Mark is the President and Founder of MJW Investments. After beginning his career as an attorney, Los Angeles native Mark J. Weinstein founded MJW Investments in 1983 when he discovered the potential of real estate investment and development through several successful ventures. Under his leadership MJW has acquired approximately 1 billion dollars of real estate holdings in all asset types. He also spearheaded the adaptive reuse of Santee Village, one of Los Angeles’ largest adaptive reuse projects of over 800,000 sqft. of mixed-use in the Fashion District of Downtown Los Angeles. Mr. Weinstein’s passion for, and expertise in property repositioning has been a guiding factor in the company’s growth and success. Mark is the majority owner of the firm’s $800MM diversified real estate holdings. More recently, Mark has led the firm’s strategic growth into student housing and has amassed a portfolio of student housing properties at Michigan State, Washington State, Brigham Young University, UC Santa Barbara, Texas Tech, University of Illinois and University of Oregon. The firm continues to expand its Southern California multifamily portfolio. Throughout his career, Mr. Weinstein has maintained active associations and leadership with numerous civic and philanthropic groups. These include a three year term as Chair of the Jewish Federation’s Real Estate Construction Division; and active associations with the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), the Guardians, an agency dedicated to serving the elderly, and the Jewish Venture Philanthropy fund. Mr. Weinstein holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara (summa cum laude), and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School (dean’s list).

Fred Pierce is President and CEO of Pierce Education Properties (“PEP”) – a student housing investment and operating company – where he is nationally known as a leader in student housing and educational real estate. Mr. Pierce was named one of 24 national “Student Housing Pioneers” by Real Estate Forum (2013), has received Ernst & Young’s San Diego Region “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award for the Real Estate & Construction Industry (2012) and was named one of “100 Influential Leaders in San Diego” by the San Diego Daily Transcript (2016). Fred was awarded the Distinguished Alumni (“Monty Award”) from San Diego State University’s (“SDSU”) College of Business Administration (1999). With a portfolio of approximately 13,000 beds valued at nearly $600 million, PEP was ranked in 2016 by Student Housing Business Magazine among the Top 15 owners of student housing in the U.S. Since 2007, PEP has completed $825 million in acquisitions representing approximately 20,000 beds, ranking it among the Top 10 buyers of student apartments in the country during that period. For 10+ years, the firm served as master developer of the award-winning, 131-acre, $1+ billion College Community Redevelopment Project at SDSU together with SDSU Foundation. PEP has earned numerous national and international awards for its projects including three Gold Nugget Awards of Merit from the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (“PCBC”) and the Award of Excellence as The Outstanding University Real Estate Project in the country from the Association of University Real Estate Officials (“AUREO”). Prior to founding PEP, Fred was a principal and chief financial officer of Los Angeles-based Platt Companies where he directed the acquisition and financing of $400 million in real estate assets. Prior to that, Fred was Western Regional Director of Real Estate Consulting for Price Waterhouse, as well as Director of Real Estate Investment Consulting for KPMG Peat Marwick/Goodkin Group. For six years (1999-2004), Fred served as a Trustee of the 23-campus, 460,000-student California State University (CSU) System, where he chaired the Institutional Advancement, Audit, and University and Faculty Personnel committees. Fred is also Past President of the Board of Trustees of the City of San Diego’s Pension Fund ($4+ Billion), where he also chaired its Real Estate Investment Committee. He is currently Chairman of SDSU’s Fowler College of Business Board and Executive Committee Member of SDSU’s Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate. Mr. Pierce is also a board member of Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute and The Aztec Club at SDSU. Fred is a former board member of INVESCO’s $350 million Real Estate Fund I, and Past President of the CSU Alumni Council, SDSU Alumni Association and Poway Unified School District Foundation. Fred completed real estate finance studies in the MBA program at SDSU, and earned a bachelor’s degree in finance, cum laude, from SDSU.

Determined to find and execute on opportunistic real estate opportunities, Scott Gale formed Ventus Group (“Ventus”) in 2006. From 2007-2013, Scott acquired nine distressed properties from various banks and builders. The acquired assets, located through California and Oregon, included semi-improved single-family lots, subdivisions and master-planned communities, as well as retail, office and industrial buildings. All but one of those properties were sold between 2012-2015. Through 2012, Ventus also entitled, managed and/or consulted on several residential, retail and hotel projects/assets owned by third-parties (national homebuilders, market analysts, and private developers). The company’s consulting activities included entitlements processing, cash flow analysis, market research, and project management. Since 2014, Ventus has dedicated its efforts solely to The Fig. During this period, Scott and his team assembled more than eight contiguous acres in a prime Los Angeles location, all along advancing the design, analysis, and entitlements for The Fig- a 4.42-acre mixed-use development (hotel, residential, retail). Prior to forming Ventus Group, Scott served as Vice President of Land Acquisition at Shea Homes where he acquired 3,146 residential lots (attached and detached) throughout Southern California. Before Shea Homes, Scott was a Project Manager at Woodside Homes, where he was responsible for design team coordination, entitlements processing, horizontal development purchasing, as well as sales/construction support. Scott also served as a Senior Consultant in the Real Estate Capital Markets at Ernst & Young Kenneth Leventhal. There, Scott analyzed and supported large real estate transactions, including asset and company sales, as well as capital procurement and due diligence. Scott earned a Master of Business Administration and Master of Real Estate Development (“MRED”) from the University of Southern California. He also holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego. Scott serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Science Center. He also taught several Real Estate Development and Finance courses at University of California-Irvine in the Light Construction & Development Management program.

