John Alschuler

John H. Alschuler, Jr. is an Adjunct Professor in the Masters in Real Estate Development Program. He teaches Political Environment of Development and Waterfront Development. Course material is drawn from his experience as a consultant and public official. As Chairman of HR&A Advisors, Mr. Alschuler’s practice focuses on the revitalization of urban communities, regional economic development, and asset management.

Mr. Alschuler’s 30+ years of professional experience is international in scope, ranging from New York City to China. He has received numerous awards for his work, including an AIA/APA Honor Award for Urban Design in 2005 for the Anacostia Framework Plan, a ULI Award for Excellence in 2007 for the development of Daniel Island, and an IEDC Public-Private Partnership award in 2009 for the creation of the Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) and the revitalization of Fountain Square in Cincinnati.

Mr. Alschuler is the lead Independent Director of S.L. Green Realty, the largest commercial property owner in New York City, and is the Board Chair for the Friends of the High Line. He is a regularly requested speaker for conferences and events in New York City, and internationally. Recent speaking engagements have been at the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the New York City Bar Association, the International Skyrise Greenery Conference and radio station WNYC. Mr. Alschuler has taught in the Masters of Real Estate Development Program for over 25 years.

Hank Bell

Hank Bell, Professor Emeritus, has taught real estate development, finance, architecture, urban planning, historic preservation and architectural technology. He has served as an office manager and construction superintendent, as well as a builder and developer of more than 2,000 apartments, shopping centers, industrial building conversions, and homes.

Mr. Bell has 60 years of success within a range of economic climates, he knows a good deal from a bad one, and enjoys mentoring and teaching. Mr. Bell has been a consultant to federal, state, and city governments on new approaches to saving cities and creating new housing programs. He has been a consultant to major shopping center developments and various land buyers.

Mr. Bell is a winner of major federal international competitions bringing new housing technologies to USA. He served as NAS (BRAB) Chairman of exchange with USSR and China on housing technologies. Mr. Bell is the builder and owner of the tallest prefabricated apartment house in the US, prior to it being cooped.

Tommy Brown

Mr. Brown is a founding principal of Clerestory Capital Partners, LLC, a New York-based real estate investment management company formed in January 2007. Clerestory sponsors performance-focused real estate fund of funds with a global investment focus. He has more than 17 years of real estate experience, most recently as Global Head of Real Estate for Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, based in London. The majority of his career was spent with JPMorgan Real Estate Investment Banking in London, New York and Frankfurt.

At Deutsche Bank, Mr. Brown was responsible for the creation of new real estate investment alternatives – in particular, vehicles for private clients globally to invest in private real estate funds. Prior to that, Mr. Brown spent 13 years as a real estate investment banker at JPMorgan Investment Banking. He joined the firm in Frankfurt in 1993 after completing a scholarship program in Germany sponsored by the U.S. and German Congresses. He began his career with Oak Tree Capital, Inc., in New Orleans, formerly a real estate asset management firm and subsidiary of Oak Tree Capital Savings and Loan.

Mr. Brown is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, Masters of Real Estate Development Program (co-teaches International Core); he is actively involved with INREV, the European association for institutional investors in non-listed real estate vehicles, helping to formulate corporate governance principles and guidelines. Mr. Brown holds a B.A. from the University of Mississippi and is conversant in German.

Michael Clark

Michael Clark is a Managing Partner of Castle Hill Investors, a real estate private equity firm that invests in collaboration with skilled real estate operators -- providing capital, financial guidance, risk management, and strategic growth expertise. Previously he was a Partner with Meridian Development Partners (“MDP”) a real estate development and private equity firm focused on redevelopment of challenging assets. Prior to joining MDP, he was a Partner in The Jamieson Group (“TJG”), an advisory firm focused on redevelopment, economic development and public-private partnerships. Prior to TJG he worked for the San Diego Padres.

