Founder and Chairman

Jim provides guidance and mentorship to the executive management team. His experience includes the vision for, development of and execution of marketing of flexible, state-of-the-art research and laboratory space for universities, university-related research parks and health care systems; the development of commercial real estate; and the redevelopment and repositioning of existing properties. Jim also brings to Wexford intimate knowledge of corporate financial structuring, debt and equity markets, and tax and accounting regulations as they relate to real estate leases and financing.

Wexford was originally established in 1998 as a business line of Townsend Capital, LLC, a Baltimore-based investment company. The business line was formed by Jim, then President of Townsend, to specifically meet the growing and specialized real estate needs of institutions, including universities, university-related research parks and health care systems. In 2005, Jim and his investors purchased the university business segment from Townsend and named the new company Wexford Science & Technology, LLC.

Prior to joining Townsend Capital, Jim was a banking industry veteran, with over 18 years at Bank of America, and its predecessor banks. At Bank of America, he was Commercial Market Manager for the Washington, DC region.

Vice Chairman

Dan brings over 40 years of diverse real estate experience throughout the U.S.

Prior to Wexford, he worked at Townsend Capital for over 15 years in various executive and development leadership positions. His experience includes development, construction and repositioning of commercial assets including office, industrial, retail, and research projects. In addition, Dan was actively involved in the structuring of creative products for tax-free exchanges and the use of historic and new market tax credits to enhance project feasibility.

Previously, Dan was Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Ackerman and Company’s Washington, DC office, and prior to that led development for Opus Corporation in both their Chicago and Tampa offices.

Dan has a MS degree in real estate from the University of Wisconsin and a BS degree from Duke University.

Executive Vice President

Sandy is involved in strategic direction and implementation. Prior to joining Wexford, Sandy was a partner in the Business and Finance Department of the law firm of Ballard Spahr, LLP, representing investment banks, commercial banks, bond issuers, trustees and other parties in connection with tax-exempt and taxable financing transactions for a range of industries, including hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, higher education facilities, retirement communities, and other qualifying facilities.

During his last 10 years with Ballard Spahr, LLP, Sandy acted as underwriter’s counsel or bond counsel in connection with tax-exempt and taxable revenue bond issues aggregating in excess of $1.25 billion to finance private student housing facilities at 31 universities and colleges in 16 states; aggregating in excess of $3.5 billion to finance more than 40 acute care hospital facilities; and aggregating in excess of $3 billion to finance more than 50 retirement communities and related facilities.

Sandy is a regular fellow of the American College of Bond Counsel. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White) in the areas of Banking Law, Project Finance Law, and Public Finance Law.

Executive Vice President, Development

Joe brings over 40 years of commercial real estate experience to his role of Executive Vice President of Development for Wexford. In this role, Joe is chartered with leading Wexford’s regional executives and directors to develop and execute Knowledge Communities throughout the United States as well as develop relationships in new markets as opportunities arise. Over the past 17 years with Wexford, Joe has executed projects in Philadelphia’s uCity Square, Providence’s Innovation & Design District, Miami’s Converge, Pittsburgh’s Innovation Corridor, and Sacramento’s Aggie Square. In addition, he is currently working on predevelopment at UC San Diego and the University of Washington.

Before joining Wexford, Joe was Assistant Vice President of Real Estate and Architecture for the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), where he oversaw 5 million square feet of owned and leased facilities and directed the Health System design and construction department with an annual capital budget in excess of $100 million.

Joe graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Architecture from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. He is also a registered architect in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Executive Vice President

Tom is employed by Wexford Science + Technology as an Executive Vice President. In this role, he guides Wexford’s implementation of its Knowledge Community strategy across their development stakeholders globally to position Wexford’s research park developments as critical hubs in the regional innovation ecosystem.

Tom is an engaging speaker who has recently delivered keynotes on creating innovation ecosystems and helping Universities, research institutions, cities, regions, and federal governments, leverage their research and technologies into knowledge-led economic development, at the Associated of University Research Parks, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Society for Research Administration, and the NATO Industry Summit. He has also appeared on CNBC, CBC, CNN, and CBS and his opinions have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, The Globe and Mail, and The New York Times, among others.

Additionally, Tom serves as an innovation advisor to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade – Canada; helping Canadian companies successfully expand their operations into the United States and assisting US companies in developing Canadian partnerships and markets. He also serves as an advisor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on global innovation, and the Brookings Institution for Innovation District research and measurement.

Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff at Broadwing Inc., an NYSE-listed, telecommunications provider, providing executive leadership in the areas of corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and innovation.

Prior to that, he served as Special Assistant to United States Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), providing advice on foreign policy issues. Tom also provided policy advice to the Reagan Administration and developed a research methodology that has become a standard at Congressional Quarterly magazine.

Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel

Danielle serves as Wexford’s Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. Since 2016, she has been responsible for all legal matters for Wexford and currently also leads the day-to-day operations of the company.

Prior to joining Wexford, Danielle was an associate in the Real Estate Department of the law firm of Ballard Spahr, LLP, representing developers and investors in the acquisition, development and disposition of development and operating properties, construction and permanent debt financings, equity financings and joint ventures, and development-, leasing-, and management related agreements.

During Danielle’s time with Ballard Spahr, LLP, she participated in a variety of commercial and mixed-use properties, multifamily housing and for sale housing. Before embarking on her legal career, Danielle served as Assistant Vice President for Deutsche Asset Management in Baltimore and as the Director of Legal Services for AIM Funds in San Francisco.

Danielle graduated with honors from the University of Maryland Law School in 2004 with the distinction of Order of the Coif and was the recipient of the William P. Cunningham Award for Exceptional Achievement and Service. Danielle is the Vice President of the Board of Directors of One House at a Time, a nonprofit which acts as the receiver for the City of Baltimore’s Vacants-to-Value program.

Senior Vice President, Chief Community Officer

Travis serves as Wexford’s first Chief Community Officer and works hand-in-hand with Wexford’s university partners, civic leaders and community groups in the Knowledge Communities we develop. His primary role is to ensure that Wexford is building inclusive communities in each of our cities and to lead the overall community engagement strategy, identify new partners and initiatives to add to the knowledge community portfolio, develop funding mechanisms to increase opportunities for under-represented innovators, and strengthen the connections between the Knowledge Community and the geography in which it resides.

Previously, Travis was President of the CIC Venture Café Global Institute (VCGI) where he was responsible for the growth and expansion of the organization. He was also the founding Executive Director of Venture Café St. Louis – the first expansion city outside of Cambridge located at the Wexford’s property, @4240.  In his role, Travis propelled Venture Café St. Louis to be the largest weekly event gathering for innovators and entrepreneurs in the United States.

Prior to launching Venture Café St. Louis, Travis was the Assistant Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership where he ran an annual business plan competition, launched a biotech incubator, and managed a network of four additional business incubators.Travis is a community designer who uses innovation and entrepreneurship to drive community and economic development. He co-founded 59DaysOfCode and GlobalHack, two competitions that create community and build talent. GlobalHack is now the world’s largest hackathon and attracts participants from around the globe.

A frequent speaker, Travis honed his skills while doing standup for more than three years and is often called upon to speak on the topics of innovation, community design, economic development and leadership.

Travis was appointed by St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson to serve on the board of directors of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership; he is also a board member for the Laumeier  Sculpture Park in St. Louis and is an advisor to Balsa Foundation and Pipeline Entrepreneurs.

He received a bachelor’s in psychology with a minor in conflict resolution and peacemaking, a master’s in organizational behavior and has completed the coursework for a doctorate in organizational leadership.

West Region Executive and Senior Vice President, Development

Doug serves as Wexford’s West Region Executive and Senior Vice President of Development. In his role, he is chartered with developing and executing projects that create and expand Wexford Knowledge Communities in the Midwest and West regions.

Doug brings over 30 years of experience in real estate development and finance, including development management, stakeholder advisory, construction oversight, and financial structuring.

Prior to joining Wexford, Doug was CEO of Downtown STL, Inc. a public-private partnership focused on economic development in downtown St. Louis. Doug’s previous experience includes consulting with Knowledge Community stakeholders, including the Cortex Innovation District and Washington University in St. Louis.

From 1985 to 2007, Doug was employed at Bank of America where he held several company-wide leadership positions at the bank, including President of the Community Development Banking Group and President of the Franchise Banking Group.

Doug currently serves on the Advisory Board of the George Warren Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a former board member of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, the Local Initiative Support Corporation and the St. Louis Equity Fund.

