2012 speakers

Robert Akalski, Senior Vice President, Capital One

Robert Akalski is the Senior Vice President and Relationship Manager of Capital One’s Multifamily Lending business in New York. Capital One is one of New York’s leading multifamily lenders with a portfolio of approximately $5.3fB and multifamily originations of over $1.4B in 2011. Capital One is very high on the New York multifamily business and expects to grow its portfolio significantly over the next several years. Mr. Akalski has over twenty five years of experience in all aspects of real estate finance, including the sourcing, underwriting, structuring and negotiating of all types of transactions. He is graduate of both Susquehanna and New York Universities.

Sol Arker, Partner, The Arker Companies

Sol Arker is the Chief Executive Officer of The Arker Companies. He is responsible for providing direction to all parts of the company including its development, contracting and management divisions. Mr. Arker holds a B.S. degree in Economics from the University of Hartford and a J.D. degree from St. John’s University. The Arker Companies is a fully integrated development, construction, and property management company with more than 100 employees, based in Floral Park, NY. It is a third generation family business, founded in 1949 by Aron Arker and controlled today by his two sons, Allan and Sol Arker who have both been in the business over 30 years, and specifically in the affordable housing business since 1991. They have been joined by the next generation, Alex Arker and Daniel Moritz.

Devin Aronstam, Director – Head of Acquisitions, Vantage Properties

Devin is the Head of Acquisitions for Vantage Properties and its affiliate, Candlebrook Properties. Since joining Vantage in 2009, Devin has led Vantage’s geographic expansion out of New York City and into the surrounding suburban markets, having acquired approximately 2,500 units in New Jersey to date. Prior to Joining Vantage, Devin was a Principal with Lubert-Adler Partners, a leading real estate private equity firm. Devin received his B.A from the University of Michigan and his M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Adam Leitman Bailey, Owner, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.

Adam Leitman Bailey, Esq. practices residential and commercial real estate law. Among New York’s most successful and prominent real estate attorneys, Mr. Bailey has been identified among the top five percent of attorneys in the New York area, and named a Super Lawyer by Law & Politics magazine. During the past three years, the internationallyesteemed Chambers & Partners repeatedly selected Mr. Bailey as one of New York’s Leading Real Estate lawyers, hailing Mr. Bailey as a “tenacious and confident litigator who is quick-witted in court and respected by the judges”, and noting that Bailey is “an extraordinary practitioner who gets great results” quoting a client on Mr. Bailey’s “ability to anticipate things before they happen.”

Steven Barranca, Tax Principal, Friedman LLP

Steven Barranca is a tax principal with Friedman LLP. He has over 25 years of experience in public accounting and specializes in the taxation of partnerships and partners in real estate. Steve has extensive experience with real estate developers, investors, operators, syndicated real estate deals, tiered-entity-structures, low-income housing projects, historic tax credits, REIT compliance, UPREIT structures, tax-exempt investors, and section 1031 like-kind exchanges. Steven is a frequent speaker on partnership taxation, real estate tax matters, financial workouts, and is an adjunct professor with New York University (NYU) and teaches accounting, finance and taxation in the NYU Graduate Real Estate Program.

Andrew Barrocas, CEO, MNS

Andrew Barrocas is the Chief Executive Officer of The Real Estate Group. He is jointly responsible for the day-to-day operations, strategic planning and the overall vision of the company. Mr. Barrocas began his real estate career at one of Manhattan’s largest brokerage firms, where he soon earned the title of Managing Director at the age of 23. Over the course of the next four years, he received numerous awards for his achievements in real estate, including the prestigious Crain’s NY “Top Broker Under 30″. Mr. Barrocas studied at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing.

Bruce Beal, Executive Vice President, Related Companies

Bruce A. Beal, Jr., is an Executive Vice President of Related Companies. Mr. Beal joined Related in 1995 and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day development process for projects throughout the country, including acquisition, finance and construction activities. In addition, Mr. Beal oversees Related’s existing portfolio of residential properties as well as the new acquisitions and development for the Related Affordable division.