Mr. Clark is Vice Chairman of Changing World Technologies, a leading renewable diesel company that converts waste into oil. Additionally he is on the management committee of GH Capital, one of the largest affordable housing companies in the U.S. Mr. Clark has been an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Real Estate since 2006, where he currently teaches three courses, Introduction to Development, Introduction to Private Equity and Case Study Studio. He holds a Masters Degree of Real Estate Development from Columbia University, and is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of San Diego with a dual degree in Economics and Accounting with an emphasis in Real Estate.

Joanne Douvas

Ms. Douvas is a founding principal of Clerestory Capital Partners, LLC, a New York-based real estate investment management company formed in January 2007. Clerestory sponsors performance-focused real estate fund of funds with a global investment focus. She has more than 29 years of real estate experience, most recently as head of JPMorgan Asset Management’s Real Estate Fiduciary Services Group. Previously, she worked for the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund, Clarion Partners and Equitable Real Estate, in asset management, workout, debt origination and acquisitions functions.

During her eight-year tenure with JPMorgan, Ms. Douvas was the portfolio manager of the real estate allocation of a major U.S. corporate pension fund with full discretion over strategy, acquisitions, dispositions and the hiring of managers.

A licensed architect, Ms. Douvas holds a B.A. and M. Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a M.B.A. in finance from Wharton. She is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, Masters of Real Estate Development Program (co-teaches International Core); and a past board member of leading Mexican public real estate company G. Acción until it was privatized in 2005. She is the author of the Wharton Real Estate Review articles “Reining in Opportunity Fund Fees” (Spring 2004) and “Adjusting Opportunity Fund Fees” (Fall 2006), as well as a chapter on fees in the German textbook Handbuch Real Estate Private Equity (Rudolf Muller GmbH und Co. KG).

Merrie Frankel

Merrie S. Frankel is a Senior Credit Officer/VP in Commercial Real Estate Finance at Moody’s Investors Service, responsible for a ratings portfolio of REITs and other real estate companies in the US and Canada. She has extensive experience in real estate portfolio management, commercial real estate and mortgage transactions, real estate law, and strategic consulting.

Previously, Ms. Frankel was SVP/Director of Portfolio Management for the Argo Funds, a real estate opportunity fund with $1.5 billion in assets, responsible for portfolio management, financing, investor relations, and dispositions. Prior positions include: Senior Manager-Ernst &Young’s Real Estate Group; Director-Cushman & Wakefield’s Financial Services Group; an Officer establishing the commercial mortgage group at J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc.; and, a real estate investment banker and senior tax attorney at Salomon Brothers Inc.

Ms. Frankel holds J.D./M.B.A. degrees from Hofstra Law School/Graduate Business School and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. where she was awarded various honors. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate (also Advisory Board member) where she teaches capital markets. She chaired the ULI-New York District Council from 2006-09, was a ULI trustee, and has held board and leadership positions in WX, FWA, and YM/WREA. In 2008, she was selected to be one of 50 “Women of Influence” for Real Estate New York.

Gary Fogg

Gary Fogg works in the development group of Kimco Realty Corporation, a leading retail real estate investment trust. His primary responsibilities include the evaluation and execution of development and redevelopment opportunities for a mix of uses. This includes entitlement work, extensive financial analysis, partnership negotiations and pre-leasing efforts for development projects totaling more than 5 million square feet.

Prior to Kimco, Mr. Fogg worked at Cantillon Capital, a long-short equity fund. While at Cantillon, he researched and recommended investment ideas, following a value oriented strategy, in companies across various industries.Before Cantillon, He was an analyst a Lightyear Capital, a private equity firm. Mr. Fogg worked directly with the Chief Operating Officer to manage a $1.2 billion portfolio of investments. While at the private equity firm he successfully completed the third and final level of exams necessary to attain the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, a self-study and graduate-level program for investment professionals.

Mr. Fogg holds a Masters of Real Estate Development from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Connecticut.

Frank Gallinelli

Frank Gallinelli is the founder and president of RealData, Inc. (www.realdata.com), a real estate software firm that has offered analysis and presentation tools for investors and developers since 1981. RealData also provides educational resources for investors, as well as software and other tools for use in academic environments.

