Raphael Alterman serves as Regional Partner for St. John Properties and established the company’s Dallas–Fort Worth office in 2024. In this role, he leads the firm’s strategic growth initiatives in the region, overseeing site selection, project planning, and client relations to advance St. John Properties’ long-term investment in Texas. Mr. Alterman joined St. John Properties in 2019 and has been instrumental in expanding the company’s national footprint. His leadership reflects a deep understanding of real estate fundamentals, with a focus on sustainable development and client-driven service. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Political Science from Pitzer College, and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Real Estate from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Christopher is a Senior Project Manager and Civil Engineer with Pape-Dawson. He has been designing sites for all densities of residential projects, and various commercial and renewable energy projects primarily in North Texas. He’s got substantial experience in master planned communities, but as a member of the Transit Oriented Development and Placemaking Council, and the Public Private Partnership Council, reveal his interests in real estate and development across a wide scope. He’s been a ULI member for over 10 years – longer than he’s been licensed as an engineer – and has been involved with almost all opportunities available to ULI YLG members in DFW.

Matt Houston serves as Senior Lecturer of Business Management at the University of North Texas at Dallas School of Business. At the heart of the North Texas regional economy, Matt instructs the next generation of leaders in Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Business Communications, and Operations. His work is defined by a singular mission: driving economic equity through the powerful intersection of education and business creation. Beyond the classroom, Matt is a catalyst for regional growth as the CEO of Collaborative Culture LLC, a Dallas-based consultancy specializing in economic, professional, and leadership development. He provides strategic guidance to developers on master planning and community engagement, ensuring catalytic projects lead to sustainable, inclusive growth. Furthering this impact, Matt is the Co-founder and CEO of the Trailblazer Advisory Group (TAG), where he leads a team of UNT Dallas professors in advising municipalities and stakeholders on progressive, impactful real estate investment. A proud Dallas native, Matt holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Southern Methodist University (SMU) and an MBA from the Neely School of Business at Texas Christian University (TCU). His commitment to North Texas leadership is evidenced by his participation in the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Leadership Dallas (Class of 2012), the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute’s Dallas Economic Opportunity Leadership Academy, and the NAACP NEXTGEN Leadership Program.

I am an advocate for all things Fort Worth and Tarrant County. A proud ULI member for several years. I enjoy everything that the organization has to offer from amazing learning events, access to incredible networking opportunities, and of course the mentorship forum program. My favorite part about being involved with ULI is the conversations I have with fellow members. I always find myself inspired by the passion of our fellow members. The diverse group of people within the real estate industry allow me to tap into a wealth of knowledge and perspectives you cannot find anywhere else. I am a real estate junkie at heart and love to talk about anything CRE industry related. I am passionate about the built environment of Fort Worth. I aim to improve our public open space program, increase access to transit, increase density in our urban core to combat urban sprawl, and overall just create more livable spaces for all the residents of Tarrant County. I am of the opinion that there is not a better place to be working in this industry than North Texas over the course of the next century. It will be fascinating to see our great city of Fort Worth out grow our neighbor to the east and become one of the major cities of our great nation. I cannot wait to help guide the built environment of Fort Worth over the course of my career. I look forward to joining a local product council and to participate in additional TAPs. I am the YLG membership chair for Tarrant County. Please reach out if you would like to hear about all that ULI has going on over here on this side of the Metroplex.

Kenzie Porter, PLA, LI, is a Landscape Architect and Shareholder with Kimley-Horn, bringing 14 years of experience serving public and private sector clients across community development, retail, mixed-use, parks, and urban living projects. She is recognized for her energy, collaborative spirit, and commitment to exceptional client service, consistently delivering creative solutions that balance innovation, functionality, and long-term value. Kenzie is passionate about translating client goals into thoughtful, enduring places; Kenzie approaches every project with a problem-solving mindset and a focus on schedule, budget, and community impact. She emphasizes sustainable design practices that integrate low-impact development, water conservation, and resilience. A graduate of Texas A&M University’s Landscape Architecture program, Kenzie also serves on the Professional Advisory Board for the university’s Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning program, is active in ASLA, and sits on the Urban Land Institute Advisory Board for Building Industry Leaders.

Brooks Powell is a Senior Associate with DLR Group, a global integrated design firm of more than 1,800 professionals across 37 offices worldwide. Brooks leads strategic planning and relationship building for Texas’ bourgeoning Mixed-Use and Education sectors. Brooks serves in multiple roles within ULI locally and nationally. In 2024, Brooks was tapped to serve as Chair for Mission Advancement (CMA) for the Dallas-Fort Worth District Council, which encompasses more than 1,400 members. Brooks also serves as co-chair of the ULI Americas Jumbo District Council CMA Steering Committee, coordinating best practices for programming, sponsorship, and membership across the Americas' largest district councils. Prior to his role as CMA, Brooks was co-chair of the Outreach & Impact Pillar (Education/UrbanPlan/ULI Learning, Building Industry Leaders, Mentorship Forum, Center for Leadership, and Technical Assistance Panels) as part of the District Council Management Committee. Brooks is a Class of 2020 graduate and past chair of the ULI Center for Leadership Program and continues to serve on the CFL Steering Committee. He also serves on ULI DFW's Education Committee, Programs Committee, Impact Awards Committee, Technical Assistance Panels Committee, and Office Local Product Council. He is a founding member of the Public-Private Partnership Product Council. Brooks also served on the 2022 Dallas Fall Meeting Host Committee, coordinating sponsorship and community engagement around the conference. Active with ULI’s UrbanPlan program since 2018, Brooks is a national trainer and facilitator for UrbanPlan in the Classroom (High School, Undergraduate, and Graduate programs) and UrbanPlan for Communities (Public Officials and Neighborhood Groups), as well as ULI’s Foundations of Real Estate (FoRE) program. He leads ongoing national training sessions on the UrbanPlan financial model for new volunteers, and he has led new volunteer trainings, facilitations, and City Council sessions for ULI Americas Headquarters, ULI Atlanta, ULI Austin, ULI Boston/New England, ULI Colorado, ULI Dallas-Fort Worth, ULI Los Angeles, ULI Louisiana, ULI México, ULI Minnesota, ULI Montana, ULI New Mexico, and ULI San Francisco. Brooks has also served as honorary Mayor for the 2022, 2023, and 2025 ULI National High School UrbanPlan competitions.

I graduated Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a BArch in 1988. I founded Wallace Design Group in 1996 and operated it independently until 2009. In that year I merged WDG with Sykes Construction. The merger created the design / build firm, DSKW, for the commercial and retail markets of North Texas. In 2013 I closed DSKW and joined Childress Engineering Services with the goal of creating an architecture studio concentrating on the commercial/retail and redevelopment markets in North Texas. I successfully built the studio to a size of ten professionals during my tenure with CES. 2018 saw the launch of my own professional design studio, DSGNworks, now Vision+Architecture Studio. We are a growing design firm concentrating in the multifamily and mixed use asset classes. Throughout my career I have focused on multifamily, commercial and retail developers and their development projects.