Entrepreneurship Conference

Ashley Watson is a community leader, entrepreneur, and real estate developer with over 20 years of experience in community development and real estate. As Commercial Development Chair for the Southwest Partnership, she leads the committee focused on supporting local businesses and strengthening Southwest Baltimore’s commercial corridors. She is the President of Greywood Group, LLC, a real estate development and equity consulting firm focused on turning vacant properties into vibrant community assets and supporting minority-owned startups. Her work centers on closing the access gap and people-centered urban development, with equity as a core business imperative.

Victor Burrola is the Lead Social Impact and Sustainability Specialist for the Greater Washington, D.C. Region at the Wells Fargo Foundation, where he develops strategies to advance wealth-building opportunities for historically marginalized communities through housing, small business growth, financial health, and sustainability. With over 15 years of experience in philanthropy and community development, Victor has a proven track record of fostering innovation and collaboration to drive impactful change.

Jeremy Watson leads BDC’s real estate development strategy, portfolio management, and large-scale project delivery, with more than 15 years of experience across real estate development, infrastructure finance, and urban planning in the public and private sectors. Prior to BDC, he served as Principal of Watson Cohen and held roles with JetBlue Airways, PGIM Real Estate, and Arlington County, Virginia. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master of Urban & Regional Planning from Virginia Tech, and a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida.

Tawanda S. Thomas is the Founder and Principal Advisor of D8 Square Consulting, where she helps business owners, investors, and growth-minded companies strengthen their capital position, evaluate expansion opportunities, and build strategies for sustainable growth. She draws on nearly three decades of experience across commercial lending, real estate finance, legal services, business development, and transaction advisory, with expertise spanning capital readiness, commercial credit, business acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and commercial real estate investment. Tawanda is particularly passionate about helping founders build businesses that are attractive to lenders, investors, buyers, and strategic partners — translating complex financial concepts into practical strategies for expansion, succession planning, acquisitions, and wealth creation. She holds a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development from Johns Hopkins University and is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women Black in Business program.

Don Cutwright is a veteran finance professional and commercial banker with more than 20 years of experience in business banking, financial analysis, and relationship management. At Baltimore Community Lending, a U.S. Treasury–certified CDFI, he manages small business lending end to end, from underwriting through community outreach, with a focus on small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses facing barriers to traditional capital. His career includes business banking roles at M&T Bank, Bank of America, Susquehanna Bank, Wachovia, and Chevy Chase Bank. He holds a BS in Marketing from Auburn University and serves as a frequent panelist and community judge for youth entrepreneurship programs like the Baltimore Children’s Business Fair.

Tamir founded ddb Workshop in 2015, building on a lifelong connection to the industry shaped by his upbringing as the son of a builder. Early exposure to construction and development led him to pursue degrees in architecture and urban design, followed by experience at respected architectural firms. This blend of hands-on and professional experience gave him a strong understanding of market dynamics, design trends, project coordination, and real estate development. Since launching the practice, Tamir has developed strong relationships across multiple jurisdictions, most notably in Baltimore, strengthening the firm’s ability to navigate challenges, accelerate approvals, and collaborate effectively with city officials and community stakeholders.

Armstead (CJ) Jones is a real estate investor, developer, and strategic advisor with over a decade of experience leading and managing complex investments across public, private, and institutional platforms. His background includes work with the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, Lockheed Martin, Morgan State University, Whiting-Turner, and GE Aviation. He brings deep expertise in real estate development, investment underwriting, transaction structuring, and market analysis, with a focus on aligning capital with execution-ready projects. He currently serves as Vice President of the Small Developers Collective, is a member of the Urban Land Institute’s Regionalism and DEI Committees, and serves on the board of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation. He holds a BA in Industrial Engineering and an MS in Systems Engineering from Morgan State University, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, Bisnow, National Mortgage News, SFGate, Fox Business, and Marketscale.