A graduate of Yale University, he is the author of numerous articles and several books on real estate investing and finance, including "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow..." and "Mastering Real Estate Investment."

Prior to founding RealData, Mr. Gallinelli was a teacher in New Haven and then worked in both residential and commercial real estate. He now serves as an adjunct assistant professor in Columbia University's Master of Science in Real Estate Development program, where he has taught since 2003. Mr. Gallinelli also teaches continuing education classes for Connecticut real estate licensees.

Douglas Gauthier

Douglas Gauthier coordinates Design + Construction for the Real Estate Development Program in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. He also serves on the editorial board of the Real Estate Review, teaches in the Master of Architecture Program, and was the 2010 Ivan Smith Eminent Visiting Professor at the University of Florida.

Mr. Gauthier is Design Director at GA which he founded in 2007, and has played a key role in a number of projects including BURST*003, 168T Residence and Theater, San Jose Repertory Theater, Le Fresnoy: Film School and Mediateque (France, competition award), and Kindertagesstätte and Jungendfreizeitzentrum (Berlin, competition award). Mr. Gauthier’s BURST*008 was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art for the 2008 exhibition, Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling.

Honors include a Fulbright Scholarship, the Berlin Architekturpreis, The Architectural League’s Young Architect Award, Graham Foundation and NYSCA grants, Time Magazine: Innovator of the Year, and an Architecture Magazine Visionary Architecture Award. Recent contributions include articles to Architectural Design, HUNCH and Material Evidence and presentations at the TU Delft, The Berlage Institute, The Slovak National Radio Building, Networked Publics: Studio-X and Home Made: Five Perspectives on Prefabrication.

Michael Gilliard

Michael Gilliard is an Assistant Adjunct Professor of the Real Estate Development Program in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. Since 2004 he has taught his case studies course, Structured Real Estate Development Partnerships, and an urban-infill module in the Director’s Capstone course. He has served as faculty advisor for award-winning National urban development competitions undertaken by the Program.

Mr. Gilliard is also Senior Real Estate Development Project Manager for the NYC affiliate of international developer/builder/advocate Habitat for Humanity, where he is responsible for structuring, securing and implementing the firm’s development portfolio in the City. Recent project General Colin Powell Apartments is the first LEED Platinum residential building in the State. His prior roles include Vice President of Development for national developer/syndicator The Richman Group, Senior Real Estate Development Project Manager of third-generation builder/developer The Bluestone Organization and Analyst functions with Ashley Capital, among the largest privately-held real estate investment companies in the country. Mr. Gilliard’s portfolio of built projects spans office, retail, community, residential, hotel/conference and parks; and includes securing Arverne East, the largest development site in NYC.

Before graduating from the MSRED Program in 2004 Mr. Gilliard was the Managing Editor of GlobeSt.com, an industry publication.

Marty Gold

Martin Gold has been an Adjunct Professor since 1988, teaching real estate development law and commercial leasing.

Mr. Gold is also a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, one of the largest law firms in the world. His practice is in real estate and infrastructure and his clients include governments, developers, large corporations and not-for-profits, and financial institutions.

From 1978 to 1985, Mr. Gold served as Director of Corporate Law for New York City. As the City’s chief corporate and real estate attorney, he supervised City lawyers and drafted agreements for numerous development projects from South Street Seaport to the Times Square Project.

Mr. Gold is the author of approximately fifteen articles in law reviews and economic journals, and Law and Social Change: A Study of Land Reform in Sri Lanka (with foreword by Gunnar Myrdal), written while on Ford Foundation grants. He is also the recipient of five pens from New York State Governors for the enactment of laws he drafted.

He has lectured at numerous universities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and programs of the U.S. Justice Department, and is listed in The Legal 500, SuperLawyers, and Who’s Who in the World.

Victoria W. Kahn

Victoria W. Kahn is an Adjunct Professor at the Real Estate Development Program in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Ms. Kahn is also the president of Lafayette Capital Group, Inc., providing real estate advisory and consulting services to institutions and private investors.

