Adam Breen
Operations manager, Northrop Grumman Corp.
Adam Breen is the operations manager of the Operational Exploitation Systems operating unit for Northrop Grumman’s Payload and Ground Systems division, Space Systems sector, Northrop Grumman’s premier provider of space and launch ground capabilities serving national security, civil and commercial customers. In this role, he provides direction to the company’s OES organization in Boulder, and is responsible for driving efficiencies across programs and facilities, supporting strategic planning and cultivating employee engagement. Previously, Breen served as the senior business manager overseeing all financial aspects of OES. Breen began his career at Lockheed Martin in Massachusetts, where he held various roles supporting the U.S. Navy, international defense and commercial partners, most recently as program manager for submarine communications, and then meteorological and oceanographic systems.
Jennifer Chavez
Director of leasing, BioMed Realty
Jennifer Chavez is director of leasing in Boulder for BioMed Realty, a leading provider of real estate solutions to the life-science and technology industries. In her role, Jennifer provides comprehensive transaction expertise and specialized business-management services. She spearheads the company’s leasing activity for existing assets and new developments in Boulder, and establishes key relationships with stakeholders across the commercial real estate industry. With 20 years in the commercial real estate space, Chavez has an extensive background in commercial real estate leasing across multiple specialties, including providing successful leasing transaction and operation and marketing oversight for a variety of clients including Fortune 500 companies, institutional REITs, and local real estate investors and tenants. Prior to BioMed Realty, Chavez was director, global corporate services, at Newmark, where she specialized in multi-market corporate real estate as well as office leasing for landmark projects in the Denver area, including Village Center Station, The Diary Block, The Current River North and North Wynkoop. In addition, Chavez had a variety of tenant-representation clients, including Danone North America, Liberty Global, Intrepid Potash, WSP and Moye White.
Heather Cronenberg
Acting manager, Real Estate, Development and Sustainability Division, city of Westminster
Heather Cronenberg recently returned to the city of Westminster from the private sector, where she managed commercial real estate and development projects for The Talarico Co. She serves as acting manager of the Real Estate, Development and Sustainability Division with the city of Westminster. Cronenberg brings more than 20 years of real estate expertise and has a proven track record of negotiating complex real estate and development transactions, navigating the entitlement process, and collaborating on public-private partnerships. She is a skilled project manager with strong experience building relationships and collaborating with the community. Cronenberg sits on the steering committee for the Urban Land Institute’s Women’s Leadership Initiative. She is a previous member of the 36 Commuting Solutions Board, RTD’s Citizens Advisory Committee, the Metro Denver Nature Alliance Steering Committee and the Colorado Open Space Alliance Steering Committee. Heather earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Georgia and is working to complete the executive masters of public administration program at the University of Colorado Denver.
Andy Karsian
General manager, Front Range Passenger Rail District
Andy Karsian is the general manager of the Front Range Passenger Rail District. Prior to this position, he was the Colorado Department of Transportation’s legislative liaison for almost a decade. In this role, he formed coalitions with legislators and local communities to advance much-needed transportation policy. Before his time at CDOT, Karsian was the political liaison for county commissioners statewide at Colorado Counties Inc. A Colorado native, Karsian has degrees from Metropolitan State University of Denver and Regis University. In addition to his policy and legislative work, he has supported refugees and immigrants in the Denver metro area, served in the Peace Corps in Armenia and managed a jazz/blues bar in LoDo.
Rachel King
Deputy director, economic vitality & development, City and County of Broomfield
Rachel is the deputy director of economic vitality and economic development for the city and county of Broomfield. She helps lead the business-development, economic-development and housing initiatives in Broomfield to ensure that the economic success of the city is shared by its residents, businesses and neighborhoods. Prior to joining the city and county of Broomfield, Rachel served the city and county of Denver in multiple roles, most recently as the director of administration and federal compliance for Denver Economic Development and Opportunity and the Department of Housing Stability. She also has held roles in the financial sector, academia and as a legal policy consultant for nonprofits. She holds a doctorate from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, with a focus on land-use law. She is a member of the bar in Florida and Colorado.
Carl Koelbel
CEO, Koelbel and Co.
Carl Koelbel is working at Koelbel & Co. where he carries on a three-generation tradition of real estate development in the Denver metro area. His primary focus is on development of land currently held by the firm, as well as identifying and securing future development opportunities. Additionally, he started the Koelbel Urban Homes division, which focuses on developing for-sale, infill homes. He also works extensively developing affordable housing in Colorado. In just more than 10 years, Koelbel and Co. will have delivered close to 700 units of affordable housing in nine different projects, with more to come. He also manages major projects for Koelbel, including the Catalyst office building along Brighton Boulevard and the redevelopment of Regatta Plaza in Aurora. Koelbel received his Master’s of Business Administration with a concentration in real estate and finance from the University of Colorado Boulder. Before receiving his MBA, he was a research associate at the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C.
Jill Mendoza
Economic development manager, Town of Superior
Jill Mendoza is economic development manager for the town of Superior. Mendoza is an urban innovator who is passionate about building communities that enhance the quality of life and quality of place for their residents through community-based economic development strategies. A strategic thinker with a keen interest in entrepreneurship, she facilitates public/private partnerships to leverage investment and improve the economic vitality of the communities in which she works.
Max Perez
Vice president of strategic initiatives, Infleqtion
Max Perez is the vice president, strategic initiatives at Infleqtion (formally ColdQuanta), where he focuses on positioning emerging quantum technologies for the competitive markets. In his current role, he drove the commercialization of Infleqtion’s first optical atomic clock product line, Tiqker, for the dual commercial and defense markets. Prior to his current role, Perez lead Infleqtion’s new business development, helping to triple bookings. Perez has been a member of the Infleqtion team since 2012, originally focusing on next-generation compact quantum atom systems through the development of miniature and integrated quantum atomic components. He also led early efforts to establish Infleqtion U.K. and continues to work closely with the team in Oxford. Prior to joining Infleqtion, Perez was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he worked to miniaturize atomic systems and sensors, and holds a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering in inertial sensor technologies.
John Tayer
President & CEO, Boulder Chamber
As president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber, Tayer leads the organization that serves as Boulder’s unified voice for business interests, advances the community’s economic vitality, and provides valuable business support services. Prior to joining the Boulder Chamber in 2012, Tayer was public affairs and communications director for the pharmaceutical manufacturing company, Roche Colorado Corp., and policy development director in the Boulder city manager’s office. Tayer also spent six years as the Boulder area’s elected representative to the Regional Transportation District. A native of Brookline, Massachusetts, Tayer earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, spent a couple of years working on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, and moved to Boulder 31 to earn a law degree from the University of Colorado. He now resides in south Boulder with his wife, Molly, and enjoys playing in the outdoors, accessing local cultural attractions and generally loves his community.
Greg Totten
Economist, State Demography Office
Greg Totten is the economist at the State Demography Office. Prior to joining the SDO in 2022, he spent more than a decade working in affordable housing, specializing in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. In addition to his work at the SDO, Totten also serves on the board of NEWSED Community Development Corporation. Totten has a Bachelor of Arts degree in ethics, history and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University, and is in the process of completing his M.A. in economics from Colorado State University.
Christopher Wood
Editor & publisher, BizWest
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.