Carmelia Botelho

Vice President of Real Estate, Grocery Outlet

Carmelita Botelho is the Vice President of Real Estate for Grocery Outlet. In her 30 years of experience in retail commercial real estate, Carmelita has been fortunate to have worked various sides of the business from being a developer, to an in-house tenant representative, to an in-house leasing representative, to a broker/consultant, as a sole proprietor.

 Companies/clients she has represented are: BOOS Development, PDC/Safeway, Pan Pacific Retail Properties, Regency Centers, Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Longs Drug Stores, McDonald’s, Baskin Robbins/Togos/Dunkin Donuts.

She currently resides in San Francisco where she is aggressively expanding the Grocery Outlet brand into the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Ron Gerber

Development and Planning Advisory Services

Ron Gerber has 30 years of experience in community and economic redevelopment with an emphasis in public/private partnerships. Prior to forming his consulting practice he served as Economic Development Manager for the City of Vallejo, California where he oversaw the disposition of approximately 200 acres of city owned land including waterfront properties that are being redeveloped for residential, office and retail uses adjacent to the San Francisco Ferry terminal. He also oversaw downtown urban infill projects. He recently assisted a County government on the disposition of a 147acre county fairgrounds site adjacent to Six Flags amusement park.  

Mr. Gerber also worked for the cities of South San Francisco and Walnut Creek in similar capacities over the previous six years.  

Prior to coming to Walnut Creek he served for ten years as the Economic and Redevelopment Manager for the city of Novato where he was a key team member that helped transition the 600 acre former Hamilton military base into a civilian use. Considered by many to be one of the most successful base reuse projects in the country, Hamilton encompasses over 500,000 square feet of offices and technology space, over 2,000 new homes, a hotel, restaurants, cafes, artist studios, open space, hiking trails, and one of the largest wetlands restoration projects in the United States. Ron also led the downtown revitalization efforts including a main street redevelopment project that included a 37,000 square foot Whole Foods with a 124 units on the air rights above the store and a three level parking structure.  

Donna Leuchten Nuccio

Senior Director of Healthy Food Access and Structured Finance, Reinvestment Fund

Donna Leuchten Nuccio is the Senior Director of Healthy Food Access and Structured Finance at Reinvestment Fund, a national leader in rebuilding America’s distressed towns and cities through the innovative use of capital and information. At Reinvestment Fund, her role includes program management and oversight, business development and capital deployment for the organization’s Equitable Food System portfolio and New Market Tax Credit program.

Prior to Reinvestment Fund, Ms. Nuccio was the Director of Sustainable Food Systems for UpLift Solutions, a national nonprofit consulting firm working with food entrepreneurs to expand food access in underserved communities.  She began her career as a Bill Emerson Hunger Fellow through the Congressional Hunger Center, based in DC. Donna is a board member for the Pan American Academy Charter School and an Adjunct Professor at Saint Joseph’s University. Ms. Nuccio is a Registered Investment Advisor in PA (Series 65), has her MS in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Sociology from Saint Joseph’s University.

Brad McConnell

CEO, Accion

Brad McConnell is Chief Executive Officer of Accion Serving Illinois and Indiana, a nonprofit that helps neighborhood entrepreneurs grow by providing the capital, coaching, and connections small business owners need to create wealth and jobs throughout Illinois and Indiana. As the largest microlender in the region, Accion serves thousands of clients annually, working hardest in the most challenging neighborhoods. Accion is also the co-developer and co-owner of The Hatchery, the largest nonprofit food and beverage incubator in the country, which is located on Chicago’s West Side.  

McConnell brings more than two decades of financial and economic development experience to his role. For five years he was Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer at the City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development, where he managed five units that supported the City’s development priorities from initial urban planning to final deal closure and community growth. Prior, he served as Economic Policy Advisor to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin in Washington during the onset of the Great Recession. Previous assignments included supporting small business bankers as Vice President at LaSalle Bank (now Bank of America), and leading strategy, process, and technology projects in the US and Europe at Accenture.