Winfield “Win” Willis II is Head of Development at Bull Development, a minority- and veteran-owned Baltimore real estate developer. Over the last seven years, Win has led due diligence, underwriting, and financing for Bull Development and leads day-to-day operations of all developments and construction in the current pipeline — over $100 million in multifamily and single-family development, including the 1307 West Baltimore Street project. His background is in residential and commercial valuation across Maryland, DC, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Michigan, and he has been the principal fundraiser for all projects, building a network of high-net-worth, family office, and institutional relationships — including former and current Baltimoreans. He holds a BS in International Business and an MBA in Finance from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Venroy July is a partner in the corporate & finance practice group of Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, P.C., based in the Washington, D.C. office. His practice includes a wide range of corporate and finance matters, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, general corporate counseling, and real estate development, and he has written extensively on the power and potential of Opportunity Zones and other capital-raising mechanisms. He is also a real estate investor in Baltimore: over the past 10 years he has acquired and renovated a portfolio of single-family houses, mixed-use properties, and commercial properties in the Hollins Market neighborhood, where he also resides. He received his BA in Political Science and Economics from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar, and his JD from Duke University School of Law.

A. Marie Dingwall is the founder, principal consultant, and “Workflow Architect” of &Marie Solutions, a professional operations and business systems consultancy based in the Washington, D.C.–Baltimore area. She specializes in workflow design, task automation, and process optimization for overwhelmed business owners, small teams, and solo entrepreneurs. Marie brings nearly two decades of administrative and operations experience across multiple corporate environments, from project management to operations support. In late 2023 she transitioned into entrepreneurship, starting as a virtual assistant before recognizing that her core passion lay in deep digital organization and structural efficiency — the insight that led her to high-level business systems architecture and the launch of &Marie Solutions.

Roy Miller supports Baltimore Community Lending’s small business lending team, coordinating and managing loan inquiries and applications. He brings over 30 years of experience as a loan officer, underwriter, and housing counselor at banks, lenders, and community development nonprofits, and has developed and supervised programs including a merchants association, housing initiatives, and job development programs. He studied Data Processing at the Community College of Philadelphia and Business Administration at Catonsville Community College.

Ryan Rattanni has over 10 years of experience in community and economic development in Baltimore City. Most recently, he was a Director of Lending at Reinvestment Fund, responsible for business development, originating, and underwriting mission-aligned lending in Baltimore. He previously worked for the Baltimore Development Corporation and the Baltimore City Department of Finance. Ryan holds graduate degrees in Community Planning and Real Estate Development from the University of Maryland, College Park, and lives in Baltimore’s Homeland neighborhood.

Elias Hinderberger leads BDC’s work on commercial corridors across Baltimore, overseeing facade improvement grant programs, corridor-specific investment strategy, and business retention and technical assistance, working closely with city, state, and community partners to keep neighborhood business districts strong. Before joining BDC, he was the Small Business Programs Manager at the Greater Baybrook Alliance, where he supported businesses at the neighborhood level in Brooklyn, Curtis Bay, and Brooklyn Park.

Kristina Williams (she/her) is a Partner at Colmena Consulting and Founder of KEWL Consulting, LLC. She is an equitable economic and community development leader with nearly 15 years of experience advancing equity-centered strategies that empower nonprofits, small businesses, and communities. Kristina specializes in nonprofit management, organizational effectiveness, and strategic partnerships that drive investment into under-resourced neighborhoods, and has expanded budgets, scaled programming, and built cross-sector partnerships aligning economic development goals with community-driven priorities. As a Daniel Rose Center fellow, she has collaborated with cities across the U.S. on innovative strategies for land use, workforce development, and inclusive growth. Her mission is simple: help people and places thrive through organizing, strategy, and systems change.

Ira Kowler leads state-backed community development programming, capital investments, and grant distribution in Baltimore City for the Maryland Department of Housing & Community Development, including Reinvest Baltimore. He brings over 15 years of experience driving community and economic growth across Baltimore and statewide.

Tony Scott has led the Southwest Partnership since 2021, after joining the organization in 2018. He previously worked in the Baltimore Mayor’s Office and the City’s finance and budget offices, and before that with USAID in Washington, D.C. His childhood memories of Southwest Baltimore and passion for inclusive community development brought him to the Partnership, a coalition of seven neighborhoods and anchor institutions building an awesome community in Southwest Baltimore.