Bisnow Annual Student Housing - South

Bill Bayless

CEO - American Campus Communities

John Preiss

CIO - The Preiss Company

As Chief Investment Officer, Preiss is responsible for overseeing all of TPCO's investments and joint ventures. Over the course of nearly two decades with the company, Preiss has held a series of increasingly responsible roles including broker and Vice President and Executive Vice President of New Business Development. He has successfully sourced more than $700 million in debt and equity during his tenure. Preiss earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from College of Charleston. He currently serves on the board of directors and executive committee for the National Multi-Housing Corporation. Additionally, Preiss holds a CCIM accreditation and is on the University Council for the Urban Land Institute.

Andrew Wiedner

CIO - Core Spaces

As CIO of Core Spaces, Andrew Wiedner is responsible for identifying and evaluating new development and acquisition opportunities for the company. His role includes site selection, due diligence, analyzing the company’s investment strategy, and managing debt and equity relationships. Prior to joining Core Spaces, Andrew spent 13 years sourcing debt and equity for a broad-reaching client base, ranging from small family shops to billion-dollar pension funds. In his mortgage banking role, Andrew arranged more than $3 billion of financing for all property types, including office buildings, shopping centers, student housing developments, single-tenant buildings, hotels, industrial warehouses and land development. Andrew graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and minor in Italian. He is currently the President of the Illini Real Estate Forum and Chairman of the Memory Rock Committee benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association.

William Talbot

CIO - American Campus Communities

William has served as ACC’s Chief Investment Officer/EVP since November 2012 and currently oversees all of the company’s investment activity – including mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, and on and off campus development. During his time at the company, William has been involved in transactions totaling more than 200 communities and more than $6.5 billion of student housing product, including the public merger with GMH as well as several of the largest portfolio acquisitions in the sector. He joined ACC in August 2001 as Director of Acquisitions and has since served in increasing capacities – including Director of Asset Management, Vice President of Investments, Senior Vice President of Investments and Executive Vice President of Investments. Prior to joining ACC, William worked as an Acquisition Analyst for Lend Lease Real Estate Investments. He currently serves as Vice Chair of ULI’s University Development Council – Student Housing Flight and as a director of the Boys and Girls Club of Austin and Travis County, Inc. He also currently serves on the NMHC Finance Committee.

Greg Blais

President - RISE Realty

As RISE president, Greg coordinates and monitors all aspects of the development team. He is involved in all phases of project development, including underwriting analysis and project financing, to ensure timely and on- budget success. Additionally, he routinely interacts with a variety of industry professionals, including local, state, and university officials. His efforts to promote positive working relationships between all parties through every phase of project design and construction create partnerships that enhance our final product. Greg serves as project executive on all university-related projects, overseeing interactions with municipalities and university administrators during all phases of development.

Brian Thompson

EVP of Investments - CA Ventures

Brian serves as Executive Vice President of Investments and leads the firm's student housing investment strategy consisting of both acquisitions and development. Additionally, he focuses on sourcing, securing, and closing investments and joint ventures across the US. His approach and vision are drawn from 16 years of experience within the student housing sector working with various operators and investment management firms. Prior to joining CA, Brian began his career as an analyst with GMH Communities Trust, a developer and owner of student housing that was sold to American Campus Communities in 2008. He subsequently spent nine years as senior vice president at Harrison Street Real Estate Capital. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science in Business degree from the University of North Carolina - Wilmington.

Fred Pierce

CEO - Pierce Education Properties

Fred Pierce founded Pierce Education Properties in 1995 to provide real estate investment and development services in the Student Housing and Education industries. Prior to founding PEP, Fred was CFO and Principal of Los Angeles-based Platt Companies where he directed the acquisition and financing of $400 million in real estate assets. Mr. Pierce previously served as Western Regional Director of Real Estate Consulting for Price Waterhouse, and before that as Director of Real Estate Investment Consulting for KPMG Peat Marwick/Goodkin Group. Fred has also served as a Trustee of the 23-campus, 460,000-student California State University (CSU) System, as Board President and Trustee of the $4 Billion San Diego City Employees Retirement System and as an Advisory Board Member of Invesco’s $350 million Real Estate Fund I. Mr. Pierce was named as one of 24 “Student Housing Pioneers” by Real Estate Forum Magazine (2013), received Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2012) and was recognized as the Distinguished Alumni from San Diego State University’s College of Business with The Monty Award (1999). Fred earned his bachelor’s degree in finance, cum laude, from SDSU and completed MBA studies with an emphasis in real estate at SDSU.

