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Forest City
The 5M Project is facilitated by Forest City - a national urban development company founded in 1920 by the Ratner family in Cleveland, Ohio. We build and operate large-scale mixed-use developments in cities across the United States. Our projects are focused in urban infill locations, often near transit, and always environmentally sustainable. We are a company of entrepreneurs rooted in the goal of building places that understand how we want to live in our cities. Our national projects range from MIT University Park in Boston to MetroTech in Brooklyn to the Uptown in Oakland. In San Francisco, we are building The 5M Project along with Pier 70. We work with dozens of community-based partners who help us at every step. For more info, please contact Alex Michel at [email protected].
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Alexa Arena
Alexa is the original visionary behind the 5M Project. She believes that the culture, diversity and connection in urban life generate social and economic value in communities. Alexa began working with Forest City 5+ years ago based on her desire to transform the development process into one of community building and shared value. Alexa heads up all projects and activities for Forest City’s Northern California region, as well as advising on innovation-based projects nationally. Before Forest City, she co-founded an outward-bound program for inner city Boston youth and directed a senior housing developer in New York City. Alexa attended Columbia University, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Business School. She is a SPUR board member.
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Alex Michel
Alex Michel is the Director of The 5M Project and also works on Forest City’s emerging local and national projects. Prior, he was the Founding Director of The Hub, which created both Hub Berkeley and Hub SoMa. Before The Hub, Alex was the Director of Communications and Organizational Development at the Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD). He has been on the founding team of several social ventures in the United States and abroad. He holds a business degree from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in psychology and philosophy from John F. Kennedy University. In his spare time, Alex has traveled, studied, and worked extensively in the developing world.
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Audrey Tendell
Audrey is the Development Director of the 5M Project. Prior to joining Forest City, she was a Project Manager for Lennar Urban’s San Francisco office. In this capacity she was responsible for the securing entitlements and advancing the planning efforts for the Hunters Point Shipyard/Candlestick Point redevelopment project. Over the past 10 years, Audrey has helped advance several urban strategies and housing initiatives in San Francisco. She holds an undergraduate degree from Brown University and a masters degree in urban planning from Harvard’s Design School.
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Kevin L. Ratner
Kevin L. Ratner is President of Forest City Residential West, a subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Kevin has significant expertise in revitalizing urban neighborhoods through public/private partnerships. He is on the Board of Directors of several associations including the Central City Association of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Downtown Center Business Improvement District; the California Chamber of Commerce; SCI-Arc and Center for Creative Land Recycling; and an Advisory Board Member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate. Kevin is also a member of and frequent lecturer at the Urban Land Institute and the Pacific Coast Builders Conference.
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Deborah Cullinan
Deborah Cullinan is the Executive Director of Intersection for the Arts. Under her direction, Intersection has received numerous prestigious awards including the 2011 Philanthropedia Award for Highest Impact Arts Non-Profit in San Francisco. She is a 2011 Gerbode Fellow and has presented at the National Endowment for the Arts, the 2011 Andy Warhol Foundation Initiative Conference, and more. She is a co founder and co-coordinator of Arts Forum SF, an inclusive forum committed to sustainable and forward-thinking arts policies in the city of San Francisco.
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Brad Paul
Brad Paul’s career spans the nonprofit and private sectors, government, and philanthropy. He has headed the North of Market Planning Coalition and served as Deputy Mayor for Housing under Mayor Art Agnos. In the 90’s, Brad worked on a Tenderloin revitalization plan and from 2000-08, he was a Senior Program Officer at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. Today, his clients include Forest City, Northern California Community Loan Fund, Good Neighbor Coalition, and Friends of Golden Gateway.
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Michael Cohen
Michael Cohen is a Principal in Strada Investment Group. Prior to joining Strada, Cohen served as the Director of the City of San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, where he helped negotiate many of the largest development projects over the last decade. Previously, Michael was head of the Real Estate and Finance group of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, and a real estate lawyer for Morrison & Foerster law firm.
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DANA CASTRO
Dana Castro has over 15 years experience in public relations, promotions, branding and experiential marketing. Dana has a keen eye for aesthetics, a sense of storytelling, and an understanding of building brand experiences. She has produced shows, events and launched marketing programs across the country partnering with major brands, fashion designers, and retailers. In her spare time Dana volunteers her producing skills with various communities, including the Commonwealth Club, Maitri Foundation, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, CCA, and various women’s organizations. She currently holds a position on the board of ArtPoint, which supports the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
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David Noyola
David Noyola is an Associate at Strada Investment Group, a real estate investment and development firm in San Francisco. Prior to joining Strada, Noyola was Vice President of Stearns Consulting, a political consulting firm that manages candidate and ballot measure campaigns in the Bay Area and California. Before his time as a political consultant, Noyola worked as a legislative aide to members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Noyola has a B.A. from Yale University.
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James M. Ostrom
James M. Ostrom is the Vice President Design + Construction for Forest City’s San Francisco Office. James M. Ostrom joined the San Francisco Forest City Team in 2004, managing all design and construction operations for Forest City’s Northern California division. With over 22+ years in the business, he supports the development team with feasibility studies on prospective projects to include density studies, initial design studies, cost analysis for design and construction elements, building/property assessments and due diligence.
