Board of Directors

Ryan Altoon

Position: Chair
Area Representing: PBID Standard Company: Anderson Pacific, LLC

Ryan A. Altoon is Executive Vice President with Anderson Pacific, LLC, a Los Angeles-based development company focusing on investment, entitlement and development of mixed-use infill projects that are transit-oriented and sustainable, creating livable and walkable communities. Anderson Pacific (“AP”) currently manages over $1 Billion in projects in key Downtown areas throughout California.

Anderson Pacific co-developed “The Current” – a 17-story, 223 unit luxury apartment with 6,750 sf of ground floor retail, with a second phase, called “Shoreline Gateway” –a 35-story, 219 unit luxury residential project with 7,500 sf of retail at the corner of Ocean and Alamitos.

Mr. Altoon has over 12 years experience in strategic planning, project management and finance. He is responsible for overseeing entitlement and development projects for the firm, financing and investment, asset management, and overseeing firm operations. Prior to joining AP he worked at George Smith Partners, Inc., a real estate investment bank and financing company, where he was responsible for underwriting debt and equity packages for acquisitions, development and refinancing myriad product types.
Prior to GSP he was Managing Director of GFX Center, a design and reprographics firm he founded, serving the international real estate clientele of a professional services firm. GFX facilitated and produced entitlement, zoning, marketing, leasing and marketing packages for myriad project types, including: retail, office, residential, institutional, transit and master plan projects. Mr. Altoon also served as a Business Manager for Altoon + Porter Architects, LP.

Mr. Altoon received a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, a Certificate of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a Bachelor of Business/Economics & Art History from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a LEED Accredited Professional, Chair of the ULI TAP Committee, member of the ULI-LA District Council Advisory Board and Management Committee, Chair of the DLBA Public Realm Committee, President of the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council, and Advisory Board member to Toluca Lake Beautification Partners.

Derek Burnham

Position: Treasurer
Area Representing: PBID Premium
Company: Burnham Development

Mr. Burnham is a current downtown resident and has worked in Downtown Long Beach for over 10 years as both a City employee and consultant. Derek has over 15 years’ experience as a professional planner in both the public and private sector, and has been operating Burnham Planning & Development since October 2013. Prior to starting Burnham Planning & Development, Derek served as the Planning Administrator for the City of Long Beach where he was involved in several projects and policy efforts in the Downtown area. Most notably, Derek was one of the keystaff members involved with the preparation of the award winning Downtown Plan and Program EIR. In addition, Derek was responsible for overseeing all Planning Bureau functions including development project review and permitting functions. In this role, he assisted with the approval of several major projects in Downtown, including Shoreline Gateway, Press-Telegram/Molina Healthcare, Golden Shore Master Plan and many others. In his current professional capacity, Derek continues to provide permitting and advisory services to businesses and property owners in Downtown and throughout Southern California. As a resident, Derek has become involved with the DLBA Public Realm Committee, which has allowed him to participate in streetscape and public activation projects, and assist with administering the Placemaking Grant Program. In addition, Derek was involved with the Public Realm Subcommittee tasked with coordinating the Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel (TAP), which will evaluate the Waterfront area of Downtown.

Allison Kripp

Position: Secretary
Area Representing: At-Large
Company: Den Salon

Years ago, Allison was traveling the country as part of a nationwide cooking tour. After meeting her future husband Andy in Chicago, Allison returned to Long Beach with a lot more than just her set of culinary knives—she had inspiration as well, suggesting Andy bring his cosmetology talent home to Downtown Long Beach. The Den Salon was then born.

Open now for almost two years in Camden Harbor View on Ocean Boulevard, the Den Salon continues to build upon its client base through The Den’s unique concept and – given Andy’s brawny physique – what can only be described as gorilla, not guerrilla, style marketing secrets. Andy described that concept as creating strong word-of mouth advertising by carefully developing a “comfortable, positive environment where clients are known to hang around long after their appointment has finished. Our clients become our friends – we’re like a big family. At The Den, we strive to exceed our clients’ expectations of high-end salons, but do it for a third of the price and provide an atmosphere where people want to stay and laugh with our team.” In fact, it is not uncommon to find the youngest cub in The Den, baby daughter Devyn Kripp, sitting on the lap of one of the Den’s team members and making eyes at whatever boys happen to be in the salon.

Allison is also Mrs. Long Beach 2016.

