I have deep experience in residential, retail, commercial, and mixed-use real estate development in urban places with an emphasis on transit adjacency. I shepherd projects and teams from property acquisition through grand opening. I advise private owners and corporations on planning, project design, transportation demand management and real property development - plus I advise public agencies and municipalities on growth strategies and partnering with private partners. I have decades of experience hiring and managing teams of all sizes and am fostering excellent relationships with local and regional government officials. Committed to adapting our built environment to enhance community health, diversity, and long-term economic sustainability. I'm an experienced board member and volunteer, with outstanding community relations skills and political acumen. My specialty is figuring out how to optimize a path toward the best possible sense of place and well-being in a community - and doing it on time and on budget.

My work experience, education and training of 25

years in public, private sectors of real estate

industry has allowed me to utilize skills, education,

ideas and experience acquired during my career

with the service aspect that is the focus of the

public sector ensuring exceptional results while

providing the highest level of dedication, ethical

conduct, economic returns, customer service,

social justice and focus that is required in working

with public agencies. In my professional career, I

have worked on many high impact large

development projects to improve and bring values

to the communities and interacted positively with

many governmental official, non-profit

organizations, commercial tenants, private sector

developers, financial institutions, consultants and

professional in educational sectors. I have

extensive real estate experience in public and

private sectors in areas of right of way, Eminent

Domain, development, asset management,

marketing, commercial office and retail leases,

ground leasing, permits, licenses, easements,

CEQA process, redevelopment, feasibility analysis,

land acquisition, airport property management,

below market & affordable housing, solar leases,

telecommunication leases, surplus disposition,

non-profit leasing, economic development and site

assembly of high impact projects. My experience

in the public sector has been with two of the most

diverse and economically challenged cities in the

Bay Area, Cities of East Palo Alto and Oakland,

one of the most affluent, the City of Palo Alto and

finally with presently with San Francisco State

University (SFSU).

I also have extensive leadership experience and

volunteerism working with community-based non-

profit organizations and unions. I served on the

board of Rebuilding Together Oakland and

Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Pacific

Renaissance Plaza and currently serve as a bord

member of Rebound Institute. During my

employment with City of Oakland, after being

elected as the president of the Engineering Unit,

an once underperforming unit has become one of

the most dynamic and vocal units of IFPTE Local

21 Oakland.

Rob Benson is a licensed architect who views the production, delivery, and utilization of working drawings as a matter of design in and of itself. His commitment to translating conceptual designs into functional reality via working drawings makes him a stellar Senior Director of Design Integration at McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. His experience includes working with notable clients such as San Francisco State University, San Francisco International Airport, Stanford University, Lane Partners, Nvidia, and numerous other high-tech clients. Rob holds a Master of Architecture degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

As Design Director, Mark brings over 35 years of experience in architecture, leading the charge on a broad spectrum of project typologies ranging from small multifamily residential projects to large scale, complex mixed-use development. Mark is known for his collaborative approach, reflecting a belief in a truly integrated process from project onset to delivery. Notably, Mark was the Design Director for The Jasper – a 39-story high rise; Truckee Artist Lofts – a 77-unit modular, affordable housing project; and Electric Lofts – a micro-unit, co-living, urban-infill apartment building in Oakland. With an attention to detail and focus on materiality, Mark continues to lead successful design projects tuned to the local conditions and incorporating innovative approaches to project delivery. As a college lecturer teaching design and MEP integration, he has passed these successful strategies on to the next generation of architects.

Mr. Bacurin has over 20 years of professional experience in architectural design and programming

including experience in renovation and new design of Student Housing, Senior Living communities and

Higher Education Campuses. He is skilled in working with the in-house team and clients to confirm and

interpret the users’ programmatic needs and explore sustainable design alternatives using 3D modeling

software. Jeff is a skilled communicator of design intent and works with the users to explore design

alternatives in interactive design charrettes/workshops.

David Lenox has been the Stanford University Architect since 2005 and has been focused on

establishing a framework for continued physical growth of the campus to support the mission

and vision of the University. In his tenure he has championed the plan to restore the original

Olmsted Campus Framework Plan and has guided each the schools to plan for the future. His

design leadership and influence on projects includes transformative projects such as the GSB

Knight Management Center, the Bing Concert Hall, the Anderson Collection, the Denning

House, and Windhover Contemplative Center. Notable projects for the School of Medicine

include the Li Ka Shing Center, Lokey Stem Cell, Biomedical Innovations, and Center for

Academic Medicine. In addition to the Science & Engineering Quad, he has guided the design of

the Bass Biology Building, the Sapp Center, and the CheM-H Neurosciences complex. David was

also intimately involved with the Stanford Redwood City Campus planning and design.

