Speakers 2015

Adam BernsteinAdam Bernstein, President & CEO, Bernstein Companies 

Adam Bernstein is the President of The Bernstein Companies, a third-generation, 80 year-old Washington, D.C.-based real estate firm. As President of The Bernstein Companies as well as CEO of Consortium Atlantic Realty Trust, a private REIT formed in 2006 with an initial $200 million worth of commercial assets, Adam is a recognized leader in the real estate development, investment, and management business in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

David BrambleDavid Bramble, Managing Partner, MCB Real Estate 

P. David Bramble dedicates his time to sourcing transactions, financial structuring and overseeing project underwriting & execution. A corporate and real estate attorney by training, David brings a deep knowledge of all aspects of the real estate cycle. Prior to MCB, David served as the Director of commercial lending for a regionally based full-service lending firm, which he co-founded in 2000. Prior to devoting all his time to commercial real estate investment, David practiced law in the transactions group of a D.C.-based international law firm, where he provided corporate and real estate advisory services. His practice focused on complex workouts, primarily in the real estate and financial products space.

Juan CameronJuan Cameron, Senior Managing Director of Development & Acquisitions, McCaffery Interests

Juan Cameron is responsible for identifying new business, development and acquisition opportunities. He joined McCaffery after a very successful career with Randall Hagner, a regional diversified real estate brokerage firm in Washington, D.C. Juan has been active in the real estate business for over twenty-five years. Mr. Cameron served on the Board of Directors for the National Child Research Center, in Washington DC, a renowned early pre-school in Washington, DC. He has overseen the leasing of major projects at McCaffery that include Mazza Gallerie, Friendship Center and The Market Common, Clarendon and Myrtle Beach. Mr. Cameron earned a Bachelor of Arts at Boston University.

John ChesleyJohn Chesley, Managing Director – Asset Management, American Real Estate Partners

John Chesley brings over 12 years of broadly based real estate experience to the American Real Estate Partners management team with a depth of expertise in asset management, development and transaction execution across multiple asset classes and markets throughout the United States. Mr. Chesley is responsible for overseeing the asset management and financial performance of the American Real Estate Partners portfolio.

Taylor ChessTaylor Chess, President – Retail, Peterson Companies

Heading up the Peterson Retail Development, Chess oversees 5 million square feet of existing retail which is owned, managed and leased by The Peterson Companies. Of Peterson’s 1,000 acres of developable land, Mr. Chess currently oversees 6 projects totaling over 250 acres that are in various phases of development. Mr. Chess also served 8 years as Senior Vice President of Investments at Regency Centers, where he managed the D.C., Boston and Philadelphia Investment team that developed over 2 million square feet of retail projects valued at over $250 million, as well as over $270 million in acquisitions.

Jon DishellJon Dishell, Managing Director Fund Management & Investor Relations, American Real Estate Partners

Jon Dishell brings 29 years in commercial real estate to American Real Estate Partners where he is responsible for its institutional fund management initiative. The majority of Mr. Dishell’s career was spent with Douglas Emmett, Inc., a publicly traded REIT (NYSE:DEI), and the largest office landlord in Los Angeles and Honolulu. As both a private and public company, DEI sponsored a total of eleven institutional real estate funds. The aggregate equity capitalization of these partnerships was approximately $1.9B, and for nine of the funds Jon was responsible for the investor relations function within the firm (sourcing, interfacing with, and overseeing the preparation of reporting to existing and prospective investors, their consultants and counsel as well as being the primary contact for the firm’s private equity investors).

Aaron GeorgelasAaron Georgelas, Senior Managing Partner, Georgelas Group

Aaron Georgelas is a partner with the Georgelas Group and is responsible for mixed-use development projects in the Mid-Atlantic region. He successfully led the first mixed-use entitlement case under Arlington County’s Form Base Code. Most recently, he is managing the acquisition, entitlement, financing and development of the Georgelas Group’s ambitious transit-oriented developments, whose values exceed well over $2 billion dollars in development and process. This includes the Tysons Demonstration Project, a 28-acre residential, office and retail complex around the Tysons-Spring Hill Metrorail station. This transformational development is well underway with over 400 multifamily units under construction.