Sherwin Belkin, Partner, Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman, LLP

Mr. Belkin has represented owners in numerous proceedings and hearings before the New York Conciliation and Appeals Board, Office of Rent Control, New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, Attorney General’s Real Estate Financing and Consumer Frauds Bureaus, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and New York City Commission on Human Rights. He has successfully challenged many of these administrative agencies in State Supreme Court and has argued appeals before all levels of State appellate courts. In addition, he has often served as an advocate for the real estate industry in its governmental relations.

Daniel Benedict, President, Benedict Realty

Mr. Benedict founded Benedict Realty Group, LLC in 1995. After working with a Belgium-based metals and commodities trading firm, Mr. Benedict saw the opportunities available in real estate in the early 1990s and switched his focus toward acquiring NY multifamily real estate. Mr. Benedict’s first real estate purchase occurred in 1994 when he bought a $1 million note secured by 60 units in the Bronx, New York. The property had 30 vacancies with significant capex issues. Mr. Benedict foreclosed on the equity, filled the units and has recouped the investment many times over. Over fifteen years later, Mr. Benedict has accumulated a portfolio of over 4,000 units across over 50 buildings in NYC. Each of these transactions has a value add component.

Robert Cohen, Managing Principal, R. A. Cohen & Associates

Besides his expertise at assembling a diversified staff of professionals, Robert A. Cohen, president and founder, has an extensive background in real estate law and management. Prior to forming R. A. Cohen & Associates, Inc., he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Imperial Properties, Inc., New York, after a long and successful career as Vice President and General Counsel of M. J. Raynes Incorporated, during its period of dominance in co-op conversions in the 1980s. Before that he was an associate at Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn, one of the nation’s largest law firms.

Lawrence Curtis, President, WinnDevelopment

As Managing Partner and President for WinnDevelopment, Larry leads a full range of real estate development and acquisition activities for WinnCompanies, a Boston-based firm with over 80,000 residential units under management in 23 states across the country. While maintaining a wide range of real estate interests, Larry’s primary focus has been on the creation of affordable housing and historic rehabilitation. Larry is immediate past Chairman of of the Board of Directors of the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association, a Director of National Multi-Housing Council and a Director of CHAPA. Larry was the 2006 Chairman of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board.

David Dishy, Executive Vice President for Acquisition & Investment, L + M Development Partners

David Dishy is responsible for new acquisitions and investments for L+M. In this capacity, David manages the New York Affordable Housing (NYAH) Preservation Fund, an investment platform with Citi Community Capital as well as components of L+M’s joint venture with Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group (GSLM). Prior to joining L+M, David served as Senior Vice President for residential with Forest City Ratner Companies and then as a Managing Director for residential development and acquisition with Tishman Speyer in New York. He has been a key participant in transactions involving over 10,000 apartments and $5 billion of investment.

Douglas Eisenberg, Chief Operating Officer, Urban American

Urban American–founded in 1997–got its start in New York and New Jersey, building a portfolio of more than 12,000 units. Douglas Eisenberg is Chief Operating Officer of the company he started with his father, and has developed a formula of buying, renovating, and managing workforce apartment properties often overlooked by institutional investors.

 

Melissa Farrell, Principal, Prudential Commercial Mortgage

Melissa is a Managing Director with Prudential Mortgage Capital Company. In this role, she oversees the firm’s Manhattan office and is responsible for the origination of a broad range of commercial mortgage products throughout the Northeast region. She is located in New York City. Prudential Mortgage Capital Company is a national commercial, multifamily and agricultural mortgage finance business. Leveraging Prudential’s 130-year history in real estate finance, the company offers one of the most comprehensive lines of real estate finance products and originates loans for Fannie Mae DUS™, FHA and Freddie Mac Targeted Affordable programs; Prudential’s general account; and other institutional investors.