Sustainable projects including the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm, the Central

Energy Facility, and the Automotive Innovation Center also showcase Stanford’s commitment

to sustainable facilities. Currently Dave is collaborating on the Stanford Doerr School of

Sustainability Commons and the Town Center projects.

David received his Bachelor of Environmental Design from Miami University and his Master in

Architecture from the Ohio State University. Prior to coming to Stanford, his work focused on

architectural design in the corporate and transportation sectors. He has recently served as the

President on the Board of the Association of University Architects and has served on design

juries for AIA San Francisco, California Preservation Foundation, AIA National Interior Design

Awards, and the Society for College and University Planning. David also participates as a design

critic for the Stanford Architectural Design Program and has served as a faculty leader with the

Stanford Travel Program.

David gets most invigorated when he is collaborating with a School or Department to transform

its facilities and energize its culture. While new buildings should always be infused with the

Stanford ‘Architectural DNA’….they should continue to look to the future, stir emotion, and

inspire.

Mark is the Executive Director of Real Estate Services at UC Davis

He is a licensed Landscape Architect and Real Estate Broker, and joined the Real Estate Services team in 2012. He has more than 30 years of experience in design, planning and construction of both public and private real estate projects, as well as financing, leasing and property management of many facilities in the Sacramento Valley.

Mark leads a team of Real Estate professionals who manage a variety of the University’s real estate assets and provide a wide range of real estate services including acquisitions and dispositions, leases, licenses, easements, public-private partnership development and property management.

In the last five years, Mark led the effort to develop two significant student housing projects on the UC Davis campus. Combined, these projects delivered over 4,800 beds in nearly 1,900 apartments for a total development cost of $900M.

As an associate principal and senior project manager with Studio KDA, Austin excels as a master collaborator - lending design oversight, budgeting / schedule control, consultant coordination and continuity of service from project inception through construction completion.

Using his business acumen and design skills, Austin works closely with clients to realize the potential of their project sites or add value to existing assets. As an expert on student housing and code analysis, Austin often presents on topics related to new State and regional laws and their impact on the housing development landscape. As a project leader, he not only maximizes project potential but also creates appealing, efficient buildings that are welcome additions to their communities.

A licensed Architect and AIA member, Austin got his start with a BA in City Planning/Urban Design from UC Berkeley. While there he also completed a Minor in History of the Built Environment, setting up his life-long passion for the history of places as expressed in Landscape, Architectural, and Urban Design.

Jeff Brink has over 20 years of structural design experience with significant developments up and down the west coast, ranging from Performance Based Design high-rises to mixed-use projects at Candlestick Point, the SF Shipyard, and Yerba Buena Island. Current projects include the City of San Francisco’s new office tower at 1500 Mission Street and the Virgin Hotel adjacent to the Moscone Center. Jeff’s technical expertise at integrating innovative structural systems, combined with his broad understanding of the construction industry, allows architecturally decisive projects to be achieved while still maintaining the project budget.

Wendy has served as Assistant Vice Chancellor at Campus Architect at UC Berkeley since 2019.

In this role, she provides strategic and long-range planning for the programming, design, and

development of campus properties, including buildings, infrastructure, and landscape projects.

This includes oversight of $3 billion dollars of active design and construction projects. Under

her leadership, and through the work of Sasaki/Page, the 2021 UC Berkeley Campus Master

Plan, received a 2022 SCUP Merit Award for campus planning.

A California native, Wendy was the Campus Architect at Tulane University from 2016-2019. She

completed her undergraduate education at UCLA, holds an MBA from the University of North

Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Virginia. She

was the 2007 recipient of the AIA’s Richard Morris Hunt Prize.

Gayle Tsern Strang is an Associate Principal Architect, Project Manager, and a Higher Education Practice Leader at SOM. Gayle is passionate about shaping the built environment for vibrant learning-living environments and working closely with educational and cultural institutions to realize strategies for sustainability and equity. With more than 30 years of experience in the field, she believes that great projects emerge from the dynamic advancement of an institution’s ideas and needs into beautifully conceived and executed built form. Gayle's leadership in projects and the practice is built on values of collaboration, clarity and fostering innovation. Her experience in large-scale multifamily residential and educational projects comes together in the work of student housing. Gayle’s portfolio includes an array of distinct projects with a strong focus in the educational space as well as civic, cultural, and residential projects.