Anthony GreenbergAnthony Greenberg, Principal, JBG Companies

Mr. Greenberg specializes in mixed-use and multifamily development at transit-oriented sites in DC, MD and VA. Prior to joining the JBG Companies in 2007, Mr. Greenberg was a developer at Clark Realty Capital, L.L.C. where he was involved in multifamily, mixed-use, hotel and military family housing projects. Mr. Greenberg serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Building Museum, the American Architectural Foundation, the VisArts Center, and the Mary Sachs Charitable Trust in Harrisburg, PA. He also serves on the Alumni Advisory Board of the Harvard Real Estate Academic Initiative. Mr. Greenbergs favorite JBG Cares organization to work with is, Food and Friends.  A.B. in East Asian Studies, Harvard University; M.A. Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service; M.A. University of Virginia.

Peter LewisPeter Lewis, President, Wharton Equity Partners

Mr. Lewis is Chairman, President and Founder of Wharton Equity Partners. Since its inception in 1987, he has overseen the expansion of the firm’s investment reach across different asset classes and industries. As Chairman of the Real Estate Investment Committee and Private Equity Investment Committee, Mr. Lewis drives the direction of Wharton Equity Partners as it continues its disciplined strategy of recognizing and capitalizing on emerging growth trends to realize substantial risk-adjusted returns.

Neil MarkusNeil Markus, Partner, Finmarc Management

Prior to his affiliation with Finmarc Inc, Mr. Markus was Chief Operating Officer, Structured Finance Business at CapitalSource Finance LLC where he managed a $2.2 billion debt and equity portfolio of real estate, asset backed and cash flow facilities. Prior to CapitalSource, Mr. Markus was a Director of Costar Group, Inc., the leading provider of information services to commercial real estate professionals in the United States and the United Kingdom. Mr. Markus has also held real estate-related positions with Teligent Inc., Cushman and Wakefield, Diamond Property Company, Transwestern Commercial Services and Julien J. Studley.

Andrew McIntyreAndrew McIntyre, SVP – Development & Construction, Penzance

Mr. McIntyre has more than 12 years of experience in various aspects of commercial office, residential, hotel and retail real estate development, entitlement, financing and construction management.  Prior to joining Penzance, he was Vice President of Development at The JBG Companies.  Before JBG, Mr. McIntyre worked as a Project Manager for PN Hoffman Construction Development and a Project Engineer for Clark Construction.  He is on the Board of Directors of the DC chapter of Habitat For Humanity and is an active member of ULI and NAIOP Northern Virginia.  Following service in the United States Army, Mr. McIntyre received his BS in Building Construction from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his MBA from Johns Hopkins University.

Bryn MerreyBryn Merrey, Vice President / Regional Manager, Marcus & Millichap 

Bryn is a vice president and regional manager of Marcus & Millichap’s Washington, D.C. office. He also oversees Marcus & Millichap’s operations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Prior to moving to Washington DC in June, 2012, Bryn managed the firm’s Tampa. In his tenure as the Regional Manager of the Tampa office, Tampa was ranked #1 in year over year growth within the firm, achieved significant market share gains and increased closings by a factor of over 3.5 times in three years. Prior to managing the Tampa office of Marcus & Millichap, Bryn managed the firms Orlando office, was a Sales Manager in the firms Miami office and was an agent, focused on multi-tenant shopping centers, in Marcus & Millichap’s Ft. Lauderdale office. In 2010 Bryn was named Regional Manager of the Year by Marcus & Millichap.

Trey MorganTrey Morgan, President – Mid-Atlantic Commercial Properties, Morgan Property Group

Mr. Morgan is responsible for the strategy and management of the company. As president, he has overseen the development of over $150 million dollars of commercial real estate, from single tenant retail projects to regional neighborhood shopping centers. Mr. Morgan also leads a team of brokerage and management specialists accounting for transactions and assets throughout the Southeast United States. Before joining Morgan Property Group, Mr. Morgan worked at Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc. in Washington, D.C. in the Tenant Representation Group. He holds a B.S. from Northwestern University, where he graduated with honors, and an MBA from Duke University. Locally, Mr. Morgan is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), where he serves as Co-Chair of the Governmental Relations committee for the Carolinas, and he is a member of the Charlotte Region Commercial Board of REALTORS.  He also participated on the pastoral council of St. Matthew Catholic Church, his local parish.

