Kara is a partner in the Tysons. Va. office of Holland & Knight, LLP, where she practices in the area of employment law counseling and litigation. She works closely with employers in a range of industries to provide ongoing counseling, training and investigations designed to minimize the risk of litigation and maximize employee retention and productivity.

When litigation cannot be avoided, Kara represents employers before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and both federal and state courts and agencies. Kara also works with clients to prepare, interpret and enforce employment, retention and termination agreements, and she advises clients on the employment law aspects of corporate transactions at all stages of the acquisition and sale process. 

Ryan Davis is the Lead Product Manager CAMA at Vision Government Solutions Inc., where he manages the roadmap for the software platform. He holds a Product Owner Certification and a Masters in Public Administration from George Mason University. He served as the Assessor for the City of Falls Church for 20 years where he ensured fair and equitable valuation of over $4 billion properties for ad valorum taxation.

He has volunteered as the vice-chair of the Board of Equalization for Fairfax County for over 10 years and as a Trustee for the City of Falls Church Retirement Board. Ryan is a resident of the City of Falls Church, Va., where he lives with his wife, Jennifer, sons Andrew and Ronan, a dog and 2 cats.  

Kate Howarth is a Commercial Real Estate professional with over 20 years of experience in the Mid Atlantic market. Currently an Investment sales broker with Colliers International, Kate has extensive experience in the disposition of investment properties and has been involved in over $2 billion worth of transactions since beginning her career. She started her career in the area of real estate consulting, focusing on Military Housing Initiatives and Low Income Housing Tax Credit Programs.

Kate is active in both industry and community organizations including Commercial Real Estate Women (DC CREW), the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and she is the former Providence District Representative for the Fairfax County School Board Facilities Planning Advisory Council (FPAC). Kate is a resident of Vienna, Va. where she lives with her husband, two children and her dog. Her hobbies include reading, swimming and hiking. 

Joan Piccariello is the Director of Program Development at Lean Construction Institute (LCI) where she serves as the lead for LCI’s annual Congress and marketing programs. She brings to LCI more than 20 years of senior experience in all aspects of association management, marketing and forecasting, having served the technology, federal contracting and construction industries in programming and management roles.

Joan received her B.A. from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the Project Management Institute and holds a Project Management Professional certificate. She lives in Arlington, Va. with her husband, Harry. Her 24-year-old son Joseph lives in a group home in Richmond, Va. 

Bill Yake hails from Canada where he was a freelance speechwriter for the Bank of Montreal senior executives and the Ontario Government Cabinet officials from 1986 to 1989. He worked for the Department of Management and Budget for Fairfax County local government from 1990 to 2017 where he was the coordinator for budget and production processes and oversaw web-related services. He was also the countywide Performance Measurement Coordinator for more than 10 years. 

Bill has been married for more than 30 years. His passions and hobbies include research, reading and golf. He is currently working on two books on the history of the Jewish people from 1650 to the present. He is devoted to improving the lives of family, friends, church and the community.

President – Naina Narayana Chernoff
Treasurer – Hope Hohmann
Secretary – Kate Howarth