Panel 1: History, Development and Construction:

Liz Price is PN Hoffman’s Director of Public Private Partnerships and has 20 years of experience transforming urban neighborhoods.  At the Wharf, she helped launch the region’s first water taxi service, secured public investments in pedestrian and transit improvements and launched a free shuttle service to Metro.  As President of the NoMa Business Improvement District, she led the marketing and branding efforts, secured over $10 million in tax incentives and infrastructure upgrades, and created a $50 million public park funding strategy. She has also served as Vice President at the Anacostia Waterfront, has had previous experience working with the National Capital Revitalization Corporation and served on the management team of HOPE VI a $4 billion U.S. Housing and Urban Development program. Price is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has a Master’s in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.   

Shawn Seaman joined PN Hoffman in 2001 and currently leads the acquisitions, sustainable design initiative and development activities for the company. Since 2006, he has acted as Project Director for The Wharf for Phase 1, where he has managed the development team and all aspects of the project development. Seaman has more than 20 years of project experience in real estate development, urban design, town planning, architecture, and retail strategy. Seaman holds a degree in Architecture from the University of Miami, and a Master’s in Architecture and Urban Design from the University of Pennsylvania. Seaman is a registered architect in the state of Florida and the District of Columbia and is a LEED®-AP certified professional.

Stan Eckstut, EE&K’s senior principal, has a national reputation as an innovator and leader in large-scale architecture extending back over thirty years to his pioneering work designing the master plan for Battery Park City. Stan’s singular understanding of architecture as a practice that creates and sustains the public realm is evident in all his designs, from large-scale waterfront developments and intermodal transportation hubs to campuses, schools, and even prototypes for bus shelters. In each case, his work has strengthened the urban fabric by creating new centers of social and civic activity; as he points out, “even my smallest buildings are about being part of a larger community.” A pragmatic visionary, Stan’s creative exploration of the possibilities of place is tempered by his keen sense of market and political realities.

Michael Vergason has 40 years of experience creating memorable places in both public and private sectors. He founded Michael Vergason Landscape Architects, Ltd. in 1987 and remains deeply involved in all the firm’s projects. Michael is responsible for numerous works that carefully consider historic significance with a distinctly contemporary vision. His ability to balance the natural characteristics of a site with the demands of an architectural program results in seamless compositions without distinction between design disciplines.  
Michael has lectured at numerous institutions including the University of Virginia, Harvard University, and Dumbarton Oaks. He is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Virginia Theological Seminary.