Ned brings over 20 years of real estate experience in finance, acquisitions, and development for both the public sector, notably for the fourth largest university system in the country, and for companies in the private sector.

Blake Wettengel is Chief Executive Officer of NB Private Capital, LLC and its related entities. After beginning his career as an attorney, Orange County native Blake Wettengel turned to real estate investment as Chief Operating Officer of Nelson Brothers Professional Real Estate. Under his leadership, the investment company acquired nearly $1 billion of real estate holdings, and the company was ranked in the Inc. 500 as one of the fastest growing companies in the country. In his tenure, Mr. Wettengel has overseen the acquisition and management of over 8,000 beds of multi-family properties, securing nearly $1 billion in debt and equity. Today, he manages the acquisition and investment process of the Sponsor, including asset acquisition and due diligence, debt and equity financing, construction and development. Mr. Wettengel has a B.A. from Brigham Young University and a Juris Doctorate (JD) from the UCLA School.

Karri Novak is on a mission to help clients achieve their goals. As Vice President for Clark Construction, Karri provides leadership to teams delivering projects at higher education campuses throughout the western U.S. With over 20 years of industry experience, Karri is knowledgeable on current trends related to academic and student life services and frequently leads design-build teams through the planning, design, and development of new campus projects. Her extensive portfolio includes the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Genentech Hall, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Engineering VI Phase 2 building, and the recently completed San Diego State University (SDSU) Engineering & Interdisciplinary Sciences Complex. Karri’s student housing experience includes Poly Canyon Village at California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly), Bowles Hall Restoration and Modernization at University of California, Berkeley (UCB), and The Village at Torrey Pines East at UCSD. Karri is currently providing executive oversight for the $490 million design-build contract for the University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD) Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood. This massive undertaking consists of residential units and amenities, support spaces, student affairs center, and will house the Provost office and Sixth College’s writing program. The 1,500,000-square-foot program includes below-grade parking for 1,200 vehicles and is being constructed to achieve LEED Platinum certification.

Linda Padilla-Smyth is the Director of Real Estate and Property Management for Chapman University. She provides leadership in increasingly complex management and operation of University residential homes and commercial tenant leased properties in and out of state, oversee real estate portfolio consist of office buildings, apartments, condominiums, duplexes, bare lots, ground leases, educational use, easement agreements (local and outside California). Linda manages Chapman University Real Estate portfolio and ongoing requirements including transaction management, facilities management, and corporate services. In total, real estate and property management oversee 170 properties. She leads their workforce housing program in academic village in Old Town Orange. She oversees the Faculty/Staff Rental Program of meticulously restored homes that reflect their own unique character. She has assisted Chapman University with the structuring, initiating negotiation, due diligence, purchased and closing over $80 million dollars of real property. She works closely with University Advancement to analyze, provide opinions, values, conducts due diligence, and liquidates real estate assets gift to the University by donors. She serves in a key leadership role at the University interacting with staff, faculty, President, Provost, senior leadership, and trustees in various capacities. She collaborate on campus wide initiatives such as the Diversity and Inclusion Plan, the Chapman Experience, and the I’m In Campaign. She is Executive Board Member on the Chapman University LatinX Staff and Faculty Forum which promotes aims to provide support to LatinX students, staff and faculty by developing connections and building a bridge between students, parents, alumni, community organizations and the Chapman community. She has over 24 years of experience in land use, development, and real estate. Prior to Chapman, the majority of her employment was in public sector working in redevelopment agencies doing redevelopment, economic development, and housing. She has a law degree from Western State University, College of Law. Her law degree has proven to be an essential asset in acquisition and disposition of real property, personnel issues, and compliance with state and federal requirements. Outside Professional Organization She the current President for CREW-Orange County Board and served as the former Chair of the biggest signature event, SPIRE (Superior Performance in Real Estate) Awards Ceremony for the CREW-OC (Commercial Real Estate Women). The purpose of the SPIRE Awards is to recognize and honor top industry performers during 2017 in their respective market segment. these are the people who are making deals happen. The event typically draw 300 people and is highly publicized in the OCBJ, Globe St, BizNow and other industry publications as well and several social media channels. The 8 categories of awards are Women in Real Estate, Leasing, Sales, Lending, Building Renovation New Construction, Tenant Improvement, and Philanthropy. Linda sits on the Council of Academic Workforce Housing which is a coalition of universities and colleges who provide housing for their workforce which consists of a group of non-profits, foundations, and University departments. The coalition manages affordable housing programs for employees of the University. The Council is a forum for education, networking, and sharing best practices in Workforce Housing. She is a current board member for McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts. She was formerly a board member on the La Habra Chamber of Commerce. As part of the CREW-Orange County, Linda has donated to Wiseplace and participated in the Summer Part to raise funds for Wiseplace. Wiseplace transforms the lives of approximately 90 women each year, by providing safe, affordable transitional housing, healthy meals, financial-empowerment curriculum and employment assistance, to help women move from homelessness and hopelessness to self-reliance. Case managers provide personalized counseling to help each woman overcome issues that led to unemployment and homelessness. Further, Linda donates to the CREW Network Foundation annually. Linda has supported the McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts No Limits Program giving children with special needs a place to learn performance skills and have an education in the arts by donating generously at the annual gala. She encourages others to attend the gala in order to raise awareness for children with special needs having an outlet to be kid. She has supported the LatinX Programs at Chapman University with include: World Café, LatinX Graduation, LatinX Student and Staff Programs. Linda’s passion is to pass on to the younger generation what has been given to her. She is passionate about advocacy for Latino’s in higher education. In 2006 and 2007, Linda served as Chair of the Computer Genius Program for Hope Worldwide in which low income eighth grader completed an 8 week training in the summer of various computer programs taught by volunteers and the end took home their own personal computers donated from Ingram Micro. Linda is an active member of the Orange County Church of Christ for over 25 years where she has donated time, money, and hard work for various programs and needs for people within the church and outside the community.