Senior Vice President, West Region Executive

Scott serves as Wexford’s West Region Executive and Senior Vice President of Development. In this role, Scott establishes professional connections to conceptualize projects to advance Wexford Knowledge Communities throughout the West, including the Phoenix Bioscience Core in downtown Phoenix, Aggie Square in Sacramento, Portage Bay Crossing in Seattle and the Science Research Park in San Diego.

Scott brings over 25 years of extensive experience in the field of real estate development and design overseeing multimillion-dollar projects for both public and private-sector clients.

Before joining Wexford, Scott was Director of Real Estate for the America’s West Region at Google for over 10 years and was responsible for managing a portfolio of over 9M square feet with capital expenditures with budgets in excess of $400M annually. His areas of expertise include site selection, market analysis, lease negotiations, financial analysis, design and construction. Previously, he worked as a construction manager on several public and private projects, including Abbott (formally Guidant) and Pfizer life sciences campuses in Northern California and Michigan.

Scott has a passion for building impactful innovative environments that inspire creativity and collaboration. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from the University of Kansas and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Southeast Region Executive and Senior Vice President, Development

Caroline serves as Wexford Science + Technology’s Southeast Regional Executive and Senior Vice President. With over 30 years of commercial real estate experience, Caroline brings a wealth of development knowledge and experience from mixed-use and brownfield to adaptive re-use and transit-oriented development projects. Currently she leads the development efforts across the southeast region, including Baltimore, MD; Charlotte, NC; Durham, NC; Winston-Salem, NC; and Miami, FL.

Before joining Wexford, Caroline was the founding partner and Chief Executive Officer of Ekistics, a real estate development company focused on urban infill and adaptive reuse opportunities. During her time at Ekistics, she managed the day-to-day development for the 700,000 square foot mixed-use, multi-building first phase as part of the larger $1.5 billion, 28-acre transit-oriented development in partnership with the State of Maryland.

Prior to founding Ekistics, Caroline spent the majority of her career with Struever Bros Eccles & Rouse (SBE&R) ultimately serving as Chief Operating Officer, where she was responsible for the company’s commercial and residential development. Caroline grew SBE&R’s portfolio to more than two million square feet, managed a team of 25 staff members and oversaw all aspects of development with total project budgets in excess of $500 million.

Caroline is a licensed real estate broker in Maryland and member of numerous community involvement programs including the Economic Development Committee of Greater Baltimore Committee, Urban Land Institute of Baltimore, and the Baltimore Chapter of the Lambda Alpha International.

Northeast Region Executive and Senior Vice President, Development

John serves as Wexford’s Northeast Region Executive and Senior Vice President of Development.  In this role, John develops relationships and executes projects that create and expand Wexford Knowledge Communities throughout the Northeast, including uCity Square in Philadelphia, the Innovation Corridor in Pittsburgh, and the Design & Innovation District in Providence.

John brings more than 30 years of experience in building and managing public-private partnerships that drive investment, development, and job growth to his role at Wexford.  Prior to joining Wexford in 2020, John served as President of PIDC, Philadelphia’s city-wide public-private development corporation where he was responsible for efforts to strengthen relationships among the public, private, institutional and philanthropic sectors to drive inclusive job growth, investment and development to every corner of Philadelphia. John joined PIDC in 1998, serving in a variety of senior leadership positions, including overseeing PIDC’s city-wide real estate development activity and its acquisition and redevelopment of The Navy Yard prior to becoming its President in 2011.  Prior to joining PIDC, John spent 9 years with the Cooper’s Ferry Development Association planning and developing Camden, NJ’s commercial waterfront.

John is a graduate of La Salle University with a BA in Economics and the University of Pennsylvania’s MPA program. He is active with a number of corporate, higher education and civic organizations in Philadelphia, including serving on the Board of Directors at PECO Energy, an Exelon Subsidiary; as a Trustee at La Salle University; a member of the CEO Council for Growth; and on the Board of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.  He also serves as a member of the President’s Real Estate Council at Drexel University, the Corporate Council at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Innovation Advisory Board at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center, and the Advisory Board of Life Sciences Cares.

Senior Vice President, Asset Management

Mark is involved in all facets of Wexford’s transactions with particular responsibility for managing client relationships, the development process and the marketing and leasing of assigned projects. Mark also assists in the financial analyses and evaluations of investment opportunities being considered by Wexford.

