Adapting to Disruption: CRE Strategies Amid Federal Cuts & Market Softness

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  Jeanine Lester

  Jeanine Lester is head of Washington, D.C. regional office. She assumed her current role in 2018 and is responsible for the Washington, D.C. region’s commercial mortgage and real estate equity portfolios. In her 14 years with MetLife, Lester spent eight years originating or refinancing commercial mortgages totaling over $2 billion in the San Francisco region. In 2012, Lester transitioned to director of acquisitions in San Francisco and successfully led the team in over $2.8 billion of transaction volume with nearly $1.3 billion of equity investments. Prior to joining MetLife, Lester was a senior consultant with the Rosen Consulting Group responsible for co-authoring economic and real estate white papers and completing special projects on market strategies for real estate investor clients. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and a minor in economics from Santa Clara University, and an MBA with a concentration in real estate from the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley.

  MetLife Investment Management

  MD & Head of DC Regional Office

  Jeanine Lester

  MD & Head of DC Regional Office

  MetLife Investment Management

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  Michael Vu

  Michael Vu is a Principal and sits on the Investment Committee of Artemis Real Estate Partners. Mr. Vu is responsible for developing and implementing the acquisition and asset management activities of Artemis. Mr. Vu joined as a founding member of Artemis in 2010, has been involved in over $1.9 billion in new investments, and is based in metropolitan Washington, DC. Previously, Mr. Vu was an associate at The Carlyle Group, where he served in the Transactions Group within U.S. Real Estate. Mr. Vu was focused on property and portfolio acquisitions, dispositions, and financings across all major property types. Prior to The Carlyle Group, Mr. Vu was an analyst at Lazard Frères & Co. where he focused on mergers and acquisitions within the U.S. Real Estate group in New York. Mr. Vu earned a bachelor's degree in Politics and Finance from Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude. Mr. Vu was awarded the Lyman H. Atwater Prize for the top thesis within the Politics department. Mr. Vu is the Vice Chair on the board of the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., which focuses on providing a second chance to high schoolers and young adults to put them back on track towards a high school diploma or equivalent credential and a path for a productive post-secondary career. Mr. Vu is also an active council member with the Urban Land Institute.

  Artemis Real Estate Partners

  Principal

  Michael Vu

  Principal

  Artemis Real Estate Partners

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  Ryan Dring

  Ryan Dring joined Hoffman & Associates in 2018, and as Senior Vice President of Capital & Asset Management oversees sourcing and negotiating financing for Hoffman & Associates projects across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. In addition to overseeing project financing, Ryan manages the operational and financial performance of the Hoffman & Associates portfolio. Ryan’s past project experience at Hoffman & Associates includes managing the innovative financing of Waterfront Station II in the Southwest neighborhood of Washington, DC and the financing of West Falls in Falls Church, Virginia as well as Seaboard Station in Raleigh, North Carolina. Prior to joining the company, Ryan served as a Senior Associate in the institutional client relationship management division of J.P. Morgan Chase and as a Senior Associate at Deutsche Bank in their credit trading and debt capital markets division. Ryan graduated from The George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and holds a MBA from Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business.

  Hoffman & Associates

  SVP

  Ryan Dring

  SVP

  Hoffman & Associates

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  Robbie Pinkas

  Robbie Pinkas joined PLG in 2024 as Senior Vice President of Originations. He brings over 15 years of experience to the role, including three years leading transaction execution and program authority relationships at North Bridge, a C-PACE lender. At PLG, Robbie is responsible for loan origination, loan underwriting, and portfolio monitoring. Prior to PLG, he worked in progressively senior roles at Credit Suisse, Google, Douglaston Development, and The Collective, a London-based co-living company. Robbie graduated from Harvard University with an AB in History, cum laude.

  Pace Loan Group

  SVP

  Robbie Pinkas

  SVP

  Pace Loan Group

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  Drew Schwartz

  Drew Schwartz is a member of the Capital Markets team and is focused on both asset and corporate finance. Since joining FCP in 2015, he has also worked on the multifamily acquisitions and asset management teams. Drew graduated from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, where he earned his BBA with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate.

  FCP

  VP

  Drew Schwartz

  VP

  FCP

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  Melina Duggal

  Melina Duggal, AICP is the Senior Director of Market Analytics at CoStar and Homes.com in Washington, D.C., where she provides strategic insights on real estate trends across for-sale, multifamily, office, industrial, and retail sectors. With over 25 years in real estate consulting and market analytics, Melina has advised developers, investors, and policymakers on market conditions and investment strategies. She teaches real estate at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Previously, she led Duggal Real Estate Advisors, taught at the University of Maryland and George Mason University, and worked with RCLCO, a real estate consulting firm. Melina holds a bachelor’s degree in honors anthropology and Spanish and a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan.

  CoStar

  Senior Director, Market Analytics

  Moderator

  Melina Duggal

  Senior Director, Market Analytics

  CoStar

Capital vs Confidence: What Will It Take to Bring Investment Back to DC?

