Ana Maria Aponte, AICP, has been practicing planning for the public sector for over 25 years, initially at the National and local level in Colombia, and since 2003 at the local level for the City of West Palm Beach in Florida. As the City’s Urban Designer for 19 years, she was responsible for the implementation of the Downtown Master Plan, a form-based code that has guided the successful redevelopment of downtown West Palm Beach. More recently, Ana Maria joined the West Palm Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency as it’s Deputy Director, and continues working on redevelopment projects for the Downtown and the Northwood/Pleasant City CRA districts. Ana Maria has a degree in architecture from the University of Los Andes in Colombia, and a Master in Development and Planning from the University College London in England.

Laurie L. Gildan's wide-ranging experience in real estate includes representing home builders in land acquisition, land banking, project development, and disposition; office building owners in acquisition, leasing, building operation, and disposition; and investors in all categories of commercial real estate. Laurie also has the unique distinction of having been a registered baseball agent.

Strong leadership and a sense of integrity are part of Kona’s DNA. As a firm leader with 29-years of experience in 30+ countries, his global design and management sense has positively shaped many environments. He successfully integrates creativity and regional resources into functional spaces that invigorate the imagination. Kona envisions welcoming places that promote community and vitality in diverse neighborhoods around the globe. Blending sensitivity with innovative design solutions, he unites a client’s vision with his own vanguard designs to produce environments with emotional purpose and presence. Kona is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and currently serves on the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board and recently served as ASLA Vice President Professional Practice. He is a Past President of the Landscape Architecture Foundation and member of the Urban Land Institute. He is committed to DEI initiatives with ASLA, LAF, HD and ULI. Kona serves on the University of Miami School of Architecture MRED+U and NSU School of Business MSRED Advisory Boards. He is a registered Landscape Architect holding a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Georgia and Commercial Real Estate Certificate from Cornell University. At EDSA, Kona’s award-winning projects are inspired by a passion for creative design solutions that solve meaningful global issues. His portfolio ranges in multiple scales with emphasis on communities, parks, hospitality, museums, aquariums, urban public realms, mixed-use destinations, healthcare, and campus spaces. With an uncompromising dedication to quality, he consistently takes into consideration important factors like community, heritage, environment, and the constant pursuit of improving humanity through Landscape Architecture.

Andrea Gourdine is the Director of Development for Aria Development Group, a private equity real estate development firm located in Miami, Florida. She is responsible for managing the design, and permitting, as well as overseeing the budgeting and construction of Aria’s condo-hotel projects in downtown Miami - Yotel/YotelPad Miami, a 33-story building with 453 transient condo units, and 501 First Residences, a 41-story building with 476 transient units. She also manages the entitlement and permitting process for Aria’s upcoming projects, 2200 Brickell Avenue and 600 Miami Worldcenter. Prior to joining Aria, Andrea was a Senior Development Manager with Douglas Development Corporation, a privately-held real estate development company in Washington DC where she managed the entitlements, design and permitting for over 20 historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse projects in various phases of the development process. Andrea has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut, and an MBA from The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. She currently serves on the Advisory Board for the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Leonard W. Wood Center for Real Estate Studies and is a member of the 100 Women at UNC Kenan-Flagler.