MICA Advisory Board

As the head of property management, Kim is responsible for Fairfield’s multifamily portfolio of 41,263 units in 38 markets nationally. She also oversees many of the support services for the property management group including strategic operations, marketing and training. Kim joined Fairfield in 2001 as a regional supervisor and has held several key leadership roles at the company. She has more than 25 years of industry experience at both privately held management companies and REITS, as well as managing conventional and affordable apartment communities. Kim began her career in property management at Hall Financial Group, Inc. Subsequently, she worked with National Housing Partnership Incorporated (NHP) and oversaw assets for The NHP Foundation. As a result of the AIMCO purchase of NHP, Kim began supervising AIMCO properties in both Texas and California, where she held various management positions. Kim received her education at North Lake College and holds her NCP-E (National Compliance Professional- Executive), CAPS (Certified Apartment Property Supervisor) and a CPM designation with the Institute of Real Estate Management. She also has a Real Estate license in the state of California.

Tracy H. Bowers is the Managing Director for Matrix Residential, the property management division for Pollack Shores Real Estate Group. In this role, Tracy is responsible for the overall operations of the management company as well as focusing on strategy and client relations.

Tracy joined Pollack Shores Real Estate Group in 2011 with more than 20 years’ experience. During her career, Tracy has managed more than 50,000 units in the Southeast and Southwest submarkets. She is especially proud of the successful lease-up of more than 90 new developments and the orchestration and implementation of 65 value-add/renovations. She has extensive experience in the Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, South Florida, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, Ft. Myers, Austin, Richmond, Nashville, Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte markets. Tracy also works closely with the development teams and is highly involved with the architectural and design processes.

Tracy earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Georgia and a Master of Science in Management/Organizational Behavior from Georgia State University. Tracy also earned an Interior Design degree from The Art Institute of Atlanta. She is a Certified Property Manager through the Institute of Real Estate Management and a member of the National Apartment Association, Georgia Apartment Association and Atlanta Apartment Association. She serves on the board of the Atlanta Apartment Association and is currently President-Elect. Tracy resides in Roswell with her husband, Johnny, and two children, Natalie and Annie.

After 25 years, Mike Brewer remains passionate about people, technology, and real estate. A champion of putting team members first always, Mike challenges the standard and persists towards the goal of excellence. Mike has received numerous industry awards, including seven “Property Management Company of the Year” awards under his leadership. As the Chief Operating Officer of The RADCO Companies, Mike oversees RADCO Residential, the firm’s in-house and third-party property management platform. RADCO has twice been named one of the Best Places to Work in Multifamily. Mike also sponsors technology and leadership development initiatives throughout the organization. Before joining RADCO, Mike worked with Mills Properties and Equity Residential in multiple roles. Mike is an active contributor to industry-related publications such as Units Magazine, Multifamily Insiders, PropertyManagement.com, and more. Viewers tune in daily to watch Mike’s Apartment Hacker vlog as he tackles topics across the multifamily spectrum. An avid reader, Mike also finds time for outdoor activities like running and hiking. He also enjoys blogging, and mentoring tomorrow’s business leaders.

Ian is a founding member of Davis Craig and a leader in the field of telecommunications transactions. He counsels and represents residential and commercial owners and developers in various telecommunications and technology-related matters, including agreements for telephone, video, Internet and wireless services. Ian has participated in a wide variety of technology transactions on behalf of many of the largest national owners and managers of apartments, condominiums, commercial buildings, master planned communities and hotels.

Prior to starting Davis Craig, Ian led the telecommunications group at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr in Dallas. He speaks regularly at industry conferences and contributes to trade publications as a recognized expert in the industry.

Dana Dunford is the CEO of Hemlane, a technology-enabled property management platform. She is a strong advocate of purchasing properties anywhere, as the best investments are not typically in your backyard. She supports real estate investors in setting up the most intelligent process to manage rentals from a distance, while connecting them with local, licensed professionals.

In 2018, Dana was named one of the top 20 women leaders and influencers in commercial real estate tech. Dana previously worked at Apple on its worldwide financial planning and analysis team, and at Nest, the home technology company acquired by Google for $3.2B, in business development. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School.

In her free time, Dana is an avid equestrian, paraglider and skier. She is the first woman to win a calf dressing championship belt buckle at the CA Rodeo. She takes risks in her personal life, but spends her work life advocating technology and prudent spending for a risk-mitigated solution to real estate management.

