C. Daniel Clemente is the founder, Chairman and CEO of Clemente Development Company, Inc., and each of its affiliates. During a career of more than 35 years as an attorney and real estate developer, he has developed, owned, managed and liquidated substantial real estate portfolios and has restructured non-performing real estate assets collectively valued in the billions of dollars. Equity partners have included John Gutfreund (former chairman of Salomon Brothers), William Ogden (former vice chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank), and Landmark Communications, Inc. He has represented clients ranging from Muhammad Ali to members of the Cargill and Kohler families. As a consultant, he has developed litigation and mediation plans for international corporations and high-net-worth individuals and has been the lead negotiator in structured settlements.
Mr. Clemente founded and Chaired Community Bank and Trust Company; was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Virginia National Bank/Fairfax; founded First Commercial Bank, and served as President and General Counsel for wholly-owned real estate subsidiaries of Virginia National Bank and other lending institutions.
Mr. Clemente has served as a court appointed Receiver and Trustee in Bankruptcy for more than thirty companies, limited partnerships and joint ventures with real estate holdings and business operations throughout the United States. He worked with the Resolution Trust Corporation and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on the restructuring and disposition of real estate portfolios, and testified before the United States Senate Banking Committee about the impact of banking legislation on commercial real estate.
In 2010, he was appointed by Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell to the Board of Visitors of George Mason University, its governing body, and currently serves as that Board’s Vice Rector. He was also appointed by former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder to chair the Virginia Economic Recovery Commission's Committee on Capital Formation and by former Virginia Governor Mark Warner to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates. Former United States Senator John Warner nominated him to be Chairman of the Resolution Trust Corporation.
Mr. Clemente received his Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., and his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Fordham University in New York. He has been qualified as an expert witness in litigation involving complex real estate, corporate and business issues in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Maryland, the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia, the Circuit Court of Arlington County, Virginia, the Circuit Court of Loudoun County, Virginia, the Circuit Court of Prince William County, Virginia and the District of Columbia Superior Court.
Juliann Jordan Clemente, President, Clemente Development Company, Inc. has been involved with and responsible for myriad aspects of real estate planning, use, financing, refinancing, management, leasing and sale. Her experience includes financial accountability for developed and undeveloped properties, as well as turnaround and operating responsibility for commercial/retail operations.
In 1991, Ms. Clemente became President, COO and principal of Potomac Landfill, Inc. and Weaver Landfill, Inc., construction and demolition debris/asbestos waste landfills located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. During her tenure, both operations were restructured and experienced historic profitability and growth, with combined annual revenues in excess of $5 million.
During the same period, Ms. Clemente founded and served as the CEO of Northern Virginia Waste, Inc., a construction and demolition debris roll-off trucking company with over 200 vehicles. She also founded and served as CEO of Alexandria Waste, Inc., a solid waste transfer facility located in Alexandria, Virginia
From 1991 to 2000, Ms. Clemente served as General Partner of Crippen Investors LP and Lenah Farm LP, with full responsibility for the planning, rezoning, financing, development and sale of 800 acres of residential property as well as leasing and management responsibility for three commercial properties in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in Virginia. Both partnerships required extensive financing, refinancing and reorganization with both local and national institutions.
In 2000, Ms. Clemente sold her interests in the entities described above and became President of Clemente Development Company, Inc, a real estate management and development company located in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia.
Ms. Clemente was named Fairfax County’s 2004 “Volunteer of the Year” as well as “Lady Fairfax” by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in recognition of her roll in the creation of Clemyjontri Park, an 18-acre playground and park facility in Fairfax County, Virginia specially designed and built to allow children with and without disabilities to play and learn side by side.
Currently, Ms. Clemente serves in the following capacities: Founding Member of the Virginia First Lady’s FLITE Initiative (2010 to present); Founder and President of the Friends of Clemyjontri, Inc., a non-profit charity created to support Clemyjontri Playground in Fairfax County, VA (2006 to present); Board Member of the George Mason University Fall for the Book Festival; Commissioner of the Virginia Port Authority, appointed by the Governor (appointment term: 2011 to 2016); and Board Member of Virginia International Terminal, Inc., operating entity of the Port Authority.
Ms. Clemente graduated from American University in Washington, DC. She resides with her husband in McLean, VA.
