Aakash Thakkar

Biography: Name: Aakash Thakkar Position: Senior Vice President, Acquisition and Development, EYA (www.eya.com) Aakash Thakkar joined EYA, one of the region’s premiere urban-infill real estate developers, in 2004 as a Development Executive and now serves as a Senior Vice-President for Acquisition and Development. His responsibilities overall project stewardship and include new deal sourcing and acquisition, site selection, financing, and project development through the design and governmental and community approval process. He focuses on pubic-private partnerships, private ventures, and mixed-income communities. He led EYA’s efforts to be selected as the developer for the 25-acre McMillan Sand Filtration Site in Washington, DC, one of the largest and most unique development sites in the region. He was responsible for the public approval for portions of EYA’s development at the Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg HOPE VI redevelopment in Washington DC. He was the project executive for EYA's Arts District Hyattsville, a 25-acre mixed-use revitalization project, with a development program of over 600 residential units and an eclectic retail mix including Busboys & Poets and Tara Thai, as well as three new projects in downtown Silver Spring and Bethesda. He spends a significant amount of time and resources focusing on business development and new project sourcing. Prior to joining EYA, Mr. Thakkar was a Senior Development Manager at the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC). Mr. Thakkar has completed the Presidential Management Fellowship, a 2-year Federal Government appointed Fellowship during which he served at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and on the House of Representatives Housing Sub-Committee. Mr. Thakkar is a member of and guest speaker for the Urban Land Institute and a District of Columbia Building Industry Association. He is on board of the Smart Growth Alliance and Co-Chair of the DC Building Industry Association Housing Committee. He is a member of the Obama for American Mid-Atlantic Finance Committee and a co-founder (along with his wife) of the Thakkar/Giallourakis Scholarship Fund for St. John's College High School, his alma mater. He is also a guest lecturer for Georgetown University’s Masters in Real Estate Program. In 2008, he was included on Bisnow’s “35 under 35” in real estate. Mr. Thakkar has a BS in Accounting and Political Science from LaSalle University and holds both an MBA and a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University. Mr. Thakkar is active in civic and professional life in the City, is native Washingtonian, and currently resides in Washington, DC.