Lyndie Fasold, Vice President, Citigroup

Lyndie Fasold is a Treasury Consultant and Vice President at Citi. Lyndie has been working at Citi since 2005 when she joined the organization as a Management Associate. Currently, Lyndie works with Middle Market and Financial Intermediary clients in the New York and Connecticut marketplaces to provide them with innovative Cash Management Solutions. Lyndie graduated with her MBA from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester and received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester as well. Lyndie is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) and has worked in the banking industry for 10 years.

Ziel Feldman, Managing Principal, HFZ Capital Group

Mr. Feldman began his career as a real estate attorney in 1984 and ascended quickly to the role of partner. Concurrent with his legal work, Mr. Feldman began investing in several multi-family properties located in New York City. In 1991, Mr. Feldman co-founded Property Markets Group (PMG). Under his leadership, the company has seen dramatic growth to the point where its operations now span seven states and encompass hotel, resort, residential, commercial and golf course community developments. In 2005, Feldman created a new entity, HFZ Capital Group, with a broader mandate to capitalize on development and investment opportunities in the U.S. and around the globe. In 2007, Mr. Feldman purchased a majority stake in Polar Investments Ltd., a public real estate company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), and assumed the position of Chairman.

Harold Fetner, President and CEO, Durst Fetner Residential

Harold Fetner became President and CEO of Sidney Fetner Associates in 1988, and he was named President and CEO of Durst Fetner Residential at its inception in 2007. Under Mr. Fetner’s direction, SFA’s portfolio has grown exponentially, all through ground up development, allowing the company to earn its reputation as a premiere residential development and management company. He has established the core values for Durst Fetner Residential, which include: high service standards, commitment to sustainable development and attention to detail. As CEO, Mr. Fetner is responsible for the company’s strategic direction, new development opportunities and the multi-faceted portfolio.

Spencer Garfield, Managing Director, Hudson Realty Capital

Mr. Garfield joined Hudson at its formation in March 2003 as a Managing Director in charge of new loan originations, business development and business relations. Mr. Garfield has been instrumental in the company achieving dominance in the middle-market, opportunistic real estate investment arena. Led by Garfield’s originations, HRC has closed more than $2 billion in debt and equity transactions since the formation of its initial two funds. Before joining HRC, Mr. Garfield spent 12 years in the real estate industry with an emphasis on real estate investment and finance. He received his Masters Degree in Real Estate Investment and Finance from New York University and his B.S. from the University of Colorado.

John Gilbert, Executive Vice President, Rudin Management

John Gilbert is EVP and COO for the Rudin organization. This prominent, family-owned developer, possesses 10 million feet of commercial space and 18 apartment buildings. Prior to Rudin Management, Mr. Gilbert was President of the Rent Stabilization Association, served in several capacities for NYC government agencies and was appointed to serve as one of the initial members of the New York State Real Estate Board. Mr. Gilbert has chaired or co-chaired several task forces on rebuilding telecom infrastructure and security, and serves on Mayor Bloomberg’s task forces on energy policy and improving the City’s emergency response and security, and was appointed to the Mayor’s new Broadband Advisory Committee. He currently Chairs the New York Building Congress Energy Committee, is an officer of the Grand Central Partnership and serves as Chair of its Nominating Committee. Mr. Gilbert also is a Trustee for the New York Hall of Science.

Laurence Gluck, Founder and CEO, Stellar Management

In March, Laurence Gluck picked up a stalled condominium project in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at a steep discount. He plans to relaunch it as a rental. In the past year, the head of Stellar Management has also snapped up a hotel and a residential tower in Manhattan, and signed on a deep-pocketed investor for his cash-squeezed, 26-story office tower downtown.

 

Arnold Goldstein, Chairman, Samson Management

Arnold Goldstein graduated from New York University’s School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, and is co-founder of Samson Management, one of New York City’s largest owner management firm.  Mr. Goldstein is Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Rent Stabilization Association of New York, member of the Attorney General’s Cooperatives and Condominiums Advisory Task Force and served as a Director of the NYS Managed Long Term Care Advisory Board.  Since 1978, he has served on the Board of the Hebrew Hospital Home, Inc., the sixth largest not-for-profit nursing home in New York State, and has served as Chairman since 1993.