Ms. Kahn was Managing Director at ING Clarion Partners (1987 – 2009) where as Portfolio Manager she sourced and managed domestic pension fund assets in diversified equity and debt portfolios. Ms. Kahn was a member of ING Clarion’s management committee and was ING’s advisory board member for a variety of ING equity investments in US real estate. Ms. Kahn also established ING’s sustainability policies for North America.

Prior to ING, Ms. Kahn managed real estate operations for American Express and Shearson Lehman Brothers (1978 – 1987). As Senior Vice President, Ms. Kahn developed Shearson’s (now Citibank Global Markets) signature office tower and back office operations facilities in Tribeca, working closely with Mayor Koch. As Vice President, Ms. Kahn developed American Express Canada’s corporate headquarters in Toronto.

Ms. Kahn was previously the architectural partner at Kahn & Kiel, an architectural and graphic design firm where she provided design services to Citibank for its first ATM retail banking branches in New York City.

Joshua Kahr

Joshua Kahr has taught real estate finance and real estate capital markets for the RED program since 2005. He also teaches an Argus workshop and an Excel boot camp.

Mr. Kahr is the principal of Kahr Real Estate, a company that he founded in 2002. Originally established as a consulting company, it provided market and feasibility studies, financial due diligence, and financial training for a wide range of clients. In 2008, the company changed focus and now invests for its own account in apartment buildings in New Jersey.

Prior to this, he held positions in investment sales at a regional brokerage firm and in acquisitions at a fund that focused on environmentally contaminated real estate. He also served for five years on the board of directors for Monmouth Real Estate (NYSE: MNR).

Publications include two books on real estate market analysis, Real Estate Market Valuation and Analysis (John Wiley and Sons: 2005) and Beyond the Bubble (Amacom Books: 2007).

Mr. Kahr has a Master of Science in Real Estate from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Reed College.

Sonny Kalsi

Sonny Kalsi is Founder and Managing Partner of GreenOak Real Estate. Mr. Kalsi was, until early 2009, the Global Head of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) and President of the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF). Prior to that, he was the Global Co-Head of MSREI. At its peak, MSREI had approximately $100Bn of AUM in 33 countries and 25 offices around the world with over 800 full time staff. The largest concentrations of asset holdings were in the US, UK, Germany, Japan and China. Prior to managing MSREI globally, Mr. Kalsi helped to build its Asian business, spending nine years in Hong Kong and Tokyo. During his tenure, the team grew to over 300 professionals, with an operation that included Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia and a number of other countries.

Andre Kuzmicki

When he is not teaching in the MSRED program, Mr. Kuzmicki is the Executive Director of the Program in Real Estate and Infrastructure at the Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Canada. There he teaches real estate finance and investment and administers the operations of the Program. In addition he is on the faculty of the Real Property Association of Canada Professional Development Institute. He is also the president of his own real estate consulting firm, Excellent! Inc.

Mr. Kuzmicki’s career in real estate and education spans more than 30 years and encompasses all aspects of the real estate investment industry including acquisitions, development, asset management and portfolio management. Prior to launching his teaching career in 1998, he managed the real estate investment portfolio for Prudential's Canadian arm. He is an experienced corporate director, currently serving on the boards of RealNet Canada Inc. and Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT. Past directorships include the Bentall Group (now Bentall Kennedy) and Artis REIT.

He is a past president of the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties (NAIOP), Greater Toronto Chapter and is the founding chairman of its prestigious annual REX Awards and Gala, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.

Mr. Kuzmicki is a six time nominee and former winner of the Seymour Schulich Teaching Excellence Award. He is a 2011 NAIOP Distinguished Fellow and a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Pension Real Estate Association. He holds a BA and an MBA from McGill University.

