MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
March 26, 2025
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
In accordance with section 2 of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-
142; D.C. Official Code § 1-523.01), and pursuant to section 5 of the District of Columbia Regional
Airports Authority Act of 1985, effective December 3, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-7, D.C. Official Code § 9-
904), I am pleased to nominate the following individual:
Mr. Christopher Bell
Hawthorne Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(Ward 3)
for appointment as a member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors,
filling a vacant seat formerly held by Joslyn Williams, for the remainder of an unexpired term to end
January 5, 2031.
Enclosed, you will find biographical information detailing the experience of the above-mentioned
nominee, together with a proposed resolution to assist the Council during the confirmation process.
I would appreciate the Council’s earliest consideration of this nomination for confirmation. Please
do not hesitate to contact me, or Steven Walker, Director, Mayor’s Office of Talent and
Appointments, should the Council require additional information.
Sincerely,
Muriel Bowser
Mayor 1
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
~~
/Chairman Phil Mendelson
at the request
of the Mayor
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To confirm the appointment
of Christopher Bell to the Metropolitan Washington Airports
Authority Board
of Directors.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the "Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Christopher Bell
Confirmation Resolution
of 2025".
Sec.
2. The Council of the District of Columbia confirms the appointment of:
Christopher Bell
Hawthorne Street,
NW
Washington, DC 20008
(Ward 3)
as a member
of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors, established
by section 5
of the District of Columbia Regional Airports Authority Act of 1985, effective
December 3, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-7, D.C. Official
Code§ 9-904), filling a vacant seat formerly
held by Joslyn Williams, for the remainder
of an unexpired term to end January 5, 2031.
Sec.
3. The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution,
upon its adoption, to the nominee and to the Office
of the Mayor.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. CHRISTOPHER D. BELL
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
The Conservation Fund
Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary March 2020-
■Provide legal counsel on conservation and economic development transactions across the United States.
■Advise on general corporate transactional matters and government and industry relations matters.
■Manage special projects as needed.
Ballard Spahr LLP
Partner and Head of FHA/GSE Housing Group- DC Office Oct. 2015-Feb. 2020
■Practice Group Leader of sixteen-member housing finance team of attorneys, paralegals, project assistants
and administrative assistants that closed HUD, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae housing finance.
■Mentor and train associates on market rate and affordable housing real estate issues and regulatory issues
■Address HR issues, budgeting and practice group management.
■Routinely did client trainings and speak at industry and firm events on financing techniques in multifamily
finance.
Fannie Mae, Washington, DC Sept. 2004-Sept.2015
Associate General Counsel, Housing and Community Development
■Lead attorney for affordable housing transactions. Provide counsel on corporate real estate transactions for
complex real estate finance transactions including mortgage-backed securities and bond executions.
■Serve as lead counsel for Office of Community Investment and Engagement (OCIE), the corporate charitable
arm of Fannie Mae. Provide legal counsel regarding grant issues, audit and compliance matters.
■Provide counsel regarding Fannie Mae charter and regulatory matters.
Giant Food LLC, Landover, MD Oct. 2002-Aug. 2004
Senior Real Estate Counsel
■Provided counsel on real estate transactions and retail anchor leasing negotiations for grocery stores in New
Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
■Addressed issues relating to zoning, development cooperation agreements and land use approvals.
Interacted with business team members regarding proposed and existing store operations.
Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, Washington, DC Apr. 2000 – Sept. 2002
Associate, Real Estate and Corporate
■Provided legal counsel regarding real estate sales, acquisitions and foreclosures.
■Coordinated loan document review and preparation, loan payoffs and organizational due diligence reviews.
■Drafted and negotiated leases for office, retail and restaurant establishments locally and nationally.
Hawkins, Delafield & Wood, Washington, DC Jan. 1999 – Apr. 2000
Associate, Affordable Housing Finance
■Provided legal analysis in both bond financing and tax credit transactions.
■Regularly served as lead associate for bond purchases by government sponsored enterprise.
■Reviewed bond purchase agreements, legal opinions, official statements and financing agreements.
McGuireWoods LLP, McLean, VA Sept. 1996 – Jan. 1999
Associate, Real Estate Zoning and Leasing; Summer Associate, 1995
■Routinely gave counsel on zoning matters for office, commercial and hotel construction.
