About Us

• Energy, Environment and Climate Change
• Infrastructure
• Housing
• Immigration and Labor

Duane J. Desiderio has advocated on behalf of the real estate industry for nearly 20 years, seeking policy solutions that balance responsible economic development while conserving energy and environmental resources. 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.

Mr. Desiderio’s legislative and regulatory portfolio emphasizes energy, environmental, immigration, infrastructure, and land use policy. He manages The Roundtable’s advocacy on these issues with The White House, Congress, and executive branch departments. Mr. Desiderio staffs The Roundtable’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), and builds coalitions to unify diverse real estate, business, and environmental stakeholders toward shared policy goals. He has testified to the U.S. Senate and has prepared witnesses for numerous congressional hearings on energy efficiency, wetlands, endangered species, land development, and property rights matters as they affect the built environment.

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 reported opinions in federal and state courts, including a winning decision in NAHB v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 664 (2007). He is formerly associated with the law firms of Rogers and Wells (now Clifford Chance) in its New York City and Washington, D.C. offices, and with the boutique land-use law firm Linowes and Blocher, LLP in Bethesda, Maryland.

Mr. Desiderio is on the Advisory Board of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficient Buildings Hub at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and the Sustainability Board of Advisors for National Real Estate Investor. He has a B.A. from Syracuse University (Phi Beta Kappa), a J.D. from Hofstra University (law review articles editor), and an LL.M. from the George Washington University (with honors). He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts, and is a member of the bars of New York, the District of Columbia, and Maryland.