Greater Los Angeles Multifamily

Sean Burton has over 15 years of experience in real estate and equity investments and has been with CityView since 2003. Burton manages CityView’s platform and operations and chairs the investment committees for CityView’s two Blackstone funds and its Los Angeles Urban Fund. Prior to joining CityView, Burton was vice president of corporate business development and strategy at Warner Bros. Before that, Burton was an attorney in the real estate and corporate groups of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP and served in the White House during the Clinton Administration. He is a graduate of University of California, Irvine and New York University School of Law.

Robin Hughes joined the Housing Partnership Network as its President and Chief Executive Officer in 2022. She brings over 35 years of experience in the affordable housing and community development sector. As HPN’s chief executive, Hughes leads a collective network of the nation’s leading affordable housing and community development nonprofits and oversees the vision, strategy, and sustainability of practitioner-driven peer exchange, policy, and innovation/R&D to spark systems change and social enterprises that solve for closing the gaps in the sector. Hughes also manages a portfolio of businesses co-designed and/or launched with network members, which currently include Housing Partnership Fund (CDFI), Housing Partnership Insurance Exchange, Framework Homeownership®, and the Charter School Financing Partnership. Prior to joining HPN, Hughes served as the President and CEO of Abode Communities for 26 years. Abode Communities is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit architect, developer, manager, and operator of service- enhanced affordable housing. Under her leadership, Hughes transformed the organization into one of the nation’s top developers and the premier provider of environmentally sustainable affordable housing in California. During Hughes’ tenure, Abode Communities developed more than 50 residential and mixed-use communities; created new affordable homes for over 12,000 California residents and provided a social safety net for its residents through Beyond Homes, the organization’s substantive resident services program. Early in her career, Hughes held positions in the private and public sectors including The Richmond Group of Companies, Citibank, the Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles, and the Office of the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles. Hughes received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in public administration from the University of Southern California and certification from the executive program in Community Development at Harvard Kennedy School.

As Senior Vice President of Development for Related California Affordable, Ms. Olson leads and manages all aspects of development and financing for Related's affordable residential developments. Prior to joining Related, Ms. Olson was Vice President of Development & Construction for Gablecraft Homes where she oversaw all development and construction activity in Western Canada for a pipeline of more than 1,000 condominium and single-family units. As Director of Housing & Real Estate Development for West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, Ms. Olson managed all aspects of affordable housing development, including the acquisition, entitlement and financing of senior, family and special needs housing. In the first phase of her career, Ms. Olson worked as an architect in Boston, Massachusetts on historic, adaptive-reuse and institutional projects. Ms. Olson holds a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Architecture from McGill University in Montreal. She is a licensed architect in California and Massachusetts, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) certified, a LEED Accredited Professional (Building Design and Construction), and an active member of the Urban Land Institute.

Laura Archuleta strongly believes, “a complete community includes housing choices for all families." Since 1999, Laura has focused Jamboree Housing Corporation on the relentless pursuit of quality housing that people can afford. She’s guided Jamboree from a small, Irvine, CA-based nonprofit developer of affordable and workforce housing with 750 homes into a leading statewide provider of more than 7,500 homes in more than 75 communities. While she’s proud of Jamboree’s expanding portfolio, it’s the faces behind these numbers that matter to her most. In 2001, her desire to go beyond housing and provide needed services for residents, and her vision for healthy communities, motivated Jamboree to start an in-house Resident Services Group – one of the industry’s first – that fosters learning, healthy living and community building for residents. These crucial services empower Jamboree residents to excel in school, cultivate strong friendships and develop more active lifestyles. Laura remains passionate about the award-winning quality of Jamboree housing and services in neighborhoods throughout California. A gifted visionary and an exceptional innovator, she simultaneously creates a spirit of collaboration among her staff and external partners, while relaying her inspiring sense of mission and maximizing the talents and skills of those around her. She has a dynamic directoral style that keeps Jamboree on the cutting-edge of the industry. And, people have taken notice: In 2014, Laura was named “Person of the Year” by the Southern California BIA 55+ Housing Council for her commitment to providing innovative housing for seniors. She serves on a number of industry boards. Laura’s personal commitment to affordable housing spans more than 25 years. Her own family experience drew her initially to the nonprofit housing sector. Her mother was born and lived in public housing growing up – instilling in Laura a strong sense of community and compassion. Prior to joining Jamboree, she held several public sector positions, and her advocacy has led to the production and/or preservation of more than 10,000 high quality homes for low-income families and seniors. What does she love about her job? “I believe we have a tremendous impact on so many people’s lives and the way we go about doing that continues to change.”