David Gorenberg, Senior Vice President, Citibank

David is the Senior Vice President of Citibank, N.A., and serves as the National Director of 1031 Exchange Services, a national Qualified Intermediary in Section 1031 tax-deferred property exchanges. In that capacity, he speaks frequently on Section 1031 tax-deferred property exchanges, recently issued regulations regarding exchanges, and updates to the Tax Code concerning Section 1031, and related issues. He has also developed other specialized presentations to meet the needs of specific groups, including attorneys, accountants, estate planners, real estate professionals, and investor groups.

Jeffrey Gould, President and CEO, BRT Realty Trust

Jeff is President and Chief Executive Officer of BRT Realty Trust (NYSE: BRT), a Great Neck, New York based public mortgage REIT and a member of the Board of Trustees. BRT originates short-term bridge loans for acquisition and to assist borrowers in the buyback of their debt or third-party debt opportunities primarily on income producing properties nationwide. Jeff has an outstanding record of accomplishments in commercial real estate lending and real estate ownership. Under his stewardship, BRT has dramatically advanced its reach, equity and assets to become one of the foremost short-term lenders on the national unconventional lender landscape, providing impeccable service, speed, and reliability of closing.

James Hedden, Senior Managing Director, Development, Rose Associates

As Senior Managing Director of Development for Rose Associates, Inc., James L. Hedden sources development and acquisition opportunities and provides financial analysis and investment viability. Prior to joining Rose Associates, Jim was NYC Regional Executive for Bank of America’s Commercial Real Estate Banking Group. Jim has more than 25 years in various positions in the real estate industry hroughout the Northeast. He served as senior vice president at Fleet Bank in charge of commercial real estate lending, managing offices in New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington DC. Prior to his tenure at Fleet, he was vice president and team leader in the real estate group for Chase Manhattan Bank. Rose is currently developing a rental property at 77th and Broadway, which Jim will discuss on November 16.

David Hershey-Webb, Partner, Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph

David is a partner at Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph and has been with the firm since 2001. David specializes in DHCR related litigation and has won significant decisions in favor of rent-stabilized tenants including Columbus 95 v. DHCR (Supreme Court decision holding that former Mitchell-Lamas are not entitled to “unique or peculiar” rent increases). David has published in the New York Law Journal (In the Wake of the ‘Roberts’ Decision, What Next? 12/1/09) and along with William Gribben and Ronald Languedoc drafted an Amicus Brief in the Roberts v. Tishman-Speyer case on behalf of Tenants and Neighbors and Met Council. David has taught CLE courses for the New York State Bar Association.

Andrew Hoffman, Chief Operating Officer, Stonehenge Partners

Andrew Hoffman joined Stonehenge Partners in 2008 as Chief Operating Officer. He is responsible for all aspects of the company’s operations including leasing, property management, compliance and related operational matters. Mr. Hoffman has over 25 years in New York City real estate management, including 16 years as the President of Clarendon Management Corp., the owner-operated management company managing more than 2,500 residential rental units, including the 1,000-unit London Terrace Gardens. The portfolio Mr. Hoffman oversaw was valued at over $800 million.

Kenneth Horn, Principal, Alchemy Properties

Kenneth S. Horn, Esq. founded Alchemy Properties Inc. in 1990. Mr. Horn has been actively involved in development and other aspects of real estate in the metro area for 25 years. A graduate of Brandeis University (1978) and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1981), Mr. Horn was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1982. Since 1990, Mr. Horn has been directly responsible for the acquisition, renovation, development, financing, marketing and conversion of over 3,000 apartments in the New York City region. Alchemy has developed over Twenty (20) residential and retail buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens either as ground-up structures or rehabilitations. Alchemy is currently developing for-sale condos to be discussed on November 16.

