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Board Leadership

The UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate Board was established to further the strategic mission and qualitative growth of the Ziman Center. It serves as the Center's primary advisory body, providing expertise and counsel on critical issues. The Center's endowment has been raised through a dedicated and active group of visionaries that we call our Founding Members. We are grateful for their involvement in the Center, and for their recognition of UCLA's role in real estate research and management education in the local and global communities.

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To learn more about the benefits of Board membership, click here.

To find out how to become involved with the Ziman Center, please contact Tim Kawahara, UCLA Ziman Center Executive Director: tim.kawahara@anderson.ucla.edu.

Lewis G. Feldman
CEO, Heritage CRETech Ventures
Chairman Emeritus, Goodwin Procter LLP
Chairman, Ziman Center Board

Lewis G. Feldman


After a storied 35-year career in Big Law as one of America's prominent capital markets lawyers, Lew Feldman founded Heritage Capital Ventures LLC in 2015 to invest in technologies that result in greater investment returns and broader capital access with lower costs and greater efficiencies. Lew specifically targeted real estate technology companies and established Heritage CRETech Ventures in 2020 to raise and deploy capital specifically for property technologies. Lew has raised more than $100 billion in debt and equity in the real estate and financial technology arenas.

He previously founded Goodwin Procter's California offices, led the firm's Public Finance Practice, and founded and chaired its Crowdfunding Practice.

In addition, Mr. Feldman has advised clients on more than $100 billion in debt and equity transactions for market-rate and affordable apartments, master-planned residential communities, aerospace, industrial and manufacturing facilities, urban entertainment centers, primary, secondary and university educational facilities, retail malls, hospitals, mixed-use projects, destination resorts and hotels, Brownfields remediation, military base reuse projects, green building, mitigation banks, transportation projects, water and wastewater facilities, and all forms of public infrastructure.

Mr. Feldman consistently ranks among America's leading real estate attorneys in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Best Lawyers in America which cites, "There is no more responsive, client-oriented lawyer than Lew Feldman," Lawdragon's "Top 500 Lawyers in America," The Legal 500 US, and is individually rated "AV®-PreeminentTM" by Martindale-Hubbell. California's legal newspaper, The Daily Journal, recognizes Mr. Feldman as among the "Top 100 Lawyers in California" and as one of "California's Top Real Estate Transactional Lawyers." Most recently, Mr. Feldman was included in the Daily Journal's "Top 50 Development Lawyers."

Mr. Feldman proudly serves in a leadership role in several associations and groups, including serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the University of California, Los Angeles Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate; Member, Leadership Council, University of Southern California, Lusk Center for Real Estate; Member, the Haas Business School Fund, University of California Berkeley; Trustee, the University of California Santa Cruz Foundation; Member, The Jewish Federation's Real Estate and Construction (REC) Division Cabinet; Member and Leadership Circle, the City of Hope Cancer Center's Los Angeles Real Estate Industry Council; Board Member, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles; Full Member and Vice Chairman of the Public Private Partnership Council of the Urban Land Institute; Member, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts; Member, the National Association of Bond Lawyers; and, Member, International Council of Shopping Centers.

Mr. Feldman received his Juris Doctorate from the University of California at Davis in 1982 and was Executive Editor of the UC Davis Law Review. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1978, where he received bachelor's degrees with highest honors in Economics and Environmental Planning. Before law school, Mr. Feldman served as an economist on energy and healthcare legislation to President Carter's Administration in Washington, D.C.

Along with hundreds of real estate industry speaking engagements, Lew has numerous media appearances to his credit on ABC, CNBC, CBS, Bloomberg Television, Fox, Sirius, and various industry podcasts. His ideas and opinions have also been featured in national, regional and trade publications, including Barron's, Bloomberg Business, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Forbes.

John Anderson*
President
Topa Enterprises

John E. Anderson*


John E. Anderson was President and sole shareholder of Topa Equities, Ltd., and oversaw more than 40 wholly-owned subsidiaries involved in agriculture, insurance, real estate, wholesale beverage distribution and automotive dealerships.

Mr. Anderson moved to Los Angeles from his hometown of Minneapolis and entered UCLA with an ice hockey scholarship. During his years at UCLA, he worked the swing shift at North American Aviation in Inglewood. In the years since, he built a multifaceted career as a lawyer and business entrepreneur. With James H. Kindel, Jr., he founded the law firm of Kindel & Anderson. He was the sole stockholder of Topa Insurance Company; Dorchester Insurance Company; Ace Beverage Co.; Mission Beverage Co.; Paradise Beverages, Inc.; West Indies Corporation; Bellows International, Ltd.; Silver Star A.G., Ltd.; Silver Star Motor CarCompany; Topa Motors, Inc. and several other entities.

John Anderson was also a CPA and a member of the California State Bar. He was a professor of law at Loyola University School of Law and taught several business courses at UCLA. He was past Chairman of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, a Trustee and former President of Saint John's Hospital and Health Center Foundation, and Trustee of Claremont McKenna College. John was named Southern California Entrepreneur of the Year in 1987, Outstanding Individual Philanthropist on National Philanthropy Day in 1988, Master Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002, and was honored by the 2003 Business Hall of Fame as the Business Person of the year.

In 1987 the UCLA Graduate School of Management was renamed The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA in honor of Anderson's contributions to the School and University. In 1985 he received the Distinguished Service Award of Loyola Law School where the John E. Anderson Chair of Taxation was recently established. In May 1995 Anderson received the UCLA Alumnus of the Year Award, and in June 1995, he was presented with the UCLA Medal.

Mr. Anderson received a B.S. from UCLA, and MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business (where he was a George Fisher Baker Scholar), and a J.D. from Loyola University school of Law.

*deceased

Peter M. Bren*
Chairman & President
KBS Realty Advisors

Peter M. Bren*

Peter M. Bren served as president and chairman of KBS Realty Advisors and its affiliated funds. KBS is a nationally recognized real estate investment advisory firm with transactional volume of more than $37.0 billion. On December 31, 2017, KBS was ranked as the sixth largest office owner globally by National Real Estate Investor. KBS has formed numerous government pension funds and five sovereign wealth funds, as well as seven non-traded REITs. Mr. Bren oversaw all KBS operations, including the acquisition, disposition and management of individual investments and portfolios of income-producing real estate assets. He directed all facets of the company’s business activities and was a member of the KBS Investment Committee, which evaluates and authorizes new investment opportunities for the firm. Mr. Bren was also responsible for investor relationships.

Mr. Bren served as president of KBS REIT II, KBS REIT III and KBS Growth & Income REIT — all public, non-listed real estate investment trusts.

Mr. Bren was involved exclusively in real estate development, management, acquisition, disposition and financing for more than 45 years. Prior to his position as chairman and president of KBS Realty Advisors, he served as the president of The Bren Company, was a former regional partner of Lincoln Property Company and was president of Lincoln Property Company, Europe.

Peter Bren was a member of the UCLA Anderson School of Management Board of Advisors and a founding member of The Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he has also created and funded The Peter Bren Real Estate Entrepreneurship Studies Initiative. Mr. Bren was also a member of the Real Estate Roundtable in Washington, D.C, which deals with key national policy issues affecting real estate and the overall economy.

*deceased

Timothy H. Callahan
Callahan Family Investments

Timothy Callahan


Timothy Callahan, currently with Callahan Family Investments, previously served as Chief Executive Officer for Callahan Capital Partners (Ivanhoe Cambridge). Prior to his roles at CFI and CCP, Mr. Callahan served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Trizec Properties Inc. (NYSE: TRZ) from August 2002 until the acquisition of Trizec by Brookfield Properties and Blackstone in October 2006.

From October 1996 through April 2002, Mr. Callahan was Trustee, President and Chief Executive Officer of Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE: EOP), a public U.S. real estate investment trust.

From 1992 through 1996, Mr. Callahan held various executive level positions, including CFO, at Equity Group Investments (EGI), Sam Zell’s holding company. At EGI, Mr. Callahan was responsible for coordinating all financing and capital markets activities involving EGI, including real estate and corporate transactions.

Prior to joining EGI, Mr. Callahan was Director of Development – Northeast Region with The Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation in Youngstown, Ohio from June 1988 to July 1992.

Before joining DeBartolo, Mr. Callahan served as Senior Vice President at Chemical Realty Corporation, a division of Chemical Bank. During his 14 years at Chemical, he was responsible for all real estate lending activities with clients throughout the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions before transferring to the Investment Bank, where he was responsible for various real estate investment banking activities.

Mr. Callahan received a B.A. in pre-professional studies from the University of Notre Dame and attended The New York University School of Business.

Victor J. Coleman
Chairman & CEO
Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc.

Victor J. Coleman


Victor J. Coleman is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Los Angeles-based Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange real estate investment trust (NYSE symbol: HPP). Hudson Pacific's current portfolio consists of 25 properties consisting of seven million square feet totaling $3 billion located in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. HPP also owns two irreplaceable media and entertainment properties - Sunset Gower Studios and Sunset Bronson Studios - totaling approximately 1,000,000 square feet and are located in the heart of Hollywood, California.

Prior to the formation of HPP, Mr. Coleman co-founded and led Arden Realty, Inc. as its President and Chief Operating Officer and as a director, taking the company public on the NYSE in 1996 and selling it to GE Real Estate, a division of General Electric Capital Corporation, in 2006 for over $5 billion. Mr. Coleman is an active community leader, and is on the Founding Board of Directors for the Ziman Center for Real Estate at the Anderson School, UCLA, and the Boards of Ronald Reagan Medical Center at UCLA, Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics, Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission and the Los Angeles Chapter of WPO. Mr. Coleman's previous experience as a director also includes service on the board of other public companies such as Douglas Emmett, Inc., and he currently serves as a trustee on the board of Kite Realty Group.

Mr. Coleman holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley.

William P. Edwards
President
Westwood Investments

William P. Edwards


William P. Edwards, through wholly owned family partnerships and corporations, owns and operates commercial properties throughout the United States, including Hilgard House, a boutique hotel in Westwood Village. After graduating from UCLA, Mr. Edwards marketed subdivision for such major developers as Larwin and Kaufman & Broad, eventually becoming a division manager for the Southern California area of Kaufman & Broad. After leaving K& B in 1970, Mr. Edwards and his companies began building and marketing small subdivisions in Southern California, eventually expanding to commercial properties. Mr. Edwards was a founding director of Plaza Savings and Loan, a public corporation, sold to Fleet Financial in 1995. He is a contributor to and active in support of several UCLA departments in Humanities, and was President of the Business Economics Council in the Business Economics Department.

Steven C. Gordon
Chairman
Domino Realty

Steven C. Gordon


Steven C. Gordon is Chairman and has been a principal owner of Domino Realty since 1970. Domino Realty is a holding company for  a multi-faceted international trading company, apparel manufacturing and a real estate holding company.

Mr. Gordon has been a principal owner of Domino Realty Management Company for over thirty years during which time he has been actively involved in the acquisition, development and management of over $1 Billion Dollars worth of California real estate consisting of commercial, residential and industrial properties.

Prior to 1970, Mr. Gordon attended the University of California, Los Angeles as an economics major.

Mr. Gordon has been actively involved in community activities, and has been a member of the Real Estate Board, the Board of Governors at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, a director of the Grand Foundation, a member of the American Conference of Christians and Jews, and created the non-profit Public Education Program (PEP).   He served  on the Finance Committee Board at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and is a member of the UCLA Health Systems Board.  He has served as the Vice Chairman of the United Jewish Federation and has been honored by the American Jewish Committee.  Mr. Gordon has also been a guest lecturer at universities and professional seminars.

Paul E. Griffin, III
CEO and President
Griffin Living

Paul E. Griffin III

Paul E. Griffin III is the founder, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Griffin Living. A fifth-generation builder with forty years of expertise in real estate development, Paul was inducted into the Forbes Real Estate Council in 2020. Prior to founding Griffin Living, Paul has overseen the development of projects, including residential homes, apartment complexes, retail centers, and commercial office space. He has created over $4.5 billion in value.

Paul's career has been marked with numerous awards and honors, including Habitat for Humanity's Builder of the Year (Hammer of Hope) and the Building Industry Association's Builder of the Year. Additionally, he has won awards from the National Association of Home Builders and the Pacific Coast Builders Conference for design and community land plans as well as for establishing quality programs for volume builders.

Beyond his work as a developer, Paul is a patron of numerous arts, education, and community organizations, volunteering both time and resources. These institutions include Carnegie Observatories, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Koegel Autism Center, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Thomas Aquinas College, Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museum, the Wounded Warriors Project, the YMCA, the Young Presidents Organization, and the Ziman Center for Real Estate at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Paul holds a BA in Business Administration and Management from UCLA.

Robert E. Hart
Founder, CEO and President
TruAmerica Multifamily

Robert E. Hart


Real estate investment industry veteran Robert E. Hart is the founder, chief executive, and president of Los Angeles-based TruAmerica Multifamily, a vertically integrated multifamily investment firm with regional headquarters in Arlington, VA; Seattle, WA and Dallas, TX.

Since its founding in 2013, TruAmerica under his leadership has become one of the most active multifamily investors in the United States and today has approximately $16.1 billion of assets under management. Hart is responsible for the phenomenal growth and national expansion of the firm’s value-add investment platform, which currently includes more than 55,000 units in 14 states. He has led TruAmerica to a top 50 ranking of the largest apartment owners in the United States the past six years by the National Multifamily Housing Council.

As CEO, Hart chairs TruAmerica Multifamily’s Investment Committee to skillfully select value-add assets for acquisition, repositioning, and eventual disposition to deliver outstanding risk-adjusted returns for the company and its 30 global institutional partners.

With a career that spans nearly four decades, Bob is a recognized leader in the multifamily industry where he contributes his time and energy as a board member to a variety of industry organizations including the National Multifamily Housing Council and the Urban Land Institute.  Named one of the most influential business leaders in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal and Los Angeles Times he was also recently recognized by Real Estate Forum as the “Best of the Best Bosses” in the real estate industry.

Understanding the value of giving back, Hart also generously gives of himself – both in time, talent and treasure – to a wide variety of charitable and academic organizations, raising tens of millions of dollars to better the lives of others in his community. For nearly 16 years, half as Chairman, Bob has been a member of the board of directors of Chrysalis, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a pathway for homeless and low-income individuals to find and retain employment in Los Angeles. Recognized for his professional and philanthropic contributions to elevate the human condition, he was the recipient of the 2022 Outstanding Philanthropist Award presented by the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and he was celebrated by the City of Hope in 2017 with the Spirit of Life Award. He is also the proud recipient of the Humanitarian Leadership Award presented to him by the Alumni Association of his alma mater Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Hart is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Marlborough School in Los Angeles and a member of Board of Governors of the City of Hope.

Prior to founding TruAmerica Multifamily, Hart earned industry accolades as the transformational chief executive of Kennedy Wilson Multifamily Management Group, a part of the NYSE-listed Kennedy Wilson global real-estate concern. Hart envisioned and launched Kennedy Wilson’s value-add apartment portfolio strategy that profitably acquired and disposed of more than 20,000 units in 13 years, with a total transaction value of more than $4.5 billion.

Previously, Hart was senior vice president of portfolio management for global real estate investment management firm, Heitman Capital Management where engineered the turn-around and disposition of a $500 million property portfolio on behalf of pension funds, endowments and domestic and foreign lenders. Previously, he served as Director of Real Estate Marketing for Executive Life Insurance Company, where he was responsible for the orderly liquidation of more than $1 billion in real estate assets and securities.

Hart is a sought-after interview by leading publications, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Bloomberg, The Los Angeles Times and innumerable industry and trade media outlets for his insights into the real estate markets.

Hart holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts and continues to serve his alma mater as a member of the Board of Trustees. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles and where he serves on the leadership board for UCLA’s Ziman Center for Real Estate.

Jordan L. Kaplan
President & CEO
Douglas Emmett, Inc.

Jordan L. Kaplan


Mr. Kaplan is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Douglas Emmett, Inc. (DEI). He is also a member of the Board of Directors of DEI. Douglas Emmett is a fully integrated public REIT traded on the New York Stock Exchange. He joined DEI's predecessor company, Douglas, Emmett and Company in 1986 and co-founded Douglas Emmett Realty Advisors in 1991, which grew during the 1990's into a large manager of institutional real estate funds.

A native of Los Angeles, Mr. Kaplan received his bachelor's degree from the University of California in Santa Barbara and his MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA in 1986. He lives in Pacific Palisades, California with his wife, Christine and their three children.

Gadi Kaufmann
Chairman & RFA
RCLCO

Gadi Kaufmann

Gadi Kaufmann serves as Chairman of RCLCO and RFA/RCLCO Fund Advisors. Prior to assuming this role in 2021, he has served as the firm’s CEO since 2000. Under his leadership, the firm solidified its status and prestige as an industry leader while growing revenue five-fold and guiding the firm through challenging economic downturns.

Gadi has over 40 years of experience working with developers, lenders, private and institutional investors, and non-real estate entities, conducting engagements in the U.S. and abroad. Gadi’s areas of expertise include economic consulting for real estate projects and portfolios; corporate strategy planning and management consulting at the enterprise level. He accumulated vast experience in formulating and implementing successful investment and portfolio strategies, and in successfully concluding several large-scale transactions involving the acquisition, disposition, and capitalization of numerous individual properties, portfolios, and operating companies with an aggregate transaction value of several billion.

Gadi currently serves as special advisor to several promising real estate companies, helping shape and implement strategies to realize their untapped potential. Gadi has also enjoyed acting as a trusted advisor to some of America’s top real estate CEOs, and as a mentor to many young professionals and industry veterans alike through his consulting activities and various programs at UCLA, ULI, and YPO.

Gadi has been an active board member of several industry and educational organizations, including current and past board service on the boards of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), and Pension Real Estate Association (PREA).

Gadi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from UCLA and has been married to Karen Kaufmann, a professor at UCLA, since 1985. The couple has two grown daughters.


Industry Involvement

  • RCLCO Foundation
  • Urban Land Institute (ULI)
  • The UCLA Ziman Center For Real Estate
  • The UCLA Luskin School Of Public Affairs
  • Pension Real Estate Association (PREA)
  • Young Presidents' Organization And World Presidents' Organization (YPO-WPO)
  • Chief Executives Organization (CEO)
Steve Layton
Principal & Co-Founder
LBA Realty

Steve Layton


Steve Layton is a Principal and Co-Founder of LBA Realty and has over 30+ years of real estate experience. Mr. Layton spends a portion of his time coordinating LBA's corporate program and meeting with LBA's corporate customers to discuss their leasing and disposition activities. He currently oversees due diligence for all of LBA's acquisition, financing and disposition activities.

Prior to forming LBA, Mr. Layton was Senior Vice President of the Southern California Division of The Koll Company, where he oversaw and coordinated the development of four million square feet of office and mixed-use projects in Orange and San Diego counties.

Mr. Layton holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles and is a licensed real estate broker. He is also a Founding Board Member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, a former board member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and a member of the Urban Land Institute.

Howard J. Levine
Founder
ARCS Commercial
Mortgage Co

Howard J. Levine


Howard J. Levine is the founder and former President/CEO of ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., L.P., headquartered in Calabasas Hills, CA. a leading provider of commercial and multifamily mortgage financing with offices nationwide. ARCS has been the leading Fannie Mae apartment building lender in the United States for more than a decade, as well as one of the agency's top three affordable housing lenders.

Mr. Levine founded the predecessor company, ARCS Mortgage, 36 years ago. In August 1995, Howard and a group of Southern California investors purchased the commercial mortgage servicing portfolio of ARCS from The Bank of New York Company, Inc. During the following 12 years, the company originated more than $20 billion in commercial loans. In the 3rd Quarter of 2007, ARCS became a PNC Real Estate Finance Company with the ability to provide virtually every loan product for every commercial real estate type. Mr. Levine now serves as Senior Advisor to ARCS management team.

ARCS is a recognized leader in multifamily finance. The company has been the #1 Fannie Mae DUS lender in America for more than a decade, as well as one their Top 3 affordable housing lenders. The company is also a Freddie Mac Program Plus lender, an FHA MAP lender, a conduit lender, and is able to provide mezz and bridge financing. At various times the company has been: #1 Multifamily Lender in America.

#1 Fannie Mae Lender overall
#1 Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Lender 5 years in a row
#1 Fannie Mae Small Loan Program Lender
#1 Fannie Mae DUS lender among readers of Apartment Finance Today 2 years in a row
#1 Fannie Mae Manufactured Housing Community Lender
Manufactured Housing Institute's Community Lender of the Year 2 years in a row

Mr. Levine remains very active on the California Board for Mercy Housing, a large affordable housing provider. He is a past member of the Executive Board of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Commercial Board of Governors for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America and the Multifamily Council of the Urban Land Institute. He formerly served on the Board of Directors for the National Multihousing Council, the Multifamily Division of the National Association of Home Builders, the Menorah Housing Foundation, Camp Ramah and the Leadership Council of USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. Mr. Levine is a Founding Board member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the UCLA Ziman Real Estate Alumni Group (REAG) and the American Jewish University.

Howard has shared his expertise in frequent lectures and interviews at UCLA and USC graduate real estate and MBA programs. In addition, Howard and his wife, Irene, have been long-term supporters of UCLA Anderson and the Ziman Center. With Howard and Irene's extraordinary altruism and generosity, UCLA established the Howard and Irene Levine Program in Housing and Social Responsibility to address timely and critical issues related to urban housing markets, housing policy, sustainability and redevelopment, particularly the housing needs and outcomes of lower-income and workforce households. The Levine Program is comprised of a multi-faceted set of academic enterprises, with each activity supporting a core function of the University's public education mission--teaching, research and professional/community outreach. 

With an additional gift from the Levine Foundation in 2018, the Ziman Center launched the Howard and Irene Levine Affordable Housing Development Program, a new university-level educational program uniquely designed to provide professionals with the knowledge and practical skills to develop affordable housing.

Howard holds a BS in Accounting from NYU, and received his MBA degree in 1967 in Urban Land Economics from UCLA Anderson. In 2011 UCLA Anderson celebrated its 75th anniversary and identified Howard Levine among its 100 Inspirational Alumni.

john_long
John S. Long
President & CEO
Highridge Partners, Inc.
Founding Chairman of the Ziman Center Board

John S. Long

John S. Long is widely acknowledged as one of the industry leaders in real estate investment today. He founded Highridge Partnersin 1978 on a platform of fundamental investment principles, underscored by "KNOWLEDGE EQUALS STRENGTH®", which have formed the company's investment approach and made Mr. Long's views a bellwether for the real estate industry.  Mr. Long relies on a disciplined, analytical approach to invest in undervalued and often contrarian opportunities. Through independent but related operating companies, Highridge is able to implement value-added programs, and to divest profitably at stabilized market prices. Mr. Long's strategies have enabled Highridge to navigate through multiple real estate cycles and to record an extraordinary performance - across an investment portfolio of more than $9.5 billion with average annual returns in excess of 20% on equity over three decades.

Under Mr. Long's leadership, Highridge has successfully invested in all product types including office, industrial, self-storage, retail, entertainment, hotels, apartments, condominiums, single family homes and mixed use projects. Highridge's reach is global with on the ground investment expertise in Europe as well as the United States. Highridge and its team of veteran executives which head the affiliated operating companies are experienced and equipped to take advantage of the vast array of real estate related opportunities, including acquisition, development, redevelopment, financing and direct investments in private operating companies. In 2010, Highridge expanded into the affordable housing marketplace by establishing Highridge Costa Housing Partners with a portfolio of 26,000 multi-family rental units throughout the U.S. Mr. Long is also the co-founder, along with Oscar De La Hoya, of Golden Boy Partners, an investment company focused on Latino related real estate opportunities.

Working in an industry that is resistant to change, Mr. Long has sought to encourage the intellectual power of academics to pursue research and industry initiatives that would lead to redefining the role of real estate in the 21st century. To further this effort, Mr. Long established the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA in 2000, and serves as its Founding Chairman. In 2010 Mr. Long expanded his focus onto global business relations, research, and education by founding the Long U.S.-China Institute for Business and Law at UCI. This institute will be anchored by bi-lateral relationships between the University of California schools and the leading universities in China to study, teach, and provide relevant industry research and tools for bridging Sino-American business relations.

Mr. Long's career started with international homebuilder KB Home. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from UCLA and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. Mr. Long currently serves on the Board of Governors at the UCLA Foundation, the Board of Visitors for the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and the Advisory Board of the Asia Society of Southern California. Mr. Long is also a member of the Committee of 100, a non-partisan organization dedicated to issues concerning Asian Americans and U.S.-China relations.
natsis-tony
Anton N. Natsis
Partner
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble
Mallory & Natsis LLP

Anton N. Natsis

A name partner of the firm, Anton Natsis is Chair of Allen Matkins’ Global Real Estate Group and is one of the top real estate attorneys in the United States. His practice focuses on development, leasing, purchase and sale, and portfolio investment sales, and joint venture transactions involving office, retail, and industrial projects, as well as arbitrating numerous fair market value disputes, CAM disputes and other significant landlord/tenant disputes. He also has extensive experience in debt, equity, and joint venture workouts, and the purchase of distressed assets and distressed debt. Tony is continually sought out by some of the largest national land owners, such as J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Blackstone Real Estate, Brookfield Properties, HCP, Vornado Realty Trust, HPP, The Irvine Company, Boston Properties, Equity Office Properties, Kilroy Realty, Inc., Beacon Capital Partners, Westbrook Partners, Swift Realty Partners, Callahan Partners, Hines Interests, Forest City, LBA, John Buck Company, Stockbridge Real Estate, Digital Realty, Lincoln Properties Company, CIM, and Westfield Corporation. He represents many governmental entities, including the LAUSD, State of California, and City of Anaheim. Tony is also frequently retained as counsel for major national office tenants, such as AT&T, Citicorp, the FDIC, AIG, The Walt Disney Company, the Los Angeles Times, and several well-known technology companies.

A frequent lecturer and author, Tony is the chief consultant for the California Continuing Education of the Bar Commercial Leasing Series, the legal education reference book on leasing for California attorneys, is an adjunct professor of law at Loyola Law School for a course covering commercial real estate transactions, and has spoken before such national real estate groups as ULI, Georgetown Leasing Institute, American College of Real Estate Lawyers, and BOMA. Tony is a founding board member of The Ziman Real Estate Center, which is governed under the joint auspices of the UCLA Anderson School of Business and the UCLA Law School.

In this decade alone, Tony has closed commercial office leases exceeding 50 million square feet, and he has worked on real estate purchase contracts with a total consideration of more than $20 billion and on development transactions with a total consideration in excess of $20 billion. Since 2006, Tony has represented clients in office building portfolio investment sales transactions involving over $75 billion of consideration.

One of Tony's most significant transactions is the largest real estate acquisition deal in the history of the United States. He provided extensive real estate services in connection with Blackstone Real Estate's purchase of Equity Office Properties Trust, at that point the largest owner of office space in the U.S. other than the Federal Government, for $43 billion. Subsequently, Blackstone contracted to sell over 50% of the properties it purchased with such sales closing in the first and second quarter of 2007. Tony assisted Blackstone in its acquisition due diligence related to EOP and the subsequent sales of the properties. The transactions related to this deal included Maguire Properties' purchase of Blackstone/EOP in Orange County for $2 billion, Irvine Company's purchase of Blackstone/EOP in San Diego for $1 billion, Morgan Stanley's purchase of Blackstone/EOP in San Francisco for $2.5 billion, and Beacon Capital Partners’ purchase of Blackstone/EOP Seattle for $6.3 billion.

He also worked as landlord's counsel on the two largest leases in the history of the City of San Francisco, the 750,000 RSF lease by Kilroy Realty Corp to Dropbox and the 725,000 RSF lease by Boston Properties to Salesforce, and he worked on the largest lease in the history of the Western Region on behalf of a well-known technology tenant, a 1,900,000 RSF in the Silicon Valley.

ACCOLADES

  • Recognized by Chambers USA as one of the Leading Lawyers in California in Real Estate Law  (2004 - 2019)
  • Named to Law360's Real Estate MVP list (2015)
  • Continually selected as one of the 100 top attorneys in Los Angeles County by Southern California Super Lawyers
  • Selected for inclusion in Southern California Super Lawyers (2004 - 2019)
  • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Real Estate Law (1995 - 2019)
  • Named one of California's Top 25 Real Estate Lawyers by the Daily Journal (2013)
  • Selected for inclusion in Who's Who in Real Estate Law by the Los Angeles Business Journal (2013)
  • Selected for inclusion in Who's Who in L.A. Law by the Los Angeles Business Journal
  • Named to the Daily Journal's Top 100 Lawyers (2013- 2016)
  • Named among top 50 "People to Watch“ by Real Estate Forum
  • Selected as a member of the LawDragon 500 Top National Dealmakers
  • Named one of California’s Top 30 Real Estate Lawyers by the Daily Journal (2012)

EDUCATION

  • J.D., University of Michigan Law School
  • B.A., cum laude, University of Michigan

BAR ADMISSIONS

  • California
bill_petak
William M. Petak
Chief Executive Offer
Nassau CorAmerica
Chairman Emeritus of the
Ziman Center Board

William M. Petak


William Petak is the CEO and Co-Founder  of Nassau CorAmerica, where he manages the company's day-to-day operations, is responsible for sourcing and underwriting all firm investment, and is a member of the investment committee.

From 1989 - 2009, Mr. Petak was solely involved in the origination, acquisition and underwriting of commercial mortgage loans and securities through American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and its predecessor company SunAmerica, Inc.  Most recently, he was the head of U.S. mortgage lending for AIG, including SunAmerica, Inc. and American General, which were acquired by American International Group, Inc. (AIG) in 1999 and 2001, respectively.

From 1983 - 1989, Mr. Petak was a vice president in the acquisitions group of Pacific Financial Group, a privately held Beverly Hills real estate investment company.

Mr. Petak graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Finance and Business Economics in 1983.  He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association and the Life Mortgage and Real Estate Officer Council. He serves on the board of directors for KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, Inc. and is a founding member of the Board for the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA and served as the Ziman Center Board Chairman from 2007-2013.

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Michael Riady
Founder
DXS Advisory Group

Michael Riady

Based in Los Angeles, Michael Riady is the founder of DXS Advisory Group, a boutique strategic advisory firm with a focus in bridging the east and west for established and high-growth international companies of various industries, stages and needs. Riady’s direct access (DXS) and business experience provides deep value for clients seeking to navigate the complexity of business and government in the era of globalization.

Prior to this, Riady sourced and advised OUE Limited, one of Singapore’s largest property firms, to acquire the iconic, 1.4 million square feet U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown Los Angeles, in a US$367.5 million ($256 PSF) deal during the US financial crisis.

Riady started his career with PT. Lippo Karawaci, Tbk, Indonesia’s largest real estate company. Riady was promoted to Vice Chairman and CEO of South East Asia’s largest shopping mall owner (65 plus operating malls, 35 pipeline) - Lippo Malls Indonesia - and CEO of Mixed-Use Developments Unit (20 million square feet). Riady’s experience includes acquisition, design, construction, finance, leasing, sales, property management, and investor relations.

Riady received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Fullerton, and graduated from the UCLA-NUS Executive MBA program with an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management and an MBA from the National University of Singapore.

Riady is a board member of the Asia Society Southern California, UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and UCLA Center of Global Management, and has previously spoken on Forbes, CNBC and International Council of Shopping Centers. Riady is an Advisor to OUE Limited, Singapore.

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Mary L. Ricks
President
Kennedy Wilson

Mary L. Ricks


Mary Ricks is President of Kennedy Wilson, a global real estate company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Mary oversees Kennedy Wilson’s investment activities, focused on multifamily and office properties in the Western U.S., UK and Ireland. She has responsibility for the company’s investment management platform, raising third-party, fee-bearing capital on a global scale, and the company’s European operations.

Mary has more than 30 years of experience in international real estate investment. Before assuming her current role, she served as President and CEO of Kennedy Wilson Europe, which she helped establish when Kennedy Wilson served as the catalyst and lead investor in the recapitalization of the Bank of Ireland in 2011. Kennedy Wilson Europe quickly grew its presence to become one of the top commercial property owners in the country, and then expanded across the continent with offices in Dublin, London, Madrid and Jersey. Since its inception, Mary has led Kennedy Wilson Europe and its equity partners in transacting on real estate related assets across the UK, Ireland, Spain and Italy with a value of approximately $10 billion.

Mary currently serves on Kennedy Wilson’s Board of Directors as well as the company’s investment committee. She also served on the Board of Directors of Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate Plc., the London Stock Exchange listed public company created in 2014 that was subsequently taken into 100% ownership by Kennedy Wilson in October 2017, and she is a founding board member of the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at University of California, Los Angeles. In 2018, Bisnow selected Mary as one of the most influential women in UK commercial real estate, and in May 2019, she will be honoured as the industry leading figure for CBRE’s UK Capital Markets conference.