As Executive Vice President and District Manager at Milender White, Adam Mack oversees all operations in Southern California. His 30 years of construction experience includes extensive knowledge of the multifamily, hospitality and affordable housing sectors. Adam has a natural way of relating to all stakeholders in a project and developing a cohesive feeling of “team,” while ensuring that all budgetary and quality goals are met. Adam earned his bachelor’s degree in Construction Management from Colorado State University. Prior to joining Milender White, Adam was Vice President and General Manager at a major heavy civil construction company.

Cory Creath, AIA, LEED AP, brings more than 30 years of commercial architectural design experience to AXIS/GFA Architecture + Design as one of the firm’s founders and Principal Architects. With particular expertise in multi-family residential and hospitality architectural design, Cory’s knowledge spans design, building, development, and operational issues for developers, designers, owners, and investors alike. More than simply an architectural designer, Cory assists clients with the business case for each development, helping stakeholders increase a project’s construction success. In addition to managing architectural design projects, Cory oversees AXIS/GFA’s business development initiatives and day-to-day operations, guiding the firm as an expert on the business-side of architectural firm management. Prior to the formation of AXIS/GFA, Cory was a Studio Director with Gensler’s San Francisco office. In his spare time, Cory enjoys sharing the outdoors with his family – particularly skiing California’s local mountains.

As Senior Vice President of Lending, Mr. Hamilton oversees Century’s affordable and workforce housing lending platform. Mr. Hamilton is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in affordable housing finance. Since joining Century in 2016, Josh and his team have closed over 150 loans totaling more than $525 million for affordable housing projects throughout the State of California. Century Housing has consistently been listed as one of the top 20 lenders of affordable housing in the nation, by volume, and is one of the largest lenders of affordable housing in the State of California. Prior to Century Housing, Josh was a loan officer with PNC Bank where he was responsible for originating more than $300 million in financing throughout the nation primarily for affordable housing properties. Josh graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles cum laude with a degree in Political Science. Upon graduation, Mr. Hamilton served in state government as a California State Senate Fellow with a focus on affordable housing and local government policy. Additionally, Mr. Hamilton earned a Masters in Real Estate Development through the School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.

Mr. Nagarkatti oversees the company’s acquisition, finance/development, construction, and asset management departments and has headed up the firm’s expansion into the Texas and Washington affordable housing markets. His expertise in public financing for low-income housing is unmatched, gained through decades of experience in structuring market-rate and affordable housing financing for both residential only and mixed-use communities. He has managed the funding of more than 50 AMCAL developments since 1988.

Mike Drandell was born and raised in Los Angeles and is a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District and received his Bachelors of Science in Accounting at the California State University Northridge. While pursuing his CPA certificate, Mike worked at the Beverly Hills accounting firm of NSBN LLP (currently CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) starting as a staff accountant and becoming the then youngest manager in the firm’s history. During his 9 years at NSBN Mike specialized in both real estate audit and taxation. In 1995 Mike left public accounting and began his career with GK as the Controller for GK Management Co., Inc. Since that time, he has held the positions of Vice President/Controller, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and as of January 2019 his current position of Chief Executive Officer. Mike holds the title of CEO for all GK related companies including GK Management Co., Inc., Prestige Homes, Inc., Royale Management Co., LLC, Overland Casualty Co, Inc. and Active Mortgage Corp. Mike is currently a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, as well as a past board member of the Los Angeles Business Council, past board member and past president of both the Affordable Housing Management Association and AHMA Foundation. Mike lives in Santa Monica with his wife Julie and their two daughters.

Mr. Sakumoto leads Avanath’s development initiatives, including affordable, workforce and value-oriented apartment communities in markets throughout the country. Prior to joining Avanath, Jun Sakumoto was a Director of Centerline Capital Group and co-head of the Equity Group. He was responsible for directing the investment activities of Centerline Urban Capital I, LLC, an institutional real estate investment fund formed with the California Public Employees' Retirement System. Centerline Urban Capital invested mezzanine and equity capital, targeting multifamily properties in urban infill markets. Mr. Sakumoto also was Vice President with Capri Capital Advisors, LLC, a $2.7 billion real estate advisory firm investing real estate equity and debt-related products on behalf of pension funds and institutional investors. Mr. Sakumoto holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance and Real Estate from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Sakumoto is a member of the Affordable and Workforce Housing Council of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Chapter of the National Association of Securities Professionals.

