Off The Record
Get up-close-and-personal with some of the most dynamic and engaging real estate and land use leaders who are making things happen in Houston. Join these leaders for an intimate dinner with other ULI members.

We’re looking for ULI members with:
- A desire to learn from real estate business leaders and fellow ULI members in a small-group setting that encourages discussion;
- A keen interest in sharing ideas, best practices, and inspiration; and
- A hunger to share food, drink, and a side of candid conversation with like minded professionals.
Spring 2023 Hosts:
Ashley Grigsby
Managing Director
Transwestern Development Company
Ashley serves as Managing Director and is based in Houston. She is responsible for leading and executing lending and financial placement for projects across different product types in various regions. Ashley is also responsible for developing and maintaining the firm’s commercial lending relationships.
Ashley brings over 25 years of commercial real estate lending experience with various regional and national banks. She joined Transwestern in early 2015 and has arranged over $1.6 billion of debt financing for development projects across multiple product types included multi-family, industrial and office in various cities across over twenty different markets.
Prior to joining Transwestern, Ashley was managing director of the Southwest regional office of MidFirst Bank for the National Income Property Group, where she ran the lending group based in Houston and was responsible for maintaining and growing banking relationships, underwriting, credit-worthiness and profitability and originating new business. Prior to MidFirst, her experience includes real estate lending positions with Regions Bank, Key Bank and Wachovia.
Ashley has held leadership roles in a variety of industry and civic groups including NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association Houston, CREW Houston, University of Houston, CT Bauer College of Business, Scenic Houston, and Urban Land Institute Houston. Ashley received a bachelor’s degree with special attainments in commerce from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
Christine Mastandrea
Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder
Whitestone REIT
Christine Mastandrea is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR). Her responsibilities include leading operations, real estate development, portfolio optimization, and corporate growth strategies. Under Christine’s leadership, WSR has achieved record gains in occupancy, NOI, and FFO while also producing industry-leading total shareholder returns. Before assuming the role of COO, Christine was WSR’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and was responsible for developing the organization’s core strategy: owning and operating properties that serve their communities by providing a destination for convenience, commerce, and connection. Prior to joining WSR, Christine was the Chief Operating Officer of Midwest Development Corporation and an investment banker at Robert W. Baird & Co. She began her career in trading on the floor of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange.
Over 25 years in commercial real estate, Christine has cultivated expertise in operations, capital formation, and strategy. She served in key leadership and advisory roles at three publicly-traded REITs. Her areas of focus include establishing key strategic priorities, evolving real estate portfolios through acquisitions and development to achieve optimization, building high-performance teams, and leading effective investor communications.
Christine is an adjunct professor at the Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice University and has been a guest lecturer at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, and the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She has served as a board member for the Women’s Health Leadership Board at the Cleveland Clinic Women’s Health Institute, Calvin University’s Advisory Committee, and the Women’s Air and Space Museum. She was also the Nominating and Governance Committee Chair for the Lake Erie College Board. She is a recognized public speaker and has presented to ULI, ICSC, and other industry trade groups.
Christine is a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (MBA), and Calvin University (BA).