Gigi Giannoni is Senior Vice President, Customer Experience, for Gables Residential.  Gigi leads the efforts in bringing a strategic expanded customer experience perspective to the identification and implementation of product/market opportunities that ultimately impact the company’s bottom line.  The position is integrated across all divisions including operations, retail, development, design and sustainability. Balanced with an execution focus, this role leads initiatives and is a catalyst for change, positioning the customer first, with a focus on excellence.  She is also responsible for establishing the short-term objectives and long-term strategic vision for the company’s marketing efforts, overseeing the creation, implementation and execution of all marketing deliverables.  Gigi also manages all company public relations efforts.  With over 35 years of expertise in real estate, she brings knowledge not only in multi-family, but also from the hospitality, active adult and for-sale industry.  She has her BA in International Politics/Communication from Rollins College and her MS in Management from Florida Institute of Technology.

Sharon Hatfield is President at CF Real Estate Services with oversight for property management operations, corporate and regional marketing, human resources, student living, compliance, construction, maintenance and education. Her primary focus at CF is enhancing asset value, accomplished through the management of an operating platform that is centered around customers, clients and employees.

She has more than two decades' experience working throughout the country in the multifamily industry, including REITSs, private ownership and fee management. Before joining CF Real Estate Services, Sharon served in Senior Operations positions with Southern Land Company and Greystar. She began her career in the industry with Archstone, where she spent 12 years in various operations roles, including Vice President of National Marketing and Communications. Throughout her career, Sharon has been instrumental in realigning support infrastructures, organizing and implementing company rebranding efforts, developing business systems and plans, and arranging marketing efforts for acquisitions and high-end lease-ups. Her expertise has been in high-barrier-to-entry markets and competitive soft markets where she has either lived or operated including Manhattan, Boston, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh-Durham, Denver, Miami and Southern California.

Tim leads Cortland’s marketing function, which includes company and community branding, lead generation, digital marketing, communications, and strategy planning and implementation to improve customer experience and resident retention. He joined Cortland with more than 25 years of marketing leadership experience across several industries, including education, senior living, finance, sales and consulting. Tim previously led the marketing function as VP, Marketing for Vi (f.k.a. Classic Residence by Hyatt). At Vi, he was responsible for transforming marketing and sales performance after spearheading the rebranding of Vi as a dual-branded portfolio (VI and Classic Residence). He received his MBA from University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and BS in Journalism & Mass Communications from University of Iowa.

Jaja has more than 13 years of experience in multifamily real estate development and property management, most recently as the President of Emerald Property Management, a division of Emerald Fund, Inc. Throughout his career, Jaja has managed thousands of luxury apartment and condominium units in the San Francisco Bay Area. Equally important is Jaja’s background in technology: He co-founded Mascot Network, a “Facebook for Colleges” after graduating from Harvard Business School in 1999. Jaja’s depth of experience in asset management and internet technology led him to Airbnb in 2015, where he now leads Airbnb’s global multifamily housing partnership strategy. Jaja holds a BA in Government from Harvard College, and a MBA from Harvard Business School.

Investor specializing in transformative technology in commercial buildings and "legacy" commercial property.

Shadow Ventures is a VC firm focused on early-stage investments in building technology ('BuiltTech"). Almost all of our investors at Shadow are innovative players in the industry - REITs, GCs, Private Equity Firms, Architecture Firms, Family Offices, etc. If you would like us to review a deal, please submit it to https://builttechlabs.co/join-the-community/startups/.

Blackhawk is a coalition of like-minded investors focused on long-term value rather than short-term yield and IRR hurdles. We don't believe you can solve a 30-year global urbanization and densification trend on a 3-year investment hold period. We specialize in commercial property investments in urban markets in the US. We are always looking for investment opportunities in infill office and retail properties on the best three streets in cities in the SunBelt.

CRE is for wealth-preservation, Venture Capital is for wealth creation, and Philanthropy should be a part of every business plan.

Khushbu Sikaria is a Vice President at Lincoln Property Company, responsible for the growth and operations of the residential platform in the Mid-Atlantic. She is a thought-leader in real estate operations, technology, growth strategy, and consumer experience serving as an advisor to numerous start-ups and committees. Before joining Lincoln, Khushbu spent almost nine years at Bozzuto, where she led Innovation & Product. She also held multiple other roles there, including VP of Advisory Services, where she was integral to the growth of the management company.