Since 1984 Bueno Group has been active in the affordable housing space involved in a wide array of products from LIHTC to transitional housing to workforce housing. Bueno Group is a vertically integrated, socially responsible company specializing in acquiring, administrating, and revitalizing urban communities. Prior to taking on the leadership of the organization, Andre was an analyst at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley

Carey is the Managing Principal of the Real Estate Industry. He has close to 20 years of experience providing accounting, assurance, tax, and consulting services to real estate industry owners, operators, family offices, developers and syndicators. Carey has a proven track record of helping clients build and retain capital by leveraging tax- and cost-saving strategies, including a wide range tax credits and incentives.

Alla Sorochinsky is the Managing Director of CWP and is responsible for acquisitions, financing and asset management. Since 2001, Alla was the Chief Financial Officer of Cypress Equity Investments where she developed and managed the company's asset repositioning and financial reporting infrastructure. Alla oversaw all aspects of the company, including acquisitions, finance, asset management and dispositions. Previously, Alla was the financial controller of several publicly traded technology companies. Alla graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a degree in International Economics and received a Master's degree from the University of Southern California. Upon graduation Alla joined BDO Seidman LLP where she received her CPA license.

Shelley Magoffin is an Executive Vice President at Bellwether Enterprise. Prior to Bellwether Enterprise, Shelley was SVP and West Coast Regional Co-Manager of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, which acquired Dwyer-Curlett & Co., in 2012. Shelley was President and Chief Executive Officer of Dwyer-Curlett, a Southern California based mortgage banking company founded in 1933. Under her leadership the company’s servicing portfolio grew from $1 billion to $4 billion. She joined Dwyer-Curlett in 1989. Shelley has been involved in commercial real estate finance for more than 30 years both as a mortgage banker and as a lender. Her focus is on the origination, structuring and sourcing of debt and equity capital for income producing real estate in the Western United States. During her career she has been involved in the origination, structuring and financing of all types of income producing real estate including industrial, office, apartments, retail, self storage, medical office, congregate care and skilled nursing facilities. Shelley has closed hundreds of transactions and has consistently ranked as a leading producer arranging permanent debt, equity and construction loans for her clients.

As a Regional Manager for Polaris Pacific, Mike leads the firms’ efforts in Southern California, Arizona, and Hawaii to support strategic growth and provide exemplary service to industry leading development clients. His extensive consulting, project management, and sales experience spans the complete arc of the development process from pre-planning to sell out. By keeping abreast of constantly changing market and demographic trends, he has gained a reputation for being an essential resource in his clients’ efforts to maximize value, overcome obstacles, establish successful projects and forge new markets. Mike earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and his Juris Doctor with concentrations in real property and corporate law from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He is licensed in multiple states including CA, NY, MA, and WA and is a member of the Urban Land Institute. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the NY Times, the NY Post, The Observer, The Real Deal, Real Estate Weekly, and Habitat Magazine and his original writings have been widely published in the trades including a column on Business Insider.

Steve is a leader in C-PACE project development field and has over 20 years of executive marketing and management experience in the solar and semiconductor equipment industries. Throughout his career, he has successfully managed complex and global projects and organizations and developed new emerging markets. Steve is the Co-founder & Managing Director of K2 Clean Energy Capital where he has developed and managed some of the largest C-PACE projects in the hospitality, industrial, and retail industries. Previously he was the co-founder and President of K2 Solar, Inc., a commercial solar EPC firm. He brings an extensive background in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and construction management. Before starting K2 Solar, he was the Chief Marketing Officer of the Fab Operations Division at Applied Materials; the General Manager of EcoSys, a $30M pollution control equipment company, when it was acquired by Applied Materials in 2004; and an Engineering Manager at Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. Steve earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA and an MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. He is also a licensed General & Electrical Contractor in the state of CA. He is an East coast native, but is a long time resident of the San Francisco bay area.

Michael Sabet is the Vice President and Co-Founder of Southern California based Strategic Legacy Investment Group, Inc. & subsidiaries (SLIG). Michael is valued for his vast knowledge in Real Estate Investments, Multifamily Real Estate Acquisitions, Real Estate Development Analysis, Financial Analysis and Investment Due Diligence. Michael leads a diverse team of project managers, assistant project managers and acquisition officers at SLIG. Michael specializes in multifamily development; value add multifamily acquisitions and property management. At SLIG, Michael has acquired and developed over $300 Million in real estate assets ranging from Multifamily, Office, Retail and Senior Living Communities and has been in the real estate industry for over 12 years. In his free time Michael enjoys playing sports and spending time with his family, he and his wife Jessica are expecting their first child in April 2019.