Jared joined Greystar (formerly EdR) in 2016. He came to EdR Collegiate Housing from Boise State University where he served in several capacities over his nearly 14 years there, most recently as treasurer and executive director of real estate and business development, where he managed a $500 million combined portfolio of investments, debt and capital projects. Prior to Boise State, Everett worked at Arizona State University. Everett’s undergraduate degree is from Arizona State University and he also earned an MBA from Boise State. At Greystar, Everett will use his nearly two decades of experience in real estate ventures to help university leaders navigate the variety of public private partnership (P3) options and determine the best strategy to achieve their student housing goals as well as support those universities in development and planning.

Kim Patten is a passionate academic planner, process and sustainable strategy education leader in the Los Angeles office. Working with academic institutions across the country, Kim is a skilled designer helping clients navigate complex problems with strategic research and planning solutions to achieve direction and clarity. Her partnership approach creates an environment to collaborate, plan and discover paths unique to that client. Kim is also a member of SCUP’s Facilities Planning Academy.

Brian is a Project Executive with BNBuilders and helps lead the company’s operations in Los Angeles and Orange County. He has 20 years of experience in construction and leadership and has managed projects up and down the West Coast. Brian’s higher education clients include UCLA, UC Irvine, CSU Long Beach, Fullerton College, Bellevue College and the University of Washington. With expertise in alternative delivery methods, Brian’s experience adds value from the conceptual design stage to project turn-over. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering Management from California State University, Long Beach. He is a LEED AP and a DBIA Professional.

Fred has over 40 years of experience in the construction industry. This background has provided him with a portfolio that includes a variety of product types, including Automotive, Corporate Facilities, Hospitality, Entertainment, Faith-Based Projects, Retail Centers, and Tenant Improvements and approximately two dozen secondary and higher education facilities. Some of his iconic projects include Loyola Marymount’s Hannon Library, Irvine’s Boardwalk Office Towers, LA Air Force Base SAMS project, NBCUniversal Area 71 Sound Stages and Manhattan Beach Studio Complex. As Project Executive at Snyder Langston, Fred uses his extensive experience to lead projects with special attention to project team collaboration and communication. This is due to Fred’s value in teamwork and the results that it delivers. Additionally, he constantly looks to improve everything connected to the projects he manages – safety, budget, quality, and schedule. The outcome of his eye for continuous improvement is outstanding project delivery and strong client relationships. Fred has a Bachelor’s of Civil Engineering from the University of Dayton and an MBA from Illinois Benedictine University.

Jim has over 30 years of experience as an architect, planner, designer, project manager, project director, and director of architecture for a variety of project types, and is knowledgeable about all aspects of project development from conceptual design through construction administration. He has made multi-family residential the focus of his career, and has completed more than 10,000 housing units encompassing new and renovated affordable housing, market-rate residential housing, hotels, mixed-use centers, assisted living facilities, and community centers. Previous to joining TSM, Jim worked for such notable architectural firms, as well he led the architectural group at Abode Communities