Christopher "Kit" Johnson

Associate Vice President - St. Edward's University

Kit Johnson, AIA is a licensed architect and an accredited professional with both LEED & CNU. A graduate of The University of Texas School of Architecture, his 24 years of practice includes experience at Lake/Flato, Overland Partners and BCV San Francisco. He is a founding partner of Hailey Johnson Architects and Architecture 365 and served five years as the City Architect for the City of Austin, TX. Currently he is an Associate Vice President at St. Edward’s University and serves as their University Architect. He has been on the Board of Austin AIA for the last six years, and he is a member of the Austin 2030 Leadership Committee. His favorite two projects currently in construction are his boys Jude and Ezra and he shares this adventure with his wife & best friend Debra.

Christopher Aiken

Senior Director, Real Estate - Safanad

Christopher Aiken is Senior Director, Real Estate and is based in New York. He was previously a Director, Real Estate Equity at Blackrock where he was responsible for sourcing, underwriting, executing and managing over US $3 billion in real estate investments in multifamily, retail, office, industrial and land on behalf of institutional clients. Prior to BlackRock, he was an Analyst in the Investment Banking Division at Salomon Smith Barney. Mr. Aiken holds an M.Sc., Real Estate, from New York University and is also a magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College, where he studied Business Administration and Marketing. In addition, he is a member of the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC) and the ULI Multifamily Bronze Council.

Matt Myllykangas

Senior Vice President - Servitas

Matt specializes in public-private partnerships and since joining Servitas has overseen the delivery of multiple projects. He successfully led the architectural, financing, and pre-construction effort on the largest single site development of student housing in the country valued in excess of $360 million. While at Servitas, Matt has delivered over 1,000 beds valued at $190 million. Prior to Servitas, Matt spent several years working with the Hunt Companies, a pioneer in Military Housing Privatization. While there, he successfully completed new construction and renovations on over 4,100 single family homes valued in excess of $500 million.

Larry Speck

Senior Principal - Page

Larry Speck is well known equally for his diverse portfolio of award-winning architecture and his distinguished career as an inspiring educator. As a prolific author and influential critic, Larry also has contributed significantly to the development of ideas that have broadened the general public’s understanding of the impact that buildings have on their communities and the way they live, work and play. His all-consuming passion for thoughtful design is best described by Larry himself: “Although it may sound clichéd, I live, eat and breathe architecture. I deeply love the process of design and have had opportunities to lead significant projects including the Austin Convention Center, the architecture of Discovery Green Park in Houston and the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. My teaching and writing are aimed at educating people on the importance of great architecture in contemporary American culture.” Larry’s work has been profiled in popular publications such as The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Texas Monthly; in American architectural publications such as Architectural Record, Architecture, Architectural Digest, Architect, and Progressive Architecture; and in international architectural journals such as The Architectural Review (England), OFX (Italy), Design Community (China), Baumeister (Germany), Projeto (Brazil), Ottagano (Italy), Nikkei Construction (Japan) and Architectural Design (England). From 1992 to 2001 Larry served as Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1975. More recently, he has been a potent agent for change within the larger University of Texas community, which includes helping the university design its future.

Bryan Kent

Project Executive - DPR Construction

Bryan is an 18-year veteran of the commercial building industry, with a range of experience as a field engineer, estimator, developer, manager and builder, primarily for the higher education and hospitality market. He has worked on housing projects totaling more than 3,300 beds. His diverse background allows him to look at projects from many perspectives and provides clients with a well-rounded and informed source of project leadership. As a Project Executive for DPR Construction, Bryan has ultimate responsibility for the success of projects and provides top-level commitment. He serves as an adjunct professor teaching Project Management and Scheduling at Texas State University in the Construction Management program and is a past Board of Directors member for Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. - Central Texas Chapter. Bryan holds a Master of Business Administration from St. Edward’s University and is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s degree in construction science.

Chris Black

SVP - KeyBank

Chris Black is a Senior Vice President with KeyBank Real Estate Capital in Boston, MA. Over the past 10 years, he has been the primary multifamily originator for KeyBank’s institutional clients. Mr. Black is also the manager of the National Multifamily Accounts team which is responsible for permanent financing needs for KeyBank’s largest and most prolific multifamily clients. The National Multifamily Accounts Group is partnered with KeyBank’s Institutional Real Estate Group. Together they specialize in structured finance, portfolio executions, non-traditional borrower structures, corporate recapitalizations and institutional borrowing entities. Mr. Black has originated over $9 billion of permanent loans primarily through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in addition to life companies, banks, CMBS and HUD which places him in the top echelon of agency originators, annually. Mr. Black has been working in commercial real estate for 17 years and has been with Key for 11 years.

