Len Forkas

Updated on Nov 13, 2023

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Nationality American Years active 38 Role Author		Citizenship USA Name Len Forkas

Education American University, Ball State University - College of Architecture and Planning Occupation Executive, Entrepreneur, Author, Endurance Athlete, Inspirational Speaker, Philanthropist Employer Milestone Communications Inc. Residence Vienna, Virginia, United States Books What Spins the Wheel: Leadership Lessons From Our Race For Hope

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Leonard "Len" Forkas is an, entrepreneur, author, inspirational speaker, athlete and benefactor. He is the founder of Milestone Communications, a Virginia-based company that develops, owns and manages wireless communication towers. He has 25 years experience as an investor and developer of commercial and residential real estate in the Washington DC region. He is a past trustee and member of the board of directors for the Urban Land Institute and the Greater Washington YMCA. In addition, Forkas founded Hopecam, Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps children with cancer overcome social isolation. Forkas has also competed in numerous Ironman Triathlon events, mountain bike, ultra-marathon and ultra-cycling competitions and successfully completed the 2012 3,000 mile Race Across America. In 2013 he hiked to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with his college age son Matthew, a cancer survivor. In June 2014 he published the book What Spins the Wheel: Leadership Lessons from our Race for Hope and was featured on WJLA-TV ABC, WTTG Fox 5, Fox & Friends and CNN Anderson Cooper 360°.

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Early career

After graduating from the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University, Forkas attended American University where he earned his master of Business Administration from Kogod School of Business in 1987. During this time, Forkas worked at Oxford Development Company as an Associate Developer, developing multi-family rental apartments and assisted living communities.

Forkas held management positions at Weyerhaeuser Company and at Bank of America as Vice President of the Special Assets Division where he managed disposition of distressed real estate assets.

In 1996, Forkas founded Milestone Communities, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate development company. Milestone Communities, Inc. developed commercial and residential real estate projects in both the United States and Canada.

2000-Present

In 2000, Forkas founded Milestone Communications, Inc., where he currently serves as the president and CEO. Milestone Communications, a Virginia-based developer of wireless infrastructure, works with local governments, public school districts and electrical companies to develop and build wireless towers on public properties. By placing wireless towers on their property, the public landowners are able to direct millions of dollars annually to educational and extracurricular budgets.

Milestone has developed over 100 wireless towers and currently manages more than 2,500 potential wireless infrastructure sires in the mid-Atlantic region.

Founding of Hopecam, Inc

In 2002, Forkas’ nine-year-old son, Matt, was diagnosed with Leukemia. Forkas describes that day as “the worst day of [his] life.” (Forkas, Leonard (2014). What Spins the Wheel: Leadership Lessons From Our Race For Hope. ) During treatment, Matt was homebound which often left him feeling lonely and disconnected from his friends. To help ease the social isolation, Forkas arranged a webcam connection with his son’s classroom, allowing Matt to stay connected with his friends while he was out of school.

Forkas was inspired by his son’s own plight and in 2003 founded Hopecam, Inc. to help children with cancer stay connected with their friends and family. To date, Hopecam has connected hundreds of children worldwide.

Race Across America

To raise money and awareness for Hopecam, Forkas competed in the 2012 Race Across America, a 3,000 mile race across the continental United States. As a solo rider, he had to finish the race in 12 days, requiring him to ride between 250 and 350 miles a day. An 11-member, all-volunteer team helped him complete the race in 11 days, 4 hours, and 47 minutes. Of the original 46 solo competitors, Forkas was one of the 28 riders to finish the race. He placed tenth overall and first in his division.

Forkas’ original goal was to raise $150,000 but through various personal and corporate donations and sponsorships, he was able to raise over $300,000 for Hopecam, allowing the charity to expand to serve children in 21 states and 34 countries.

Publications

Forkas’ debut memoir, What Spins the Wheel: Leadership Lessons From Our Race For Hope (2014), is based on the challenges that he faced, competing in Race Across America, “the toughest bike race in the world.” The memoir tells Forkas’ story, from California and the scorching heat of the desert to the joint-wrenching cold of the mountains and across the finish line in Maryland.

All proceeds from the book will benefit Hopecam, Inc.

2015

2015 Distribution Summit (D15), Columbus, OH

Arlington County Public Schools, Superintendents Leadership Event Conference, Arlington, VA

ODEC - Old Dominion Electrical Cooperative Association, Team Leadership Speech, Glen Allen, VA

AMT Association for Manufacturing Technology, 2015 Distribution Summit, Columbus, OH

REICO, Leadership Retreat, Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, VA

Lincoln Property Company, Leadership Speech, Dallas, TX

Moran & Company, Leadership Speech, San Diego, CA

Utility Telecommunications Council, Panelist, Washington, DC

American University, MBA Presentation to Real Estate Class, Washington, DC

Baker Tilly, Litigation Team Retreat, Tysons Corner, VA

Manassas City Public Schools, Leadership EventKeynote, Manassas, VA

Woodson High School Baccalaureate Commencement Address, Fairfax, VA

Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Superintendent Leadership Meeting, Annapolis, MD

Herndon Rotary Club, Herndon, VA

Virginia School Board Association Summer Meeting, Manassas, VA

Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute, Future Leaders Conference, Washington, DC

