A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Hastings College of The Law, John practiced law until he co-founded McNellis Partners, a Northern California based shopping center development firm in 1982. A member of the ULI since 1984, John was a founding member of both its Environmental Task Force and Environmental Coordinating Committee. He is a ULI Governor and has served as a Trustee, Council Councilor and is now chairing his ULI Council, SSDC Black. He is an active member of the ICSC and has served on the board of directors for Lambda Alpha International (Golden Gate Chapter). A frequent lecturer and writer, John regularly gives presentations to the ULI, other industry groups and real estate schools throughout the country. He also writes a monthly real estate column for the Registry magazine and is the author of “Making it in Real Estate: Starting out as a Developer”, a critically-acclaimed book that sets out the basics of real estate development in a straightforward and amusing way. John is actively involved with Outward Bound, having served on its national board of directors. He is a past president of the board of directors of Rebuilding Together Peninsula and is a board member emeritus. He has also served on the board of directors for the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center and is a long-time volunteer at the Palo Alto Downtown Streets Team’s Food Closet. John and his wife, Michele, have been together nearly forty years and live in Atherton, Ca.