Mark Barer is vice president of real estate, facilities, and planning. Working in close partnership with the senior leadership team, Barer leads the planning, development, and execution of real estate initiatives, facilities management and building-related capital projects, and sustainability efforts to enhance Berklee's environment in support of its mission and strategic goals.

Barer brings to this role 25 years of deep expertise in real estate acquisitions, design, construction, permitting, marketing, and financing. He is an experienced executive with proven success developing a broad range of complex mixed-use urban and suburban projects exceeding $2 billion in value across multiple asset classes, including life science, multifamily, office, and retail. Barer comes to Berklee from Lendlease, Australia’s leading real estate business, where he served for four years in the company’s Boston office as SVP and director of development. At Lendlease, he oversaw all development and operations activities, strategic planning integration, project execution, and operational efficiency. His projects included development and asset management for Forum, a best-in-class life science facility in Boston.

Lauren, an Education and Science Principal at HDR, is a seasoned architect with deep experience across various academic campus typologies. She passionately advocates for student well-being and inclusive design, creating campus environments that foster belonging, wellness and discovery while allowing students to thrive academically and personally. A recognized thought leader, Lauren has spoken at conferences such as SXSW EDU, EDSpaces and Women in Design. She is an active member of the Society for College and University Planning and Professional Women in Construction and is deeply committed to mentoring emerging professionals and advancing equity in the architecture industry.

Erik has a diverse portfolio of architectural work of academic, civic, and cultural projects. He sees architecture and planning not just as an opportunity to provide clients with solutions to their requests, but as a process of understanding how to support a community in their future aspirations and goals. His projects include all of William Rawn Associates’ work in California at Stanford University, Sonoma State, Napa Pipe, and Santa Rosa as well as our largest project to date – The Commonwealth Honors College at U Mass Amherst. He has worked on master and precinct plans for Tufts, MIT, Stanford and Northwestern Universities. Erik has led our recent built work at Babson College Weissman Foundry, SUNY Alfred State Student Leadership Center, the Armstrong Student Center at Miami University, projects at Northwestern University, and Brown University’s Wellness center and Residence Hall.

With more than 16 years of experience, Andrew Lynch leads Wise Construction’s institutional work across Greater Boston, with a focus on higher education and complex occupied environments. Since joining Wise in 2012 as an Assistant Project Manager, he has advanced into a leadership role through his ability to guide projects from early planning through completion. Andrew’s portfolio includes work for Harvard University, Harvard Business School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Boston College, and other institutions across the region, giving him firsthand experience navigating active campuses and technically demanding academic spaces. He is known for aligning field operations with project goals, coordinating closely with clients, designers, and trade partners to keep work moving while minimizing disruption. As a connector between the field and office, Andrew brings a practical understanding of scheduling, budgeting, and on-site logistics, helping teams deliver high-quality results in challenging environments. He holds a B.S. in Construction Management from Wentworth Institute of Technology, along with a Massachusetts Construction Supervisor’s License, OSHA 30 certification, and Lean Healthcare certification.

Laura Brink Pisinski ’06MS is Vice President of University Real Estate Development and Facilities Management. Her teams are responsible for facilities and auxiliary services, conferences and events and public safety.

Primarily focused on efforts to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the campus physical plant through real estate deployment, facility renovation and utilization and institutional master planning, she also maintains significant relationships with key donors and University volunteers. In addition, Brink Pisinski leads the 13- member Simmons University COVID-19 Recovery Task Force.

During 16 years of service to Simmons, Brink Pisinski has held positions of increasing responsibility and scope. She started as a front-line fundraiser and over 11 years advanced ultimately to the position of Associate Vice President of Advancement. Following a successful career in fundraising, she served as the Chief of Staff to President Drinan, and was appointed to lead the One Simmons campus plan. She continues to oversee that $450 million initiative, the biggest real estate and master planning project in Simmons’ history.

Before coming to Simmons, Brink Pisinski worked in enrollment management, where she chaired the annual meeting for the New England Association of College Admission Counselors for two years as well as a presidential task force on retention. She holds a B.A. from St. Lawrence University and a master’s degree in communications management from Simmons University.

Sean has worked on several extremely challenging construction projects throughout his career and understands the unique needs of his clients and the importance of maintaining an open and honest dialogue. As Vice President, Sean is responsible for overseeing the overall performance of his team’s projects, including schedule, budget, quality management and execution. He is directly responsible for achieving the owner’s goals and is dedicated to exceeding his client’s expectations throughout the duration of his projects.

Chris Reed is Founding Director of Stoss Landscape Urbanism. He is recognized internationally as a

leading voice in the transformation of landscapes and cities, and he works alternately as a researcher,

strategist, teacher, designer, and advisor. Chris is particularly interested in the relationships between

ecology and landscape and infrastructure, social spaces, and cities. His work collectively includes

urban revitalization initiatives, climate resilience efforts in Boston, Dallas, Abu Dhabi, China, and

throughout the Midwest, speculative propositions, adaptations of infrastructure and former industrial

sites, dynamic and productive landscapes, vibrant public spaces that cultivate a diversity of social uses

and cultural traditions, and numerous landscape installations.

Chris is the co-editor of Projective Ecologies, and co-author of Mise-en-Scène: The Lives & Afterlives of

Urban Landscapes with photographer Mike Belleme, an immersive exploration of the social lives of

urban landscapes. He is a recipient of the 2012 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in Landscape

Architecture, a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the 2017 Mercedes T. Bass

Landscape Architect in Residence at the American Academy in Rome. Chris received a Master in

Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and an AB in Urban Studies from Harvard

College. He is currently Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture and Co-Director of the Master

of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of

Design.

Stephen Baker started the multidisciplinary design firm Baker Design Group in 1997. Since its inception, BDG has designed a broad range of demanding and high-profile projects in (19) countries and across the United States. Stephen’s role is often strategist as well as designer, ensuring that projects achieve the design, technical goals, and ambitions of the client. These projects include academic facilities and campus master planning, corporate world headquarters, research labs and manufacturing buildings, hotels, museums, conference centers, exhibit design, multimedia sculptures, and product design.

Stephen enjoys leading design teams, consultants, and clients, through an inclusive design process to uncover the opportunities that give each project its own unique DNA. This design leadership extends throughout the construction process and continued collaboration with construction teams where Stephen brings his experience in building projects with leading-edge technologies and innovative construction techniques.

Stephen is a Founding Board Member of Leading Cities, an organization dedicated to bringing innovative environmental technologies to address challenges in cities worldwide.

Tierra Ryan is President of Vertical Markets at C&W Services, where she leads strategy and growth across the Education, Life Sciences, Logistics, and Manufacturing sectors. She works with institutional leaders to strengthen operational performance, elevate campus and workplace experiences, and align facilities strategy with long-term organizational objectives.

With a career spanning technology, services, and manufacturing, Tierra has built and led high-performing teams in complex, global environments. She has supported more than 50,000 client accounts and partnered with Fortune 500 organizations to deliver measurable gains in service delivery, reliability, and cost performance. Her leadership emphasizes people, process discipline, and continuous improvement.

Prior to C&W Services, Tierra served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Services at Johnson Controls, where she led a global field service organization. She previously held senior leadership roles at Insight Enterprises, overseeing integration services, supply chain operations, and automation initiatives.

Tierra received the Most Innovative Leader Award from West Point’s Thayer Leadership Program and holds a Dual Black Belt in Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement. She earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Supply Chain and International Management and a dual MBA in International Management and Business Innovation from Arizona State University.