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ANA CUADRA
Driven by curiosity and a passion for all things inspired, Ana Cuadra is a self-proclaimed philanthropist who loves meaningful design and thoughtful communication. A marketer by trade, Ana first started her work with non-profits such as Operation Smile and Habitat for Humanity in her native country, Nicaragua. After spending time in Tanzania working with children, Ana moved to San Francisco, where she acquired her BS in Marketing and Management. An avid supporter of local art and community-based organizations, Ana first began working at Galeria de la Raza, a non-profit art gallery in the Mission. She volunteers with the St. Anthony’s Foundation in the Tenderloin and Habitat for Humanity in Oakland.
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Laura Crescimano
Laura Crescimano is fascinated by the un-likely, the unheard of, and the in-between. At the intersection of research and architecture, Laura focuses on using design as a strategic tool–formally and organizationally–in both the public and private sector. She has led classes on public space and the culture of design. Laura is a designer and strategist at Gensler San Francisco and serves on the Board of Directors for AIA San Francisco.
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Natalie Berg
Dr. Berg is Principal of NKB Strategies, recently retiring from 12 years of service as Senior Vice President with Forest City Development. Prior to joining Forest City, Dr. Berg was the Dean of the School of Health/Physical Education and the John Adams Campus at City College of San Francisco. Dr. Berg is the President of the Jewish Vocational Services Board, serves on the Board of Trustees City for College of San Francisco as well as a number of non-profit and community boards, and the recipient of numerous awards for community and professional service.
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Mark Hatch
Mark Hatch, CEO of TechShop and a former Green Beret, has held executive positions focused on innovation, disruptive technology and entrepreneurship at large and small firms including Avery Dennison, Kinko’s and Health Net. A leader in the Maker and Open Innovation movements, Mark holds an M.B.A from Drucker Center at the Claremont Graduate University and a B.A in Economics from the University of California at Irvine.
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Tim Freundlich
Tim is an innovator in new financial instruments in the social enterprise sector. Over the last fourteen years, he has served in a number of capacities at Calvert Social Investment Foundation; launched the Giving Fund; and established ImpactAssets, for which he serves as President. He co-founded and serves as Managing Partner for Good Capital, the social capital investment firm behind Social Enterprise Expansion Fund LP, the Hub Bay Area, and SOCAP conference series. Additionally, he serves on the Board of the Hub North America.
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Kate Sofis
Kate is founding Executive Director of SFMade. Prior to SFMade, Kate worked in numerous capacities across the manufacturing sector, as COO of VIDA and the founder of CRAFTMAKE. She began her manufacturing career in computer manufacturing at Teradyne and later in Ernst and Young’s West Coast supply chain practice. Kate served as Statewide Director of Business Advising at San Francisco-based Pacific Community Ventures. She serves on the Board of Directors of City Carshare and as a Mayoral appointee to the Eastern Neighborhoods Citizens Advisory Committee.
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JANET LEES
Janet Lees is the Director of Programs and Communications at SFMade. Janet has over 16 years experience in small business and economic development and special interest and a deep commitment to the artisan manufacturing sector. As Program Director at Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, a position she held for over 10 years, Janet she was responsible for the oversight of all technical assistance programs including, Training, Incubation, and Access to Capital. Janet was a founding member of the San Francisco Economic Development Alliance, a former steering committee member for the San Francisco Small Business Development Center, and nominated in 2009 for the Small Business Administration’s Women’s Business Advocate of the Year Award.
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Sean San Jose
Sean San Jose is the Program Director of Theatre for Intersection for the Arts and resident theatre company Campo Santo. He has created works with more than 500 artists in his time at Intersection, including more than 45 premiere plays for Campo Santo and over 100 with Intersection. For Intersection he works with long term resident companies Campo Santo, the Erika Chong Shuch Performance Project, the Living Word Project (Youth Speaks’ theatre company), Felonious and host of composers, visual artists, and community groups.
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Kevin B. Chen
Kevin is a curator, writer, visual artist, and a Program Director for Intersection for the Arts. A graduate of Columbia University, he has served on numerous selection panels for funding, residencies, and commissions, including Creative Capital, Headlands Center for the Arts, Alliance of Artists Communities, Arts Council Silicon Valley, and Chamber Music America. He has written essays published by Paper Museum Press, Light Work, and The Third Line - Dubai, and has exhibited his work at Jack Fischer Gallery, Ampersand International Arts, and Angel’s Gate Cultural Center.
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REBEKA RODRIGUEZ
Rebeka Rodriguez is a photographer, arts administrator and cultural producer serving San Francisco communities since 1998. She is the Program Director of Education & Community Engagement at Intersection for the Arts, where she designs and implements creative programming that is responsive to the social, historical and geographic context in which she works. A UC Berkeley graduate, Rebeka currently serves on the board of directors for RADAR Productions, a San Francisco-based literary nonprofit, and she is the founder and producer of the annual BYOQ music and arts festival.
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Randy Rollison
Randy Rollison (Managing Director, Intersection for the Arts) has served in a leadership role in arts organizations in New York City, Cleveland and Portland, Oregon before joining the staff of Intersection in 2008. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, he is an award winning producer, director and actor. He is known primarily for developing and producing the world premier of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues”, which has had a global impact and proves that art does indeed have the power to change lives.
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Dan Gonzalez
Prior to joining the TechShop team, Dan spent 14 years at Yahoo! Inc. focusing on digital media. His time at Yahoo took him through many different teams with pioneering efforts in marketing, pricing and yield, including business operations and strategy, and credited as one of the pioneers aiding in the emergence of advanced targeted advertising online. Dan has a BS in business management from the University of Phoenix, with technical product marketing training from Cal Poly Pomona. Dan is also a maker from the community theater world, designing sets, props and more.
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