Mary received a B.A. in Sociology from UCLA.

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Nelson C. Rising*
Chairman
Rising Realty Partners

Nelson C. Rising


A veteran of 35 years in the real estate industry, Nelson Rising is the Chairman of Rising Realty Partners.

Rising was Chairman & CEO of Catellus Development Corporation with a total capitalization in excess of $5 billion. During his 11-year tenure at Catellus, he oversaw its successful evolution from a railroad land company, to a diversified development company and to a real estate investment trust. Most notable of the many Catellus developments is Mission Bay in San Francisco, the largest mixed-use development in the history of the city. Catellus merged with ProLogis, the nation’s largest industrial REIT, in September 2005.

Prior to joining Catellus, Mr. Rising was a Senior Partner of Maguire Thomas Partners. He was partner-in-charge of major projects in the Los Angeles area, including the Library Square development (that resulted in the restoration of the historic Central Library and included the west’s tallest building, the 73-story Library Tower) and Playa Vista.

Mr. Rising is a former Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, is Chairman Emeritus of the Real Estate Roundtable, and Chairman of the Grand Avenue Committee. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of ProLogis, the Board of Directors of Foley Timber & Land Company and Morgan Stanley’s Prime Property Fund. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology, the Hammer Museum the Board of Visitors of UCLA Anderson School of Management and the UCLA Law School Board of Advisors.

He received a B.A. with honors in Economics from UCLA in 1963 and his Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law in 1967, where he served as Managing Editor of the UCLA Law Review. He practiced law at O’Melveny & Myers prior to entering the real estate industry in 1972.

*deceased

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Eugene S. Rosenfeld
President
Forest Lane Group

Eugene S. Rosenfeld


Eugene S. Rosenfeld is one of the nation’s leading real estate developers and has successfully led a number of major companies both in the residential housing and commercial real estate fields. Rosenfeld along with Apollo Advisors founded Western Pacific Housing, a residential development company which merged with Schuler Homes, Inc., a publicly traded homebuilder. Ultimately, the combined companies were sold in 2002 to D.R. Horton for $1.4 billion. Currently he is the sole proprietor of Forest Lane Group, a major investor and developer of commercial and residential property in both the U.S. and Europe.

He began his career with the international accounting firm Deloitte, Haskins & Sells. From 1963 to 1976, Rosenfeld was an executive with Kaufman and Broad, an international housing producer and insurance company. During his 13 years with the NYSE-listed company, he rose from division controller to president and chief executive officer. Under his leadership, Kaufman and Broad became one of the nation’s largest producers of housing, expanding internationally.

As a Los Angeles civic leader, Rosenfeld has served on numerous boards of art, health and academic organizations.  He previously served as chairman and trustee of the UCLA Foundation and chairman of the Board of Visitors for The Anderson School at UCLA.  Currently he is a member of the Board of Visitors, ULCA Chancellor's Associates, and a member of the Advisory Board for The Riordan Programs.  Additionally, he also serves on the board for The RAND Graduate School.

Rosenfeld received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of California in 1956, and is a C.P.A.

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Tod Spieker
President
Spieker Companies, Inc.

Tod Spieker


Richard Tod Spieker (Tod) wholly owns and operates 2,900 multifamily units, mostly throughout the Santa Clara and San Mateo counties (Silicon Valley). In addition to the acquisition and disposition of these properties, the Spieker Companies, Inc. manages and rehabilitates these properties. Mr. Spieker attended UCLA on a swimming scholarship and was a four-year letterman. Upon graduating with a degree in Geography in 1971, Mr. Spieker worked for Lincoln Property Company and dealt with land acquisition, multifamily development, financing, and property management. In 1974, Mr. Spieker joined Coldwell Banker's apartment brokerage and investment properties group. Mr. Spieker started Spieker Companies, Inc. in 1981.

Mr. Spieker actively and generously supports UCLA through the Spieker Aquatic Center and the Tod Spieker Colloquium Series in Geography, in addition to the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and the UCLA Foundation Board of Trustees. Additionally, Mr. Spieker is on the Board of Directors of the Housing Industry Foundation and supports various other organizations.

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Timur Tecimer
President & Chief Executive Officer
Overton Moore Properties

Timur Tecimer


Mr. Tecimer joined Overton Moore Properties in July 2000 as President and COO. Tecimer is now CEO and majority owner of OMP. He is responsible for overseeing all of the firms operations including acquisitions/investments, development and management. In addition, Mr. Tecimer directs all joint venture and capital structures and long range planning of the firm. OMP has developed and acquired over 35 million sf of industrial, office and mixed use projects since 1972.  During his career, Mr. Tecimer has been responsible for the acquisition and development of over 15 million square feet of commercial property.

He is currently active in the Urban Land Institute, SIOR, and the World Presidents Organization (YPO). He is a member of Board of Trustees of the Southern California Multiple Sclerosis Society and the PVGC. He holds a California Real Estate Broker License. Tecimer is a graduate of University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science and received an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA in 1989. Mr. Tecimer resides in Palos Verdes, California with his wife and two children.

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Scott E. Tracy
Founding Principal
Corporate Partners
Capital Group, Inc.

Scott E. Tracy


In 2002, Mr. Tracy and his two partners formed Corporate Partners Capital Group, a privately-owned Los Angeles-based investment firm specializing in the acquisition and financing of corporate real estate.  The firm sponsors and manages private equity funds that have acquired 425 single tenant net leased properties totaling more than $1.325 billion, primarily through sale leaseback portfolios with U.S. corporations including repeat transactions with BMO Harris Bank, Citibank, Pep Boys and Rite Aid.

Previously, as a 25-year veteran of CBRE and predecessor companies, Tracy spent nearly ten years in its corporate finance, treasury and strategic planning groups and served as CBRE's chief planning officer. Later, he was co-head of CBRE's investment management unit, chaired its investment committee, and was instrumental in its growth of assets under management.

Tracy is a two-time recipient of the CB Richard Ellis Chairman's Award for Leadership.

Tracy is a founding board member of the Ziman Center for Real Estate, a multi-disciplinary research center of the UCLA Anderson School of Management and the UCLA School of Law.

Tracy earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of California Santa Barbara (magna cum laude) and an M.B.A. from the Anderson School at UCLA.  He also holds a CPA designation.

Active in K-12 public education, Tracy recently retired from La Cañada Unified School District's Governing Board where he served as board president for five of his twelve years of service as a board member.   He was also a two-term president and six-year board member of the La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation, and a trustee of its endowment fund.

Michael Konynenburg
D. Michael Van Konynenburg
President
Eastdil Secured

D. Michael Van Konynenburg


D. Michael Van Konynenburg is President of Eastdil Secured a real estate investment banking firm that was recently formed with the merger of Eastdil Realty LLC and Secured Capital Corp. At Eastdil Secured he is responsible for overseeing numerous large, real estate transactions; specifically those involving financings, capital raising, and investment banking transactions for real estate owners

As former President and Chief Executive Officer of Secured Capital Corp, a real estate investment banking firm that he co-founded in 1990, he oversaw transactions totaling over $80 billion.

Prior to his association with Secured Capital, Mr. Van Konynenburg was a Senior Vice President at Drexel Burnham Lambert’s Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities Department, where he was responsible for trading and structuring various CMBS securities.

Mr. Van Konynenburg graduated with highest honors from the University of California at Davis with a bachelor’s degree in Managerial Economics. He is a founding board member of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is a Licensed Securities Principal (Series 24), a Licensed Securities Financial Officer (Series 27), a Licensed Securities Representative (Series 7) and a Licensed California Real Estate broker. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

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Mark A. Walsh
Partner
Silverpeak Real Estate Partners

Mark A. Walsh


Mark Walsh is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Silverpeak Real Estate Partners ("Silverpeak").  Silverpeak is a privately held investment advisory business encompassing principal equity and debt investment strategies in the US, institutional fund management and third party asset management mandates.  The Firm currently manages approximately $14 billion of real estate assets on behalf of co-mingled funds, separate accounts and for its own account.  Since its formation in 2010, Silverpeak, together with operating partners, has acquired over $4 billion of real estate assets in the US, both on a principal basis and on behalf of various institutional investors.   The Firm has invested in office, retail, multifamily, hotel and other asset classes.  In addition, the Firm recently formed Silverpeak Real Estate Finance, in partnership with Elliott Management Corporation, to make commercial loans throughout the US in the retail, hotel, industrial and multifamily space.

Prior to forming Silverpeak, Mr. Walsh served as Head of Lehman Brothers' Global Real Estate Group and Co-Head of the firm's Real Estate Private Equity Group.  During his 21 year tenure in these capacities, Mr. Walsh participated in over $20 billion of principal equity investments and over $200 billion of debt investments on behalf of the firm and its institutional investors.  Under his leadership, Lehman Brothers grew to be a leading real estate debt and equity investment platform both domestically and globally.

Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Walsh was a lawyer and represented financial institutions in all aspects of commercial mortgage loan origination, workouts and secondary market transactions.  Mr. Walsh holds a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and a J.D. from Fordham Law School.

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Keenan Wolens
Chief Executive Officer
Amir Development Co.

Keenan Wolens


Keenan Wolens is Chief Executive Officer at Amir Development Co., a real estate company based in Beverly Hills, CA.  Amir Development owns and manages industrial, residential and commercial properties throughout California, Arizona, Texas, Utah and Colorado.  Mr. Wolens has been with Amir Development since 1991 and is responsible for all day-to-day activities of the company, including acquisitions, financings and supervising the leasing and management of the portfolio.

Prior to his association with Amir Development, Mr. Wolens was a Vice President at Columbia Savings and Loan Association where he was responsible for investment portfolio restructurings.

A native of Texas, Mr. Wolens received his bachelor's degree from UCLA and an MBA from the University of Texas in Austin.

Mr. Wolens currently serves on the National Council of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, the Board of Directors of the American Jewish University where he is a member of the Executive Committee, the Advisory Board of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, and the Founding Board of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate.  He is also involved with UCLA's Hammer Museum and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.  Mr. Wolens resides in Los Angeles with his family.

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Jeffrey M. Worthe
President
Worthe Real Estate Group

Jeffrey M. Worthe


Jeffrey Worthe is the president of Worthe Real Estate Group. Mr. Worthe was formerly the principal of M. David Paul Ventures and co-founder of Centurion Real Estate Partners. The firm's main focus was the acquisition and development of Class A office projects in California.

Mr. Worthe is a graduate of the University of California in Santa Barbara. He is active with many charities here in Los Angeles, including Children's Hospital of Los Angeles where he is a member of the Board of Trustees.
Richard S. Ziman
Chairman
Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc.

Richard S. Ziman


Richard S. Ziman serves as Rexford Industrial's Chairman and has been on Rexford's Board of Directors since July 2013. Mr. Ziman has served as the Co-Founder, Chairman and Director of Rexford's predecessor business since its inception in December 2001. Mr. Ziman's industrial real estate experience comprises over forty years of industrial real estate investment experience overseeing his personal, family and foundation-related investments in Southern California as well as having co-founded and served as Chairman of the management companies that we will acquire as part of the formation transactions.

Richard Ziman's overall commercial real estate experience also includes his role as the founding Chairman and CEO of Arden Realty, Inc., a real estate investment firm focused on the commercial office real estate markets in infill Southern California. Mr. Ziman served as Arden's Chairman of the Board and CEO from its inception in 1990 until its sale in mid-2006 to General Electric Co. in a $4.8 billion transaction involving Arden's portfolio of twenty million square feet in more than 200 office buildings. Arden was publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol "ARI."

In 2006, Mr. Ziman also co-founded AVP Advisors, LLC and AVP Capital, LLC, the exclusive advisor to American Value Partners, a real estate fund of funds deploying capital on behalf of pension funds throughout the United States. In 1979, Mr. Ziman formed Pacific Financial Group, a diversified real estate investment and development firm, of which he was Managing General Partner.

In 2001, Mr. Ziman established and endowed the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at the Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California at Los Angeles. Mr. Ziman also serves on the boards of directors of The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation and The Gilbert Collection Trust. Mr. Ziman has held many significant leadership positions in the cultural, educational and social services life of Southern California.

Mr. Ziman received his Bachelor's Degree and his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Southern California and practiced law as a partner of the law firm Loeb & Loeb from 1971 to 1980, specializing in transactional and financial aspects of real estate.

Richard has established and endowed the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA (inclusive of both its School of Business and School of Law), the Ziman Family Outpatient Oncology Center at the City of Hope National Medical Center, the Ziman Family wing at the Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Alzheimer 96-bed facility at the LA Jewish Home for the Aging and, in memory of his father, the Charles Ziman examination facilities at the UCLA Arthur Ash Student Health Center.

Susan J. Booth

Partner
Holland & Knight

Susan J. Booth  
 

Susan is a Los Angeles real estate attorney with a national practice focused primarily on purchase, sale and capital market transactions involving data centers, hotels, office buildings, multifamily developments, shopping centers, industrial parks, senior-living centers and mixed-use projects. Ms. Booth represents domestic and international commercial banks, pension funds, private equity funds, debt funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and family offices and has closed more than $1 billion in transactions in each of the past several years.

Ms. Booth's extensive capital markets experience includes both commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) and portfolio loans (acquisition, development, construction, revolving, bridge, term, permanent, mezzanine, EB-5 and Sharia compliant), syndication and participation arrangements, joint venture agreements and mortgage loan portfolio sales/acquisitions. Even in the best of times, a portion of her practice is dedicated to assisting mortgage and mezzanine lenders, equity players and borrowers in developing and implementing strategies to resolve the issues arising from non-performing real estate assets. She has written and spoken extensively on loan workouts, options for handling troubled real estate assets, considerations in foreclosure and navigating through California's anti-deficiency laws.

Ms. Booth also has almost three decades of experience representing clients in the acquisition and financing (as both lender and borrower) of data centers. She uses her understanding of the unique elements of the data center business to help guide clients towards a successful outcome.

Ms. Booth spent many years on the Director's Committee of Holland & Knight and also spent more than a decade as the head of the firm's West Coast Real Estate Group.

Philip W. Cyburt
Principal
Cyburt Holdings, LLC

Philip W. Cyburt


Philip Cyburt has over thirty years of experience as a senior executive leading large organizations both within public companies and private equity investment firms.  Here is the list of those roles:

  • Cyburt Holdings, LLC Principal Currently
  • Monday Properties, Managing Partner 2017-2018
  • Laurus Corp. CEO 2012-2017
  • Lehman Bros Holdings Co. (Bankruptcy period), CEO 2009-2012
  • Cyburt Hall Partners, Principal 2003-2008
  • GenCorp formerly Aerojet Real Estate, CEO 2005-2006
  • Boeing Realty Corp., President 1998-2003
  • McDonnell Douglas Realty Co., President 1990-1998
  • Tishman Realty and Construction, Director of Development 1986-1990

Mr. Cyburt has been a senior executive with two Fortune 500 companies, where he was responsible for the leadership of a large global organization.  As President of Boeing Realty Corporation, post-merger of McDonnell Douglas Realty Company, Mr. Cyburt successfully directed the company's investment strategies in a real estate portfolio consisting of $9 billion in assets comprising of 125 million square feet in 26 states and 63 countries.  Boeing Realty Corporation focused on all aspect of real estate including real estate investments, development of corporate surplus assets, corporate real estate and pension fund investments.  In addition, he spearheaded Boeing's relocation of its world headquarters from Seattle to Chicago.   As President of Boeing's real estate, he oversaw various alternative real estate investment strategies.  Mr. Cyburt institutional real estate experience includes, corporate public company operations and structured finance; joint ventures, corporate finance structuring and value creation strategies at the operating company level; debt/equity formation and negotiations; strategic planning for new company programs; portfolio repositioning and feasibility valuation studies.   Mr. Cyburt has been instrumental in completing more than $10 billion in various types of real estate transactions in major markets across the United States and overseas markets.  Real estate asset class experience:

  • $5B Land entitlement, infrastructure, residential / industrial and commercial development
  • $1B Resort / golf course asset repositioning
  • $750M Hospitality transactions, full service and limited service and resort$1B Industrial development
  • $2B Office transactions
  • $500M Retail transactions and asset repositioning transactions

Mr. Cyburt was Managing Partner at Monday Properties and ran the west coast investments focused on office and multifamily.  Prior to that, Mr. Cyburt was Chief Executive Officer of the Laurus Corporation, a Los Angeles based real estate private equity firm that invested in hospitality, office and retail.  Additionally, in 2009, Mr. Cyburt was as Managing Director of Alvarez and Marsal, LLC, served as CEO of Lehman Brothers Holdings real estate division based in New York City, during the bankruptcy he managed the 400 employee organization that oversaw the bank's real estate portfolio consisting of over $40 billion in related debt and equity positions.  In 2003, he co-founded Cyburt Hall Partners, where as Principal he acted as an investor, developer, and operator for approximately $500 million of land and commercial real estate investments.  Early in his career, he was also Director of Development at Tishman Realty and Construction based in Los Angeles.