John Kelly, Partner, Nixon Peabody

Mr. Kelly has extensive experience representing both for-profit and nonprofit developers, owners, and operators in complex real estate transactions, including acquisitions and sales, ground leases, development agreements, and financings (private or public). Mr. Kelly has developed specific experience in federal, state, and local housing programs, including the FHA multifamily mortgage insurance programs, Section 42 low income housing tax credits, Section 8 and Section 202 restructurings, New York State and City Mitchell-Lama programs, and New York State Housing Finance Agency and New York City Housing Development Corporation programs.

Robert Knakal, Chairman, Massey Knakal Realty Services

Robert Knakal is Chairman and Founding Partner of Massey Knakal Realty Services, a full service property sales firm. He graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in in Economics in 1984. He started his real estate career at CB Richard Ellis where he met Paul Massey. They both left CB in 1988 to form Massey Knakal Realty Services. To date, Massey Knakal has a market value in excess of $11 billion. Mr. Knakal has been personally responsible for the sale of more than 1000 buildings worth over $6 billion. In 1998, at the age of 36, Mr. Knakal was named to Crain’s New York Business’s Forty Under Forty/New York Rising Stars list.

Bernadette Knight, Senior Vice President, Citigroup

Bernadette Knight is a Senior Vice President and manages Citibank’s Northeast Cash Management Sales Group. She has been with Citibank for 13 years primarily in the Cash Management business. She manages a team of 14 Treasury Consultants who help companies create efficiencies in their cash management processes and free up working capital. Bernadette has over 17 years banking experience and holds an MBA in Management and Finance from the Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Adelphi University.

David Kuperberg, Founder & CEO, Cooper Square Realty

David Kuperberg, a respected leader and visionary in property management for more than two decades, founded Cooper Square Realty in 1987 and quickly spearheaded its growth into the largest residential property management firm in New York City. A driving force in professionalizing the property management industry, David has worked to improve industry standards, professionalism, technology and the variety of services offered to residential properties and homeowners. He is a vocal advocate of training and certification and has earned the industry’s highest designations of Certified Property Manager (CPM®) and Advanced Registered Apartment Manager (RAM).

Ron Lagnado, Partner, WeiserMazars

Ron Lagnado is a partner in the Real Estate Services Group at WeiserMazars. Ron brings more than 20 years of experience providing audit and accounting services to the real estate industry based primarily in the New York metropolitan area. He has extensive knowledge in the areas of affordable housing development and compliance, and the financial and tax issues confronting the real estate and construction industries. Areas of key focus include the performance of attestation engagements, compliance, due diligence, and cost certifications for commercial and residential real estate entities. Prior to joining WeiserMazars, Ron spent many years with Rubin & Katz before merging with WeiserMazars in 2004.

Richard Mack, Chief Executive Officer, AREA Property Partners

Richard is the Chief Executive Officer of AREA’s North American business responsible for new investments and investment management. Mr. Mack was one of the founding Principals of AREA in 1993 and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committees in the U.S. and Europe. Since 1993, Mr. Mack has been involved in the investment of over $13 billion in more than 550 transactions on behalf of AREA’s institutional investors and was specifically responsible for the creation of new business lines to capitalize on evolving market trends, including AREA’s subordinate debt business.

Daniel Margulies, Executive Director, Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York

Dan Margulies is Executive Director of the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York, the local affiliate of the National Association of Home Builders. ABO represents New York City’s major housing developers. Margulies was executive director of Community Housing Improvement Program, Inc., a rental property owners’ trade association, from 1986 until 2003, when he left to become a real estate broker and consultant. More recently, he was chief operating officer of US Energy Group, a heating controls manufacturer.

Paul Massey, Chief Executive Officer, Massey Knakal Realty Services

After graduation, Mr. Massey began his career at Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate Services in Midtown Manhattan as head of the market research department, then as an investment sales broker. Together with Partner Robert Knakal, whom he met at Coldwell, he founded what has become New York City’s largest investment property sales brokerage firm. With 150 sales professionals serving more than 200,000 property owners, Massey Knakal Realty Services is ranked New York’s #1 sales company in volume by CoStar Group, a national independent tracking agency. With more than $2 billion in annual sales, Massey Knakal also ranks as one of the nation’s largest privately owned real estate brokerage firms. Services include brokerage, consulting and investment analysis, professional arbitration and valuation.