Andrew Laing

Andrew Laing is a Director of DEGW, an international consultancy that specializes in research, planning and strategy for workplaces. He set up the practice in New York in 1998, having worked with DEGW in London since 1989. He is an Assistant Adjunct Professor of the Real Estate Development Program in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

He has written many articles on workplace design and authored "New Environments for Working" with DEGW founder Francis Duffy (1997) and was the co-author of "The Responsible Workplace" (1993). He was a contributor to "Reinventing the Workplace", by John Worthington in 2006. He has been a visiting Lecturer at Princeton University’s school of architecture since 2007. His work for DEGW was recently featured in Harvard Business Review (September 2011).

Dr. Laing's clients have included many organizations interested in workplace innovation and information technology, including Accenture, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Microsoft, Nike, and the United Nations. His work focuses on user research, design briefing and programming. Much of his work has focused on the implications of new ways of working for the design of buildings, the nature of place, sustainability, and the city. Dr. Laing has spoken at many workplace and real estate conferences including: GreenBuild, Corenet, and Work Tech. Dr. Laing was educated at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. He received a doctorate in urban studies and planning from MIT.

Charles S. Laven

Charles Laven has over 35 years of experience providing advisory and technical consulting services to housing finance agencies, mortgage and investment banking firms, developers, and not-for-profit community-based organizations. Prior to founding Forsyth Street Advisors, he spent 12 years as a partner at Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler, Inc. (HR&A), a New York-based consulting firm. Before joining HR&A, he was a Principal with the firm of Caine Gressel Midgley Slater, where he assisted in financings involving the securitization of real estate debt in excess of $3 billion, and provided real estate advisory services to banks, government and foundations.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. Laven was Executive Director of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, a New York City-based non-profit organization responsible for the rehabilitation of abandoned buildings and their conversion to cooperative ownership. Mr. Laven has been a member of the faculty of Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation since 1981. From 1986-1993, Mr. Laven directed the Master of Science in Real Estate Development program and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate.

Mr. Laven is a director or trustee of several organizations, including Gramercy Capital Corporation, a publicly traded real estate investment trust with nearly $7 billion in assets, the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, and the Citizens Housing Planning Council, a New York City housing policy organization. He has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Architectural Design from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Charlotte Matthews

Charlotte Matthews, co-creator of the Real Estate Development Program’s new Sustainability Core and an adjunct professor for the curriculum, is Vice President of Sustainability at Related Companies, LP. Related is a premier real estate developer/owner/manager with a diverse property portfolio valued at $15B and rights to develop Hudson Yards, a 26-acre, 12M SF mixed use development over the west side rail yards in New York City. Ms. Matthews directs Related's corporate sustainability strategy and oversees its green development activity.

Ms. Matthews sits on the board of the Institute for Market Transformation and is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York - Sustainability Committee and NYC Green Codes Industry Advisory Committee. She currently focuses on local legislative and research efforts to green New York City’s existing building stock and new construction, as the City is setting precedents other localities will follow.

Ms. Matthews’ career in green building began at an architecture firm, during which time she became co-chair of the Boston AIA Committee on the Environment and member of the DOE/EPA Lab 21 Environmental Performance Criteria and LEED for Labs development committees. She moved on to Steven Winter Associates, a green building consulting firm, and then into construction management with Bovis Lend Lease to build green buildings. Matthews has also served on the LEED for New Construction core committee and helped with the consolidation of LEED from multiple specialized rating systems into one.

Ms. Matthews holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Brown University.

Gregg Popkin

Gregg A. Popkin is an acknowledged Leader in the New York real estate community for over 30 years. In his role as the Chief Operating Officer for RFR Holding LLC, Mr. Popkin directs the daily business functions of a multi-national portfolio of office, residential, retail and hotel properties. This portfolio of properties includes well known New York Landmarks such as the Seagram Building and the Lever House as well other notable addresses in the United States, Germany and Israel.

Mr. Popkin began his real estate career under the guidance of his mentor, Harry B. Helmsley and then went on to work in the development end of the business with John Tishman at Tishman Realty and Construction and at Jones Lang LaSalle. He held operating positions as the Senior Managing Director of Asset Services for CBRE and then Managing Director for Asset Management for Beacon Capital.

