Stephanie McCleskey has been instrumental in developing—and maintaining—the foundation supporting the timely collection and dissemination of in-depth apartment market and student housing data. Her tenure at Axiometrics has generated a rigorous quality control method to ensure on-time reports and accurate data for Axiometrics clients.

McCleskey also organized and now oversees research and tracking processes for Axiometrics’ construction pipeline process, creating the methodology to update under-construction and lease-up properties on a monthly basis, thus ensuring clients have access to immediate and indispensable data for effective decision making purposes. Additionally, her efforts are focused on supervising, managing, motivating and training a crack staff of Axiometrics researchers.

McCleskey received her degree in real estate finance from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business.

Mr. Hites is Principal and Chief Investment Officer for The John Buck Company with primary responsibility for the development and implementation of investment strategy, oversight and coordination of the firm’s investment activities and the origination of new investment opportunities. Kevin also has direct responsibility for management of capital partner and investor relationships. Kevin is a member of The John Buck Company’s Investment Committee and Board of Directors.

Prior to joining JBC, Kevin was a Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer at Pearlmark Real Estate Partners, where he oversaw and coordinated the firm’s investment activities. Kevin invested over $2 billion in real estate across the U.S. on behalf of Pearlmark’s private equity funds during his 15-year tenure at the firm. Previously, Kevin was with ING Clarion Partners in New York, where he was involved in acquisitions and asset management. He also worked in Morgan Stanley Dean Witter’s Real Estate Investment Banking Group in New York.

Kevin earned his AB degree in Business Economics at Brown University and his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is an active member of Urban Land Institute (ULI).

Greg Cazel is a Managing Director with Hunt Mortgage Group, a wholly owned

subsidiary of the Hunt Companies. He has a senior loan production role based in Chicago,

and focuses on sourcing opportunities for both the proprietary lending and conventional

agency businesses in the Midwest. Mr. Cazel has more than 32 years of commercial

real estate finance, acquisition, loan origination and securitization, mortgage banking,

underwriting, analysis, and investment experience. Throughout his career, Mr. Cazel has

been responsible for closing in excess of $4.5 billion of commercial real estate loans

including: fixed-rate, floating-rate, construction and mezzanine financings throughout the

United States.

Prior to joining Hunt Mortgage Group, Cazel was a Managing Director in Wells Fargo’s

Real Estate Capital Markets group, where he handled CMBS lending in the Midwest region

of the United States. Between June 2010 and May 2013, Mr. Cazel was an Executive Vice

President and Principal with A10 Capital, which specializes in financing commercial real

estate and providing advisory and management services for the workout of all types of

troubled loans and real estate assets. Prior to joining A10, Mr. Cazel was a Partner with

Prairie Realty Advisors, Inc., a Chicago-based mortgage banking firm. From April 2007 to

June 2008, he was an Executive Director with Dexia Real Estate Capital Markets Company,

a Division of Dexia Bank, a Belgium-based financial institution, where he was responsible

for establishing the Chicago office and managing the Midwest presence for the CMBS

loan program. From 1999 to April 2007, Mr. Cazel was a Vice President at JP Morgan

Mortgage Capital where he ran a commercial loan production team that closed more

than $3.6 billion in permanent, floating, and mezzanine loans, representing the highest

loan production volume in the country for JP Morgan. During his tenure there, he earned

the number one ranking throughout the JP Morgan branch office CMBS loan production

system. Before JP Morgan, Mr. Cazel opened and ran a Fannie Mae DUS loan origination

office for Washington Capital in Chicago from 1993-1997. Prior to that he spent 7 years

from 1985-1992 as an analyst and mortgage banker with the predecessor to Berkadia

Commercial Mortgage, the Chicago-based Republic Realty/First Interstate Mortgage. He

began his career at Landauer, a New York based real estate consulting firm in June, 1984

as a commercial real estate appraiser.

Mr. Cazel earned a B.A. with a concentration in Real Estate and Accounting, from the

University of Illinois in June 1984. He’s the former President of Rho Epsilon, the real estate

business fraternity, and former President and Director of the Illinois Real Estate Forum, a

non-profit University of Illinois alumni organization providing financial support to Illinois

real estate students while developing an effective network of Illinois alumni in the real

estate industry.

Not only does Todd Stofflet have more than 20 years of experience in brokering and owning multifamily assets: He is one of the most recognized Midwest market experts in the industry. Todd has negotiated the sale of more than $2.0 billion of assets for the most prominent institutional owners in the industry. In addition to his Midwest expertise, Todd has established himself as one of Chicago’s top performers, with more than $700 million in sales. Todd leads the KIG sales team in Chicago while managing strategic growth throughout the Midwest. Prior to joining KIG, Todd was a Senior Vice President at ARA Real Estate Investment Services.