Mr. Cyburt attended Chapman University in Southern California, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He also attended graduate courses at Chapman University, Pepperdine University Executive MBA Program, and completed the commercial real estate certificate program at University of Irvine.  Mr. Cyburt currently serves on the advisory board for the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, a joint center of the UCLA Anderson School of Management and UCLA School of Law.  Additionally, Mr. Cyburt is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Resort Council.

Fred Esrailian

Principal

Tenet Holdings

Fred Esrailian

Frederic Esrailian is a California licensed attorney since 2004 and a California licensed real estate broker since 2007. He has almost two decades of experience as an attorney working primarily on real estate and commercial transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions of real estate. His experience includes landlord-tenant matters, leasing, real estate lending/finance, and litigation management. He has brokered and/or transacted hundreds of millions of dollars in commercial real estate and has represented both tenants and landlords in numerous leasing transactions.  Fred also serves on the Advisory Board of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate.

Steven Jay Fogel
CEO and Co-Principal
Westwood Financial Corporation

Steven Jay Fogel


Mr. Fogel is CEO and Co-Principal of Westwood Financial Corporation which he founded in 1967.  Westwood Financial Corporation owns and operates over 100 shopping centers located throughout the United States.

Mr. Fogel has is a past president of Stephen S. Wise Temple and is the past chairman of the California Arts Council.  He is the author of three books, The Yes I Can Guide to Mastering Real Estate, Your Mind Is Not Always Your Friend and The Mind Is What the Brain Does for a Living.

Mr. Fogel is an oil color artist with over 50 portraits in private collections.  His works have been displayed in public exhibitions.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a business specialization from the University of Southern California.  He also attended the Graduate School of Business of the University of California.

Jeff Friedman
Co-Founder
Mesa West Capital

Jeff Friedman


Jeff Friedman co-founded Mesa West Capital and is involved in all areas of the company.  With offices in Los Angeles and New York, Mesa West is a real estate finance company with over $3.5 billion in lending capacity.   Mesa West primarily provides non-recourse first mortgage loans for high quality institutional real estate properties throughout the United States.  The portfolio includes all major property types with loan sizes from $15 million to $200 million.

Prior to co-founding Mesa West, Jeff was a principal at Maguire Partners and worked directly with the founder, Rob Maguire, to engineer a recapitalization of the company's properties and eventual $800 million IPO of the company.  Jeff began his real estate finance career in New York at Nomura Securities in 1994 and later moved to Credit Suisse First Boston in 1996 where he was a director and led one of the largest origination teams.  Jeff began his career as a corporate lawyer in Tokyo, Japan at an affiliate of Sidley & Austin and later in New York at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.  

Jeff is a graduate of UCLA and the University of Michigan Law School and Rackham School of Graduate Studies.

Brian Good
CEO
iBorrow

Brian Good


As the CEO of iBorrow, former real estate lawyer, real estate owner and adept businessman, Brian has a vast array of knowledge in the commercial real estate sector, specifically structuring complex deals. Borrowers and investors alike turn to Brian because of his ability to underwrite deals quickly while adhering to a high standard of ethics and due diligence. Not only is Brian well-positioned in understanding every aspect of the deal process - including what is vital and what isn't - but he goes beyond the numbers by taking a comprehensive and strategic approach to each deal.

Brian first founded Eagle Group, LLC in 2001, as a fully-integrated real estate company that handles all aspects of commercial real estate including finance, loan servicing, management and advisory services. In 2012, Brian branched off to create iBorrow (formerly Eagle Group Finance), a dedicated lender specializing in private loans for commercial properties in the Western U.S.

Prior to iBorrow, Brian was a real estate transactional attorney at the law firms of TroyGould and Kulik, Gottesman & Mouton, where he represented real estate investment trusts, publicly traded real estate companies and high-net-worth individuals. He also served as President and Board Member of TenantDirect.com, the developer of the first web-based property management software system for the real estate industry.

Brian earned his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his J.D. from Loyola Law School. He also has an MBA from Northeastern University's D'Amore-McKim School of Business.

Brian is a licensed California real estate broker and a member of the State Bar of California. He has taught multiple courses at UCLA Extension, and currently serves as Vice President of the Guardians, Board Member of the Southern California Golf Association Foundation and Member of the Real Estate Council of the Federation.

Steven Good
Retired Audit Partner
CohnReznick LLP

Steven Good


Steven Good retired as an active audit partner from the accounting firm of CohnReznick LLP (formerly Good, Swartz, Brown & Berns) and is currently doing consulting work for the firm's clients. He founded Good, Swartz, Brown & Berns in 1976, and has been active in consulting and advisory services for businesses in various sectors, including the manufacturing, garment, medical services and real estate development industries.

Mr. Good also has many years of experience as the chairman of the audit committees of several public companies. Mr. Good founded California United Bancorp and served as its Chairman through 1993. He currently serves as a director of OSI Systems, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of specialized electronic products. Mr. Good also formerly served as a director of California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. and Arden Realty Group, Inc. from 1997 to 2006. 

Mr. Good has extensive experience with corporate governance, financial and accounting matters, evaluating financial results and overseeing the financial reporting process of a large corporation. In addition, Mr. Good brings to the Board of KYN and KYE many years of experience as the chairman of the audit committees of several public companies.

Steven is very active in the Los Angeles community and continues to devote time to many charitable endeavors. In 1996, he completed a two-year term as chairman of the Board for the Jewish Home for the Aging. During his tenure he also served on the various committees affiliated with all phases of the Home. He is a director and current president of The Guardians of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging, which is a fund-raising support group. He is also a member of the Board of the American Friends of the Hebrew University and the Jewish Community Foundation.

In addition, Steven is the former founding director of the ALS Association (Lou Gehrig's Disease), a member of the Chancellor's Circle of UCLA, and former chairman of the Marilyn and Monty Hall Statesman's Club of the Jewish Home for the Aging. He is founding president of the Santa Monica Synagogue. Steven participates in other religious and non-religious organizations as well. He is also an active participant in both the Brentwood Country Club Chapter of the United Jewish Fund and Jewish Big Brothers and Sisters.

Steven received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he also attended graduate school. He is an active member of: the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of Accountants, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Nevada State Board of Accountancy.

Robert N. Goodman
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Resmark Companies

Robert N. Goodman


Robert N. Goodman is Chairman and CEO of The Resmark Companies. The founder of Resmark, Mr. Goodman has 40 years of experience in real estate finance and asset management. Since establishing Resmark in 1995, he has guided more than 180 equity investments, with over 28,000 units of residential single-family and multifamily real estate, representing approximately $9 billion in cumulative and anticipated revenue. Currently, Resmark manages more than $1 billion in investment capital.

Mr. Goodman has served on the boards of directors of four publicly traded companies, including two REITs. He currently sits on the Board of Regents of the City of Hope, the Executive Committee for the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, and has recently joined the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate Advisory Board. For many years, he was on the boards of the Los Angeles Police Foundation, City of Hope National Medical Center (including two years as Chairman of the Beckman Research Institute) and Oakwood School (an independent K-12 school in North Hollywood, California).

Daniel P. Horwitz
President
Daniel Horwitz Company Inc.

Daniel P. Horwitz


Daniel Horwitz is President and Founder of the Daniel Horwitz Company, Inc., which specializes in real estate financial services, placing both equity and debt for major real estate ventures. Dan has also been involved in the development, ownership, and syndication of commercial, industrial, residential, and hotel properties.

For more than four decades, Mr. Horwitz has personally participated in arranging transactions that now total more than $5.5 billion. These transactions have covered a gamut of financing solutions and product types such as diverse forms of developer equity, conventional institution-sourced loans, and income property types at locations throughout the United States. Transactions have also included single tenant industrial and office buildings, marinas on unsubordinated leaseholds, and apartments both market rate and age restricted. Site locations, in addition to the home state of California, have included New England, Southern, Eastern, and West Coast states.

Prior to his entry into the real estate profession, Mr. Horwitz was an aerospace project engineer and a management consultant specializing in computer-aided solutions for operations management.

Mr. Horwitz has also been active in diverse civic, cultural and educational activities. He is an original contributing founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art/Los Angeles, and founding member of  The Los Angeles County Music Center, The Wiesenthal Holocaust Center, Otis Art Institute, UCLA John Wooden Athletic Center, UCLA James E. West Alumni Center, UCLA Coaches Round Table and Wooden Athletic Fund. Mr. Horwitz also serves as a sustaining board member of the UCLA Chancellors Associates and an advisory board member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, and he supports various councils of the Schools of Architecture, Music, Theater, Engineering and UCLA Anderson School of Management. Additionally, Dan's civic duties have included several years of service at the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles as a Commissioner and Chairman of its Contracts & Finance Committee.

Mr. Horwitz has also provided charitable support to numerous organizations and causes including AJU Moriah Society, City of Hope, Cedars Sinai Hospital, Beit T'Shuvah Dependency Treatment, Vista del Mar Child Care, Big Brothers of  LA, There with Care Colorado, and various schools and universities, human caring facilities, and medical research organizations.

Dan was raised in Los Angeles and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from UCLA. He also earned his MBA in Finance from UCLA while working full-time as an engineer. His post-graduation education includes numerous programs and courses in the arts, architecture, finance, and real estate.

Paul Johnson

Principal & COO

Tenet Holdings

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson began investing in commercial real estate in 2010, including office, multifamily, and retail but with a focus on the industrial real estate asset class. Paul has been instrumental in the growth of the private real estate portfolio to approximately 1.5 million square feet in various markets across the United States. Additionally, Paul was one of the main investors and served on the board of directors of Lexicon Bank. He helped guide the bank from de novo status to more than $300 million in asset value.  Paul also serves on the Advisory Board of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate.

Ken Kahan
Founder & President
California Landmark

Ken Kahan


Ken Kahan founded California Landmark Group (CLG) in 1988. Since its inception, CLG has invested in and developed all types of real estate from residential to commercial. Under Ken's leadership, the company has developed over three (3) million square feet of innovative projects.

CLG has distinguished itself in Southern California as an innovative problem solver in both the design and development of dozens of multi-family communities. Ken spearheaded development of the company's signature byCLG residences, properties that have pioneered walkable, luxury residential living by integrating resort-style amenities and services classically found in condominiums. With an eye for quality and design, Ken is focused on crafting truly unique living experiences in every residence.

Ken is passionate about all aspects of urban planning and development. He is a frequent speaker on matters pertaining to entitlements, zoning, multi-family/mixed-use projects and urban development. Ken sits on several philanthropic boards including the Advisory Board of the Ziman Center for Real Estate where he guest lectures and provides advice to students about the real estate development business. Ken is also a member of the Building Industry Association and participates in many City of Los Angeles planning initiatives.  In the past Ken was the Chair (or co-Chair) of a) the Real Estate and Construction Division at the Jewish Federation b) RPO c) the AJU Real Estate Committee and d) the UCLA Hillel Development Committee. 

Ken obtained both his bachelor of arts and juris doctor degrees from UCLA. A native of Los Angeles, Ken currently resides in West LA with his wife Roneet. Outside of the office you'll find him skiing, hiking, travelling and spending time with his family and friends.

Spencer Kallick
Partner
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP

Spencer Kallick
 

Spencer leads land use entitlement and real estate transactions for the nation’s key real estate and business players. As a former assistant city attorney handling land use matters, Spencer leverages his deep understanding of the process and long-standing relationships at the city, county, state, and federal levels, to resolve issues quickly and close transactions smoothly.

Clients appreciate Spencer’s ability to create consensus among the variety of players often involved in land use entitlements and real estate deals. Additionally, clients rely on Spencer for his streamlined processes that save clients time and money.

Right-Sized Resources

A primary focus of Spencer’s practice is project and team strategy, utilizing every possible tool to get the right results. One of those tools is Spencer’s cultivated and curated contact list of architects, traffic engineers, environmental consultants, and other specialists. Because facetime is essential when dealing with council members, neighborhood stakeholders, city planners, and others, seamless access to these relationships can make a significant difference to his clients’ projects. Depending on the development type and involved parties—what community and which council district—Spencer can quickly assemble the right mix of personnel, experience, and expertise. He knows whom to put forward for each job, creating distinct efficiencies and turning out better results.

Additionally, Spencer takes a hands-on approach in managing the legal side of land use entitlements, typically pairing his own experience and skill with just one qualified Allen Matkins associate. So, when clients call, they get Spencer’s advice as opposed to being passed up or down a chain of attorneys. Clients receive the right-sized resources to complete even their most complex entitlement needs.

All Development Types

Spencer has an exceptional amount of practical experience in the full range of entitlements for urban infill, mixed-use, transit, affordable and senior housing, signage, hotels, multi-family residences, shopping and dining districts, and more. No matter what the product type, Spencer has entitled it.

Throughout Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, including West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Culver City, and beyond, Spencer represents developers, investors, management companies, and institutions, such as hospitals, schools, museums, and related entities, in land use entitlements. High net worth individuals and family offices investing in real estate also engage him for land use guidance.

Responsive Service

With construction costs accelerating, community challenges more prevalent, and labor unions more aggressive in their stance, being able to save clients time and money by effectively managing their projects from beginning to end creates enormous value. He knows that big decisions can rise quickly and unexpectedly in land use entitlement matters. Whether addressing entity formation or resolving an environmental question, at Allen Matkins, Spencer’s clients have access to real estate legal talent from across all spectrums.

EDUCATION
J.D., Loyola Law School

B.S.J., Northwestern University

BAR ADMISSIONS
California

Robert J. Lowe, Jr., Lowe Enterprises
Robert J. Lowe, Jr.
Co-CEO of Lowe Enterprises
CEO of Lowe Hospitality Group

Robert J. Lowe, Jr.

Robert J. Lowe, Jr. is the Co-CEO of Lowe Enterprises and Chief Executive Officer of Lowe Hospitality Group, the hotel and resort management and development division of Lowe Enterprises. Rob oversees operations of Destination Hotels, Lowe’s hospitality operations company. With 45 independent luxury and upscale hotels and resorts and over 11,000 rooms under management, Destination is one of the largest independent hospitality management companies in the country and the largest manager of independent hotels. He also oversees Lowe Destination Development, responsible for hotel and resort development, with well over $3 billion in projects over the last decade. 

He is a past Trustee and President of the Palisades Presbyterian Church, is currently on the Board of Managers at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, and is an active member of Urban Land Institute.  Rob was honored by the City of Hope with its 2019 Spirit of Life award. Mr. Lowe earned his BA from Stanford University, and has an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Gabriel Marquez
Partner, Real Estate Assurance Leader
CohnReznick LLP

Gabriel Marquez

Gabriel Marquez is a partner in CohnReznick’s Real Estate Assurance practice with over 32 years of professional experience. He has served a variety of public and privately-held real estate and construction companies, including real estate developers/owners/operators, pension-sponsored and private equity real estate funds, homebuilders, engineering firms and contractors.

Mr. Marquez is a former partner in Ernst & Young's Real Estate, Hospitality and Construction (RHC) practice with over 28 years of professional experience and became an Ernst & Young partner in 2003.  He served a variety of public and privately held real estate and construction companies, including real estate owners/operators, pension-sponsored & private equity real estate funds, homebuilders, engineering firms and contractors.

Mr. Marquez has extensive experience in GAAP technical matters, Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 controls and SEC experience with both 1933 and 1934 Act Filings.  He has lead various client projects ranging from land development/construction cost and operational audits, contract claims resolution, mergers & acquisitions, and restructurings/reorganizations.  He serves as a firm subject matter expert on contract accounting matters and has authored several industry related articles.

Selected clients served include: Broadreach Capital Partners, Colony Capital, Hilton Hotels, ING Realty, Jacobs Engineering, J.F. Shea Homes/Construction, Latitude Management, Majestic Realty, Penhall Construction, Playa Vista, Resmark Companies, Ryland Homes, Tejon Ranch Co., Thomas Properties Group, Valley Crest Companies and Watt Companies.

Mr. Marquez earned his BA in psychology, with an accounting emphasis from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors at the Los Angeles Variety Boys & Girls Club in Boyle Heights.  He has also served as a National and Los Angeles Chapter Director for the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA), and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and California Society of CPAs.

