Frank Litwin is a real estate lawyer who handles a wide range of complex commercial real estate matters, including leasing, acquisitions and sales, financing, development and joint ventures for properties including CBD mixed-use and office properties, life science and laboratory projects, and industrial facilities. He advises institutions, pension fund advisors, developers and other property owners on portfolio and single-property real estate transactions across the country.

Lauren Haggerty has over 15 years of experience as a designer and project manager on a range of projects including wayfinding programs, environmental graphics, and print design. With a strong attention to detail and ease communicating with clients and designers, she has managed projects through all phases and bid types; from simple design/builds to complicated public bids. Lauren believes that signage is more than just a necessity and that thoughtfully designed signage and graphics can enhance architecture and improve a user’s experience of a space.

John has 27 years of high-tech real estate and facility operations experience.   He has held leadership positions in all aspects of corporate real estate including site selection, leasing, project management, space planning, finance, facility operations, security/EHS, and mergers & acquisitions. John was previously Vice President of Corporate Real Estate for industrial software firm PTC Inc. and led their award-winning global headquarters relocation from Needham, MA to Boston’s Seaport District. 

Jay Ash serves as the President and CEO of the Mass Competitive Partnership. Prior to that role, he served as Secretary of Secretary of Housing and Economic Development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Secretary Ash was responsible for directing and executing Governor Charlie Baker’s agenda on housing and community development, job creation, business development, consumer affairs, and business regulation. Since joining the Baker-Polito Administration, Secretary Ash prioritized efforts to grow jobs, help communities realize their economic development priorities, connect citizens to new economic opportunities, and build prosperity across Massachusetts. Under Secretary Ash’s leadership, the Commonwealth substantially increased its commitment to public infrastructure that unlocks economic development, to the revitalization of Brownfields, to workforce training equipment, and to the development and commercialization of emerging technologies. He led efforts to increase affordable housing production, to redevelop and modernize public housing communities, and to substantially reduce the number of homeless families sheltered in motel rooms. Secretary Ash played a leadership role in the recruitment and expansion of major employers, including Amazon, General Electric, IBM Watson Health, Kronos, and Siemens. Secretary Ash previously served as the city manager in his native Chelsea, a position he held from 2000 to 2014. In Chelsea, Secretary Ash’s leadership produced both economic expansion and fiscal stability. He grew the city’s housing stock, expanded its commercial base, developed 10 new parks, secured five credit rating increases, and won two All-America City designations for Chelsea. He previously served as the staff director to the Massachusetts House Majority Leader, as co-founder and vice-chair of the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, as past president of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, as a board member of the public policy think tank MassINC, and as an elected trustee of his alma mater, Clark University.

Chuck DiRocco is currently the Director of Real Estate Research at PwC and is based in Washington, DC, where his focus is on Emerging Trends in Real Estate covering the U.S., Europe, and Asia. In addition, he is an author and manager of various internal and external articles and data analyses on economics and commercial real estate. He also continues to be an industry speaker, providing numerous presentations for media and at conferences, webinars, and seminars. Mr. DiRocco has over 20 years of experience in the public and private real estate industry. Before working with PwC, Mr. DiRocco was the Managing Director of Client Services and Thought Leadership for Ankura. Mr. DiRocco's role there revolved around client relationships with private institutional equity and direct lending clientele, including global investment banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and various asset lenders and owners. Before Ankura, he served as the Director of Research at Altus Group. He created and produced The Real Confidence Executive Survey, Young Professional Survey, The University Challenge, and The Yardstick. In addition, Mr. DiRocco was the Vice President of Research for the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). Mr. DiRocco's education includes a B.S. degree in Finance and an M.B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University with a concentration in Finance and investments. Also, he is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, a Homer Hoyt Fellow, a Counselor of Real Estate, a Certified Commercial Investment Member, and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.