Joe McMillan, Chief Executive Officer, DDG Partners

Joe McMillan is Chief Executive Officer of DDG Partners, an integrated investment and development firm with offices in New York and San Francisco. DDG’s vertically integrated structure allows it to provide capital, design, construction, development and asset management expertise across its portfolio. DDG focuses on mixed-use and luxury residential investment and development on the east and west coasts, pairing each of its companies in a manner that helps create and enhance the built environment. Prior to the founding of DDG in 2009, Joe’s prior experience included Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE: OZM) and Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE: GHL). Joe previously served in the U.S. Army.

James Nelson, Partner, Massey Knakal Realty Services

James Nelson brings to every real estate transaction he works on the determination to win, the tenacity and hard work to succeed, and the confidence that comes from years of experience in the field. At Massey Knakal Realty Services since 1998 and a partner since 2004, James has been involved in the sale of more than 200 properties and loans with an aggregate value of over $1.3 billion. He has won numerous awards and been recognized for his well earned success both inside Massey Knakal, as well as by his peers in the real estate community. In April, he was included by The Real Deal as one of the Top 35 and Under NYC Real Estate Players and was recently ranked as the #1 Top NYC Deal Maker by LoopNet, an on-line Commercial Real Estate Publication.

Robert Nelson, President, Nelson Management Group

Robert S. Nelson is an owner and operator of apartment buildings in New York City and the President of New York-based Nelson Management Group, Ltd. He is also one of the founding partners of Global One Investments, LLC. In addition, Mr. Nelson recently formed a private equity fund of $100 million dollars by the name of Global One ASB Fund, LLC. The fund primarily seeks to invest in additional apartment buildings to add to its portfolio. Mr. Nelson oversees the day-to-day management and asset management functions of over $200 million worth of multifamily product owned by the firm and its affiliates. During his 25 year career, Mr. Nelson has owned and managed more than 6,000 units of multifamily housing. He also has widespread experience in the field of real estate development and ground up construction.

Wayne Olson, Partner, Margolin Winer & Evens LLP

Mr. Olson is the Chairman of MWE’s Real Estate Practice Group and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. At MWE, he is involved with all aspects of tax planning, review and compliance on behalf of clients that include owner-operators, developers, converters and contractors. Although he advises clients in all aspects of their business, Mr. Olson’s areas of expertise include partnership, corporate and real estate taxation. Mr. Olson has extensive experience in business and tax planning, as well as financial due diligence, forecasts and projections, especially related to real estate and facility acquisition, development, construction and operation.

Stephen Palmese, Director of Sales, Massey Knakal Realty Services

Mr. Palmese, a Brooklyn native, joined Massey Knakal, in August 2004, after graduating from Georgetown University, where he pursued a degree in International Finance & Business Management, and also spent time studying at Oxford University, UK. His intense work ethic and strong analytic ability, coupled with his fundamental understanding of the industry, earned him an early promotion to Director of Sales for Bay Ridge, in February 2006. In October 2008, he transitioned to the Downtown Brooklyn market. In his career, Stephen has sold over 50 properties with an aggregate consideration of nearly $225,000,000. In 2009, Stephen handled the largest apartment building and development site transactions to take place in Brooklyn (as of June 2010), in the post-Lehman Brothers economy.

Richard Parkoff, President, The Parkoff Organization

 

 

 

 

Shola Olatoye, Deputy Director – New York, Enterprise Community Partners

Shola Olatoye joined Enterprise’s New York office in October 2009. As deputy director and director of relationship management, she leads production efforts, helps to develop new products and solutions, and oversees relationship management for the many public and private partners with which Enterprise works in New York. Prior to joining Enterprise, Shola was a vice president and senior community development manager with HSBC Bank USA, N.A., managing the bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) program of lending, investment and service in low- and moderate-income communities in Washington D.C., and South Florida. Prior to that, Shola was a director with the New York City real estate advisory and economic development consulting firm HR&A Advisors. Her practice areas included urban neighborhood revitalization, real estate advisory services, park finance and strategic planning.

