2026 Industry Forecast Breakfast: State of the Triad

Time: Registration & breakfast begins at 8:15am, program begins at 9:00am

This panel will include representatives from economic development and industry to discuss what they see coming to the Triad region in 2026.

Our speaker before the panel is from industry and will provide a true forecast of the multifamily market, discussing topics such as new construction, trends, and other industry-specific things for 2026.

Pricing:

• $59 Members
• $89 Non-Members

Guest Speakers:

Cyril Jefferson, City of High Point

Mayor Jefferson is a husband, father, and award-winning social innovator whose life has been dedicated to impacting others, creating opportunities, and mobilizing resources (over $22 million) for social change. As Founder & Principal at Change Often – Social Innovation Firm, Jefferson leads the company’s Innovation BrainTrust in solving social and economic challenges through collaborative solutions and comprehensive capacity-building services. Working in spaces where the bottom line prioritizes “lives saved over dollars made,” the Change Often team helps bring to life the ideas that impact our world for the good. Though he has received numerous awards and honors, including a National Distinguished Service Award and being named to the prestigious Hunt State Policy Fellowship, the greatest to date came when voters in the 2023 High Point City Elections made him the youngest person to ever be elected Mayor of High Point, North Carolina. As Mayor, Jefferson is committed to leading the city to a brighter future through collaboration and creative problem-solving while celebrating the work of its residents and embracing the belief that what we create in High Point changes the world. Mayor Jefferson is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, holds a number of certifications related to consulting & corporate training, and has delivered keynote presentations & motivational addresses to more than 25,000 souls across the United States. Living the words of Winston Churchill, he and his wife, Raven, teach their two sons that “to improve is to change; to perfect is to change often.”

Loren Hill, Carolina Core

Loren Hill has worked for more than 27 years in economic development in central North Carolina.

• For nearly 5 years, he has worked for the Piedmont Triad Partnership as Carolina Core Regional Economic Development Director.
• He works with 19 counties and parts of adjacent counties.
• Prior to his current role, Loren served for 20 years as President of the High Point Economic Development Corporation.

Loren is a Jamestown/High Point native and served two terms as a Town of Jamestown councilman in the 1990’s.

Before his economic development career, he served as:

• Vice President of Public Policy and Communication for the Greensboro Chamber; 
• Marriott hotel eneral manager in Arizona, California, New York, Virginia, and North Carolina; and
• Governmental affairs director for five Triad real estate trade associations in the 1990’s – including the Piedmont Triad Apartment Association.

Chris Burns, Willow Bridge Property Company

Sponsorships Available