During his career, Mr. Popkin has been associated with the management, leasing and/or development of more than 100 million square feet of office space in the New York metropolitan area as well as numerous commercial, residential and hotel properties around the Globe.

Suhrita Sen

Suhrita Sen is a Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Capital Projects and Infrastructure Advisory Practice in New York, responsible for strategic planning, execution and growth of the practice. Ms Sen has more than 20 years of work experience in the real estate, construction and infrastructure industries. Working nationally and internationally, Ms. Sen has successfully led numerous complex projects for private and public sector clients. Her experience includes Strategic Planning for large-scale real estate development projects, Project management oversight, Project controls, Construction audits and Construction litigation support , Business process improvement, as well as Infrastructure and P3 advisory.

Prior to PwC, Ms Sen was Senior Manager at Ernst & Young's Construction and Real Estate Advisory practice in New York. Additionally, she has 10 years of work experience in New Delhi, India.

Ms. Sen is an architect and has a graduate degree in construction management and another in real estate development - the latter from Columbia University. She is a certified PMP (Project Management Professional) and a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). She has been an invited presenter at several national and international conferences and seminars, and teaches graduate courses in capital and infrastructure projects as an adjunct at Columbia University.

Ryan Severino

Ryan Severino is a senior economist in the research and economics department at Reis, the team responsible for the firm’s market forecasting, valuation, and portfolio analytics services.

Prior to Reis, Mr. Severino served as the Associate Director of Research at MetLife Real Estate Investments where he was responsible for macroeconomic and real estate market analysis, formulating portfolio strategy, and conducting deal reviews. Before joining MetLife, Mr. Severino served as the Director of Investment Strategy and Market Research at Starwood Capital Group. Mr. Severino has also held research positions at Prudential Real Estate Investors and UBS. Additionally, Mr. Severino currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Urban Economics and Real Estate Portfolio and Risk Management at Columbia University and NYU.

Mr. Severino’s original research has appeared in a number of journals such as the Wharton Real Estate Review and The Real Estate Finance Journal. His assessments of market conditions have appeared in international publications like The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Financial Times and on business networks such as CNBC and BNN.

Mr. Severino holds a master’s degree from Columbia University, where he studied International Finance and Political Economy, a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University where he studied Finance, Japanese, and Economics, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Donald Sheets

Mr. Sheets is a Senior Principal at Square Mile Capital Management, a $1.5 billion AUM real estate private equity fund. He identifies, structures, and negotiates non-traditional commercial real estate investment opportunities including distressed debt, discounted performing commercial mortgages, preferred equity, mezzanine financing, and real estate enterprise liquidations. Donald has over 12 years of property acquisition, turnaround, asset management, and restructuring experience across a variety of capital structures, asset types, and geographies.

Prior to SMCM, Mr. Sheets initiated a special-situation commercial real estate investment platform at Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a $14 billion AUM multi-strategy hedge fund. While at DKCM, Donald sourced, underwrote, managed, and exited over $1.1 billion in realized investments. Prior to DKCM, Mr. Sheets worked for The Carlyle Group, EastBanc, and Starwood Urban Investments.

Mr. Sheets is appointed faculty member at both Columbia University and New York University, where he developed and currently teaches the first graduate-level distressed real estate investing coursework within each institution’s curriculum.

Mr. Sheets received a BBA in Accounting and Real Estate Finance from The George Washington University magna cum laude and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Joel Silverman

Joel Silverman is an Associate Professor in the Real Estate Development Program teaching Construction Management and Technology. Silverman, who is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York and several other states, has over 40 years of experience as both a contractor / construction manager and consultant. He was the president of HRH Construction Corporation in New York, and was responsible for the construction management of projects such as the Javits Convention Center, Trump Tower, the Rockefeller Research building at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and more than 14 million square feet of high rise commercial, mixed use, residential, hotel, and health related facilities. Since 1999,

Mr. Silverman has been president of Silverman & Associates, a firm providing full service owner's representation and construction consulting services for private and institutional clients such as the G.E. Pension Trust, NYU, Princeton University, the Georgetown Group, Hines, Related, Bloomberg, IAC / Interactive Corp, and Time Warner. Mr. Silverman has taught at Copper Union, has appeared in several Public Television documentaries about the Empire State Building, and also guest lectures on construction related topics for the School of Architecture at Cornell.

