Matthew Whalen of AvalonBay is the newly elected president of the Long Island Builders Institute (LIBI). Whalen is the vice president of development for AvalonBay on Long Island. He brings an extensive knowledge of the current real estate market as well as the demographics of Long Island to the position. Having worked in real estate development throughout the eastern U.S. he understands that Long Island's challenge is to provide the housing mix that is so sorely lacking for L.I.'s young professionals and empty nesters. Speaking of the challenges in these difficult economic times, Whalen stated that it is now critical to enhance the communication between LIBI and the local towns and villages. "LIBI members are a vital, major part of the economic engine of Long Island. One of my goals is to meet with every town supervisor and local land use municipality so we can define goals and know what development is realistic. We all know we are on the down side of an economic cycle, however, as with all cycles, when it does turn around we need to be sure that smart developments are in the pipeline and ready to go when the tide turns." Before rejoining AvalonBay in 2003, he was the senior director responsible for acquisitions and development in the New York region from 1999 - 2000, he was the director for the Northeast Region for Cogent Communications where he was responsible for leading a team of professionals to build Cogent's nationwide network as well as overseeing the daily operation of Cogent's New York office. Whalen is a 1988 graduate of Princeton University where he received a B.A. in History. Matt was the sole captain of the 1987 Princeton varsity football team and subsequently captained the United States Rugby team on two tours in 1998 and 1999. AvalonBay has over 2,000 units of rental housing on Long Island in Long Beach, Glen Cove, Huntington, Smithtown and Coram including affordable rentals in several of their developments. AvalonBay is currently proposing the first transit oriented mixed use housing development for Huntington Station. AvalonBay is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in ten states and the District of Columbia. The Long Island Builders Institute, formed in 1941, is an association of building industry professionals who are dedicated to making Long Island a better place to live and work, by creating a balance between the economy and the environment.