Albany County Pine Hills Land Authority
The redevelopment of the College of Saint Rose will shape a space that meets our community’s needs today and opens doors for tomorrow’s possibilities. Get to know the team guiding this project, and the expertise they bring to one of Albany’s most significant redevelopment efforts.
Chairwoman, ACPHLA | VP of Real Estate Development and Planning, Empire State Development
Alison Walsh is Vice President for Real Estate Development and Planning at Empire State Development where she manages redevelopment and reuse plans for a portfolio of closed state facilities. Her recent projects include overseeing the Prison Redevelopment Commission and producing a first-of-its-kind report on how to repurpose closed correctional facilities.
Prior to this role, Alison served as the Vice President for Regional Economic Development where she led the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) portfolio, managed ten Councils throughout the state, and coordinated multiple state agencies in awarding grants each year. Prior that, she was Assistant Vice President of Planning, Policy and Incentives, where she focused on policy development.
Before her time in state government, she worked on political campaigns in New York City and the Hudson Valley and for the New York State Democratic Committee.
Alison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Providence College and a Master of Public Administration from The Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany. Alison is a native of Albany and currently resides in Pine Hills with her husband Christopher and two children.
Vice Chairwoman, ACPHLA | Partner & CEO, GLS
Jasmine A. Higgins is a Partner and Chief Operating Officer at GLS, an Albany-based economic development and public affairs consulting company. Before working in the private sector, Higgins held various roles within Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s office, including Chief Equity Officer, and prior to that, Special Advisor to the Mayor. Higgins is a proud graduate of Albany High School, holds a bachelor’s in philosophy from Siena College, and completed her Master of Public Administration at Marist College. Higgins has generational roots in Albany, her great-grandparents John W. and Alma Jennings were responsible for integrating the Pine Hills neighborhood. Higgins remains deeply committed to investing and improving her hometown, drawing her commitment and passion for economic opportunity, racial and social equity from her family.
Higgins is the daughter of John E. Higgins Esq., the namesake of the John E. Higgins Esq. New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Diversity Trailblazer Award, the great-granddaughter of one of Albany’s first Black attorneys, John W. Jennings Esq., and the great-great-granddaughter of Albany activist Ida J. Yarbrough, the namesake of the Ida Yarbrough Affordable Housing complex located in Albany’s Arbor Hill neighborhood. Higgins is a first-generation Italian, dual American-Italian national and speaks fluent Italian.
President & CEO of United Way of the Greater Capital Region
Peter Gannon was appointed to the Pine Hills Land Authority in March 2026. He currently serves as the President & CEO of United Way of the Greater Capital Region by the Board of Directors in May 2018. In his role, he is responsible for all aspects of day-to-day operations of the organization, as well as resource development and community impact. In 2021, he launched the Blake Annex – a social purpose real estate project in Downtown Albany where over 20 nonprofit organizations work together in a flexible office space setting.
Prior to joining United Way, he served for 9 years as President of the Arsenal Business & Technology Partnership, where he led several multi-million-dollar projects in collaboration with the U.S. Army. It was there that he also founded the McNulty Center for Veteran Entrepreneurial Activity to help veterans and active duty military start and expand their own business. In 2016, the McNulty Center was designated as the Veteran Business Outreach Center for New York and New Jersey by the US Small Business Administration. Prior to joining the Partnership, he served as Director of Operations in the Town of Colonie and Director of Communications to Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari.
Peter earned his undergraduate degree in public communications from the College of Saint Rose and his MBA from the Lally School of Management at RPI. He was a member of the inaugural class of the Leadership Tech Valley and, in 2011, was named one of the Business Review’s Forty Under 40. A proud Shaker High School graduate, he was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2016.
He is active in various community organizations and was recognized for his successful leadership role in the 2015 and 2016 Friendship Walk for Best Buddies. He lives in Loudonville with his wife Lauren and their children Jude, Jack, & Joie.
Jim MacFawn is a longtime Albany community leader, labor organizer, and neighborhood advocate who has proudly called the Pine Hills neighborhood home for more than 20 years. He has been actively involved in neighborhood and civic engagement throughout Albany for decades.
His community involvement includes serving on the Upper Madison Street Fair Executive Team, as a former member of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association, and as an organizing member of the renewed Buckingham Lake Neighborhood Association.
MacFawn is a graduate of Empire State College, where he earned both a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, Management & Economics – Labor Relations and a Master of Arts degree in Labor and Policy Studies.
Professionally, he worked as a labor Organizer for New York State United Teachers, where he developed and led organizing campaigns, leadership trainings, and coalition-building efforts throughout New York State. He has also managed local and state campaigns focused on grassroots engagement, voter outreach, and community-centered advocacy.