Brent Little

President - Fountain Residential Partners

Brent is President of Fountain Residential Partners, a Dallas-based developer of student housing properties specializing in best in class walk-to- campus communities in high barrier markets. He has been instrumental in the development and construction of well over $2 billion of multifamily rental and condominium properties, as well as office, retail, and commercial properties across the country in a career spanning 30 years. Brent is a frequently requested speaker at national multifamily and student housing conferences and is active in many professional organizations.

Gary Ryan

Project Manager - Texas A&M University System

Josh Greenleaf

VP, Investments - Campus Advantage

Josh Greenleaf joined Campus Advantage in 2010 and has been involved in the acquisition of 42 assets totaling over $1.2 billion, leading to Campus Advantage now being the 6th largest owner in the industry. Through a disciplined investment strategy, focus on risk management and attention to detail, Campus Advantage’s investments have outperformed the broad real estate indices, as well as delivered on the cash flows projected to their partners. As Vice President of Investments, Josh leads the acquisition strategy and provides guidance on other various key areas of the overall Campus Advantage investment strategy including dispositions and development. He also provides support in capital markets initiatives and investment management. Josh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Trinity University, and is a CFA® charterholder and member of the CFA Society of Austin.

Harold (Ari) Rosenblum

Founder /CEO - Vie Management

Ari founded the Company in 2001 and is recognized as a trailblazer in student housing. Ari began by acquiring stabilized assets located in markets throughout the United States and grown the company to become one of the largest privately held student housing companies in the industry. Since, 2001, he has managed more than $250 million of equity and secured more than $800 million of debt financing. With equity partners ranging from family offices to institutional private equity funds, Vie has become recognized for its ability to deliver attractive returns on investment as a result of its value added investment strategy. The Company is known for its commitment to deliver a lifestyle brand and experience to Millennials. Ari is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Ryan Lang

Executive Managing Director, Student Housing Group - ARA, A Newmark Company

Ryan Lang, executive managing director for ARA, A Newmark Company’s Student Housing Group, is responsible for leading the team and spearheading best-in-class investment-sale services for its clients. He has represented a multitude of large multihousing investors including Blue Vista, Harrison Street, Heitman, and American Campus Communities, the nation’s largest developer, owner and manager of student housing. Prior to joining ARA Newmark, Mr. Lang was vice president and co-leader of CBRE’s National Student Housing Group. He has represented some of the largest institutional, private and public real estate companies in the country and has closed approximately $3.2 billion in real estate transactions. In 2010, Mr. Lang joined New Orleans-based Stirling Properties as director of multi-family investments. While at Stirling, Mr. Lang specialized in the sale of conventional and student housing and was one of the most active multihousing experts in the state. He was recognized as the top investment sales broker at Stirling Properties for 2011 and 2012. Mr. Lang began his real estate career in New York City at Marcus & Millichap where he gained experience in seller representation, acquisitions and investment underwriting. During his first year there, his investment team was recognized as the #1 top earning team in the office and he was awarded the Pace Setter award for 2008. Mr. Lang regularly speaks at nationally acclaimed student housing events and was named to the ARA Newmark/ NGKF Chairman’s Circle in recognition of being one of the top producing brokers across the entire company. Mr. Lang received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Florida. He holds a real estate license in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama.

Sara Dement

CEO - Dement Designs

Sara Dement, ASID, IIDA is a licensed professional interior designer. A graduate of Texas Tech University, her 32 years of practice includes experience at Corgan Architects. As CEO of Dement Designs, Sara oversees all design projects. Partnering with developers, asset managers, investors and architects, Dement Designs is known for creating unique interior design solutions for student living and multifamily properties throughout the United States. Her role includes assuring the project is on time and on budget, and building long term client relationships. Dement Designs has won numerous design awards for both garden style and large mixed use projects. Dement has designed over one million square foot of amenity space along with over 50,000 beds, emerging as a leading force in student living interiors.

Roger Phillips

CEO - Texla Housing Partners

Roger has over 20 years of experience in the acquisition, development and management of multi-family and student housing properties throughout the U.S. Career highlights include: – Acquired, Developed and disposed of approximately $750 million in conventional and student housing real estate throughout the U.S. – Closed financings including tax-exempt bonds and conventional including Agency and HUD.– Worked for national student-housing firms including JPI and American Campus Communities and CLV(former Century Development) Roger holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Louisiana State University.

Chris Epp

Principal - FourPoint Investments