Kogod School of Business, Featured speaker, MBA commencement event, Washington, DC

Christopher Consultants, Fairfax, VA

Virginia School Boards Association: Awards of Distinction Lunch Keynote Speaker, Charlottesville, VA

Virginia Community College System Leadership Conference, Breakfast Keynote Speaker, Richmond, VA

Favorite Staffing, Corporate Training Event, Kansas City, KS

Booz Allen Hamilton, Keynote Speaker, Washington DC Leadership Event, Bedford PA

AllianceBernstein, Client Speaker Series, Washington DC

The Real Estate Group, Keynote Speaker, Washington DC

The Urban Land Institute, Multi Family Product Council, Houston TX

Baker Tilly Washington DC, Firm-wide meeting, McLean VA

The Capital Grille, Team Meeting, McLean VA

Central Intelligence Retirees’ Association, Washington DC

Georgetown University Business School Lecture Series, Washington DC

Washington Area School Study Council, Washington DC

2014

Baltimore County Public Schools Leadership conference, Timonium MD

ULI Washington leadership event, Alexandria VA

Colvin Mill neighborhood book club, Vienna VA

ECC Consulting teamwork event, Chantilly VA

PCIA conference, Las Vegas NV

Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, Washington DC

U.S. Department of Energy, Washington DC

Prudential Mortgage, McLean VA

Ballard Spahr, Washington DC

SHRM, Society for Human Resource Management, McLean VA

Penn State University Alumni Association Event, Washington DC

Hooks Books Events interactive book and author programs, Online at HooksBookEvents.com

Spokes Etc. Bicycles book signing, Alexandria VA

Avalon Bay Communities, Leadership Event, Headquarters Location, Arlington, VA

Riveron Consulting Inc. event, Client Breakfast, Hay Adams Hotel, Washington, DC

The McLean Group Inc., Annual leadership Conference, McLean, VA

ULI Commercial and Retail Development Council, Vancouver, BC

Balfour Beatty Construction Company, Corporate Leadership Retreat, Wintergreen Resort, Wintergreen, VA

Langley High School Baccalaureate Class of 2014, McLean, VA

Sunrise Valley Elementary School, Reston, VA

Flint Hill School, Class of 2014, Clifton, VA

RCLCO Annual Retreat, McLean, VA

Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, Team meeting, Boulder, CO

First Potomac Property Trust, Oakton, VA

Virginia Wireless Association, Annual Fundraiser, Leesburg, VA

Oracle Government Sales Division, Reston, VA

ULI Washington Leadership Team Meeting, Washington, DC

ACG National Capital Area Mid-Atlantic Conference, McLean, VA

Georgetown University MBA students, Washington, DC

Montgomery County, Maryland, Brownie Troup 6108, Potomac, MD

2013

Eagle Bank, Reston, VA

Ernst and Young, Tyson’s Corner, VA

Alexandria Rotary, Belle View Country Club, Alexandria VA

Fairfax Virginia Television Channel 16, Interview by Penny Gross, “Mason Matters”, Hopecam interview, Fairfax, VA

Urban Land Institute Washington, D.C., District council meeting, Washington, D.C.

St. Jude Children’s Hospital Leadership Team, Memphis, TN

Capitol Seniors Housing, Washington, D.C.

JBG Rosenfeld Company, Washington, DC

Virginia Wireless Association, Lansdowne Resort, Leesburg, VA

Accenture, Arlington, VA

Kettler Company, Company Retreat, McLean, VA

E&Y non-profit event, Vienna, VA

USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, CA

SAP National Security Services Executive Team Conference, Potomac, MD

Georgetown University MBA students, Washington, D.C.

Xenith Bank, McLean, VA

Bechtel Corporation Wireless Team Baltimore Washington, Baltimore, MD

Savi Technologies, Executive Team Meeting, Alexandria VA

BDO annual CFO conference, McLean, VA

2012

Georgetown University MBA School, Washington, D.C.

Network Building and Consulting Annual Meeting, Columbia, MD

Celebratory Speech, McCormick and Schmick, Reston, VA

The Peterson Companies, Fairfax, VA

The Urban Land Institute, Washington, D.C.

The Buchanan Companies, Gaithersburg, MD

The Great Falls, Virginia Rotary Club, Great Falls, VA

Interview with Morgan Franklin for publication “Pivotal Plays”, Matthew Langan

In the Media

"HopeCam helps Leukemia patients fight loneliness with Skype" - story in Skype's Big Blog

"American Journey: HopeCam" cable news story on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°

MASNsports.com video interview with Len Forkas, Founder of Hopecam

Breakout with Newt Gingrich podcast – Newt Interviews Hopecam Founder Len Forkas

Gingrich Foundation September Charity of the Month: Hopecam (2014)

Son's cancer battle inspires dad's mission - FOX and Friends television interview

Len Forkas and Race for Hope - Fox5 DC television interview

Len Forkas' Race Across America - Fox5 DC television interview

Len Forkas to raise funds while riding 3,000 miles cross country - television news story

Hopecam Founder Leading In Age Group In World's Toughest Bike Race - news story at WUSA9

Hopecam creator and son to climb Mount Kilimanjaro - article at Fox5 DC website

References

Len Forkas Wikipedia

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