Robert MurphyRobert Murphy, Managing Principal, MRP Realty

Robert J. Murphy – Managing Principal, has over 25 years of experience in various aspects of commercial real estate operations, ownership and investment.  Mr. Murphy joined Trammell Crow Company in 1987, managing the firm’s regional operations for many years, with his last role as area president for Trammell Crow Company’s development and investment activities in the Mid-Atlantic region; TCC’s most active and profitable development operation.  In his 25+ year career, Mr. Murphy has overseen 20 million square feet and over $3.5 billion of development and acquisition investments.  Mr. Murphy co-founded MRP Realty in 2005 and utilizes his in-depth knowledge of the Mid-Atlantic real estate markets and real estate operations to direct his firm.  His other professional activities include past Chairman, Northern Virginia NAIOP; national board of directors, NAIOP; board of directors, ULI Washington District Council; board of directors, Mt. Vernon Triangle CID.  He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and his M.B.A. in Finance at the Columbia Business School.  Mr. Murphy was also an officer in the United States Army.

Al PontiusAl Pontius, Managing Director – NOIPG, Marcus & Millichap

Alan Pontius is a senior vice president at Marcus & Millichap and is based in the San Francisco office. Mr. Pontius oversees the firm’s commercial property sales activities including office, industrial, and retail. He is also national director of the firm’s National Office and Industrial Properties Group (NOIPG), Net Leased Properties Group (NLPG) and its Healthcare Real Estate Group (HREG). Mr. Pontius also oversees the firm’s Special Assets Services (SAS) division.

Joseph RegerJoseph Reger, Founder & Managing Principal, JCR Companies

Joseph Reger, founder and principal of the JCR Companies, is responsible for acquisitions and strategic growth of the company. Since the inception of JCR in 2009, Reger has built a portfolio of urban infill retail properties, suburban shopping centers and mixed use properties, primarily in Washington, DC’s core submarkets, including Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Capitol Hill, Old Town Alexandria and Georgetown.

Nicholas Smith

Nicholas Smith, Co-Founder, EVP & CIO, First Potomac Realty Trust

Nicholas R. Smith is a co-founder of First Potomac and has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer since 1997. He has over 25 years experience in commercial real estate in the Washington, D.C. area, including seven years with Donatelli & Klein, Inc. and D&K Management. Smith has coordinated over $2.5 billion dollars in 75 transactions during his tenure with First Potomac. He was instrumental in the corporate strategic shift in 2010 investing in the downtown Washington, D.C. office market. Smith currently serves on the Council of Advisors for the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Graduate Programs in Real Estate and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Choral Arts Society of Washington. Smith received his Bachelor of Arts degree from The Catholic University of America.

Paul WeinschenkPaul Weinschenk, Managing Director & VP, Head of Retail Division, WRIT

Mr. Weinschenk joined WRIT in February 2013 as Managing Director and Vice President, Head of Retail Division. Prior to joining WRIT, he was Vice President, Retail at The Peterson Companies. During his 16 years there, he oversaw development of several of its most significant projects in the Washington metro region, including Fairfax Corner, Virginia Gateway, Frederick Crossing, and East Market at Fair Lakes, in total containing more than 1.9 million square feet of leasable area. Mr. Weinschenk’s work at Peterson also included anchor sales and leasing responsibilities for the shopping centers he developed, and he completed transactions in excess of 1.4 million square feet.

Not Pictured:

  • David Bevirt, Senior Vice President of Leasing, Brookfield Office Properties
  • Jeff Edelstein, Director, Roadside Development
  • Michael Gill, Vice President – Acquisitions, Akridge
  • William Norton, Regional Director, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
  • Deborah Webb, Vice President – Propertey Management, Tower Companies