Big Chair Panel Discussion: Smart Growth & Sustainable Development on the East of the River Waterfront
ABOUT
In celebration of Earth Day, join us for a powerful evening of conversation focused on "Smart Growth & Sustainable Development on the East of the River Waterfront." This timely discussion brings together leaders shaping the future of Washington, DC’s waterfront—centering environmental sustainability, equitable development, and resilient design in Historic Anacostia and beyond.
Event Schedule:
5:30–6:00 PM: Doors Open
6:00-8:00PM: “Big Chair” Panel Discussion and Mixer
Moderator:
Sybongile Cook – Director of Destination Development, DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED)Sohael Chowfla – Managing Partner or Head of , Redbrick / The Bridge District
Scott Kratz – Director, 11th Street Bridge Park
Wanda Lockridge – Director of Community Engagement, Therme US
Brian Hanlon - DC Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE)
Emmanuel Allen - Environmental Protection Specialist, DC Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE)
Sakina Khan – Deputy Director, Planning and Data Visualization, DC Office of Planning
🗓️Tuesday, April 22nd
🕓5:30–8:00 PM
📍Anacostia Arts Center, Black Box Theatre, 1231 Marion Barry Avenue SE
Free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
FREE PARKING at 13th & S Street SE
Street parking available
MODERATOR
Sybongile cook
Sybongile is a member of the Mayor’s Financial Literacy Council and has held multiple roles within the Executive of the Mayor of the District of Columbia since 2009. She started as Program Manager expanding the framework of the district’s Bank on DC program. Ms. Cook additionally lead efforts towards securing the city’s first ever multi-year grant for the Department of Employment Services (DOES) – Marion S. Barry’s Summer Youth Employment Program, from the Cities Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE). In 2016, she returned to DMPED as the Director of Great Streets & Retail deploying over 30 million dollars to small businesses commercial corridors in all 8 wards and launched the Mayor’s Neighborhood Prosperity Fund which had its first groundbreaking announcement of a Ward 8 grocer retailer on January 2, 2019. Ms. Cook continued her work with the Department of Employment Services in 2019, as the Associate Director of the Office of Talent & Client Service and returned to DMPED to serve as the Director of Business Development & Strategy, where she is on her third tour at DMPED.
MEET THE PANELISTS
Scroll to learn more about them!
SAKINA KHAN
Sakina Khan is the Deputy Director for Citywide Strategy and Analysis at the DC Office of Planning (OP). She oversees systems planning related to housing, infrastructure, sustainability, transportation and economic development, as well as the State Data Center and Geographic Information Systems. Ms. Khan has guided numerous strategic planning, policy, and implementation efforts related to the arts, culture, innovation, and retail sectors. She is leading the District’s first ever comprehensive Cultural Plan, which lays out recommendations on how the government and its partners can invest in the people, places, communities, and ideas that define culture within the nation’s capital. Most recently, she completed work on “Crossing the Street,” OP’s largest and most innovative creative placemaking initiative to-date, partnering with curators on creating inclusive experiences in neighborhoods undergoing change. Ms. Khan has more than fifteen years of planning experience in the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the Office of Planning, she specialized in socioeconomic assessment of infrastructure projects in economically disadvantaged locations. Ms. Khan is a graduate of MIT, where she earned her master's degree in city planning.
SCOTT KRATZ
Scott Kratz is the Building Bridges Across the River Senior Vice President & 11th Street Bridge Park Director. For the last ten years, Scott has been working with the East of the River based non-profit Building Bridges Across the River and the Washington DC city government to transform an old freeway bridge into a park above the Anacostia River. The old 11th Street Bridges that connect Capitol Hill with communities east of the river reached the end of their lifespan, Scott is working with the community to use the base of one of the bridges to create a one of a kind civic space supporting active recreation, environmental education and the arts. Scott leads the team that is designing, building and one day operating the park. Beyond the park’s physical construction, he has led the effort to ensure long term residents can stay and thrive in place through a nationally recognized equitable development plan that includes affordable housing, workforce training, preservation of Black owned small businesses and arts / culture strategies.
Scott lives a few blocks away from the Bridge Park site in Capitol Hill and has called Washington DC his home for the last 17+ years. He graduated with a history degree from Pomona College in Southern California and has worked in the education field for twenty+ years. He began his career teaching at Kidspace, a children’s museum in Pasadena, California and later as the Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of the American West at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. While at the Autry, he supervised a staff that planned and implemented programs including film, music, festivals, family programs, lecture series, academic symposia and Native theater. He moved to Washington DC to become the Vice President for Education at the National Building Museum. Scott is honored to serve on the board of the Anacostia Coordinating Council and the Anacostia Business Improvement District.
BRIAN j. Hanlon
Brian J. Hanlon is the Director of the Department of Buildings, appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser in May 2023 and confirmed by the DC Council in November 2023. He is an accomplished administrator, leader, and registered architect with more than 35 years of private and public sector experience.
Through his private sector work, Director Hanlon actively practiced architecture, managed the development of many billions of dollars of K-12 and collegiate real estate, and served in several leadership roles focusing on construction management and building technologies. He is driven to deliver solutions in the built environment that are responsive to the needs of people, while ensuring they are implemented and used in the most environmentally responsible manner possible. Director Hanlon’s passion and purpose is to work to make our spaces and places integral with a spirit of stewardship. His mantra for the DOB team is keep it safe, keep it green, and keep it moving. This drives his work – so that future generations may have a future in which they thrive.
Director Hanlon previously worked in District government as the Executive Program Manager at the Department of Real Estate, followed by his appointment as the first permanent Director of the Department of General Services (DGS), where the agency modernized the preventative maintenance and portfolio management of the District’s 30 million sq. ft. of real estate under his leadership. He was also responsible for $2.3 billion in new construction, renovation, and other capital projects including schools, parks, recreation facilities, office buildings, laboratories, senior centers, police stations, fire stations, and residential shelter facilities during his tenure. At DGS, he and the agency garnered multiple awards for design, innovation, and sustainable practices.
wanda lockridge
Wanda Lockridge continues the legacy of her late husband, William O. Lockridge, by leading the William O. Lockridge Community Foundation in its mission to support youth education and empowerment. She is deeply committed to offering pathways to higher education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring their potential is nurtured and realized.
She currently serves as the Director of Community Engagement at Therme DC.
SOHAEl chowfla
Sohael Chowfla is the Senior Vice President of development at Redbrick LMD. Sohael has over fifteen years of experience in commercial real estate development. In his current role at Redbrick LMD, Sohael is focused on the development of the Bridge District and acquiring and developing new opportunities for the company.
Prior to joining Redbrick LMD, Sohael was a Director of Development for EDENS, where he was involved in the acquisition and development of over 2.7 million sf of residential, retail, office, and hotel assets across the Washington, DC metropolitan area. At EDENS, his primary responsibilities included site acquisition, entitlements and permits, JV structuring and financing, design and construction oversight, leasing, and disposition. Previously, Sohael worked as an architect and urban designer at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in San Francisco, CA, where he provided design and development advisory services for commercial and institutional clients in Asia and the United States.
Sohael is a member of the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board and is a licensed architect in DC, MD, and VA. Sohael received a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Rice University and a Master’s in Urban Planning with a focus on Real Estate and Urban Development from Harvard University.
emmanuel allen
Emmanuel is an Environmental Protection Specialist at the government of the District of Columbia since 2020. He is certified in project management from the Project Management Institute, having previously worked as a Project Coordinator at Michael Baker International, as a Stormwater Management Inspector in Arlington County, and as an intern at the Anacostia Watershed Society.
