The ADRR

Carol Becker, Hamline University

Carol has been an elected official in Minneapolis for the last 16 years. She teaches at Hamline University. Her Ph.D.  dissertation, from Hamline, was on Business Improvement Districts. She also managed IDA’s first survey of these organizations. Contact Carol at: caroljeanbecker@gmail.com

Michael J. Berne, President, MJB Consulting.

Michael is one of North America’s leading experts and futurists on urban and Downtown/Main Street districts as well as the retail industry more generally. As the Founder and President of New York City and San Francisco Bay Area-based MJB Consulting, Michael has amassed more than twenty years of experience in conducting retail market analyses, devising tenanting strategies and spearheading implementation efforts across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Michael is a regular presenter and keynote speaker at industry conferences, including those of the International Downtown Association (IDA), the National Main Street Center, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the American Planning Association (APA) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), among others.He can be reached at mikeberne@consultmjb.com.

Paul R. Levy, President & CEO, Center City District, Philadelphia

Paul is the founding chief executive of Philadelphia’s Center City District (CCD), serving in that capacity since January 1991. The CCD is a business improvement district with a $29 million annual operating budget, which supplements municipal services with programs for security, hospitality, cleaning, place marketing and planning, business retention and attraction for the central business district of Philadelphia (www.centercityphila.org). The CCD has also financed and carried out $152 million in streetscape, lighting and façade improvements, including the transformation of four downtown parks that are now managed and programmed by the CCD. He serves on the board the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. He also teaches in the graduate City Planning Department of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Masters. and Ph.D. from Columbia. Paul can be reached at plevy@centercityphila.org

N. David Milder, DANTH, Inc.

David has completed leading edge work on downtown central social districts, arts districts, multichannel retailing as well as numerous retail assessments and downtown revitalization strategies for downtowns of all sizes in many parts of the nation. In the 1980s, he created the Downtown Safety, Security and Economic Development Program for Regional Plan Association to address a key barrier to downtown revitalization. He also is well known for his work on niche downtown revitalization strategies. He has authored many articles and books. David has ADD and a BA from Kenyon College, a MA from the University of St Andrews, and a Ph.D. from Cornell. Contact David at: info@danth.com