Reid Price, Managing Director – New Developments, Town Residential

Reid Price is recognized as one of Manhattan’s leading real estate experts in new development and high-end sales. In his 15-plus-year career, he has not only produced over $1 billion in property sales at Manhattan’s premier residential brokerage firms; he has been integral in the pre-planning, marketing and sales of some of Manhattan’s most prestigious new developments. Among them are The New Museum Building, 285 Lafayette Street, 385 West 12th Street, The Atalanta Building, 140 West 22nd Street, Spring, River Lofts, Orion, Downtown by Starck and The Hubert.

Hilary Provinse, Vice President – Multifamily Lending, Fannie Mae

Hilary B. Provinse is a Vice President of Small Loans and Pools in Fannie Mae’s multifamily division. She works for Fannie Mae’s Vice President – Multifamily Lender Strategy and Relationships. Ms. Provinse is responsible for managing relationships with several of Fannie Mae’s Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS) Lenders. She also manages the multifamily Small Loan platform as well as bulk purchases and securitizations of seasoned multifamily pools of loans. Hilary joined Fannie Mae in July 2004 and was responsible for Fannie Mae’s municipal bond purchases. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Ms. Provinse spent 10 years in public finance investment banking. She previously worked for Goldman Sachs & Co. and Bear, Stearns & Co. in New York. Ms. Provinse’s responsibilities have included analyzing outstanding debt, credit considerations, financial forecasting, capital planning, and valuation analyses for borrowers.

Frank Ricci, Director – Government Affairs, Rent Stabilization Association

Frank Ricci has been RSA’s Director of Intergovernmental Affairs since 1986. In that capacity he has spearheaded lobbying operations at the State Legislature in Albany and the City Council at City Hall. In addition to the legislative bodies, lobbying the City and State agencies that are responsible for implementing the various laws that affect the real estate industry have also fallen under his responsibility at RSA. Mr. Ricci has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and was a practicing engineer prior to coming to RSA.

Stuart Saft, Head of the Real Estate Department, Dewey & LeBoeuf

Stuart M. Saft, chair of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s Global Real Estate Department, is one of the leading lawyers in the development, financing, leasing, conversion to condominium and cooperative ownership, construction, exchange, syndication, sale/leaseback, time share, restructuring, acquisition and sale of residential, commercial and hospitality property throughout the US. Mr. Saft has also represented lending institutions in mortgage lending and workouts and has advised clients on dealings with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Eugene Schneur, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Omni New York LLC

Eugene is the co-Managing Director and co-founder of Omni New York LLC. Since Omni’s inception in 2004, Eugene has overseen the day to day operations of the organization that has grown into a full service real estate organization (development, construction and management) employing over 250 full time employees. During this period, Omni has acquired and rehabilitated (or is in the process of rehabilitating) 30 properties totaling over 5,200 units of affordable housing with an aggregate transaction amount of over $750 million dollars.

Ilana Schwartz, Vice President, Online Marketing Group

Ilana is Vice President of Online Marketing Group. Online Marketing Group (OMG) is a full service advertising agency. OMG specializes in providing comprehensive online marketing strategies for building owners and managers. Each campaign is customized to the clients’ needs. Marketing professionals at OMG can develop advertising & media recommendations that match your goals and budget to generate highly qualified leads to you. OMG can create unique and compelling ad campaigns to be used in a variety of mediums, including the internet, e-blasts, magazines, newspapers and outdoor media.

