In late 2015, Peter Braster was named the City of Plano’s Director of Special Projects. Located in the Office of the City Manager, the Special Projects position was created to bridge economic development and real estate development in Plano. Specifically, the goal of the department is to find and add value in each special project, keeping Plano the city of excellence. Currently, Mr. Braster oversees the ongoing redevelopment of Downtown Plano; is the ombudsman for the special projects (i.e. Legacy West, Cotton Belt Regional Rail Corridor Project, etc.); and leads the City’s retail redevelopment program – the first project being the Collin Creek Mall. Beginning late Fall 2020, Mr. Braster will lead the City’s effort to develop 40-acres of city owned land surrounding the Plano Center. The Plano Center is Plano’s 86,400 square foot event space located in Collin County’s sole Opportunity Zone. Mr. Braster has over 30 years of public and private experience. He began his career in civil engineering by working on large transportation projects including several highway, airport, and light rail systems in New York and California. Peter is a member of the Urban Land Institute, Co-Chair of the North Texas Urban Land Institute Public-Private Partnership Product Council, member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and their Texas State Public Chair for Public-Private Partnerships the member of the International Economic Development Council.

Michael serves as a senior vice president for KDC. He splits his time between several high-profile projects including the new Frost Bank headquarters in San Antonio, and Toyota North American Headquarters, a new 100-acre corporate campus in Plano, Texas. He is also involved with KDC’s CityLine, a transit-oriented development in Richardson, Texas that encompasses over 180 acres of mixed-use office, retail, housing, hospitality, and public open space. It is home to State Farm’s 2-million-square-foot regional hub. Initially, Michael planned to work in the education field as he graduated with a degree in education from Northwestern State University of Louisiana in Natchitoches, where his father was president of the college. “Both of my parents are educators, and I followed in their footsteps,” Michael says. Michael worked construction to pay his way through school, drawing up house plans and building new homes. He enjoyed the work so much, he decided to obtain a master’s degree in architecture from Texas A&M University. Michael practiced architecture for 25 years and has been involved in the development of over $2 billion in construction since 1985. With his experience in strategic planning, master planning and large-scale project management, Michael was a perfect fit for KDC. He joined the company in 2013. Michael says his experience in education, architecture, and project management have contributed to his success at KDC. “My experience in teaching gives me the ability to explain things so our clients so they can make critical decisions,” he notes. “My architectural experience gives me the ability to work with design and construction professionals. And my project management experience showed me how to work collaboratively with a team to foster innovative solutions.” Although Michael spent the majority of his career in Louisiana and the Gulf South, he was excited to return to Texas. “I like Texas,” he says. “The economy is vibrant and robust. Texas has a progressive attitude regarding business. Texans have a great work ethic and are excited about new ideas. They also embrace people from other places.” When Michael arrived in Dallas, he wasted no time getting involved in the community. He’s involved with Leadership Dallas, and he serves on the Pegasus Committee for the Dallas Foundation, which manages an entrepreneurial grant for innovative, risk-taking charities. He’s also volunteered for the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament. Michael lives in North Dallas with his wife, Becky. They have two adult children, John Michael and Melissa.

Drew Slone is a Shareholder at Winstead PC. Drew’s Texas practice focuses on the use of special districts (public improvement districts, municipal utility districts, municipal management districts, tax increment reinvestment zones and the like) as tools for the development of master planned residential and mixed use communities. Her representative projects include the redevelopment of the historic Statler Hotel in Dallas, the infill mixed-use development Mercer Crossing in Farmers Branch, the Co-Op redevelopment in Hutto, and dozens of residential master planned developments in Celina, Mesquite, Justin, Aubrey, Anna, Princeton, Leander, Argyle, Comal County, Little Elm and Liberty Hill. In addition to her work with special districts, Drew also has experience representing manufacturing companies in their relocations and expansions, with a heavy emphasis on foreign direct investment, helping those companies negotiate and implement incentive packages with state and local governments. While practicing in Atlanta, Georgia, she helped negotiate incentive packages for Kia Motors Manufacturing and related suppliers during the plant opening in West Point, Georgia and helped numerous closely-held German companies utilize incentives to establish manufacturing operations in the United States. Drew is also a general municipal bond lawyer who represents cities, counties, underwriters, borrowers and developers in municipal bond transactions for capital projects. Drew has also served as general counsel to multiple development authorities and quasi-governmental entities. Her experience ranges from traditional general obligation bonds to high-yield development bonds. Drew holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky and J.D., with Honors, from the University of North Carolina, where she was a member of the Law Review. She currently serves as a Board Member for Texas Women in Public Finance and is active with the Urban Land Institute of North Texas, serving on the Community Development Product Council and on the Steering Committees for the Center for Leadership and the P3 Product Council. Drew’s personal passions lie in improving health care and fitness in people's everyday lives and being an advocate for rescue dogs, particularly pitbulls. Outside the office, you'll find Drew working with Girls on the Run as Chair of the Board of Directors and volunteering with The Love Pit, a local Dallas area dog rescue. If it's early, you'll find her in the CrossFit gym.