President, Pine Hills Neighborhood Association
Dannielle Melendez serves as the president of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association. The Pine Hills Neighborhood Association, established more than 50 years ago, is a not-for-profit organization located in Albany, New York, with a mission to preserve and improve conditions that make the Pine Hills Neighborhood a viable and pleasant place to reside, work and enjoy life.
Melendez is a graduate of Le Moyne College, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and a graduate of the College of Saint Rose, where she earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a certificate in Organizational Leadership and Change Management. Her professional experience includes several years in New York State government relations, working for a government relations and regulatory law firm and a New York State trade association, and having interned with the New York State Assembly. She was raised in the City of Albany and moved to the Pine Hills neighborhood nearly six years ago with her husband as an owner-occupied landlord.
Secretary, New York State Senate
Alejandra N. Paulino is the first Latina to serve as Secretary of the New York State Senate, where she has implemented transformative changes in cultural competency and inclusivity. With a law degree from Albany Law School and a BA in Public Policy Analysis from Brown University, Paulino has used her legal training to foster trust and improve Senate policies.
As an advocate for diversity, Paulino is deeply committed to representing and empowering marginalized communities and has been recognized with the Capital District Black and Hispanic Bar Association’s 2019 Trail Blazer Award for her groundbreaking work.
Senior Vice President, Ostroff Associates
Sarah Reginelli is a dedicated and experienced leader in revitalization and urban development who is joining Ostroff Associates after 20 years in the public and nonprofit sectors. She most recently served as Vice President of Development at Cass Hill Development Companies – a fully-integrated commercial real estate firm producing dynamic projects throughout the Capital Region.
Prior to Cass Hill, Sarah served as President of Capitalize Albany Corporation and CEO of the City of Albany Industrial Development Agency and Capital Resource Corporation, leading the city’s economic development efforts through transformational real estate development, targeted business assistance, and strategic planning. During her more than decade-long tenure, Capitalize Albany attracted and assisted more than $1 billion in investment, secured more than $40 million in grant funding, and led diverse, groundbreaking projects. Sarah began serving the Capital Region while working for the Albany Planning Department where she specialized in neighborhood revitalization, long-range plan development and implementation, and community engagement.
Sarah is active in the community, serving on the boards of numerous organizations. She has been recognized by the Neighborhood Resource Center as an Outstanding Public Official, named MARCOM’s Communicator of the Year, and was selected by the Albany Business Review as a member of the inaugural and 2024 Power 50 lists, named among their Community of Champions, and included among their 40-Under-40.
She earned a master’s degree in urban geography from the University of Miami, and bachelor’s degrees in public relations and geography from Syracuse University. As a transplant to the Capital Region, she is delighted to have made a home in the City of Albany with her husband and two children.
Chief Financial Officer, ACPHLA
M. David Reilly, Jr. (Dave) was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Albany County Pine Hills Land Authority in April 2026, bringing more than a decade of public-sector financial leadership and prior experience in hedge and mutual fund operations in New York City and Denver, CO. In his current role, he helps oversee the financial strategy and redevelopment efforts associated with the former College of Saint Rose campus, one of the most significant economic development and revitalization initiatives in Albany County.
Reilly also serves as Commissioner of the Albany County Department of Management and Budget, a position he has held since 2020 following unanimous confirmation by the Albany County Legislature. Since joining Albany County government in 2013, he has advanced through a series of increasingly senior fiscal leadership roles, helping guide county budgeting, investment management and long-term financial planning. Under policies he helped author, Albany County generated significant investment income while maintaining stable property tax levels and strengthening its financial position and credit ratings.
In recognition of his leadership in public finance, Reilly was named to the 2024 “Who’s Who in Budgeting & Finance” list by City & State New York, which highlights influential fiscal and financial leaders across New York State.
Prior to entering public service, Reilly spent more than a decade working in hedge fund and mutual fund operations and trading, building expertise in financial management, investment operations and organizational strategy. He is widely recognized for his collaborative leadership style, commitment to fiscal responsibility and focus on sustainable community development throughout Albany County.
Outside of work he is active on the Boards of Directors for Voorheesville Youth Lacrosse and the Thompsons Lake Improvement Association and is also on the Town of New Scotland Zoning Board of Appeals. He lives in Voorheesville with his wife Erika and son Michael.
CEO, Albany County Pine Hills Land Authority
Michael Lalli serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the Albany County Pine Hills Land Authority.
Additionally, Mr. Lalli serves as the Chief Operations Officer for Albany County, where he focuses on the operations and management of the St. Rose Campus in addition to his various roles at Albany County to include infrastructure development, policy creation, and personnel management.
Previously, he has held the role of Director of Civil Service for Albany County and served in the Marine Corps Infantry.
Mr. Lalli is a holds a BA in Economics and Policital Science from Salve Regina University, a Master’s of Public Administration from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at SUNY Albany, and is credentialed as a Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR) from HRCI.