Mr. Ackerberg is Chief Executive Officer and owner of The Ackerberg Group where he is responsible for generating new business along with quality control for development, acquisition, property management, leasing, and construction services.

Prior to forming The Ackerberg Group, Mr. Ackerberg served as General Partner, President and Chief Operating Officer for Birtcher Financial Services and was Vice President for Heitman Financial Services, Ltd.

Recently, Ackerberg created a non-profit development corporation, Catalyst Community Partners, wherein he serves as its Chairman of the Board. Catalyst Community Partners, a 501(c) 3 corporation, is a social venture organization focused on creating prosperity for under performing communities through real estate redevelopment and enterprise creation. The organization creates change by providing continual, quickly executed, high impact, concentrated investments along underperforming commercial corridors.

Mr. Ackerberg is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, a member Lambda Alpha International, and a director of various non-profit and for-profit boards.

Mr. Ackerberg attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison where he received a Bachelor of Science degree with emphasis on Economics and Real Estate.

Mr. Ackerberg and his family reside in the western Twin Cities at Indigo Acres, a “spiritual retreat”. Indigo Acres is a combination of historical experience through Native American dwellings including four 26-foot authentic Sioux tipis, an 1860 English Chateau, an 1880 cottage, and 150 acres of trails, ponds, sculptures, woods, a river, and “magic”. Also at Indigo Acres, he and his wife, Romy, operate a state-of-the-art breeding and training facility for American Saddlebred show horses.

JoAnna is the Director of Development for Ackerberg Group where she is responsible for overall management of development projects including those completed on behalf of Catalyst Community Partners.

JoAnna attended Macalester College where she received her bachelor’s degree in urban studies and history. She went on to receive a master’s degree from the University of Vermont in natural resources planning.

JoAnna got her start in development in Vermont, where she worked with Cathedral Square Corporation, a nonprofit housing developer developing affordable housing for seniors, low-income families and people with disabilities. Upon moving to Minneapolis, Hicks assumed a role as director of development at the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), a Minneapolis-based nonprofit training, lending and technical-assistance program for inner-city entrepreneurs. There she led the ambitious Midtown Global Market project within Ryan Companies’ Midtown Exchange development in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and she was featured in The New York Times for her work on the NDC’s Plaza Verde redevelopment, also in Minneapolis.

JoAnna went on to join Ryan Companies as Director of Development of a variety of industrial, business park, office and build-to-suit projects. Ms. Hicks was recognized as a Business Journal Woman to Watch in 2008 for her efforts in bringing environmentally-friendly practices to Ryan Companies’ development projects in the Minnesota Region, most notably Two MarketPointe, which the Business Journal awarded Best Green Project at its Best in Real Estate Awards. JoAnna also worked on Transoma Medical, a brownfield redevelopment project that is roughly 20 percent more efficient than a traditional building.

JoAnna is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, a member of the NAIOP Sustainability Committee, and a volunteer for various non-profit organizations.