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  Nicholas Smith

  Partner

  DSC Partners

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  Josh Posnick

  Josh Posnick serves as Global Head of Capital Markets for Trammell Crow Company, responsible for leading the firm’s global capital strategy across all equity and debt programs, including capital formation, financing execution, and balance sheet optimization. Posnick joins TCC from Mill Creek Residential Trust in Washington, D.C., where he was most recently the Senior Managing Director of Capital Markets, responsible for project capitalizations across the U.S. Prior to that, he was involved in all phases of the firm’s multifamily development, throughout the MidAtlantic region, including site acquisition, design, entitlements, financing, and dispositions. He also worked in Deloitte’s Real Estate Valuation and Consulting Practice.

  Trammell Crow Company

  Global Head of Capital Markets

  Josh Posnick

  Global Head of Capital Markets

  Trammell Crow Company

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  D'Juan O'Donald

  D’Juan O’Donald’s career has spanned Commercial Real Estate, Distressed/Special Situations, Structured Finance, Institutional Investment Management and Capital Markets. D’Juan sits in JPMorgan’s Commercial & Investment Bank and currently spearheads a new platform to manage, and maximize value of, a national portfolio of large-scale, distressed and undervalued properties. Previously, D’Juan was responsible for investment strategy, acquisitions, redevelopments, and dispositions across JPMorgan’s balance sheet-owned real estate & REO portfolio ($20B). Prior to JPMC, he was sourced and executed equity, debt, and structured capital solutions ($2B) in the private market for institutional and middle market investors at Ackman Ziff. Before Ackman Ziff, he was employed by H/2 Capital Partners ($12B AUM international fund manager). While at H/2, D’Juan underwrote, managed, sourced, structured, and acquired CMBS, CDOs, senior mortgages, NPL’s, corporate loans, secondary equity fund LP interests and net-leased real estate, plus participated in investor relations activities. D’Juan began his career at LNR Property Corporation, a subsidiary of Starwood Property Trust, in the Real Estate Investment Management, Finance & Servicing Group, where he amassed a breadth and depth of experience by remaining active in every part of the economic cycle by rotating through each revenue generating business unit. Highlights include directly facilitating the acquisition of subordinate, unrated bonds from CMBS pools ($16B); distressed loan restructures/workouts ($500MM); assisting in the partnership formation with FinTech company Ten-X (f/k/a Auction.com) and evaluating B-Notes, mezzanine loans, REOs, NPLs, RPLs, distressed, special situation and other opportunistic real estate equity and high yield credit investments ($10B). D’Juan holds an M.B.A. from The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School (Finance & Management), is a CAIA charterholder and obtained a B.A. in Mathematics from Duke University. On campus, D’Juan competed on the Football and Track & Field teams and was a member of the Duke Investment Club. Subsequently, D’Juan was a professional athlete in the Arena Football League. As an active member of the community, D’Juan serves as a board member of the DowntownDC BID (on the Finance Committee), previously served on the Advisory Board of the Robert F. Kennedy Young Leaders (RFK Human Rights Center) and volunteered with the Duke Alumni Clubs of NY and South Florida.

  J.P. Morgan

  Executive Director, Commercial & Investment Bank

  D'Juan O'Donald

  Executive Director, Commercial & Investment Bank

  J.P. Morgan

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  Ryan Riel

  Ryan Riel has worked in Commercial Real Estate with EagleBank for more than 20 years and currently oversees the Bank’s $5 billion CRE lending portfolio. Throughout his tenure, he has worn multiple hats and participated in originating more than $6 billion in real estate transactions of various types across the DC region. Since February 2025, in addition to CRE Lending, Mr. Riel oversees more than 200 employees across retail banking, small business lending, loan and deposit operations, and information technology. Mr. Riel sits on the Board of Directors of the EagleBank Foundation, and on the Board for George Mason University’s Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship. He is a current Trustee for The Children’s Inn at NIH and previously served on the Board of Directors at the Inn for ten years. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from West Virginia University.

  EagleBank

  Chief Real Estate Lending Officer

  Ryan Riel

  Chief Real Estate Lending Officer

  EagleBank

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  Aaron Kraus

  Aaron is the Managing Director of Market Development and Strategy at Nuveen Green Capital. Aaron has more than ten years of experience in the energy policy and markets space. Prior to Nuveen Green Capital, he was a Director of Policy and Electricity Markets for SolarCity, one of the largest solar and energy storage developers in North America. He led national policy activities for the Commercial and Industrial (C&I) segment of the market. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the energy practice of Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked on third-party financing mechanisms for renewable and energy efficiency projects, natural gas procurement, and energy-related legislative and budget matters for the U.S. Department of Defense. Aaron received his graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland.

  Nuveen Green Capital

  Managing Director, Market Development and Strategy

  Aaron Kraus

  Managing Director, Market Development and Strategy

  Nuveen Green Capital

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  Jon Banister

  Jon Banister is an East Coast Editor at Bisnow. He has managed Bisnow’s data center coverage since early 2022, and he has managed commercial real estate coverage in the D.C., Boston and Philadelphia markets. From 2016 to 2021 he was Bisnow’s D.C. reporter, during which time he covered the Northern Virginia data center market. He is a board member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors and has won several journalism awards from the organization.

  Bisnow

  East Coast Editor

  Moderator

  Jon Banister

  East Coast Editor

  Bisnow