STEPHEN H. BITTEL is the Chairman and founder (1980) of Terranova Corporation, leading a team of professionals in the ownership and operation of a commercial real estate portfolio valued at nearly $1.0 billion; graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College, 1978; law degree from the University of Miami School of Law, 1982; founded Petroleum Realty Investment Partners in 1999; has chaired and/or served on the ICSC Open Air Centers Conference, ICSC Capital Marketplace Program and the ICSC Florida Conference. A Miami native, Bittel has been a member of the Florida Bar Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Young Presidents Organization (past Chair of the Miami Chapter and the YPO Real Estate Round Table, and past Co-Chair of the Miami Chapter of WPO); served as Director on the Boards of the Community Partnership for the Homeless, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, the Jackson Memorial Hospital Foundation, and the Boards or four public companies; served as Trustee member for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Miami-Dade and Temple Beth Am; has written numerous articles on real estate matters and spoken at professional conferences throughout the United States and Europe; in 2005 was awarded the South Florida Business Journal “Ultimate CEO” award. Bittel is a Board member and a Vice Chairman of Development of the National Jewish Democratic Council; has led the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Washington Mission in 2009 and 2010; and is the National Finance Co-Chair of the Democratic National Committee and an At-Large member, serving on the Rules and Bylaws Committee. Bittel currently serves on the Board of Teach for America Miami (TFA).

As Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Falcone Group, Alfonso Costa Jr. oversees the development of multifamily apartment communities and condominium projects, leading public-private partnership opportunities as well as the company’s operational and strategic initiatives.

His current pipeline of mixed-use development projects includes more than 2,000 residential units and 200,000 square feet of retail & self-storage, with a total value exceeding $1 billion. Such projects include “Block C-East” at Miami WorldCenter, and the “Horizon of Oakland Park,” a mixed-use public-private-partnership with the City of Oakland Park.

Prior to joining the Falcone Group, Alfonso served as Deputy Chief of Staff & Opportunity Zones lead for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where he oversaw policy for the $50 billion annually-budgeted Cabinet agency, which maintains a wide range of housing and community development programs, a $1.3 trillion mortgage insurance portfolio, and approximately 7,000 employees across 57 offices nationwide.

As an expert on the bi-partisan Opportunity Zones program, he held the title of Chairman’s delegate and HUD’s lead representative on the Federal Government’s inter-agency Opportunity and Revitalization Council, and for his efforts he was recognized in the Opportunity Zone Magazine’s “Top 25 OZ Influencers” list for both 2020 and 2021.

A former 5th-grade teacher as a Teach for America corps member, Alfonso is now an active social advocate through philanthropic & academic volunteer efforts on both the local and national levels.

In his home State of Florida, he is the Program Chair of ULI Florida’s Affordable & Workforce Housing Council (AWHC), Advisory Board Member & recent Chair of the Nova Southeastern University Master’s in Real Estate Development (MSRED) Program, recent Member of the City of West Palm Beach Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, Heart & Spirit Society member for the Boca Helping Hands food-giving non-profit organization, and an In Jacob’s Shoes of Hope Hero member for the shoes/socks/school supplies non-profit organization.

Nationally, he serves as a Member of the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board, National Housing Taskforce, Housing Advisory Council Member of the Bipartisan Policy Center, Board Member of the Home Builders Institute, and Full Member of the Urban Land Institute.

He earned his law degree from Harvard University, master’s degree from the University of Oxford, and bachelor’s degree from Yale University, where he played both Division-I basketball and Division-I lacrosse while serving as Chair of the Yale Athletic Department’s Thomas W. Ford Community Outreach Committee.

Mr. Defortuna is President, CEO and Founder of Fortune International Group, a Miami-based full- service real estate firm recognized throughout South Florida, Latin America and Europe as a leader in high-end luxury real estate. He oversees all of the company’s activities across all of its business units. Mr. Defortuna is involved with the strategic decision making of the group, as well as the day-to-day operations of each of its divisions.

He started the business in 1983, and quickly became a driving force in real estate. Through his company’s success and far reach into U.S., European and Latin American markets, Mr. Defortuna is widely recognized for having made a significant contribution to the internationalization of Miami and its reputation as a global business, trade and vacation hub. He currently serves as a member of the Mayor of Miami's International Council and also as Director of the Argentine-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in Miami. Additionally, he is a member of several charitable organizations in Miami, such as Manos del Sur, Mt. Sinai Hospital and St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

Mr. Defortuna holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical and Chemical Engineering from the National University of Argentina and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Miami. Fully fluent English and Spanish, Mr. Defortuna is married to Ana Cristina and has five children.

Based in the Firm’s South Florida practice, Karla is a Tax

Manager with over four years of accounting experience.

Karla dedicates her time providing specialty tax compliance

and consulting to clients from the real estate industry and

high-net-worth individuals.

Karla started her accounting career as an intern with Cherry

Bekaert in 2012. She is also fluent in English and Spanish.

David A. Cohen is a Managing Director at Ready Capital Corporation, and serves in such capacity as the Chief Production Officer and Co-Head of the Ready Capital Bridge Lending Division. Prior to joining Ready Capital, David held positions as a Managing Director and National Production Manager (Head of Originations) at Doral Property Finance, a Regional Director at GE Real Estate, a Managing Director at CIBC World Markets Commercial Real Estate Finance Group, a First Vice President at Paine Webber Real Estate Securities, and as a Managing Director at Furman Selz LLC. David began his career as an attorney at the national law firm of Kelley Drye & Warren. David earned a B.A. from SUNY-Albany, and his graduate degrees with a M.B.A. from Syracuse University School of Management and a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law. He had also attended New York University’s Masters of Laws (L.L.M.) program.

Avra Jain, a Purdue University industrial engineer graduate, has a reputation for developing projects around her favorite pursuits: art and architecture. The recipient of three Sundance Film Awards, Ms. Jain has directed boutique projects that range from converting a warehouse into luxury loft condominiums to the remake of The Vagabond Motel on Biscayne. She is a board member of the MiMo Biscayne Association.