John F. Tsui

Based in Beijing, China and New York, John F. Tsui is Managing Principal of Peninsula House, LLC which is engaged in principal investment in alternative assets in the United States, Brazil and Asia, aka Pacific Americas. As a cross-border hybrid alternative asset investment firm for special situations, Peninsula House, LLC is involved in structured direct investment in the four alternative asset classes: infrastructure, distressed loans and securities; real estate and real estate entities, as well as special situation corporate investments.

Mr. Tsui previously held managerial positions with hotel chains in their corporate headquarter and regional offices including Marriott Corporation, Sheraton Hotels in the Pacific, Landauer Associates - a leading property counseling and valuation firm and Bankers Trust Company (real estate banking division). He also held managerial positions at Carvel Corporation and Sky Chefs (in-flight catering). He earned the designation MAI – the appraisal designation of the Appraisal Institute, and is a member of the Turnaround Management Association (7 years), Urban Land Institute (26 years) and Young President’s Organization (YPO) (12 years).

Mr. Tsui was appointed by Honorable John C. Whitehead to be on the Board of Directors of The Boy Scouts of the Greater New York Council and The Economic Club of New York. He is Visiting Lecturer at the SEM program at Tsinghua University, as well as at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. He is an Adjunct Visiting Professor of Advanced Case Study on emerging markets investment at Columbia University. He recently authored a Thomson Reuters report titled China Property Investments: Profits and Pitfalls.

He received a BS from Michigan State University in Hotel Administration and a Masters from Columbia University in Real Estate and Finance. He is a graduate of the Owner President Management Program (OPM) at Harvard Business School. Born in Taiwan and raised in Brazil, Mr. Tsui is fluent in Chinese (Mandarin) and has working knowledge of Portuguese and Spanish.

Marc Weidener TEMPLETON REAL ESTATE

Marc Weidner is the Managing Director at Franklin Templeton Real Estate Advisors, New York and has over 18 years of investment experience in sourcing, valuing, structuring and transacting global real estate. Mr. Weidner joined Franklin Templeton in early 2002 and is a member of the Global Investment Committee of Franklin Templeton Real Estate Advisors. In addition, he is a member of its Management Committee and in this capacity serves as Head of Investments. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, he worked in the investment banking group of DLJ/Credit Suisse First Boston in London and New York where he originated, structured and underwrote real estate private equity funds in Europe and the United States. Prior to joining DLJ/CSFB, he was with Security Capital Group in London where he worked on origination and business development for the private equity fund of Security Capital. Mr. Weidner holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University where he was a Fulbright scholar.

He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations, magna cum laude, and a B.A. in Business Management, magna cum laude, from Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Mr. Weidner is a member of INREV and PREA, and is a faculty member in the M.S. in Real Estate Development program at Columbia University since 2005.

Scott D. Zwilling

Scott D. Zwilling is a Principal with Spirit Investment Partners, a New York City based investment company that owns and manages residential and commercial properties throughout the Northeast and Midwest.

Previously, he was the Director of Acquisitions for JPI, a large national multi-family developer and prior to that he held a similar role as an Acquisitions Manager with Crescent Heights, one of the nation's premier condominium developers.

Over the past ten years, Mr. Zwilling has been responsible for the acquisition, development and disposition of over $1.0 billion of property located throughout the country.

Prior to JPI and Crescent Heights, Mr. Zwilling was a real estate investment banker at Wells Hill Partners, Ltd., where he participated in numerous deals, including various residential, hotel and office assets. Other experiences include working as a consultant in the real estate groups of Arthur Andersen and Ernst and Young.

Mr. Zwilling is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH and a Masters in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, New York, NY.