KEN ULMAN
PRESIDENT
Ken Ulman is the President of Margrave Strategies, an innovative strategic consulting firm that provides a comprehensive array of economic development, planning and visioning services to institutions, businesses and other groups throughout Maryland and the mid-Atlantic. The firm’s principal initial client is the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, where Ulman serves as Chief Strategy Officer for Economic Development.
Ulman previously served two terms as Howard County Executive, where he earned a reputation for a leadership style that blends innovation and common sense, with a goal of providing the most efficient and effective government services possible. During his time in public office, Ulman took Maryland’s sixth-largest jurisdiction to new heights in education, healthcare, environmental protection and economic development. Under Ken’s leadership, Howard County became one of the first communities in the nation to offer affordable access to healthcare for uninsured residents, through the Healthy Howard Access Plan. He launched the largest food-scrap composting program in the state, created Maryland’s first Office of Environmental Sustainability, and placed Howard County at the forefront of the cyber-security industry and 3D manufacturing. Ken has won numerous awards, and was named a Tech Titan by Washingtonian Magazine, a Top 25 Doer, Dreamer and Driver by Government Technology Magazine and a Regional Visionary by the Greater Baltimore Committee for his leadership to bring broadband technology to Maryland, enabling the state to become one of the most wired in the country.
Ken served as president of the Maryland Association of Counties and as chairman of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, taking leadership roles in transportation, health care and fiscal affairs throughout Central Maryland. He lives in Columbia, with his wife, Jaki, and their daughters Maddie and Lily.
BILL COLE
PARTNER
William H. “Bill” Cole IV, a partner in Margrave Strategies, has spent his career helping private businesses develop and implement visionary plans that benefit communities and neighborhoods.
Prior to joining Margrave in 2019, Cole served as president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corp., the city’s economic development agency for five years, working to bring growth and jobs to neighborhoods, industrial areas and business districts in Maryland’s largest city. His leadership paved the way for development projects across Baltimore and added thousands of new residential units to a city with one of the nation’s fastest growing millennial populations in the United States.
During his tenure at BDC, Cole managed the public approval process for the 200-plus-acre Port Covington redevelopment project; and has led the city’s efforts to expand and renovate the Baltimore Convention Center complex. In addition, Cole has overseen the redevelopment of the Pimlico Racecourse property to retain the Preakness Stakes, while supporting economic development in the Park Heights neighborhood. He accelerated the disposition of city-owned real estate in Baltimore’s downtown west-side and supported anchor institution-led development projects around the University of Maryland-Baltimore and Morgan State University.
Under his leadership, BDC provided millions of dollars in grants and loans to support business and job growth in Baltimore and helped hundreds of businesses reopen after the civil unrest in 2015. In addition to its lending portfolio, Cole was responsible for nearly 50 employees at BDC and enterprises like the Emerging Technology Centers, Made in Baltimore, and Foreign Trade Zone #74. He also created the nation’s first dedicated Opportunity Zone coordinator in an urban market, supporting Baltimore’s 42 opportunity zones.
Prior to joining the BDC, Cole was a member of the Baltimore City Council from 2007 to 2014, and served as the Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement at the University of Baltimore for more than a decade. His public service also includes a term as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1998 to 2002, and six years as a Special Assistant to U.S. Representative Elijah E. Cummings.
Cole is the Chairman of Cecil Bank and Cecil Bancorp, Inc., and a board member of the Maryland Stadium Authority, Innovation Works, the Schaefer Center for Public Policy, the Volo Kids Foundation, the Baltimore Hotel Corporation. He is a 2018 Rose Center Fellow in Equitable Economic Development, a partnership with Urban Land Institute and the National League of Cities.
Tom Parker, Vice President
JordANN MONTOYA, Vice President
JordANN MONTOYA, Vice President
Tom Parker is Vice President of Margrave Strategies where he focuses on all aspects of the real estate development process including concept, execution, and management. In this role, Parker actively manages the redevelopment of strategic assets on behalf of the Terrapin Development Company at the University of Maryland, including the negotiation of development agreements, financial analyses, and oversight of projects under construction. Notable projects include (total dev. cost, key partners): Union on Knox ($138M, Greystar), The Aster College Park ($165M, Bozzuto), College Park City Hall ($45M, TDC/UMD/City of College Park), The Hotel at UMD ($185M, Southern Management). Additionally, Parker oversees the day-to-day asset management, property management and leasing of assets that are completed and operational, as well as the company’s core operations such as managing operating budgets, financial reporting, and supervising the accounting and insurance teams.
Parker is proud to work with other anchor institutions such as Bowie State University, Saint Agnes Hospital, Towson University, and Salisbury University to comprehensively plan and execute a variety of real estate initiatives alongside institutional leadership.