■Principal drafter of public and private easement agreements, development conditions and proffers.
■Negotiated retail and office leases.
EDUCATION
The University of Texas School of Law Austin, TX
Juris Doctor
(Shell Oil Endowed Presidential Scholarship and Herbert S. Bonham Endowed Law Scholarship)
Texas Environmental Law Journal; Associate Editor
Author, Promoting Equity in Siting Hazardous Waste Facilities, Spring Issue 1995
Selected for Membership in The Board of Advocates
Quarterfinalist, First-Year Moot Court Competition
Harvard University, JFK School of Government Cambridge, MA
Master’s in Public Administration-Focus on Housing and Urban and Community Development
(Awarded Woodrow Wilson Foundation Two-Year Fellowship for Graduate Studies)
Academic Focus on Housing Policy and Urban and Community Development
Graduate Teaching Assistant in Human Resource Management and Real Estate Finance
Course work at M.I.T.’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design
The University of Texas Austin, TX
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy/Minor Concentration-Communications
(University of Texas Achievement Five-Year Academic Scholarship Award and ITPEU-NMU Four-Year
Academic Scholarship Award)
Dean’s Distinguished Graduate, College of Liberal Arts
■Member, The University of Texas Friar Society, the University’s most prestigious honorary society
■Recipient of the Edward S. Guleke Award for Student Excellence
■Elected Vice-President, Texas Students’ Association, represented 50,000 students
ADMISSIONS
■Virginia State Bar, 1996-present
■District of Columbia Bar, 1999-present
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
■American Bar Association, 2024-
➢ Vice Chair, Green and Sustainable Transactions Committee of the Real Property Trust & Estate Section
➢ Vice Chair, Environmental Committee of the Real Property Trust & Estate Section
■National Housing Advisory Council, 2020
■Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board, 2017-2024
CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
■Chair, Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia, 2017-
■Van Ness Main Street, Board of Directors, 2025-
■DC Soccer Club, Board of Directors,2021
■FDR Memorial Advisory Committee Board of Directors, 2021-
LANGUAGES
■French (proficient in writing and speaking)
■Spanish (proficient in speaking)
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
■Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2024-
■Named to The National Black Lawyers Top 100 List, 2019
■Named to Lawyers of Color's Inaugural Nation’s Best List, 2019
■Fannie Mae General Counsel Fellow, 2015
Executive Office of the Mayor – Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments
John A. Wilson Building | 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20004
Christopher Bell
Mr. Christopher Bell is Deputy General Counsel for t he Conservation
Fund, a nationwide nonprofit organization that promotes economic
development and conservation efforts across the United States. He is
currently appointed to and serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of
the University of the District of Columbia
Prior to his position at the Conservation Fund, Mr. Bell was a partner in
the Finance Group practice area of the law firm of Ballard Spahr LLP
where he focused on multifamily housing finance. He advised and
represented real estate lenders, borrowers, and developers on
transactional and regulatory issues, with a concentration on financing
transactions involving government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).
Prior to joining Ballard Spahr, Mr. Bell practiced for more than 10 years at Fannie Mae, a GSE
chartered by Congress to support the secondary mortgage market. As the agency’s Associate
General Counsel of Housing and Community Development, he served as Fannie Mae’s lead
attorney for affordable housing transactions and secondary market construction loan participations
and syndications. Additionally, Mr. Bell served as lead counsel for Fannie Mae’s corporate
charitable arm, the Office of Community Investment and Engagement, where he provided legal
counsel regarding grant documentation, intellectual property rights, procurement, audit and
compliance matters.
A Ward 3 resident, Mr. Bell earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of
Texas at Austin, his Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, and his Juris
Doctor from the University of Texas.
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser
Office of the General Counsel to the Mayor
______________________________________________________________________________
The John A. Wilson Building • 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 300 • Washington, D.C. 20004 • Office (202) 724-7681
To: Kimberly A. Bassett, Steve Walker
From: Betsy Cavendish
Date: March 14, 2025
Subject: Legal sufficiency review of a resolution appointing Christopher Bell as a member
of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors
This is to Certify that this office has reviewed the above-referenced resolution and
found it to be legally unobjectionable. If you have any questions in this regard, please do not
hesitate to call Michael Porcello, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Mayor, at
202-727-0872, or me at 202-724-7681.
______________________________
Elizabeth Cavendish