Charlotte Construction & Development Conference

Bill Morrison joined Portman’s development team as Vice President of Construction. Bill is a native of Decatur, Georgia and grew up in Gwinnett County. He graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a BS in Building Construction and has an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Bill holds the Certified Construction Manager (CCM) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP) designations and has been associated with 18 LEED designated projects during his 25 year career. Bill started his career with a mechanical contractor then moved into general contracting with Holder Construction. He has worked in owner’s representation and development roles with Carter & Associates, Emory University, Jones Lang LaSalle, and most recently with Skanska where he was Vice President of Operations. Bill currently lives in Druid Hills with his wife, 2 daughters, and golden retriever. He serves on several committees with the College of Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology and is involved in several civic organizations in the area. When not working, Bill enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, and spending time with his family.

Andrew has over 10 years of construction management experience with commercial real estate developers and general contractors. He is responsible for the design, permitting, purchasing and construction of MRP’s commercial development and repositioning projects. Previously at HITT Contracting, Andrew served as a Senior Project Manager, overseeing 30-40 projects per year including new, ground-up, office and residential product, office repositioning and tenant improvement for both government and private clients. Andrew graduated from the University of Tennessee with a BS in Logistics & Supply Chain Management and International Business.

Evan Taylor serves as a Senior Vice President for NFP’s Property & Casualty Group where he is responsible for client relationships throughout the southeast. Over his career, Evan has developed an expertise in a number of insurance disciplines to include workers’ compensation, cyber liability insurance and alternative risk financing for complex organizations. His client base primarily includes manufacturing, construction and technology related businesses. He currently holds the professional designations as a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Certified Authority in Workers’ Compensation (CAWC) and received both the Business Insurance 2020 Break Out Award and Risk & Insurance Manufacturing Power Broker Award in 2020. Evan’s subject matter expertise is based in years of experience. He began his career at the FBI, where he assisted in managing both National Security and Criminal Cyber and Counterintelligence investigations across North Carolina. Subsequently, Evan managed several national programs for BB&T Bank and helped create the bank’s national Emergency Management program. Evan earned his BA from Wake Forest University and a MS in Leadership and Organizational Development from Pfeiffer University. He currently resides in Charlotte, NC, with his wife and two daughters.

Keith is Vice President of Construction where he oversees all aspects of construction, including, pre-construction, budgeting, operations, quality control and delivery. He was previously at Crescent Communities, where he oversaw the construction of a 750,000 square foot office tower in Uptown Charlotte. Prior to Crescent, Keith worked at large real estate service providers and a Fortune 100 company in similar construction roles. Over his 18-year career, he has led large operations teams and has personally overseen more than $1 billion in project execution. Keith received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Ashley Peterson is a Partner with Proffitt Dixon Partners, specializing in complex multifamily and mixed-use development throughout the southeast. With more than a decade of commercial real estate experience, Ashley has been involved with the successful entitlement, financing, design, construction, lease-up, and disposition of thirteen multifamily and mixed-use communities, totaling more than 3,000 units and 50K sf of retail in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. She has led and contributed to projects totaling nearly $1.0 billion in capital investment throughout the southeastern U.S., while simultaneously maintaining an ongoing active pipeline. Early in her career Ashley managed the deployment of over $2 billion in media advertising for a top ten Fortune 500 client at a tier-1 agency in New York City. After leaving New York and returning to her hometown of Charlotte, Ashley joined Proffitt Dixon Partners where she focused on ground-up multifamily development, serving in roles from Development Associate to Director of Development. She was then recruited to nationally acclaimed Crescent Communities as Director of Development where she was promoted to Managing Director and led numerous simultaneously executed complex mixed-use projects in the greater Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham region. In 2022 Ashley had an opportunity to rejoin Proffitt Dixon Partners as a Partner where she is currently responsible for sourcing and leading notable southeastern multifamily and mixed-use developments. Active in the community and industry, Ashley sits on the Development Committee of the Board of Directors of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Ashley is also a member of professional associations such as the Urban Land Institute and the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association and frequently serves as a speaker at notable industry conferences. She volunteers and contributes regularly as a member of Myers Park Presbyterian Church, as well as with other not-for-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank, and Junior Achievement. Ashley graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is married to her husband, Matt, with whom she has a son, Henry, and daughter, Campbell.

Nick is a designer at Smallwood focusing on creating spaces where people want to live and recharge. A licensed Architect with 17 years of experience, Nick focuses on high rise multi-family residential for rental and condominium markets, hospitality, mixed use, and adaptive re-use conversions. Nick approaches each project from the experience of the user and balances client and developer requirements to create successful partnerships, and impactful projects. Smallwood is a multi-disciplinary design firm headquartered in Atlanta for 45 years with a portfolio of work throughout the US. In Charlotte, the firm has designed over 3,000 multi-family residential units, and 4.5 million SF of office space for a variety of clients and partners.

Mark Valenti is Sales Manager for Porcelanosa in North Carolina and South Carolina. A native of Chapel Hill, NC, Mark has almost a decade of experience in the building materials industry and is a trusted vendor partner of multifamily developers, commercial architects and interior designers across the Southeast. Porcelanosa enjoys a worldwide reputation for its innovative products and cutting-edge manufacturing techniques. A leading manufacturer of tiles, porcelain slabs, cabinets, other interior finishes and architectural systems, Porcelanosa operates 37 locations and employs almost 500 people in the US. The company opened its Charlotte showroom in May 2024. Mark attended UNC-Greensboro and lives in Gaston County, NC with his wife and three children.