Todd is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and The John E. Dolibois European Center in Luxembourg. Todd is a licensed real estate broker in Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio and is an active member of National Multifamily Housing Council and ULI.

Karen Case is Executive Managing Director and President of Commercial Real Estate for The PrivateBank. She oversees the group that develops and manages banking relationships with dynamic and growing commercial real estate developers, investors, owners and operators based in markets where The PrivateBank is located. Case is a member of The PrivateBank’s Operating, Executive, Management, Asset and Liability, Credit Policy, Community Reinvestment Act, and Loan Committees.

Prior to joining The PrivateBank in 2007, Case was Executive Vice President for LaSalle Bank’s Commercial Real Estate team, and most recently was responsible for serving real estate companies based in Illinois. She was also responsible for launching the Corporate Real Estate Group, which banked national real estate companies, opportunity funds, and pension funds and advisors, and for the start-up of loan production offices in St. Louis, Kansas City and Denver. Prior to joining LaSalle in 1992, Case established and managed the Midwest real estate loan production office for New York-based Marine Midland Bank. Prior to that, she was responsible for managing banking relationships with Midwest-based real estate development and syndication firms at The First National Bank of Chicago.

Case received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and MBA from the University of Chicago. She attended the University of London and the American College in Paris. She is a member of CREW Chicago; The Economic Club of Chicago; The Executives Club of Chicago; Real Estate Finance Forum; and Fellow, Class of 1997, of Leadership Greater Chicago. She serves on the Board of Directors for The Chicago Network; Community Investment Corporation; International Council of Shopping Centers; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Illinois Chapter as well as JDRF International; Rush University Medical Center; and TimeLine Theatre.

Stephen Rappin is owner and president of Evergreen Real Estate Group and oversees operations for the firm’s property management, acquisitions and development divisions. He was recently named president of the Chicagoland Apartment Association's board of directors, a trade association representing member companies ranging from owners of two-flats to the largest publicly traded real estate investment trusts. Rappin is a licensed Real Estate Broker and earned an MBA in marketing from Georgetown University and a Bachelor's degree at The American University

Jason Burian is a partner in CohnReznick’s Chicago office and a member of the Firm’s Assurance Practice. He also leads the Commercial Real Estate Industry Practice in the Firm's Chicago office. Jason has 12 years of experience in public accounting, providing clients with audits, compilations, compliance, due diligence, agreed-upon procedures, and other accounting services. His clients include real estate operating companies, real estate syndicators, real estate investment funds, and real estate developers.

Jason specializes in the audits of commercial real estate entities, developments benefitting from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), and employee benefit plans. He is responsible for many aspects of client engagements including planning, determining audit scope, identifying audit issues, selecting audit procedures to be applied, supervising staff, coordinating all fieldwork, establishing budgets, reviewing workpapers , facilitating client communications, and preparing financial statements or reports.

In addition to Jason’s client responsibilities, he develops programs and techniques specifically tailored to auditing commercial real estate entities for the Firm. He also takes an active role in developing staff, recruiting, scheduling initiatives, and leading the Chicago office’s efforts for the Firm’s volunteer and charity outreach.

Mr. Mutz is the Chairman & CEO of AMLI Residential, which he co-founded in 1980. He received a B.A. from DePauw University in 1967 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1973. Mr. Mutz served as an infantry lieutenant in Vietnam (1968-69)

As founder and CEO, Steve has built 15 million sf of apartments and offices worth over $7 billion in 7 different markets. Particular focus continues in mid and high rise luxury apartments in Chicago, Los Angeles and Texas, where the company has delivered over 3,000 units in the last 5 years. Steve has been named Developer of the Year twice in Chicago, National Executive of the Year (with his wife Randy) by Multi Housing News and has received numerous project awards for design and innovation in Los Angeles and Chicago. He is a trained mathematician with an MBA from the University of Chicago, an active member in YPO GOLD (Chicago and Los Angeles), a Foundation Board member of both Chicago's Children's and Prentice Hospitals, and the father of 7 children.

Eugene "Gene" J.M. Leone is a Partner in the Global M&A Practice

Group and a member of the Real Estate Industry Group, based in the

Chicago and New York offices. Gene represents some of the most

recognizable names in real estate and has a track record of leading,

structuring and executing complicated deal transactions for a broad

universe of investors, including private equity, entrepreneurs and public

companies. His practice focuses on all aspects of commercial real

estate, including joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions, leasing,

financings and workouts.

A highly rated lawyer and sought-after speaker, Gene is a member of

the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and the Real Estate

Roundtable and frequently speaks on a variety of real estate topics at

conferences around the country.