PR 26-0159 — Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Christopher Bell Confirmation Resolution of 2025

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 the 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 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 ______________________________________________________________________________ The John A.

Wilson Bu• 1350 Pennsylvania Avenu•, Suite 300 Washington, D.C.

2• Office (202) 724-7681