H. Pike Oliver has been working on real estate development strategies and master-planned communities since the 1970s, including nearly 8 years at the Irvine Company, and lived in the City of Irvine for 15 years. As the founder and sole owner of URBANEXUS, he focuses on equitable and sustainable real estate development and natural lands management. Earlier in his career, Oliver worked for public agencies, including the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, where he was a key contributor to An Urban Strategy for California. He taught urban studies and real estate development at Cornell University and the University of Washington. Oliver is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the American Planning Association, and he is a founder of the California Planning Roundtable. He graduated from the urban studies and planning program at San Francisco State University and earned a master's degree in urban planning at UCLA.

C. Michael Stockstill earned a journalism degree from Humboldt State University in 1971. After spending a year as a legislative staff member in the California Assembly, he worked as a reporter and editor in Orange County before joining the Irvine Company in 1978. During his 13-year tenure there, he helped develop and implement strategies for major planning and policy concerns, including a multi-year campaign to pass a half-cent sales tax for local transportation improvements. Stockstill worked for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which built the first toll roads in modern California history, as well as CalOptima, Southern California Edison, and he served as a public affairs consultant. He moved to Irvine in 1975 and was actively involved in local government, youth sports, and education while raising a family. Now retired, he resides in Irvine. He has written for national magazines, including Planning and Parks and Recreation.