Mr. Marquez is an executive sponsor for Ernst & Young's Latino Professional Network, and Campus Recruiting Diversity Champion at UCLA.  He has served as a Corporate Advisory Board member for the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA).

Gabriel and his wife Teresa have three children, boys ages 13, 15 and 18.  In his free time, Gabriel enjoys sports, music and spending time with his family.

Thomas McCarthy, Co-President McCarthy Cook and Co.
Thomas McCarthy
Co-President
McCarthy Cook & Co.

Tom McCarthy

Thomas McCarthy is the Co-President and Co-Chief Investment Officer of McCarthy Cook & Co. (MCC), a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investment and management firm.

Founded in 1995 by Tom McCarthy and Edward Cook as the exclusive office joint venture partner of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors in the west, MCC invests in major office, mixed use, life science and technology properties in the major metropolitan markets of the western U.S. MCC is a disciplined investor and vertically integrated real estate operating company. MCC co-invests with institutional partners including Oxford Properties Group, PGIM Real Estate, Northwestern Mutual Life, JP Morgan Investment Management, Morgan Stanley Real Estate, Alliance Bernstein Asset Management, Northwood Investors, Canyon Capital Advisors, the Blackstone Group and BayNorth Capital.

McCarthy Cook has completed over $5.5 billion in transactions and manages a current portfolio of 3.1 million square feet of prime office and life science projects. The firm has expertise in all facets of acquisitions, investment management and institutional reporting with skills in asset and property management, leasing, entitlements, development, and construction management. MCC’s current portfolio includes China Basin in San Francisco (930,000 sq. ft.), The MET in Costa Mesa (825,000 sq. ft.), Lumen in West LA (550,00 sq. ft.) Torrey Pines Business Park (400,00 sq. ft.) and the 230,000 sq. ft. Sandler Neuroscience Center at the University of California San Francisco (a model public/private joint venture involving a $750 million capital lease and associated public bond financing).

Mr. McCarthy is the former Chairman of the Board of Directors and serves on the Executive Committee of Junior Achievement of Southern California. Through Junior Achievement, Mr. McCarthy teaches economics and entrepreneurship classes principally in Los Angeles area inner-city public schools. The McCarthy family actively supports local education programs through the Al Wooten Youth Center in South Los Angeles and El Camino College in Hawthorne, CA.

Mr. McCarthy holds an MBA in Finance from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and is a member of the Board of Advisors and serves on the Executive Committee. He is also a member of the Advisory Boards of the Ziman Center for Real Estate and the Fink Center for Finance and Investments at UCLA Anderson. McCarthy is a member of the Board of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. In addition, he is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association, the Urban Land Institute, and the Real Estate Roundtable.

Mr. McCarthy holds an undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He is a native of Evanston, Illinois.

Mr. McCarthy is an avid fly fisher, golfer, and aspirational jazz/blues pianist.

Douglas McCauley
Former Real Estate Commissioner
California Department of Real Estate

Douglas McCauley

Doug was appointed Commissioner of the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) by Governor Gavin Newsom on April 2, 2020. He assumed office on May 6, 2020 and served until his retirement on December 29, 2023. Previously, he was appointed in 2018 as Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development and was designated Acting Director in September of 2019.

McCauley had been Executive Officer of the California Architects Board since 2001, where he led several key innovations, such as the nation's first evidence-based internship program for the design profession. He also managed the conversion of the California Supplemental Examination to a computer-based format, which dramatically increased access to licensure.

McCauley received his DRE salesperson license in 1997. He earned a bachelor's degree in government from California State University, Sacramento and a Master of Public Administration degree from Golden Gate University.

McCauley is from Sacramento and lives there with his wife and two sons.

Andy Meyers
Chief Executive Officer
Shangri-La Construction (SLC)

Andy Meyers

Andy Meyers is the Chief Executive Officer of Shangri-La Construction (SLC), a regional general contractor specializing in tenant improvements, retrofits, core and shell and design-build cost-conscious sustainable construction. As the CEO Mr. Meyers is involved in all aspects of Shangri-La's operations and is specifically responsible for strategic objectives and business development. Mr. Meyers has been involved in all aspects of both the Capital Projects and Special Projects division of Shangri-La including acquisitions, planning, design and construction. Mr. Meyers is a pioneer and champion with respect to cost-effective, sustainable construction and clean technology innovation. As the CEO, Mr. Meyers has acquired and completed the first LEED Platinum private aircraft hangar, the first LEED for Core and Shell Gold Certification in Las Vegas, NV with a full retrofit of the 302 E. Carson building and is pursuing LEED Platinum Certification for Citadel Environmental, an office facility in Burbank, CA. Additionally Mr. Meyers has recently acquired the Los Angeles Biomedical Institute, a building retrofit and laboratory facility and an affordable housing center servicing the Hollywood area.

Mr. Meyers has a personal passion for real estate and business development. He obtained his real estate broker's license over 11 years ago and has been working in the industry ever since. He began his career managing high-end residential properties in Bel Air, Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles. Mr. Meyers then gained extensive experience in the commercial real estate sector, eventually leading him to a strategic management role with Shangri-La in the acquisition, construction and sale of a 12-acre project in Bel Air. In addition to Mr. Meyers' involvement with Shangri-La Construction, he has overseen Shangri-La Entertainment (Polar Express, Beowulf and Martin Scorsese's Shine A Light) and Shangri-La Music (Jerry Lee Lewis's Last Man Standing and The Pretenders' Break Up The Concrete) since their inceptions.

Mr. Meyers graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Arts degree. As an accomplished student athlete in UCLA's prestigious football program, Mr. Meyers excelled both on and off the field. He was honored as a twotime All-PAC 10 Guard, Third Team All-American, Academic All-PAC 10 and Academic All-District and also briefly played for the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League.

EXPERIENCE
11 years
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, University of California at Los Angeles
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Lambda Alpha International

David Millard
Executive Vice President & Managing Director
Washington Holdings

David Millard

David L. Millard is Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Washington Holdings (“WH”); a diversified real estate investment, development and management company based in Seattle, WA with offices in Santa Clara, CA and Los Angeles, CA.  In his current role, Dave oversees the company’s hotel investment platform; including acquisitions, development, lending and asset management activities. Focusing on premium select service and extended stay hotels, the company creates value for its investors through the development, repositioning and rebranding of upscale and upper-upscale hotel assets located within the western United States.  

After joining WH as Senior Vice President and Partner in 2003, Mr. Millard developed the strategy for and co-founded, together with the company’s CEO and COO, its affiliated company, Washington Holdings Structured Finance (“WHSF”), ultimately raising total equity commitments of $1.0 billion. Under Mr. Millard’s leadership, WHSF successfully invested in excess of $2.0 billion in senior bridge loans, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and CMBS investments throughout the U.S. between 2005 and 2016, prior to merging WHSF with WH. 

Prior to joining WH, Dave was a Vice President with Lowe Enterprises and its affiliated hotel management company, Destination Hotels & Resorts, acquiring hotel properties and structuring hospitality sector debt investments on behalf of the firm’s diversified institutional investor client base.

Dave currently resides in Manhattan Beach, CA with his wife Kendra and daughter Grace (8). He is a dedicated supporter of numerous educational institutions and charitable organizations; including, UCLA’s Economics Department and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, the United Way, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Rotary Club International, where he serves as the primary sponsor of the Phil Millard Memorial Scholarship Fund, providing college scholarships for graduating student-athletes from local high schools in his hometown of Bellingham, WA. Mr. Millard earned his BA in Economics from UCLA, and has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Headshot of Caucasian male with brown hair and blue shirt
Tyler Monroe
Senior Vice President, Development
Thomas Safran & Associates

Tyler Monroe

Thomas Safran & Associates (TSA) is a developer and operator of affordable, mixed-income and mixed-use rental housing in Southern California. TSA develops communities with a focus on excellent design, management and resident services to enrich the lives of the people who reside in its buildings, and enhance the greater community.

Tyler Monroe joined TSA in 2008. As Senior Vice President of Development, he is responsible for the acquisition, community outreach, design, land use entitlement, finance and construction of new construction projects. He is experienced with public/private partnerships; financing structures that use low-income housing tax credits, tax exempt bonds and other public funds; and design and construction management. Previously, Monroe was a project manager for a regional general contractor.

Monroe is an alumnus of the University of Southern California, with graduate degrees in both Business Administration (MBA) and Real Estate Development (MRED). He has bachelor’s degrees in both Architecture and Italian studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Lisa Greer Quateman
CEO
Voyager Advisory LLC

Lisa Greer Quateman

Lisa Quateman has served on the UCLA Ziman Center Advisory Board since 2014 and was the first woman to join the Board at that level. In 2019 Lisa delivered the Center’s Howard J. Levine Distinguished Lecture on Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. She is a past President of Commercial Real Estate Women - Los Angeles, and a proud "double Bruin", having earned her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from UCLA.

A seasoned corporate director, Lisa qualifies as an SEC audit committee financial expert. She is a trusted advisor to CEOs, recognized for her positive, collaborative approach and her expertise in growing revenues and managing enterprise risk. Lisa's current corporate Boards include a NYSE-traded mortgage REIT, a pension fund-owned operator of a large public-private infrastructure investment, and a privately-owned provider of specialized financial background screening services. Lisa serves on each of these companies’ Audit Committees, and she has additional committee assignments, including as Compensation Committee Chair for the REIT.  She is also a member of the Advisory Board for a multi-generational Central California-based company operating in several industries including real estate development and management, construction, agribusiness, venture capital, and private equity.

In addition to the Ziman Center Advisory Board, in the non-profit arena Lisa serves on the Boards of National Association of Corporate Directors Pacific Southwest Chapter, where she is Chair of the Marketing & Communications Committee, the City of Hope Board of Governors, and Heidi Duckler Dance, where she chairs the Nomination and Governance Committee. She was the 2016-17 Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the UCLA Alumni Association, Chair of the Nominating Committee and of the Governance Committee, and General Counsel from 2014-2016.  Lisa is a member of UCLA Law Women.

Lisa served eight years as a public official, having been appointed and re-appointed by former Mayors Richard Riordan and James Hahn to the Board of Directors of the City of Los Angeles Industrial Development Authority.

Lisa practiced transactional law for many years, most recently as a Senior Partner of national law firm Polsinelli, where she was the founding Managing Partner for the firm’s first California office. She was named one of California's best real estate attorneys by California Law Business, and 2020 Public Finance Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers. Concurrently, Lisa runs a single-family office that owns and operates industrial, retail, hospitality, and multi-family real estate in Los Angeles County.

Lisa has received numerous awards and commendations from federal, state and local elected officials; business periodicals, and professional organizations, including the Los Angeles Business Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal, The American Lawyer, Commercial Real Estate Women Los Angeles, and the Century City Chamber of Commerce. Lisa was named "2018 Board Member of the Year" by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Most recently she received a Resolution of the California State Treasurer, commemorating her work as bond and disclosure counsel for the State of California.

Kevin Ratner
Kevin Ratner
Former President
Forest City Residential West

Kevin L. Ratner


Kevin L. Ratner was the President of Forest City West, the former subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Forest City was an owner, developer and manager of a diverse portfolio of premier real estate located throughout the nation, with approximately $10.9 billion in total assets. In December 2018, Forest City was acquired by a real estate investment fund of Brookfield Asset Management, a global leader in alternative asset management.

Ratner was responsible for Forest City's commercial and residential businesses on the West Coast. In addition to the development of market rate, affordable, and high-density urban housing, both new and through the adaptive re-use of preexisting structures, Ratner and his team were involved with several mixed-use, developments focusing on technology and today's innovation economy. Ratner worked in Forest City's Los Angeles office from 1998 until December 2018 and was extensively involved in the development of more than 1,500 multi-housing units, including several high-profile redevelopment projects in Southern California. 

Ratner has significant expertise in revitalizing urban neighborhoods through public/private partnerships. He was dedicated to the communities in which Forest City worked and has participated in many public policy forums.

Ratner is continuing the family tradition of real estate development following his grandfather and father into the family business. Max Ratner founded Forest City in 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio, which served as the company's corporate headquarters. Forest City established a national reputation as a master developer and property owner of some of America's largest, and most prestigious, urban and suburban real estate projects.

Ratner graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BA degree and holds a Masters in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. Ratner serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for both the American Jewish University and the California Infill Builder's Federation (CIBF). He is also on the Board of Directors for the Central City Association of Los Angeles, the Hammer Museum, SCI-Arc, Center for Creative Land Recycling, and Center for Architecture and Urban Design Los Angeles. Ratner is an Advisory Board Member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and an Executive Committee Member of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.

Thomas L. Safran
Chairman
Thomas Safran & Associates

Thomas Safran


Mr. Safran is Chairman of Thomas Safran & Associates, developers and managers of affordable multifamily residential housing. His firm specializes in both family and senior low-rent housing and mixed use developments.

Nationally, Mr. Safran has belonged to such organizations as the Home Builders, the Urban Land Institute, the National Housing Coalition, NAHRO, and the National Leased Housing Association, of which he was a member of the Board of Directors. He has been active locally in Los Angeles nonprofit housing organizations as President of Alternative Living for the Aging and as Vice President of Menorah Housing Foundation, and as a member of the Corporate Fund for Housing. In addition, Mr. Safran has volunteered in his community serving on local boards: homeowner associations in Brentwood and Bel Air, 15 years on the San Vicente Design Review Board, Chair of the San Vicente Improvement Association, Treasurer of Brentwood Green, and Business Representative on the Brentwood Neighborhood Community Council. He is also a founder of both the Museum of Contemporary Art and on the Board of The Music Center of Los Angeles County.

Mr. Safran has a Bachelors Degree from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut (where he was on the Board of Fellows), and an MBA from UCLA where he is a Chancellors Associate. Prior to establishing his own company in 1974, he held various positions over a five-year period with the Los Angeles Area, Chicago Regional, and Washington, D.C. Central offices of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Bryan J. Slotkin, PJT Partners
Bryan J. Slotkin
Partner
Strategic Advisory Group
PJT Partners

Bryan J. Slotkin

Mr. Slotkin joined PJT Partners in June of 2018, following a partnership role at Discovery Land Company and a 20-year career as an investment banker. Mr. Slotkin spent the last 10 years of his investment banking career at Goldman Sachs where he was responsible for the West Coast Financial Sponsor franchise and previously responsible for the West Coast Real Estate, Gaming and Leisure business. Mr. Slotkin managed and executed transactions for many of the firm’s largest and most important private equity, family office, real estate, gaming, leisure and sponsor owned portfolio company relationships. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Slotkin was a Director in the technology, media and telecom group at Citigroup Global Markets and also served as an Mergers & Acquisitions specialist at Banc of America Securities LLC.

Mr. Slotkin is a member of the Rutgers Business School Board of Advisors and is also a member of the Real Estate Board of the City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles. Mr. Slotkin received a BS in Finance from Rutgers College and a JD/MBA from George Washington University.

Roger Yang
Partner
Pacific Southwest Region Industry Leader-Building, Construction & Real Estate
KPMG

Roger Yang


Roger Yang is an audit partner in KPMG's Los Angeles office, where he serves as the Industry Leader for KPMG's Building, Construction and Real Estate practice in the Pacific Southwest Region. He has more than 25 years of experience, including over twelve years as a partner, providing audit services to public and private real estate and construction companies, including experience working with global Fortune 500 companies and their senior leadership teams.

Roger has provided professional audit services to multiple leading public global companies. He has specific knowledge and experience of  SEC rules and regulations, PCAOB audit requirements and U.S. GAAP.

Roger is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Additionally, he serves on the Advisory Board of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and is a Board Member and Vice President of the Peninsula Education Foundation. 

Roger is a licensed California CPA.  He holds an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California at Los Angeles, and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley.

Arnon Adar
Founder, President & CEO
CNA Enterprises, Inc.

Arnon Adar


Arnon Adar has been extensively involved in real estate and finance since 1976, originating more than $3 billion in transactions, and organizing several high-tech venture capital groups, bringing some to IPO status. Mr. Adar established CNA Enterprises as a real estate investment and advisory firm with a primary focus on direct equity investments of grocery-anchored shopping centers and regional power centers in the western United States. As President and CEO, he oversees the company's ongoing operations, as well as its long-term vision. This vision includes the development and implementation of investment strategies which define the structure and organization of the company's corporate culture.