Prior to joining Bozzuto, Khushbu founded an e-commerce retail business and practiced law in Florida. Khushbu holds a JD/MBA from the University of Baltimore and a BS in Marketing from the University of Florida. Khushbu was awarded Multifamily Executive’s Rising Star award, highlighting her exceptional work in the industry. She also enjoys writing and sharing her industry insights on her Medium blog @khushbusikaria.

Mr. Silverman oversees operations including oversight property management, property services, leasing, marketing, and analytics. He further focuses on operational technology integration and driving innovative and efficient upgrades to business systems.

He has focused his 25-year real estate career on both start-up and development opportunities most recently managing portfolio operations and new development with Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust. Prior to that he was central to the founding and growth of Zeta Communities and Community Builders.

Sue provides consulting services to multi-family developers and equity providers.  Her services include development plan review and interior design services as well as value-add project management, and acquisition underwriting and due diligence coordination, Prior to starting her own company, Sue was with TCR (still her primary client) for 20 years.  Her most recent role was as a Managing Director of Resident experience over the western US. In her position, she was responsible for plan review and interior design direction, determining overall property themes, amenity make-up, and unit finishes, as well as sourcing the latest technologies for inclusion in each deal. Prior to moving exclusively into a development role in 2016, Sue ran Asset Management for the western US, where she was responsible for an A+ luxury portfolio valued up to $1.3 billion. Sue also oversaw the placement of equity from TCR’s acquisition fund with AEW and served as the Fort Hood housing Operations Director. Prior to joining TCR, Sue was Vice President of Acquisitions for CWS Apartment Homes, LLC, placing over $25 million of equity in two years and purchasing 10 multi-family properties in a variety of markets. Sue holds a BS in Business from Towson University.

Kari is the Executive Vice President of Property Operations for Kairoi in charge of all property operations, construction services, marketing, revenue management, and training. She brings over 20 years of experience to the Kairoi team with a background in marketing, branding, and customer service in the residential and interior design industries. Kari previously served as head of operations for Anyone Home, and as a lead executive in charge of strategic marketing, branding and communications for both BRE Properties and AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

Kari holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from Texas A&M University. In the community, Kari volunteers for Antonian College Preparatory High School, the American Heart Association, and the Woodlawn Theatre. She also loves golden retrievers, spending time at the theater, swim competitions, and time with her family.

Lori Valenti Webb is the owner of Property Playbook, an outsourced marketing firm. She is a licensed Broker and has over 10 years of experience in the Multifamily sector as Director of Marketing for companies including Wood Partners and LMC. Lori has been responsible for the branding, advertising and marketing for over 90 lease up developments across the nation. Her expertise is to focus and position each and every asset, in their respective markets, for success and garner maximum rent potential with the least amount of vacancy time. She works directly with national vendors and partners to review new products and technology advances and ensure best pricing and maximum ROI.

She is a regular speaker at Industry conferences including NMHC, AIM, NAA and Apartment Association Education Sessions. She is active with Multifamily Insiders and has been highlighted in Units Magazine and Apartment Therapy Magazine for onsite achievements. Lori holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Marketing from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and is a member of the National Association of Professional Women and a Board Member on the New Lease on Life Program of NC. Lori also owns a VRBO/ARBNB, Spiaggia by the Sea, that was featured on HGTV.

Kelly joined BH as Director of Marketing in June of 2009. In her current role, she manages the organization’s brand strategy and online presence, oversees all property marketing efforts and directs corporate communications efforts. She also oversees the company’s technology functions including infrastructure, hardware and software needs and technology support along with leading many of the organization’s new program launches. Prior to joining BH, Kelly served as V.P. of Marketing & Sales for a regional financial institution and has more than 20 years of marketing, digital strategy and communications experience. Kelly holds degrees in Communications and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.

Darren Wesemann is chief innovation officer and a member of the Management Committee. In this role he is responsible for relentlessly driving a performance culture and LEAN business processes into and across the organization. Formal responsibilities include leadership of the sustainable and innovative activities of Technology at Berkadia.

Prior to joining Berkadia, Mr. Wesemann was with Leucadia National Corporation as an executive coach and advisor. While at Leucadia, Mr. Wesemann was responsible for mentoring CEO’s, CTO’s, CIO’s and other executive management in Leucadia’s operating companies. Addtionally, he was responsible for merger activities, integration projects which resulted in combined IT infrastructures and processes. Prior to joining Leucadia, Mr. Wesemann was with Ellucian as senior vice president and chief technology officer and Sungard for more than nine years as chief technology officer, chief product officer and president.

Mr. Wesemann has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Utah and a certificate in Executive Business Management from the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley.