Ely Speakers Bureau
Welcome to the Lambda Alpha International Ely-Chicago Chapter Speakers Bureau. Our chapter members offer themselves as a resource for you across a wide variety of land economics industries. Members of LAI Ely-Chicago have a minimum of 10 years of professional experience in their land economics field. They have been selected by their peers as worthy of recognition for their commitment to excellence. Click on a category below to find your next speaker, panelist or moderator from our membership.
If you are an LAI Ely-Chicago Chapter Member, click here to apply for the Speakers Bureau.
Graham helps clients obtain government entitlements and solve problems with units of local government. With a focus on the City of Chicago and Cook County, he helps secure necessary approvals for land developments. A consensus builder and negotiator, he maintains excellent relations with community organizations, local elected officials and other stakeholders. Graham provides legal counsel for compliance, regulatory, public policy and encompasses zoning, land use, building code compliance, licensing, construction agreements, government contracts, procurement and legislative approvals. In the land use area, his experience includes securing all types of land use entitlements through planned developments, zoning map amendments, special uses, variations, text amendments and public way approvals. He represents property owners, real estate developers and every classification of real estate including retail, residential, commercial, industrial and myriad specialized land uses.
Established Senior Executive in the Real Estate Industry with over 40 years of Retail Real Estate experience. Proven performer as a strategic leader in Site Analysis, Entitlement, Development, Leasing, Sales and Disposition.
Will is Vice President at Related Midwest where he specializes in land use planning, economic incentives for historic structures and project management both on the market rate and affordable side. Will has a specific expertise in historic preservation and is responsible for managing and directing all efforts associated with achieving historic tax credits. He has played a major role in redevelopment of Lathrop Homes, the rehabilitation of a Chicago Housing Authority property along the Chicago River into a mixed-income community. He also managed the planning and design process for redevelopment of the National Landmark District of Fort Sheridan and the adaptive reuse of the National Landmark Cleveland Arcade. Previously, he worked for the City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development and the Chicago Park District. He is Trustee of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, on the Board of Directors of Landmarks Illinois, where he served as board chair from July of 2015 through June of 2017, and serves on the board of the Ely Chapter of Lambda Alpha International. Will holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation and Conservation from Columbia University.
Richard Wilson is an architect and city planner who leads the City Design Practice of Chicago’s Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. Richard has 30 years of experience working with public and private sector clients to master plan, design, construct and operate large scale urban districts and neighborhood redevelopments in historic and emergent cities worldwide.
Richard is the 2020-2022 President of the Ely Chapter of Lambda Alpha International. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Friends of the Chicago River, the Regional Advisory Council of the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Regional and Urban Design Knowledge Community of AIA Chicago.