Silvano Merlo

Position: Executive Committee Member
Area Representing: PBID Standard
Company: Courtyard Marriott

Silvano Merlo is the General Manager of the Courtyard Long Beach Downtown. Merlo joined the hotel in November 2013. Prior to joining Courtyard Long Beach Downtown, Merlo served as resident manager at such notable California hotels as Renaissance Beverly Hills, Renaissance Hollywood, Marina del Rey Marriott, Torrance Marriott South Bay and Los Angeles Airport Marriott. With over 25 years of industry experience overseas and in the USA, Merlo has a particular passion and extensive knowledge in food and beverage, a great complement to the partnership between the hotel and destination restaurant, James Republic.

“Our hotel is undergoing an exciting repositioning and will continue to deliver a refreshing, modern hotel experience with a neighborhood feel for our guests,” shares Merlo. “I love this industry and daily inspiration from our staff and our guests feeds my passion to provide exemplary service!” This contagious enthusiasm isn’t surprising when you consider that Merlo became an executive chef at a mere 28 years of age. Born and raised in Italy, Merlo’s first industry job was tending bar, followed by an apprenticeship at a resort on Italy’s famed Lake Maggiore. His culinary ambition led him to the prestigious Instituto Alberghiero where he graduated in 1984. Merlo’s Marriott career began in Poland in 1990 at the Warsaw Marriott Hotel followed by a stint at the New York Marriott Marquis with postings at the Chesshunt Marriott in England, Costa Rica Marriott and Monterey Marriott in California.

Toliver Morris

Position: Past Chair
Area Representing: PBID Premium
Company: John Hancock Real Estate

Toliver Morris has been actively involved in the commercial real estate industry throughout Southern California for nearly 20 years. He has completed nearly one thousand transactions on both the tenant and landlord side, from 500 sq. ft. to nearly 500,000 sq. ft., and has total transactional sales and leasing volume of over $500 million.

Toliver Morris is a Southern California commercial real estate industry leader. He currently focuses on assisting companies in the Greater Long Beach area.

Toliver is a founding director of Orange County Business Bank and sits on its board of directors. Since inception in 2003, Orange County Business Bank has grown to over $250 million in assets. OC Business Bank is publicly traded under the ticker; OCBB.

Toliver lives in the Belmont Shore/Heights area of Long Beach with wife Catherine and their sons, Toliver III, Nicolai and Lennox. Raised in La Jolla, CA, Toliver holds a BA from UC Santa Barbara and enjoys surfing, snow skiing, singing and playing guitar. Toliver is also an active singer-songwriter and member of NSAI.

Tony Shooshani

Position: Chair-Elect
Area Representing: At-Large
Company: ETC Real Estate

Tony Shooshani is President and Owner’s Representative of ETC Real Estate Services, Inc. and managing member of Shooshani Developers, LLC. Based in West Hollywood, the company owns and manages approximately 1.25 million square feet of real estate consisting mainly of large regional and local shopping centers such as City Place Long Beach, Centerpoint Mall Oxnard, Venice Crossroads (Venice Blvd. and National Blvd.), The Grove Northridge, and Hollywest Promenade Los Angeles.

Tony Shooshani is responsible for the daily management, leasing and financing of the properties and oversees public relations, advertising, marketing and event coordination. He is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker and California General Contractor.

Tony Shooshani is a graduate of California State University, Northridge, majoring in Business Finance, Real Estate and Insurance.

Linda Tatum

Position: Executive Committee Member
Area Representing: City of Long Beach
Company: CIty of Long Beach

Linda Tatum currently serves as Planning Bureau Manager for the City of Long Beach, CA. Linda is responsible for ensuring the physical development of the City and moving forward long-range planning efforts, such as the update of the General Plan, preparation of specific plans, and historic preservation initiatives.

Linda holds a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University, Tallahassee, and brings us over 25 years of varied private and public sector planning experience. She most recently served as the Acting Director of Economic and Community Development for the City of Inglewood, handling several major projects, including the redevelopment of the Forum by Madison Square Garden, LLC, and the Hollywood Park Tomorrow project, a 300-acre mixed use project that includes 3,000 residential units, 30 acres of parks, 600,000 square feet of retail and a new 80,000 seat football stadium.

Linda currently is an active member of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA), where she was recently awarded the Planner Emeritus Network, 2014 Outstanding Planner. She serves as a member of APA’s Planning Accreditation Board Site Visit Team for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Linda is also a member of the California Planning Roundtable and a 2016 Fellow for the Urban Land Institute/National League of Cities (ULI/NLC) Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use.

Linda and her husband Ronald are the proud parents of three children and three grandchildren.