Don Tallerman, President, Online Marketing Group

Don Tallerman, President of Online Marketing Group (OMG), is an advertising industry veteran, beginning his career with Young & Rubicam and Saatchi & Saatchi. He worked with such clients as Kraft, The Travelers, and Texaco. He later spent time on the client side of marketing, working for financial giant Merrill Lynch. Don founded Online Marketing Group, which is a company that specializes in providing services to Owners & Managers in New York City. Don saw a tremendous need for a company to help clients bridge the gap from reliance on “old media” to more effective online media.

Garrett Thelander, Managing Director, Massey Knakal Realty Services

Garrett Thelander comes to Massey Knakal from Anglo Irish Bank where he was Executive Vice President. During his tenure, he was part of the executive team responsible for hiring and strategic planning for what started as a two-person office into a 35-person team. Prior to Anglo Irish Bank, Mr. Thelander was the Director of the Mortgage Finance Group for Kimco Realty Corporation where he was responsible for the arrangement, structuring and closing of all mortgage debt for this real estate investment trust, the largest owner of neighborhood and community shopping centers in the country.

David Unger, Chief Operating Officer, US Energy

David Unger has more than 15 years experience growing technology focused companies, and has been a pioneer in the use of Internet and Web-Based technologies. He was the founder of MediaStream, a cutting edge New York Web Services company, in 1994. As President and Lead Application Architect, David helped to develop and deploy several custom b2b and intranet portal applications for Fortune 1000 clients. David joined US Energy as their CTO in early 2006 in order to lead the development effort for their USE-Manager Software platform, and has since become COO of the company in order to drive the growth of the company into new products and markets.

Matt Van Damm, Director of Operations, Town Residential

Matthew Van Damm, Director of Operations, plays an integral role in Town’s strategic growth, business development and all facets of its operations including the design and construction of all of Town’s locations. He also leads Town Marketing and Leasing, a specialized group that focuses on the marketing of luxury properties throughout Manhattan. With nearly a decade in the Manhattan real estate industry, Matthew has played a primary role in the planning, development, project management, marketing, sales and leasing of over 3,000 residential units valued at nearly $1Billion. His experience has exposed him to nearly every aspect of residential brokerage and development.

Mathew Wambua, Commissioner, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

Mathew Wambua, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development, most recently served as Executive Vice President of Real Estate and External Affairs for the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) since February of 2008. As HPD Commissioner, Mr. Wambua is Chair of the HDC Board of Directors; from May 2006 to early 2008, he served as Vice Chair of the board, appointed by Mayor Bloomberg. From November 2004 through February 2008, Mr. Wambua was Senior Policy Advisor for the NYC Deputy Mayor of Economic Development. Previously, Mr. Wambua held positions as the Vice President for Special Projects at the NYC Economic Development Corporation, and as a senior investment officer for General Electric Capital Commercial Real Estate.

Ron Wechsler, Managing Director, RAIT

Mr. Wechsler has over 30 years of professional real estate experience, the last 21 of which have been in CMBS. Mr. Wechsler is a Managing Director at RAIT Financial Trust in charge of CMBS origination. He has been with RAIT since 2008. Prior to joining RAIT,  Mr. Wechsler was co-head of the CMBS conduit for Citigroup between 2001 and 2008. Under his direction, conduit originations grew 7-fold. Prior to his tenure at Citigroup, Mr. Wechsler was a Senior Vice President at GMAC from 2000 to 2001, originating mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments.  Prior to that, from 1997 to 2000,  he started and headed up the CMBS conduit at Paine Webber. From 1990 until 1997, he founded and ran the CMBS Group at Fitch.  Prior employment was at Lehman Brothers, Smith Barney and Prudential Insurance. Mr. Wechsler has an MBA from Columbia University and a BA from Cornell University.

Richard Wolf, Senior Managing Director, Greystone

Richard Wolf is Senior Managing Director in charge of Small Loan Production at Greystone Servicing Corporation. Prior to Greystone, Richard worked at Fannie Mae for 11 years as Vice President responsible for small loan production, negotiated pools, and large national accounts. Prior to Fannie Mae, worked in securitization groups at Merrill Lynch and KPMG. MBA in Finance from Florida State University and BA in Economics from the University of Miami.