The Greater Fort Worth Real Estate Council to Host 2nd Winter Sustainability Summit
February 16, 2011
"Show Me the Money" Breakfast Offers Expert Panel on Financing and Funding Sustainable Development

The Greater Fort Worth Real Estate Council (GFWREC), a unified voice for the commercial real estate industry in the Fort Worth area, announced details today about the 2nd Winter Sustainability Summit to be held on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. The "Show Me the Money" breakfast roundtable summit will continue the GFWREC Sustainability Series that kicked off last spring, and it will be held at the TCU Cox Banquet Hall in the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center.

This informal breakfast discussion will be led by Michael Buckley. Professor Buckley is the director of property repositioning and turnaround strategies certificate program at University of Texas at Arlington's School of Architecture and the former director of Columbia University’s MSRED Program & Center for High Density Development. He also serves as a board & executive committee member for the Dallas AIA and as an advisory board member for the Texas Institute for Sustainability. Buckley will share his thoughts on the state of real estate and then moderate an intimate discussion on venture capital and the funding of green development.

Panelists for the discussion include: Sandy Wiggins, chairman of e3bank; Rugger Burke, principal with Satori Capital LLC; and Sean Goff managing director at CB Richard Ellis.

Panelist Sandy Wiggins has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate industry and is currently the chairman of e3bank based in Philadelphia, which actively encourages its customers to live sustainably. Wiggins is also the founder and principal of Consilience, LLC, a national real estate consultancy with a mission to build environmentally, socially and economically sustainable communities, and he is the immediate past chair of the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council.

Panelist Sean Goff serves as managing director for CB Richard Ellis' project management group for Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, where he heads up the LEED/Sustainability focus. With more than 15 years of general contractor and project management experience, his career has encompassed many roles, including project manager, project estimator, project scheduler, field superintendent and field engineer.

Panelist Rugger Burke is a principal attorney with Satori Capital LLC, and he currently holds licenses in several states, including Texas and New York. He has repeatedly been named a "Super Lawyer" in the areas of business law and mergers and acquisitions by Texas Monthly. In his more than 17 years of practice, he has worked with a diverse range of publicly-owned and privately-held clients in almost every business sector.

"We are excited to continue this sharing of innovative ideas for sustainable development in the Fort Worth area," said Jyl DeHaven, board member and sustainability chairperson for the Greater Fort Worth Real Estate Council. "We are grateful that so many experts are willing to come together and share their knowledge and experience."

The cost for the summit is $45 or $35 for students. CEU credits are available. For more information and to register for the event, please visit www.gfwrec.com.

Sponsors for the event include: The Greater Fort Worth Real Estate Council; The City of Fort Worth; Tarrant County College District; The Neeley School of Business at TCU; University of Texas at Arlington, Beck Group; Jackson Walker, LLP; Integra Realty Resources DFW, LLP; Bisnow; and Fort Worth Business Press.