Jacqueline C. Cheshire has over twenty-five years of experience in real estate, and has managed, leased, purchased and sold millions of square feet of office buildings, retail centers and apartment complexes in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC. She is the President of Clemente Management Company, Inc., a property management and leasing company, and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Clemente Development Company, Inc., which has developed, owns and manages major commercial and residential properties in the Washington Metropolitan Area. In those positions, Ms. Cheshire is the person primarily responsible for a wide range of commercial and residential projects.
Ms. Cheshire is particularly skilled at understanding the needs and interests of the property owner in transactions with tenants, leasing agents, contractors and financial institutions. She oversees and supervises all operational services in connection with property acquisitions and and day-to-day management, including due diligence, initial on-site inspections and start-up activities for all acquisitions, and negotiates tenant leases, telecommunications leases, sale contracts and service agreements. Ms. Cheshire is responsible for developing and implementing annual budgets and business plans, analyzing and evaluating rent rolls, operating expenses and income statements and advising investors on purchasing and financing strategies.
Ms. Cheshire received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia in 1984. She is a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. She serves on the Board of Directors of Friends of Clemyjontri, Inc.
Carolyn C. Olshaker is an attorney with specialties in real estate development, contracts and commercial leasing, zoning and land use. She has been involved with real estate development, managing and marketing in the Washington, DC area for over twenty-five years.
Ms. Olshaker was an associate in the Washington, DC office of Linowes and Blocher, where her practice included zoning and land use. She then became general counsel for the CDC group of companies (including Clemente Development Company, Inc., CDC Management Group, Inc., Clemente Management Company, Inc., and CDC Consulting Group, Inc.). She has supervised construction contracting and commercial leasing, drafting contracts, leases and related documents; coordinated zoning, site plan approval and permitting processes; handled business matters including entity formation and registration. She is also responsible for lease compliance and delinquent rent collections. She has prepared and reviewed real estate purchase and sale agreements and loan documents, and has represented the companies at real estate and loan closings. She has consulted with banks, savings and loan companies and the Resolution Trust Corporation on real estate portfolio analysis and problem loan work-outs.
Prior to practicing law, Ms. Olshaker had a career in advertising, as a copywriter and account executive for Gerstin and Zoslow, Inc., real estate advertising specialists.
A graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law, Ms. Olshaker is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia and Maryland. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Watergate South, Inc.
Sarah L. Lessa has a twenty-year career in finance, accounting, information technology and enterprise application integration, with over ten years of experience in commercial real estate working for the CDC group of companies. As Chief Financial Officer for Clemente Development Company, Inc., she directs and oversees all aspects of the financial, accounting and information technology functions for the company and all its affiliates.
During her tenure at the CDC group of companies, Ms. Lessa has been responsible for the financial management of eleven separate ownership structures and a portfolio valued at over $300 million for properties throughout the Washington DC Metro area. She is responsible for developing annual budgets, preparing financial statements, tenant rent rolls, cash forecasting, tax compliance, internal controls, job costing, strategic and operational planning, acquisition and deal analysis, and risk management assessment. She evaluates and develops strategic financial and operational objectives, implements solutions to improve efficiency and business performance, and advises the executive team on key business metrics and analysis of market trends to further advance the strategic direction of the company and its success. Ms. Lessa also works directly with the Chief Executive Officer to develop and implement business initiatives to enhance financial performance and growth.Ms. Lessa began her career working in the Washington DC Metro area as an accountant and integration systems specialist, focusing on the analysis and development of more efficient models of business operations for companies through integrated and customized enterprise systems. After moving outside of Washington DC, she worked as the Financial Analyst and IT Director for the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, responsible for a portfolio of over $500 million dollars of land, properties and investments, and implemented a new enterprise resource planning system to ensure the best use of funds. Upon returning to Washington DC, Ms. Lessa worked as Controller for Ashoka Innovators for the Public, a global non-profit organization, implementing an accounting information system, establishing global accounting policies and procedures, and a budgetary process for the corporate office and eleven international offices throughout Central and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Ms. Lessa went on to become a software sales engineer, selling and implementing accounting information and business intelligence software solutions for various companies in the Washington DC Area, helping them manage more effectively and make better business decisions. Prior to joining Clemente Development Company, she worked for Digital Commerce Corporation, an e-commerce company that helped businesses find opportunities with the Federal government, and was promoted to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer running the day-to-day operations of the company.
Ms. Lessa has a degree in Government and Politics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She is a member of Financial Executives International, and volunteers as Controller for Friends of Clemyjontri, Inc., a non-profit organization in Fairfax County, Virginia.