Prior to joining Wexford, Mark served as Director of Real Estate at Allegis Group, Inc., a multi-billion dollar staffing company. Mark was responsible for all aspects of the corporate real estate strategy including leasing, disposition, and management of leased office space throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Mark also brings commercial banking experience from his time at Bank of America, NA and its predecessor banks. His experience included financial analysis and structuring complex debt transactions.

Senior Vice President, Engineering + Construction

Chris is a founding member of the Wexford team and brings over 30 years of diverse construction and engineering experience throughout the U.S. Since 2005, he has been in charge of overseeing all the design, construction and engineering related development activities for both core and shell and tenant improvement projects within the Wexford development and pre-development portfolio. His responsibilities include direct involvement in the initial project planning and budgeting; building design and construction; and project closeout. In addition, Chris manages the environmental due diligence and activities within Wexford.

Over the past 16 years, Chris has contributed to Wexford’s growth by developing approximately 3.5 million square feet of new, ground-up projects and roughly 2 million square feet of historic rehabilitation projects including 5 LEED Platinum and 8 LEED Gold certified projects.

Before joining Wexford, Chris spent nine years at Townsend Capital, LLC, where he was responsible for all the design and construction as well as facility improvement activities. Prior to joining Townsend Capital, Chris spent eight years at AT&T/ Lucent Technologies where he was responsible for all the engineering and operational aspects of a major facility including building engineering, operations and tenant build-out.

Chris graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. He also completed his Master of Science in Engineering Management from New Jersey Institute of Technology. Chris is a licensed Professional Engineer in New Jersey and Maryland.

Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer

Marco A. Chacon, PhD., serves as Wexford’s Chief Scientific Officer.  In this role, he provides direction and guidance on Wexford’s Scalable Lab Platform and in helping life science companies take full advantage of the connections with universities and entrepreneurs that are at the core of our Knowledge Communities.

Additionally, he is the Founder & President of IRAZÚ Bio-Holdings LLC., a company dedicated to early-stage technology development, while bridging the uncertain divide between academic research and drug development. Leveraging innovative biochemical mechanisms described in hypoxia tolerant and neuroprotective phenotypes, including caloric restriction models, newborn mammals and hibernators, IRAZÚ is developing indications to promote survival, prevent disease and improve quality of life in old age. The company is also developing technology in the fields of immuno-oncology and gene therapy.

Formerly, Chacon served as Assistant Vice President of Industry Alliances at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Chacon is also the Founder and former Chairman of Paragon Bioservices, Inc., a contract development and GMP manufacturing organization (CDMO) that specialized in process development and GMP manufacturing of viral vectors for gene therapy. In May of 2019, Paragon was acquired by Catalent Pharma Solutions—a global CMO—for $1.2 Billion. The combined organization occupies roughly 200,000 square feet of space at three sites in Maryland, including The University of MD BioPark, Anne Arundel County and Gaithersburg. It is estimated that the company will have greater than 1,000 employees by the second quarter of 2021.

Dr. Chacon’s academic interests include energy metabolism, oxygen homeostasis and the regenerative potential of tissues and organs. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree from Youngstown State University and a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Maryland. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Maryland Foundation and was appointed in 2016 to the Life Sciences Advisory Board by Governor Lawrence J. Hogan, Jr. Additionally, Dr. Chacon is the founding chair of The Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland Graduate School.

Senior Vice President and Market Executive

Dennis serves as Senior Vice President and Market Executive for Wexford. In his role, he is responsible for delivering and executing projects in partnership with research universities resulting in place making mixed-use Knowledge Communities.

He brings over 30 years of combined experience in commercial banking, real estate financing and development. Prior to joining Wexford, he was Senior Vice President of Development at East Baltimore Development with responsibility for planning and developing an 88 acre mixed-used Bio Lab, residential and amenity rich community next to Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Previously, he was Vice President and General Manager for Maryland Mixed-Use Master Planned Communities for The Rouse Company and General Growth Properties with responsibility for development of over 2,000 mixed-used acres, ongoing development of Columbia, Maryland, entitlements, development and P/L performance, and prior was a commercial/real estate banker for 13 years.

He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Lincoln University, a Master of Business Administration in Corporate Finance and Investments from George Washington University and Executive Studies in Mixed-Use Development from Harvard University.