Prior to entering the real estate business, Mr. Adar served for three years in the Economic Affairs Office of the Diplomatic Corps. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

For more than thirty years, Mr. Adar has been an active leader in the Los Angeles community. He is a member of the United Jewish Fund/Real Estate & Construction Division, and he was nominated to the post of Commissioner for the California Citizens Compensation Commission by Governor Gray Davis. Driven by a desire to improve education for future generations, Mr. Adar served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Harvard-Westlake and helped to found the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. He is currently a member of the International Board of Trustees of Tel Aviv University and a member of the Founders Society of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 2004, Mr. Adar received the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Distinguished University Fellow award from Brandeis.

Mr. Adar's passion for music has associated him with a variety of organizations and projects, which include serving as a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Opera and The Founders for the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County and being a member of the West Coast Council of the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Committed to supporting medical research and development, Mr. Adar is a member of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Executive Cabinet Committee and a member of the Board of Governors of Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

In 2008, Mr. Adar and his family founded The Adar Family and Friends Research Institute for Eye Disease at Brandeis University. Working in conjunction with the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA and the Goldschlager Eye Institute at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, these researchers strive to develop more advanced treatment protocols for a variety of eye diseases.

Loren Bedolla, City National Bank
Loren Bedolla

Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager

City National Bank

Loren Bedolla

Mr. Bedolla currently serves a Vice President of City National Bank and has over 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry across all major property types. Mr. Bedolla has arranged over $1 billion in commercial real estate transactions ranging from senior debt to joint venture equity for construction, bridge, and stabilized properties. His responsibilities include originating, underwriting, structuring, and closing real estate transactions for existing bank customers. Prior to joining CNB, he served as a Vice President of River City Bank, a community bank headquartered in Sacramento, Senior Vice President of George Smith Partners, originating and closing debt and equity transactions for middle market clients across the nation, and a developer for Wilson Meany Sullivan, a privately owned, institutional real estate investment and development firm focused on urban infill and ground up development projects throughout the Western United States. Mr. Bedolla also practiced as a geotechnical engineer in San Francisco working on a variety of mixed use, urban infill, rehabilitation and ground-up development projects throughout Northern and Southern California.

Mr. Bedolla received a Master of Business Administration degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from UC Irvine. He is a registered professional engineer licensed by the California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors and a real estate broker licensed by the California Department of Real Estate. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Peter Belisle

Principal
Belcon Advisors

Peter Belisle

Peter Belisle worked as the President of the Southwest Region at JLL and had direct oversight over JLL’s regional operations which

included ten offices and nearly 2,600 employees throughout Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii.

Business lines under Mr. Belisle’s direction included tenant representation, agency leasing, project and development

services, and a property and facilities management portfolio of 144 million square feet. Currently, Mr. Belisle is the

oversight Executive for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts in Los Angeles.

With nearly 24 years of commercial real estate experience, Mr. Belisle has worked and lived in Southern California for most of his career, and understands the needs of both occupiers and investors. Mr. Belisle joined Jones Lang LaSalle in 2000 from The Walt Disney Company where he served as the Director of Development and Program Management with responsibility for more than $230 million of international development. Mr. Belisle has served as the President of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Energy and Sustainability Services overseeing more than 90 professionals in the U.S. Prior to that, he served as the President of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Project and Development Services group overseeing more than 1,200 project managers responsible for assignments with an aggregate construction value of more than $20 billion

Peter’s professional path includes an M.B.A. in real estate and finance from The Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from UCLA. He is registered as an Engineer in Training, a Council Member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), an active member of the UCLA Anderson Board of Directors and Strategic Initiatives Committee and CoreNet Global.

Joel Blumberg
Managing Director, Wealth Management
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.

Joel Blumberg


Joel Blumberg currently serves as the Managing Director of Wealth Management for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. and has been with Merrill Lynch since 2016.  Blumberg was previously the Managing Director in JP Morgan's Private Bank where he ran the Private Bank's real estate practice in Los Angeles, handling the overall relationship of real estate principals, executives and private families.

Joel previously served as a Director and Senior Relationship Manager with Wachovia Securities Real Estate Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Real Estate Banking. He was responsible for originating commercial real estate debt and equity investments as well as developing and managing balance sheet lending and treasury services relationships. Prior to Wachovia, Joel worked in the Investment Properties division of CBRE in Los Angeles. Earlier in his career, Joel worked in development for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation in Los Angeles.

Joel earned his MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, an M.A. in Political Science from The Ohio State University and his B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from The American University in Washington D.C.

Joel is currently involved with the Jewish Federation Real Estate & Construction Division and the City of Hope Real Estate Council.

He resides in Redondo Beach, CA with his wife, two sons and two dogs.

Lance Bocarsly
Founding Partner
Bocarsly Emden Cowan Esmail & Arndt LLP

Lance Bocarsly

Lance Bocarsly is a nationally recognized transactional real estate attorney specializing in affordable housing, community and economic development transactions, and a founding partner in Bocarsly Emden. He has represented developers, syndicators and investors in over one thousand transactions financed with federal low income housing tax credits and tax exempt bonds, generating tens of thousands of residential units for low income tenants in over forty states. In addition, he actively represents developers and investors financing transactions with alternative energy tax credits, new market tax credits and historic tax credits. Mr. Bocarsly's practice focuses on all aspects of the acquisition and development of, and investment in, real property, including negotiation of purchase agreements, construction and permanent financing from institutional and governmental sources, negotiation of construction and development contracts, formation and syndication of partnerships and limited liability companies owning and operating real estate developments and syndication of investment funds in real estate transactions. In addition, Mr. Bocarsly has substantial experience in advising nonprofit and for-profit developers undertaking affordable housing and economic development.

Mr. Bocarsly handles the acquisition, financing and development of multi-family and senior affordable housing transactions throughout the United States. He also represents the ultimate investors in syndicated tax credit funds, as well as syndicators investing in transactions generating low income housing tax credits, historic tax credits, solar energy tax credits, new markets tax credits, and in the formation of multi- investor and single investor funds for investment in affordable housing transactions throughout the United States. Mr. Bocarsly also represents clients in the acquisition, financing and disposition of mixed-income and mixed-use transactions, economic and community development projects and low income homeownership developments.

Mr. Bocarsly was formerly a partner with Bingham McCutchen LLP and Riordan & McKinzie in Los Angeles, California.

Mr. Bocarsly is the co-author of "Community Land Trusts: A Growing Trend in Affordable Home Ownership", ABA Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, Summer, 2008, "Tax-Exempt General Partners and the IRS: Defenestrating the Myth of Private Inurement and Public Benefit", ABA Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, Fall, 1997, "Real Property Tax Exemptions In Affordable Housing Transactions", ABA Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, Winter, 1993, and "Scenic Rivers Designation Maintained", U.C.L.A. Journal of Environmental Law and Policy, Spring 1985. He has been a featured speaker at, and has chaired, numerous conferences analyzing affordable housing and community development issues. In addition, Mr. Bocarsly served on the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association's Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law from 1994 through 2003 and served as the Chair of the Forum in 2001-2002.

Mr. Bocarsly is currently an adjunct professor at the UCLA School of Law, where he teaches Real Estate Law Clinic: Affordable Housing, a year-long clinical course offering students practical, hands-on training and experience working on live real estate transactions involving the development of affordable housing.

Mr. Bocarsly received his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1984, and his Juris Doctor degree in 1987 from the University of California, Los Angeles.  He was recognized by the UCLA School of Law Real Estate Law Association as its Alumnus of the Year in 2013.

Wayne Brandt
Founder & Managing Director
Capital Funding Partners

Wayne Brandt


Mr. Brandt is the former Managing Director and the National Originations Director of the Real Estate Capital Markets Group at Wells Fargo Bank. Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Brandt directed the origination activities of Wells Fargo's CMBS and balance sheet lending businesses which generated over $8.5 billion in loan production in 2014.
 
Previously, Mr. Brandt was head of real estate lending and debt investments for the Buchanan/TCW Funds, a $1.2 billion private equity firm that invests in JV equity, first mortgages and mezzanine loans in all major U.S. markets. Over his career, Mr. Brandt has helped build several lending and investment management businesses in both New York and Los Angeles. Mr. Brandt was previously a Managing Director of RBS Greenwich Capital where he directed real estate investments in the western U.S. and financed over $11 billion in real estate transactions. He has held previous positions as a Managing Partner at Menlo Equities, a $500 million private equity real estate fund, and as a Managing Director at Nomura Securities, heading its west coast real estate finance operations.
 
He serves as a Board Member of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA, a Governor of the Mortgage Bankers Association, and a Board Member and Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, CA. He has authored several industry articles and served as a guest lecturer at the USC Lusk Center, UC Irvine Business School, UCLA Anderson School of Management, and the MIT Center for Real Estate.
 
Mr. Brandt holds a M.S. in Real Estate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and completed his undergraduate degree at Stanford University.

Gregory Brody, BW Brody Affiliated Companies
Gregory Brody
Managing Partner
BW Brody Affiliated Companies

Gregory Brody


Gregory Brody is the managing partner of BW Brody Affiliated Companies, a real estate investment, development, management, and construction company specializing in multifamily properties.

Since 1949, the firm has a solid track record with a history of successful real estate developments Greg has been with the firm since 1977.  Under his direction, the firm has rehabilitated or completed ground-up development and construction of several million square feet of residential, commercial, and retail projects in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. The latest ground up project, The Metro Art Sherman Oaks, consists of 16,500 sf of retail and 113 apartments. The project received the San Fernando Business Journal's Gold award for best mixed-use project in 2015.

Greg is a bruin through and through starting with his graduation from UCLA UES elementary school along with an undergraduate degree in Biology, a master's degree in public health, and an MBA specializing in Real Estate Finance all from UCLA.

Cécile Chalifour

Managing Director
Community Development Banking
JPMorgan Chase

Cécile Chalifour

As the West Division manager for Chase’s Community Development Banking Group, Cecile Chalifour leads a team dedicated to supporting the creation and rehabilitation of affordable housing. Under her leadership, her team has contributed to the development and revitalization of over 5,000 affordable housing units in the Western Region over the past two years.

Chalifour regularly speaks on industry panels to provide insights as a subject matter expert, such as on the financing of modular housing. Modular housing is a new tool that encourages the production of affordable housing seamlessly and cost-efficiently, which both developers and local government entities are very interested in. Chalifour has deep experience in creating new structured funds to support the production of affordable housing tools, and she’s consistently looking for new opportunities to support the industry.

Mitchell D. Clarfield
Executive Managing Director
Newmark Knight Frank

Mitchell D. Clarfield


Mitchell D. Clarfield is an Executive Managing Director for Newmark Knight Frank in the Santa Monica office specializing in multi-tranche and highly structured transactions. Since 2013, Mr. Clarfield has originated over $6.6 billion in Multifamily loans making him one of the company's and industry's top producers. Mr. Clarfield is the primary customer contact for servicing and asset management on the roughly $7.0 billion of outstanding debt that he has originated.

Prior to joining Berkeley Point in 2001, Mr. Clarfield founded Carbon Mesa Advisors in 1994 and served as its President until its sale to the WMF Group, LTD in April 1998. Mr. Clarfield oversaw the growth of Carbon Mesa's funds management business to over $450 Million of interim, mezzanine and other structured finance assets. Mr. Clarfield was also an Executive Vice President for the WMF Group, LTD and served on its Executive Loan Committee.

Prior to the sale to WMF Group, Carbon Mesa engaged in origination of commercial mortgages, the acquisition, resolution and sale of distressed commercial mortgages as well as performing advisory services for institutional clients.

In 1990 Mr. Clarfield was one of the four co-founders and Principals of Secured Capital Corp. There he helped lead the company to the preeminent position in the non-performing and sub-performing Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Market, successfully completing over $7 billion in assets sales and over $1 billion in acquisitions in less than four years.

From 1985 to 1990, Mr. Clarfield was a Vice President in the Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities Department at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. in Beverly Hills, California. There he had primary responsibility for the real estate credit and due diligence functions.

A graduate of Fairfield University with a B.S. in Accounting, summa cum laude, Mr. Clarfield also earned an MBA in Real Estate Finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, he joined the Commercial Mortgage Consulting Group of Kenneth Leventhal & Company where in 1984 he worked on the development of the original commercial mortgage securities rating model with Standard & Poor's.

Affiliations:

  • Executive Committee Member: Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania 
  • Member: Policy Advisory Board of the Fisher Center for Real Estate, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
  • Sustaining Board Member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate
  • Former President of the LA Real Estate and Construction Industries Council
Patrick Cowan
Vice President
National Commercial Sales
Ticor Title Company

Patrick Cowan


Patrick Cowan is a Vice President of Business Development for Ticor Title Company's National Commercial Sales team. Patrick was a former starting quarterback for UCLA and brings the same competitive team oriented skillsets to the Ticor Team. Patrick has an extensive background in philanthropic endeavors, including volunteer work at home and abroad, teaching, and most recently he was the Executive Director of Regional Giving for UCLA. He has also worked extensively with educational non-profits in inner city Los Angeles, as well as Kenya.

Patrick will be instrumental in continuing to grow the Ticor brand on a national level servicing the most complex commercial transactions with support from Ticor's outstanding internal associates.

Patrick earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles in the field of history. He is a member of The Order of the Blue Shield, The UCLA Chancellor’s Society, and the UCLA Quarterback Club. He lives with his wife Katie in San Pedro, California and together they are raising their two children, Oliver and Louise.

Patrick believes in doing good work, following up on your word, and doing things right the first time.

Clare De Briere
Executive Vice President
Skanska USA Commercial Development, Los Angeles

Clare De Briere


Clare De Briere leads the Los Angeles region of Skanska USA Commercial Development, which delivers customer-focused, highly sustainable office, mixed-use and multi-family properties across the United States. A native Angeleno, De Briere has spent her career spearheading countless innovative real estate developments across Los Angeles that benefit tenants and their surrounding communities.

In her current role, Clare has been responsible for leading the company’s commercial development entry into Los Angeles, which includes land acquisitions, the development and design of new projects, tenant leasing strategy and execution of future projects. In 2019, De Briere secured the acquisition of the group’s first Los Angeles site, a fully-entitled building at 9000 Wilshire. With the guidance of Clare’s forward-thinking approach and design, Skanska will construct a 46,000-square-foot office building in the heart of one of the most desired submarkets across the country, Beverly Hills. The project is designed for LEED® Gold Certification and expects to achieve LEED Platinum upon completion.

Clare is also charged with building Skanska Commercial Development’s Los Angeles community outreach strategy, which has fostered partnerships with the Downtown Women’s Center, City of Hope, United Way’s HomeWalk, Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles and Via Care Community Health Center, among others.

Prior to her current role, Clare was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Ratkovich Company. There she led the development of The Hercules Campus converting the former headquarters of Hughes Aircraft including the historic Spruce Goose hangar into an innovative creative campus in Los Angeles’ Playa Vista neighborhood. The award-winning campus is now home to Google,72 and Sunny. Clare also led The Ratkovich Company’s development of the Alhambra a 900,000-square foot urban community, 5900 Wilshire a 32-story tower in LA’s Miracle Mile, and 800 Wilshire. Her most notable work was the Bloc in downtown Los Angeles. The project boasts an unprecedented open-air urban center including a 34-story office tower with one of the first open air roof top tenant lounges in a downtown LA office building, premier retail, gathering space, and a flagship 500 room Sheraton Grand Hotel.

Clare serves on the Urban Land Institute’s (“ULI”) Americas’ DEI Committee, and is the immediate past chair of the Los Angeles District Council for ULI where she currently serves as Chair of the Governance Committee. She is a Global Trustee, and sits on the national Advisory Committee for Building Healthy Places and Building Healthy Corridors. Previously she has sat on the ULI Advisory Panel in the City of Denver and on a local Technical Assistance Panels for the Huntington Hospital and Cal Poly Pomona.

Staying connected to her alma maters, Clare is a current board member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, a member of the University of Southern California’s Price School’s Real Estate Advisory Board, as well as the Advisory Board for UCLA’s History Department where she has focused on engaging the undergraduates with successful alumni in various fields. She is a member of the Huntington Library’s Society of Fellows, the executive committee of the Central City Association and is a former board member and present supporter of the Los Angeles Conservancy.

De Briere holds a Masters of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree from UCLA.

Gilbert Dembo
President
Dembo Realty
Chris Dischinger
Co-Principal
LDG Development

Chris Dischinger


Chris Dischinger is a proven leader within the real estate development industry and is president, co-principal and co-founder of LDG Development in Louisville, KY. He is committed to the business of building better lives through developing quality, affordable communities for hardworking families and active seniors to grow and thrive.

