Jill Ferrari has more than 30 years of experience in private real estate development, legal practice, and consulting, with a focus on complex brownfield redevelopment projects. She is the co-founder of Renovare Development, which was named the 2025 “Developer of the Year” by Michigan RE Journals. Her practice includes commercial real estate development, economic development incentives, commercial real estate finance, nonprofit corporations, and small business startups. She works with a wide range of clients, including commercial real estate developers, municipalities, and entrepreneurs. Jill has been widely recognized for her leadership and contributions to the real estate industry. She is the 2025 Phoenix Award winner from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for her lifetime of work in brownfield redevelopment. She was named “Woman of the Year” by the Detroit Women’s Leadership Network in 2023, a Crain’s Detroit “Notable Executive in Real Estate” in 2021, a GlobeST Magazine “Woman of Influence” in 2021, a 2017 “Woman of Distinction” by the Wayne State University Council on the Status of Women and a 2016 winner of the Melvin Simon Award from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Foundation. She serves on the National Advisory Board for the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Center for Housing and is a founding board member of the Women’s Sustainable Development Initiative, a nonprofit organization supporting emerging women developers working in low-income communities. In addition, Jill is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, where she teaches Real Estate Design and Development Fundamentals. Outside of her professional work, Jill is an award-winning screenwriter, science fiction enthusiast, and passionate advocate for adoption and the LGBTQ community.

Micaela Connery is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Kelsey, a national nonprofit pioneering disability-forward housing solutions that are affordable, accessible, and inclusive. She launched this work alongside her cousin and co-founder, Kelsey, a passionate advocate for access and inclusion who lived with multiple disabilities. Their shared vision continues to shape the organization’s mission and impact. Since founding The Kelsey in 2018, Micaela has led the organization to develop over 200 disability-forward homes, unlock nearly $190 million for inclusive housing, and scale its influence to reach thousands of advocates and homes nationwide. As a Fellow at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, she published leading national research on housing and disability, laying the groundwork for The Kelsey’s model. Her commitment to inclusion began early—as the founder of Unified Theater, which she launched at age 15 and scaled to schools across the country. Micaela is recognized as an Ashoka Fellow, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur, Mitchell Scholar, and Harvard Social Innovation and Change Initiative Fellow. A graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School, the University College Dublin Smurfit School, and the University of Virginia, she is a sought-after voice on inclusive design, housing innovation, and community-based living. Through The Kelsey, she is advancing a bold vision: communities where people of all abilities and incomes live side by side—with dignity, equity, and belonging.

Erick Mikiten is known as a highly sought after architect for elegant, Universally Designed homes. He is famous for designing highly personalized homes around a whole family’s needs without sacrificing poetic, dramatic design. Mr. Mikiten taught architectural design at UC Berkeley. He has also lectured there, at national conferences of the AIA, Dwell Magazine, and the USGBC. His speaking engagements focus on the importance of Universal Design as a part of a holistic approach to stunning and creative architecture that puts the needs of the user first. Mr. Mikiten has worked in architecture for over 30 years, with 20 years of industry-changing, creative multi-family housing designs. As a wheelchair-riding architect, he has particular insight into universal design, and is currently a special consultant on architecture and universal design for the Ed Roberts Campus, a new complex that will house nine disability-related agencies. Mr. Mikiten has worked with non-profit developers throughout the SF Bay Area, creating hundreds of units of beautiful, dignified affordable housing.

Todd Regonini has been with Sares Regis since its founding in 1993. Todd has expertise in developing and delivering for-sale, for-rent, mixed-use, and mixed-income communities near jobs, transit, and services. Todd currently oversees a diverse collection of residential and master planning efforts for the firm. He previously oversaw the Development Division of Sares Regis, including Regis Homes.