specializing in retail, restaurant, nightlife and hospitality real estate. He brings more than two decades of commercial real estate experience together with extensive hands-on hospitality experience, including years as a restaurant and bar owner/operator on both the East and West Coasts.

Dan advises restaurateurs, chefs, hospitality groups, property owners and investors on acquisitions, leasing, expansion strategy and complex hospitality transactions throughout Southern California and other major U.S. markets. His background as both an operator and real estate advisor gives him a practical perspective on what makes hospitality concepts economically viable, and what prevents them from getting off the ground.

Patrick Tighe, FAIA, FAAR, is one of Los Angeles' preeminent architects / interior designers.

The highly acclaimed namesake firm, Patrick Tighe Architecture, is committed to creating an authentic, contemporary Architecture informed by technology, sustainability, and building innovation. Since its inception, the firm has produced a strong and diverse body of projects that includes city-developed affordable housing, commercial, mixed-use projects, public work, parks, residences, and award-winning interiors.

The firm's work has received over 100 design awards, including ten National AIA Honor Awards, American Architecture Awards, a Progressive Architecture Award, Los Angeles Architecture Awards, Architizer Awards, Best of Year Awards as well as local AIA Honors. In 2011, Patrick Tighe was elevated into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, the highest honor bestowed by the AIA. Patrick Tighe was awarded the prestigious Rome Prize in Architecture. Tighe is a Fellow of the American Academy and The MacDowell Colony.

Patrick Tighe received a Master of Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to establishing Tighe Architecture, Tighe worked in the offices of Frank Gehry and was an associate at Thom Mayne's Morphosis for 8 years. Tighe is a professor at the University of Southern California.

The work of Patrick Tighe Architecture has been published extensively, appearing in Architectural Record, Architectural Digest, Global Architecture, The LA Times Magazine, Interior Design, LA Architect, Wallpaper, Metropolis, the New York Times, and Newsweek. The firm's work has also been included in numerous architectural anthologies, including The Power of Pro Bono and the latest edition of The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture.

Tighe lectures on his work and has been exhibited internationally. The work of Patrick Tighe Architecture has been shown at the Venice Biennale and was included in the MOCA exhibit, A New Sculpturalism, Contemporary Architecture from Southern California. A monograph of the firm entitled "Building Dichotomy" was released in 2016. The firm is considered a leader in housing and sustainability and has received the industry's highest honor, including the HUD Secretary's award. Patrick Tighe was named one of the top 50 innovators of the 21st Century and inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame. Tighe Architecture was listed as one of the top 50 design firms in the US by Architect Magazine.

Bruce Fairty joined Cypress Equity Investments as Chief Development Officer with thirty-five years of multifamily real estate development experience and investment background as a principal. Immediately prior to joining CEI, Bruce was active as a developer in the San Francisco Bay Area, first as a partner with the Castle Group Company and then as a partner with Thompson-Dorfman Partners, where he oversaw the acquisition, entitlement and development of approximately 4,400 units in San Francisco and the Bay Area. At Castle he led the company's efforts in the use of modular construction processes for multifamily projects.

Prior to moving to San Francisco, Bruce was a developer in Florida and founded Heritage Development Company in 1996 in partnership with Chicago's Pritzker family, where he oversaw all aspects of the development process for over 5,600 units. Between 1990 and 1995, he acquired over 6,000 REO and distressed debt units as Co-founder of Bailey Capital Company in partnership with the Whitehall Fund and Apollo Real Estate Advisors.

Previously, Bruce was CFO of Trammell Crow Residential's Central Florida Division and later Area Partner, responsible for overseeing the development of 8,500 multifamily units across four regional divisions. Mr. Fairty received his undergraduate degree from Drew University and MBA from Rutgers University.

Noah is an experienced attorney and developer who specializes in entitlements, off site modular construction and concrete construction. He is the co-founder of Leap of Faith Partners and Completely Concrete Structures INC and, in his fifteen years in the industry, has entitled, built, and developed over $100 million of modular housing and an additional one million square feet of structural concrete construction projects. Noah began his career in the LA City Attorney's Office and is a licensed general contractor and specialty concrete contractor.

Noah is excited to join California YIMBY as its first Director of Industry Partnerships, bringing his own frontline practice to policy reforms that will build more housing in California. Noah believes that California's inability to build enough housing is a sign of the decline and fall of Western Civilization. Noah attended law school and business school at UCLA, where he is a third generation Bruin. Beyond housing and construction, Noah is passionate about running, tennis, and panaderias.

Ben Marcus is the Co-Founder of UP.Partners, a Santa Monica-based venture investment firm that collaborates with entrepreneurs to build businesses at the intersection of intelligence and infrastructure. Ben was born and raised in Sunset Park, attended Grant Elementary, John Adams Middle School, and Santa Monica High School. He continues to live in Sunset Park with his wife and daughter.

Prior to UP.Partners, Ben founded several Santa Monica-based companies, including AirMap, the pioneer in unmanned aircraft traffic management. AirMap worked in partnership with NASA, the FAA, and air navigation service providers around the world to establish the standards for the digital, automated air traffic control system that will enable high-scale drone and electric air taxi flights. Inspired by the story of Donald Douglas building the Douglas Aircraft Company in his neighborhood, Ben began his career as a flight test engineer.

UP.Partners has approximately $1B in assets under management and seeks to enhance the movement of people and goods around the world. Its unique community of sector-expert engineers, executives, academicians, policymakers and co-investors offers unparalleled access, informed decision-making, and robust support, fostering synergies among portfolio companies and their founders. UP.Partners' 55 portfolio companies include Santa Monica's Veo and Metropolis.

Ben is active in the Santa Monica community. He cofounded Spirit of Santa Monica, a non-profit focused on enhancing the spirit of innovation in Santa Monica. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Museum of Flying and is a board director of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.