User Profile

SVP and Counsel

The Real Estate Roundtable

Duane J. Desiderio has advocated on behalf of the real estate industry for over 20 years, advancing policy solutions that promote sound and sustainable development, management and investment in the built environment. He is currently Senior Vice President and Counsel with The Real Estate Roundtable (www.rer.org) in Washington, D.C. The Roundtable represents the leadership of the nation’s top 100 privately-owned and publicly-held real estate ownership, development, lending and management firms, as well as the elected leaders of the 16 major national real estate industry trade associations. Collectively, Roundtable members’ portfolios contain over 5 billion square feet of office, retail and industrial properties valued at more than $1 trillion; over 1.5 million apartment units; and nearly 2 million hotel rooms. Mr. Desiderio’s legislative and regulatory portfolio emphasizes real estate’s nexus to energy, infrastructure, housing, immigration, environmental, land-use and labor policy. He manages The Roundtable’s advocacy on these issues with The White House, Congress, federal departments, and third-party standards-setting organizations. Mr. Desiderio coordinates The Roundtable’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), comprised of the chief sustainability officers of the nation’s preeminent real estate firms. He has testified to the U.S. Senate, drafted legislation, and prepared witnesses for numerous congressional hearings and briefings on matters ranging from energy efficiency, tax incentives, foreign investment, land development, and property rights. Prior to joining The Real Estate Roundtable, Mr. Desiderio was a vice president at the National Association of Home Builders where he developed and managed its nationwide litigation program. His tenure resulted in over 50 opinions in federal and state courts, including a winning decision in NAHB v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 664 (2007).