In 1994, Chris formed LDG Development with his business partner Mark Lechner, successfully focusing on acquiring, developing, building and managing single-family homes. The company eventually grew to have a portfolio of more than 500 homes as well as acquiring and managing commercial real estate properties in 17 states. In 2002, LDG saw an opportunity to enter the Housing Tax Credit Program and by using this model, LDG has developed over 13,000 units in multiple states.

Today, LDG has three main divisions, all focused on maximizing growth and production. With the mission statement, “Everyone Deserves a Quality Place to Live”, the company has almost 80 employees in its offices located in Louisville, Austin, Nashville and Atlanta who are focused on developing and managing properties for the thousands of families and seniors who are proud to call one of our communities home.

Chris has served as president of four different trade organizations including the national president of the Society of Exchange Councilors. He resides in his hometown of Louisville, KY with his family.

Matt Evans
Chief Investment Officer
Dedeaux Properties

Matt Evans


Matt has more than 20 years of commercial real estate and finance experience.  Matt has played a pivotal role in the acquisition of $40+ billion in assets including $4.4 billion in commercial real estate through single asset and portfolio transactions in both equity investments and loan purchases.

In 2016 Matt joined Dedeaux Properties, a privately held industrial developer and investor with roots dating back to 1936.  As CIO, Matt is responsible for developing investment strategy, supporting the firm’s continued rapid growth, and driving operational efficiency.

From 1998 to 2015 Matt held various roles within GE Capital.  Prior to joining Dedeaux Properties Matt led the Asset Management and Capital Markets activities for Arden, GE Real Estate’s wholly owned office portfolio, nationally (approximately 15 million square feet).  Before his role in Asset Management, Matt was Senior Director for GE Real Estate’s equity team and was responsible for the identification, development and maintenance of commercial real estate joint-venture equity partnerships and investments in industrial, multifamily, office, and retail assets.

Prior to joining GE Real Estate's equity team, Matt spent four years as a member of GE Capital's Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions team (2001 - 2005), where he identified, analyzed, and executed on GE Capital acquisition targets in existing and new industries.

Matt is a graduate of GE's Financial Management Program (FMP), a 100+ year leadership development pipeline and he is also six-sigma quality trained and certified.

While at GE, Matt represented GE’s Hispanic Forum as a member of GE Real Estate’s Diversity Board.

Although a native to Southern California, Matt spent his formative years oversees in both Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.   He lives in West Los Angeles with his wife and two children and enjoys travel, scuba-diving, skiing and the beach.

Matt has a BA in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from Columbia University.

Aaron Greeno
Partner, Head of West Coast
Dune Real Estate Partners

Aaron Greeno


Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Greeno is responsible for originating and evaluating new investment opportunities, executing on value creation strategies and continuing to build and oversee Dune’s business on the West Coast.

Prior to joining Dune in 2020, Mr. Greeno was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, where he was co-head of U.S. Investments for the firm’s real estate investing group, overseeing investment activities and managing the acquisition team on the West Coast in addition to sourcing, executing and managing investments on behalf of both the core and opportunistic funds managed by the firm.

Mr. Greeno began his 13 year career at Morgan Stanley in New York as an associate in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group, focused on capital raising, corporate defense, strategic initiatives and M&A advisory before moving to the principal side of the business in 2008 where he has invested and managed assets on behalf of open and closed-ended funds with various strategies including opportunistic, value-add, core, debt and special situations. Mr. Greeno relocated to Los Angeles in 2014 to help source and execute transactions on the West Coast.

Mr. Greeno is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and serves on the board of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate. Mr. Greeno received a JD/MBA from the UCLA School of Law and Anderson School of Management in 2007 and a BS from the University of Miami (Florida) in 2003, where he graduated Cum Laude.

Marchell Hilliard
Senior Vice President
Commercial Real Estate Banking, Southern California - Los Angeles
Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Marchell Hilliard


Marchell Hilliard is a Senior Vice President in the Commercial Real Estate Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.  In this role, Marchell is responsible for marketing and business development for major real estate clients based in the greater Los Angeles area.  She is a lead relationship manager and senior external contact on Bank of America Merrill Lynch's deal team for developers, REITs and private commercial real estate investment funds.

Throughout her 25 year career with Bank of America, Marchell has been a strong champion of a diverse and inclusive company.  She is currently the co-chair of Bank of America's Associate Leadership Council in Los Angeles and sits on the company's Diversity and Inclusion Council.  These councils are comprised of key employees from across all Bank of America business lines to help develop and retain key talent and develop rising executives.

Marchell also spends her time giving back as a civic leader in Los Angeles as member of the board of directors of Chrysalis, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating job opportunities for homeless and low-income individuals.  She is also a sustaining member of the Junior League and an active member of the National Charity League.  She has also served on her church's finance council.

Marchell graduated from University of California at Los Angeles with Honors.  She holds series 7 and 63 licenses.  Her personal passions include traveling and spending time with her two children and husband.

Noah E. Hochman, TruAmerica Multifamily
Noah E. Hochman
Co-Chief Investment Officer
TruAmerica Multifamily

Mr. Noah Hochman is the Co-Chief Investment Officer & Head of Capital Markets for TruAmerica Multifamily. Since the firm’s inception, Mr. Hochman has been a founding member of the investment committee and executive teams. He also leads TruAmerica’s capital formation strategy. With more than 23 years of experience in multifamily transactions, he provides strategic leadership and depth of industry knowledge to TruAmerica’s acquisitions team.

Under Mr. Hochman’s leadership in the areas of investor relations, capital markets and acquisitions, the company has grown from a regional player in the multifamily sector in the Western United States to a national multifamily and workforce housing market leader. Today, TruAmerica is the youngest manager in the NMHC Top 50 of multifamily owners and operators in the country.

Mr. Hochman has raised more than $4 billion in equity while at TruAmerica and has led nearly $10 billion in acquisitions and $3 billion in dispositions while growing the platform’s institutional investor base. Mr. Hochman was also instrumental in launching TruAmerica’s flagship Workforce Housing Fund series.

Mr. Hochman has gained expertise in complex deal structuring including REITs, shareholder loans and Sharia compliance. He has also led the charge in diversifying TruAmerica’s borrowing and lending relationships to include agencies, debt funds, insurance companies, banks, various lending facilities and SASB and CMBS execution.

Mr. Hochman is a recognized thought leader in the multifamily industry and has spoken at several real estate industry events including Urban Land Institute (ULI),National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE), Bisnow, Greenpearl, Realshare, IMN and many others.

Prior to joining TruAmerica, Mr. Hochman served as Vice President of Acquisitions and Dispositions at Triumph Management Company and as Vice President of Acquisitions for Granite Peak Partners.

Mr. Hochman holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA and is a graduate of the Anderson Graduate School of Management Mergers & Acquisitions Program at UCLA. He is active in the UCLA Real Estate Alumni Endowment Circle. He is a member of the AFIRE and serves on the Board of Directors for the NMHC. Mr. Hochman is also a member of the Bronze Multifamily Council at the ULI and together with his wife, Naomi, is an active philanthropist in the areas of healthcare for underserved communities and higher education.

Malcolm Johnson
Founder & CEO
Langdon Park Capital

Malcolm Johnson

 

Malcolm Johnson is the Founder and CEO of Langdon Park Capital, a real estate investment management company that sources opportunities and creates value through local expertise, strategic relationships with development partners and corporate tenants, and a deep understanding of the communities in which its real estate investments are located. Mr. Johnson directs the overall strategy and operations of Langdon Park Capital.

Mr. Johnson has 16 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. Previously, he was an Executive Director in JPMorgan’s Commercial Real Estate group, where he led the firm’s efforts on a new platform that deployed equity into affordable and workforce housing projects in markets across the country. Mr. Johnson joined JPMorgan in 2012 as the senior coverage banker in the firm’s Real Estate Banking group in Los Angeles, where he underwrote and arranged $3 billion in debt financing for institutional real estate developers and investment firms. From 2006-2012, Mr. Johnson was a vice president in the Commercial Real Estate Banking group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Prior to his banking career, Johnson played professional football with the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers from 1999-2003.

Mr. Johnson has been a guest lecturer for the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, UCLA Anderson School of Business, University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the National Football League and numerous schools and non-profit organizations in South Los Angeles and his native Washington, DC.

Mr. Johnson also serves on the Sustaining Board for the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, the Board of Trustees for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the Corporate Advisory Board for The Brotherhood Crusade, a non-profit organization supporting low-income South Los Angeles residents.

Mr. Johnson received his Master's in Business Administration from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and his Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business.

Donald Kaplan
Partner
CJA Corporation

Donald Kaplan

Donald Kaplan and his son have built and renovated industrial and multifamily real estate for over 50 years across the United States. Together they form CJA corporation which owns and operates millions of square feet of industrial and multifamily assets nationwide.

Don Kaplan graduated in 1968 from the University of Southern California as a real estate and finance major. Shortly thereafter, he joined Home Savings and Loan as an appraiser and obtained a real estate brokerage license. While at Home Savings and Loan, he specialized in the
appraisal of multifamily assets.

In 1971, Mr. Kaplan left Share Holders Capital Corporation and formed a partnership that developed over 1,500 apartment units throughout Greater Southern California.

In 1973, Mr. Kaplan became President of a public corporation, Inter-Continental Equities. The company bought and sold unimproved land, predominantly in the Inland Empire. Mr. Kaplan was responsible for all acquisitions, dispositions and value creation of the company assets.

After completing his responsibilities with Inter-Continental Equities, Mr. Kaplan went out on his own and formed CJA Corporation, (named after his three children, Charles, Josh and Amanda).

Salvador P. LaViña
Partner
Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Salvador P. LaViña


Business lawyer and trusted adviser Sal LaViña represents entrepreneurs and companies on complex transactions and strategic advising. With more than three decades of experience, Sal serves as a fierce advocate who listens, performs and achieves client objectives, whether closing a complex multi-state marquee deal or a fixing a local problem.

Clients hire Sal as the go-to deal guy who has closed or supervised transactions totaling nearly $10 billion dollars over the past decade. He is skilled in virtually all areas of real estate, including acquisitions and sales, joint ventures, multifamily transactions, 1031 exchanges, real estate fund formation, development, public-private and multistate matters.

In the corporate realm, Sal focuses his practice on finance and capital raising, fund formation, syndications and private placements, and mid-market mergers and acquisitions, stock and asset transactions. Sal also counsels clients on complex workouts, crisis management, and investor and LLC disputes. He speaks regularly throughout the business community on real estate, finance, and business development topics.

Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, Sal has led law firms and businesses alike. After several years at O'Melveny & Myers, right after graduating from Columbia Law School, he later served as managing partner in a business law firm, as well as general counsel and a partner in a real estate development company. He also has a California broker's license, and works on his own deals. Sal knows, from first-hand experience, the pressures of running a business and brings this sensitivity to his practice at every turn.

After graduating magna cum laude from UCLA, before he went to law school, Sal worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. This experience taught him early-on to be a concise, compelling communicator who asks pertinent and informative questions. He meets even the tightest deadlines while processing complicated information under pressure.
Sal is dedicated to giving back to the communities where he lives and works. He walks the walk, and exemplifies his belief that service is at the heart of being a well-rounded lawyer.

In the UCLA community, Sal recently served as a board member and general counsel for the UCLA Alumni Association, was nominated to the UCLA Order of the Golden Bruin in recognition of his valued individual service to UCLA, and was recently appointed to the advisory board of UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, a joint center of UCLA Anderson Business School and UCLA School of Law. For his beloved alma mater, Sal works with the UCLA Centennial Campaign, UCLA Real Estate Alumni Group, Wooden Athletic Fund (Coaches Roundtable Member) and UCLA Foundation Campaign of Champions, and he has hosted Dinners for 12 Strangers, participated in Interview With a Bruin, been an Alumni Mentor, and spoken at UCLA Extension courses on business and real estate law. He networks with Bruin Professionals as well as Provisors, where he was on the Executive Committee of the Brentwood Group, and Chair of the Investment Committee of the Real Estate Affinity Group.

Sal has been appointed to non-profit boards which focus on helping underserved children in communities where he grew up, including The Village Family Services, and was a board member for several years for Para los Niños. He also has worked on community redevelopment, representing several cities in South Los Angeles, and was Chief of Staff for Operation Hope, which focused on building businesses in South Central Los Angeles. He also volunteers for speech and debate tournaments, mentoring, and speaking on career development at inner-city high schools.  

Monique Lawshe

Executive Vice President
GHC Housing Partners (GHC)
Partner
PK Management LLC


 

Monique Lawshe

Monique Lawshe is an Executive Vice President at GHC Housing Partners LLC (GHC), and a Partner in affiliate PK Management LLC. She joined GHC during 2002, shortly after it was created, to assist the founder by expanding the company’s expertise in acquisition, finance and development and renovation of affordable housing. She has extensive experience with the use of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, multi-layered financing structures and HUD programs, as well as conventional financing methods. While at GHC, Ms. Lawshe has directed the acquisition of more than 200 properties with 20,000+ units for low-income households, throughout the country.

Ms. Lawshe has more than 20 years of experience in real estate development and finance. Prior to joining GHC, Ms. Lawshe served as the Chief Executive Officer of A Community of Friends (ACOF), a Los Angeles-based non-profit development organization, and was instrumental in directing significant growth of the company over a 10-year period. Under her leadership, ACOF produced nearly 1,000 units of permanent affordable housing for people with special needs in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

In February 2024, Ms. Lawshe was elected as the new President of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission. She also currently serves on the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate's Sustaining Board and Affordable Housing Advisory Council (AHAC), and UCLA Hospital's Geriatrics Advisory Board.

She completed an MBA, with a concentration in Real Estate Finance, at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and has a B.S. in Industrial Management/Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.

Marianne Lowenthal
Founder & President
Granadier Co.

Marianne Lowenthal


Marianne Lowenthal directed all acquisition and development activity for Combined Properties. Since joining the Company in 2005, Ms. Lowenthal has been responsible for the development and redevelopment at over 1.6 million square feet of retail and mixed-use projects in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

Ms. Lowenthal has been in the development business for 29 years and has worked through complicated entitlements and design issues on numerous projects. In her previous position as Executive Vice President for Bond Companies in Los Angeles, she specialized in mixed-use development and was responsible for the first major mixed-use project in Hollywood CA, which contained 300 residential units and 100,000 square feet of retail.  Prior to holding that position, she had equity investment and management positions as principal of her own business where she completed the sale of 3.2 million square feet of office buildings in two high-rise mixed-use projects in Los Angeles, in addition to being project manager for the development of a 500,000 square foot mixed-use project in Burbank, CA.

Ms. Lowenthal began her career at The Prudential Realty Group where she started in the development division and rose to become manager of the Western Region portfolio, which included 6 million square feet of office and retail properties with a combined value in excess of $1.5 billion.

Marianne Lowenthal received a B.A. in Political Science and an M.B.A. with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate, from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is currently the Co-President of Congregation Kol Ami and serves on the Board of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce.

Colm Macken
CEO & President
Shea Properties

Colm Macken


As President and Chief Executive Officer, Colm Macken is responsible for Shea Properties' strategic initiatives and operations. Mr. Macken oversees the management of the company's operating portfolio which includes more than 8,100 apartment units and nearly 5 million square feet of retail, office and industrial space in California, Colorado and Washington state. He also leads all development efforts for the company's strong pipeline of future projects.

Mr. Macken brings more than 30 years of experience to the company. He previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of Forest City Enterprises' West Coast Commercial Group. During his tenure, he successfully directed the development of projects costing in excess of $1 billion in its core markets, including Victoria Gardens, San Francisco Center, and numerous innovative work/live/play communities throughout the West Coast.

Mr. Macken earned his degree in mechanical engineering from University College in Dublin, Ireland and a master's degree in business administration from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Urban Land Institute (ULI), National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC). Mr. Macken is also a board member of the Ziman Center at the UCLA Anderson School of Business.

Thomas C. Malayil
Founder & Managing Director
Indo-Pacific Partners, LLC

Thomas C. Malayil

Thomas C. Malayil is the Founder and Managing Director of Indo-Pacific Partners LLC. He started his career with a private shopping center developer in the US Midwest, Dial Companies. Mr. Malayil subsequently entered law school and obtained real-estate related experience at several large law firms. He returned to the commercial side and spent over a decade with one of America’s largest shopping mall companies, NYSE-listed REIT Macerich. Mr. Malayil served in various roles at Macerich, concluding as a Vice President of Real Estate. Before joining Lippo Karawaci as CEO of Lippo Malls Indonesia, he founded a private consultancy focused on the commercial and retail real estate industry. Mr. Malayil is also the Managing Director of TCM Property Advisory where he advises individuals, families, and companies on business matters. He has also been a Senior Advisor to The Jerde Partnership, SM Legal Group (including predecessors), and Elavare Global Advisors. Mr. Malayil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accountancy from the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU, a Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon School of Law, and MBA degrees from the National University of Singapore and UCLA Anderson. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (and served on its Asia Pacific Advisory Board & earned its Certified Retail Real Estate Executive credential), Urban Land Institute (and is a full member via the Asia Pacific region), Asia Society (and serves on its Southern California Advisory Board), LA World Affairs Council & Town Hall (and serves on its Board of Directors), Pacific Council on International Policy, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Facilities Advisory Committee, UCLA Real Estate Alumni Group (and serves on its Board) and American & Washington State Bar Associations.