Prior to joining Margrave Strategies, Parker served as a Project Manager with the University of Maryland’s Real Estate Office and Facilities Management-Capital Projects Department, where he was responsible for procuring design teams and contractors, managing the overall schedule and budget of a project, and navigating the State’s approval process. Projects of note include Tawes Theater Renovation ($15.9M, 2016 ABC Excellence in Construction Award), Cambridge Hall Renovation ($15.1M) and the Physical Sciences Complex ($100M). Previously, Parker also managed construction projects for a roofing and masonry restoration contractor, Simpson of Maryland Inc. in the Baltimore-Washington region.
He holds a Master of Real Estate Development and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, both of which were earned at the University of Maryland. He lives in Severna Park with his wife, Celia, and their two kids Edgar and Isolde.
JordANN MONTOYA, Vice President
JordANN MONTOYA, Vice President
JordANN MONTOYA, Vice President
Jordann Montoya is a Vice President with Margrave Strategies where she supports all types of clients in an array of verticals; including higher education, local government, quasi government, development firms, and other anchor institutional work.
Jordann has a Commercial Construction background with the Maryland based General Contractor, CK Commercial. While serving with CK Commercial, Jordann was a Senior Construction Professional and held a position on the company’s Leadership Team; where she helped shape the success and culture of the company.
She has a breadth of knowledge in all things' commercial real estate and construction; with a focus in project management, solicitation management and deliverable management. She is experienced in the procurement, estimating, design, and construction processes as well. Jordann has built award winning projects in both Project 1019.01 (ABC Excellence in Construction Award, 2018) and Cybrary (ABC Excellence in Construction, 2019).
As a Vice President with a deep knowledge of project management, Jordann can adapt to each clients specific and individual complexities and nuances by helping to set and dominate each engagements’ goals. Jordann manages all objectives and helps navigate the process of community engagement, lease and space negotiations, acquisitions, and management of the design and construction processes. Jordann’s role is to aide each client in making smart decisions within budgetary and timeline constraints.
Jordann has a bachelor’s degree in Family at Human Services (Family Studies) with a focus in Human Studies in the Non-Profit Sector from Towson University, where she currently serves on the Towson University Alumni Association Board. Jordann is a Howard County native, but a current and longtime resident of Baltimore City with her fiancé, Patrick.
Sarah Miller, Vice President of economic Development
Sarah Miller, Vice President of economic Development
Sarah Miller, Vice President of economic Development
Sarah serves as Margrave Strategies Vice President of Economic Development. For the past 25 years, Sarah has worked across Pennsylvania and Maryland creating high-quality civic spaces, helping industrial communities reinvent themselves, managing free clinics, supporting new farmers and food producers, building technology business incubators, and managing local public art programs.
Prior to joining Margrave Strategies, she was the Vice President of Economic Development for BioHealth Innovation, Inc., a regional non-profit created to advance technology commercialization in the DMV. Immediately before that she was the Vice President of Strategy for the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, the lead economic development agency for the most populous county in Maryland. She also worked for many years at the former Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, where she created and managed several capital projects and strategic initiatives.
Sarah spent more than a decade in Pennsylvania, where she was appointed the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and managed riverfront projects in downtown Pittsburgh. Her Pittsburgh work included implementing the Regional Destination Financing Plan, which effectively transformed the city’s interactions with its riverfronts and redefined sustainable design in the city.
Sarah studied community health at Ohio University and participated in the New York City Health Research Training Program, one of the oldest and largest public health programs in the country. She also served for a year in AmeriCorps, before earning a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
Locally, Sarah has served her community as a Rockville Planning Commissioner, a youth cross country coach, a guest lecturer at Georgetown, and a board member for the Montgomery County Food Council and Bethesda Green. She and her husband, Craig, live in Rockville with their son, Zak.
Jessica Jones, Senior Development manager
Sarah Miller, Vice President of economic Development
Sarah Miller, Vice President of economic Development
Jessica Jones, LEED AP BD+C, is a Vice President and Senior Development Manager at Margrave Strategies. Jessica manages development projects and oversees property operations for a diverse group of Margrave clients throughout the State of Maryland.
Prior to her tenure at Margrave, Jessica was a senior development manager at Enterprise Community Development. At Enterprise, she managed several multimillion-dollar Low Income Housing Tax Credit development projects throughout Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia. Notably, she managed a solar installation project designed to affix 1 megawatt of solar panels across 12 properties within the ECD portfolio. This project is recognized as one of the largest multifamily affordable housing solar panel installations in Washington, DC. Additionally, Jessica DC Mayoral Appointee to the Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS) Task Force as an affordable housing owner representative.
Jessica holds a Master’s in Real Estate Development from the University of Maryland, College Park and a B.S. in Architecture and Environmental Design from Morgan State University. Earning her LEED accreditation in 2008, Ms. Jones has focused her career on the built environment, with an emphasis on affordable housing and sustainable design.
Additionally, Ms. Jones is a mentor/professor for the Capstone Thesis course in the Master of Real Estate Development program at the University of Maryland, College Park. As a professor, she teaches and mentors students working on their final real estate Capstone Thesis project, a requirement in order to attain their Master’s degree.