Jim McCaulley
Partner
Greater LA Real Estate Markets Leader
Ernst & Young LLP

Jim McCaulley


Jim joined the Real Estate, Hospitality and Construction practice of Ernst & Young LLP in 1998 and has spent over 22 years serving a wide range of real estate and asset management clients, including equity and mortgage REITs, asset managers, investment funds, homebuilders, land and resort developers, non-traded REITs, mortgage lenders, hospitality companies and resort concessions operators. As the Greater LA Real Estate Markets Leader, he helps oversee EY’s practice of over 130 assurance professionals in Los Angeles dedicated specifically to serving the real estate industry.

Jim has extensive experience with SEC registrants and capital market transactions, including mergers and reverse acquisitions, registered debt/equity offerings, IPOs, SEC Staff correspondence, and related projects. He also serves as a regional liaison/monitor to assist engagement teams undergoing PCAOB inspections and internal reviews and is a member of the firm’s Quality Network focusing on private equity and real estate.

Jim earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting at Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is a certified public accountant in both California and Colorado and a member of the AICPA.

Outside of the office, Jim enjoys traveling with his wife, Heather, and his two boys, Jack and Gavin, fly fishing, cooking, sampling the fantastic selection of local craft beers and rooting for his favorite teams, including the Los Angeles Kings and Denver Broncos.

Kevin McKenzie, F&F Capital Group
Kevin McKenzie
Chief Investment Officer
F&F Capital Group

Kevin McKenzie

Kevin McKenzie is a proven entrepreneurial real estate investor and business leader with broad-based, multi-cycle experience in building, motivating, and managing small and large teams. He helps underwrite, close, capitalize, develop, and manage successful real estate investment.

He is an investment advisor and leads the Investment Management division with $1.1b in capital under management with broad-based real estate credit/equity strategies ranging from securities to direct investing across property types. He established the firm as an active investor in new issue CMBS B certificates. Mr. McKenzie directs and coordinates all aspects of the formation, investment strategy, fundraising, closing and management of three closed-end institutional real estate funds. He also oversees and directs investment activity, asset management portfolio allocation, research, and strategy. He is a chair for the investment committee and voting member of valuation and management committees.

Murray McQueen
President
Tribune Real Estate Holdings, LLC

Murray McQueen


Mr. McQueen is President of Tribune Real Estate Holdings, LLC, ("TREH"), the real estate subsidiary of Tribune Media (NYSE: TRCO). TREH is the ownership entity for Tribune Media's 7.3 million square feet of owned real estate and is charged with maximizing the long term value of these assets. This portfolio includes large urban-infill redevelopment sites in locations such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Costa Mesa, and Florida where TREH is in the process of implementing various levels of entitlement, adaptive reuse, joint-venture structuring, and overall value creation. The Company also oversees Tribune Media's diverse corporate real estate obligations as well as real estate aspects of the company's M+A activity.

Prior to Tribune Mr. McQueen was Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Channel West Group, a real estate investment and advisory firm based in Los Angeles. During his tenure there Channel West acquired and fully redeveloped a distressed property in Calabasas, California into the award-winning boutique hotel, The Anza. In addition Channel West Group provided strategic advisory services to multiple institutional clients.

Prior to starting Channel West Mr. McQueen was a Managing Director with Cerberus Capital Management where for 6 years he was the senior Cerberus real estate professional on the west coast and shared responsibility for oversight of many aspects of the national real estate portfolio. He was a member of the Real Estate Investment Committee and Co-Head of the company's real estate workout group.

Before joining Cerberus in 2005, Mr. McQueen was with DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, the real estate private equity fund of Credit-Suisse First Boston, where from 1998 to 2005 he underwrote and asset managed deals in the western United States and Japan.

From 1991 to 1998 Mr. McQueen was with Citicorp Real Estate, responsible for underwriting, workouts, and asset management in the United States and Mexico.
 
Mr. McQueen received a BSC in Economics from Santa Clara University and an MBA in Real Estate Finance from the John E. Anderson School at UCLA.

Gary Mozer

Executive Managing Director, Capital Markets
Institutional Property Advisors

Gary Mozer

Gary is a leading national capital markets advisor whose dealmaking creativity and exceptional negotiating skills have led to over billions of debt and equity financing. He specializes in retail, multi-family, office, and industrial products, but is also an accomplished financier of hotels, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, marinas, RV parks, and self-storage sites.

Gary has earned his reputation throughout his nearly 40-year tenure as a Principal/Co-Founder of George Smith Partners. Appointed CEO in 1999, Gary had consistently ranked as GSP’s largest individual producer, placing up to $2 billion annually.

Gary is actively involved in many real estate and professional organizations including ULI, ICSC, ACRE, NAIOP, YPO, and CEO. As a philanthropist, Gary is a member of the Board of Governors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, West Coast Sports Association, Defense Orientation Conference Association, and The Navy League.

Gary holds a Master’s in Real Estate and a Master of Finance from the University of Wisconsin and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Michigan.

James M. Rishwain, Jr.
Global Chair & CEO Emeritus
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

James M. Rishwain, Jr.


James Rishwain, an accomplished Pillsbury Real Estate partner, is a preeminent legal adviser to global market leaders, Fortune 100 companies and corporate boards.

Jim has served more than a decade as Pillsbury's global chair and CEO. Before becoming the firm's chair and CEO, he served for a decade as the global leader of the Firm's real estate practice. Jim presently serves as the leader of Pillsbury's Real Estate and Construction Industry Team, with real estate and construction as core elements of the firm's strategic focus. He also offers strategic counsel to global developers, investors, lenders and property owners who set the pace in their industries. Leveraging his deep knowledge of capital markets and real estate, he advises on investments and acquisitions, development, finance, joint ventures, leasing, exchanges, multifamily tax-exempt bond transactions, syndications and REITs. His real estate transaction work has earned him distinction as the California Lawyer of the Year and a Deal of the Year award.

Jim also serves on numerous board of directors of for profit, civic and charitable organizations. Jim advises organizations on their strategic growth and development plans. Finally, Jim is active in many organizations in the City of Los Angeles, including those with respect to sports and entertainment, schools, parks and homeowners associations, and energy and infrastructure.

Jim is an active proponent of diversity in the legal profession and holds a CEO Diversity Leadership Award from Diversity Best Practices. In each of his years as Firm Chair, Pillsbury was named as a Working Mother Best Company, and was among the Top 10 best companies in the United States in 2008.

He received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and his J.D., cum laude, from Pepperdine University School of Law, where he graduated with high distinction and top ten in his class.

Paige Serden
Senior Director
Gantry

Paige Serden


Paige Serden is a Senior Director in Gantry’s Los Angeles office. She joined the firm in 2018 after 35+ years in commercial real estate banking with strong expertise in both bridge and construction financing. Since joining Gantry, she has been engaged in financing with Life Companies, conduits, debt and equity funds, and banks.

Prior to joining Gantry she spent 23 years with City National Bank as a Senior Vice President and the Regional Manager for their Real Estate division. Paige held leadership positions in all aspects of loan origination, collections, portfolio management, servicing, and operations. Prior to that she held numerous leadership positions with Union Bank. In her career she and teams under her management have generated over $6BB in commitments. She has long-term and deep relationships in the local community.

Paige has a sociology degree from of the University of San Diego, a Paralegal Certificate in Litigation from the Center of Paralegal studies at the University of San Diego, and attended graduate studies at the University of California Los Angeles. She is also a graduate of Union Bank's Management training program in credit and lending as well as a licensed California real estate broker.

Paige is a member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate's Sustaining Board, a Board Member of Lambda Alpha International, Immediate past Chair of the Southern California Leadership Network, and previously served as both Chair and Co-chair of the Citizens oversight Committee for a $365MM school construction Bond for the Beverly Hills Unified School District.
Sanford D. Sigal
CEO, President & Founder
NewMark Merrill Companies, LLC

Sanford D. Sigal


Sandy Sigal is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles and has been an entrepreneur in the real estate industry for almost 30 years. In 1997, Mr. Sigal founded and serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of NewMark Merrill Companies, which has grown to be one of the fast growing privately held developer and owner of shopping centers in Southern California, Colorado, and Illinois. He is also Chairman of BrightStreet Ventures, a company he co-founded to provide more opportunities to his tenants and other owners of centers by integrating on-line platforms with the traditional brick and mortar business. 

Mr. Sigal's first career started at the age of 12 as a programmer and software developer for personal computers in their infancy, learning accounting and project management while computerizing different businesses. Mr. Sigal started his career in real estate at the age of 20 by joining West Venture Companies, a Southern California-based homebuilder, first to computerize there business processes. While there he founded West Venture Commercial, the commercial retail division, where he built or redeveloped over 25 shopping centers as well as oversaw their management. In 1993, Mr. Sigal was promoted to President and CEO of the parent company giving him responsibility for the land acquisition, development and sale of over 700 homes, and oversight of the commercial and mortgage divisions. In 1997, Mr. Sigal left West Venture and co-founded NewMark Merrill Companies at which time he purchased the West Venture retail assets, including 15 retail centers and 4 development projects. 

Since NewMark Merrill's inception in 1997, Mr. Sigal has acquired and/or developed an additional 78 retail centers totaling over 8,000,000 square feet and in over 30 cities. In addition, his company, LandMark Retail Group has built over 50 CVS' throughout California. NewMark Merrill has been ranked one of Los Angeles' Fastest Growing Private Companies by the Los Angeles Business Journal for 7 years, Top 10 Property Management Firms & Top 10 Development Firms by the Los Angeles Business Journal and currently owns and/or manages 73 shopping centers throughout California, Colorado and Illinois representing almost 11,000,000 square feet with a collective value in excess of $1.2 billion dollars. The Company received "The Best Retail Project of 2013" by the Los Angeles Business Journal for a project it renovated and redeveloped in Baldwin Park, California. It credits among its tenants Wal-Mart, Meijer, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Ralph's, Albertsons, Toys R Us, 99c Only Stores, CVS, Walgreen's and other local and national retailers. The company has offices in Thousand Oaks, Norwalk, Anaheim, Oceanside, and Sacramento, Chicago and Colorado and a corporate office in Woodland Hills. 

Mr. Sigal is also active in community organizations serving on the Board of the Camp Max Straus Foundation, a camp for underserved children which Mr. Sigal attended when he was a child. He is currently serving as Vice Chairman of the Board and dinner chair since 2004 and was recipient of the William Shatner Humanitarian Award in 2007 for his work for the Foundation and the Camp. Mr. Sigal serves as a mentor for young adults interested in real estate through the Young Leadership Development Institute as well as the Real Estate Professional Organization through the Jewish Federation and mentors Olympic Athletes on transitioning from sports to private industry. Mr. Sigal is also an active member of the Young Presidents Organization of Santa Monica Bay (YPOSMB) currently serving as Chapter Chair as well as the Regional Education Chair for the Pacific Region. In 2013, Mr. Sigal's YPO Education program for his chapter won "Best of the Best" for all YPO Chapters Worldwide. Mr. Sigal received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Award in the Services category for Greater Los Angeles. Mr. Sigal has 4 children, and has resided in Calabasas for the last 20 years.

Jennifer E. Sung
Partner, Real Estate Capital Markets Group
Goodwin Procter LLP

Jennifer E. Sung


Jennifer Sung is a partner in Goodwin Procter's Real Estate Capital Markets Group. Ms. Sung's legal practice involves extensive experience in structuring, negotiating, documenting and closing complex commercial real estate and corporate transactions, including joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions, construction, development, mortgage and mezzanine financings, workouts, loan acquisitions and sales, equity financings, and leasing of office, industrial, multifamily, retail and hotel assets. She represents institutional investors, public and private REITs and investment funds, as well as owners, managers and developers.

Ms. Sung has closed more than 200 different commercial real estate transactions during her career, which includes a period of major economic downturn. She represents national real estate funds in negotiating hotel acquisitions, sales, financings and joint ventures together with the hotel's accompanying management and franchise agreements, closing 28 different hospitality transactions in the last two years. She has also been instrumental in implementing a new construction and development joint venture and financing program on behalf of a major international financial institution, closing 20 transactions since its inception just over 4 years ago with development budgets totaling over $1.3 billion in the aggregate. She is the author of "Borrowers Asking Lenders - 'Where's the Love?'", published in the Fall 2011 edition of RESource, and "How to Manage Hotel Ownership Transitions" published at www.HotelNewsNow.com on November 29, 2011.

Prior to joining Goodwin Procter, Ms. Sung served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Gregory Alarcon of the Los Angeles Superior Court.Ms. Sung is a member of the Real Property Law Section of both the American Bar Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. She coordinates the ULI Young Leaders Group breakfast meetings that are held in Goodwin Procter's Los Angeles office.

Ms. Sung has been recognized as a Southern California Rising Star in 2015, an Emerging Leader in Hotels in Real Estate Forum'sJanuary 2015 issue, and one of Real Estate Forum's Tomorrow's Leaders in the June 2013 issue.  At Loyola Law School, Ms. Sung received the First Honors Award in Torts, Conflict of Laws and Secured Transactions in Personal Property. She also received the 2007 Jeffrey S. Turner Outstanding Commercial Law Student Award from the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Gary M. Tenzer
Co-Founding Principal & Managing Director
George Smith Partners Inc

Gary M. Tenzer


Gary M. Tenzer is co-founding Principal and Managing Director of George Smith Partners Inc., ("GSP"); a Los Angeles based real estate investment banking, financing and consulting services firm. GSP represents many of the largest and most prominent developers and owners of real estate throughout the country.

With over 35 years of experience in originating, structuring, underwriting and negotiating sophisticated real estate financing transactions, Mr. Tenzer has been personally involved in the placement of over $8.0 Billion dollars of real estate financing throughout the country. In addition to arranging financing for his clients, Mr. Tenzer has had extensive experience as an expert witness and litigation consultant. He has been involved in over three hundred real estate litigation matters, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, and has testified over 100 times in state and federal courts at both jury and bench trials.

Mr. Tenzer is a member of the Sustaining Board of the UCLA Ziman for Real Estate and has been a frequent lecturer at undergraduate and graduate real estate finance classes at UCLA and USC; he is also a member of the Urban Land Institute.

Education

  • Master of Science in Business Administration (MSBA) 1979: University of Southern California. Major in Real Estate Finance, with specific focus on real estate economics and financial feasibility and rate of return analysis.
  • Master of Business Administration (MBA) 1978: University of Southern California. Majors in Finance and Entrepreneurship and Venture Management. Emphasis on capital structure and creation of start-up enterprises in the real estate industry.
  • Bachelor of Arts (AB) 1976: University of California, Berkeley. Degree in Economics with emphasis on Urban Land Economics and quantitative analysis; minors in Psychology and Astronomy.
Robert Wasserman
President
Huntington Community Impact Capital
The Huntington National Bank 

Robert Wasserman


Rob Wasserman is the President of Huntington Community Impact Capital for The Huntington National Bank.

Rob previously served as the Senior Vice President at U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation focusing on Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) investments. Prior to that role, he was Managing Director of Tax Credit Syndications division and managed the West Coast office for originations and acquisitions of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) and Solar Tax Credits, both at US Bank Community Development Corporation. His experience includes originating, underwriting and structuring financial transactions, negotiating legal documents, investing equity, lending pre-development and mezzanine financing, underwriting tax-exempt debt, and asset managing the investments.

Rob has published several articles on the financing and structuring of LIHTC and NMTC investments. Rob was founding board member of Endeavor College Prep, a Los Angeles, K-8 charter school, and currently sits on the boards of KIPP St. Louis and Empower Now, a non-profit dedicated to job training and financial literacy in affordable housing communities. He is the founding chair of GAHAC, the Global Affordable Housing Advisory Council (GAHAC).
Additionally, Rob is a member of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate's Sustaining Board and serves as chair of the Center’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council (AHAC). He is also a member of the UCLA Real Estate Alumni Group (REAG) Endowment Circle.

Rob holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.

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