New Jersey Life Sciences & Biotech

Eugene R. Diaz is the founder and principal partner at Prism Capital Partners. Prism, began in 2002 with a mission of strategically investing and developing solely in the Tri-State area, across a broad spectrum of asset classes and transaction sizes. Today, the firm employs more than forty (40) professionals providing construction, development, investment, and property management services to its many institutional partners and investors. Through his stewardship, the firm remains one of the state’s most active and respected redevelopers focusing on adaptive re-use and repurposing of excess corporate facilities and turn of the century industrial buildings. The firm actively develops from the ground up for multi-family, office, industrial and retail investments as well, and purchases both stabilized and un- stabilized income producing assets. The firm has exhibited a strong investment discipline and a corresponding track record that attracts joint venture equity capital from some of the most venerable global investment management firms. Prism is leaving an indelible mark on the New Jersey landscape with such notable redevelopments and adaptive reuses project like Parkway Lofts in Bloomfield, NJ, the 361 unit apartment conversion of the former 100 year old GE BoilerWorks Building on the Garden State Parkway, as well as the 333 unit apartment conversion of the 100 year old historically designated Thomas A Edison Battery and Invention Center in West Orange, NJ and the redevelopment of the 116 acre former Roche Pharmaceutical headquarters known as ON 3, which houses the prestigious Hackensack-Meridian Seton Hall College of Medicine. Previously, Diaz worked for Cushman & Wakefield and held several leadership positions at Gale & Wentworth, including chief investment officer responsible for directing and overseeing all aspects of the company's investment activities. During his tenure he grew the firm's owned investment portfolio from 500,000 square feet to more than 12 million square feet in eight states. Throughout his career, Diaz has been responsible for the acquisition and capitalization of more than 20 million square feet of commercial real estate with total transaction value in excess of $2.5 billion.. He is frequently quoted in many industry publications as well as topical pieces in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. He earned a master's degree in Real Estate Investment & Development from New York University, where he has frequented as a guest lecturer and stand-in professor. Diaz received undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University. Early in his career Diaz was honored by Commercial Property News as one of their "Stars to Watch." and is regularly ranked by NJBIZ as one of New Jersey’s most influential real estate people ranking him 3rd out of the 75 most influential leaders. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of Englewood Hospital and an Honorary Foundation Board Member of the Bergen Performing

Adam is the CEO at the helm of the New York City office; he also leads the firm’s business development efforts nationally and oversees all marketing and public relations initiatives. Adam is the first point-of-contact for new clients. Frequently it’s Adam who introduces clients to SGA—highlighting the firm’s high-tech capabilities, its speed to market, and its buildable project solutions. He is a team-builder: After learning about a potential client’s needs, he determines the best talent to address them. As part of his marketing oversight responsibilities, Adam often outlines SGA’s scope of services and oversees contract negotiation with many of the firm’s clients. A critical component of Adam’s approach is to remain in close contact with clients as the project proceeds. He always plays a consultative role once a project begins, and for projects based out of the NYC office, he maintains high-level of involvement through every stage of a project’s lifecycle. Behind the scenes, Adam oversees all initiatives related to SGA’s public relations and marketing efforts, including social media, sponsorships, participation at industry events, and white papers. He’s an industry expert, frequently writing and speaking about sustainability, life-sciences development and other expanding markets.

John Cahill is a Senior Vice President in JLL’s Midtown New York office. He focuses on tenant representation and agency leasing services for life sciences and biotechnology clients throughout the New York metropolitan area. He is highly experienced in evaluating new markets for clients, as well as in the leasing and disposition of office space, research and development facilities, and laboratory and manufacturing buildings. John has more than 16 years of experience in commercial real estate, primarily focusing on life sciences and biotechnology transactions. Prior to joining JLL, John was a principal at Cresa New York, where he served as senior advisor and head of the life sciences practice, overseeing the expansion of the firm’s pharmaceutical, medical and biotechnology client base both in the New York metropolitan area and nationally. Earlier, John specialized in life sciences leasing for Colliers International and, before that, Cushman & Wakefield. Prior to joining the real estate industry, he worked in pharmaceutical sales and marketing at Johnson & Johnson and Alcon Laboratories.

Steve is an Associate Principal with over 18 years of experience in client and project management. He is responsible for management and oversight of all MEP/FP and IT disciplines to ensure a high performing project for project design, delivery and operation. His focus at Vanderweil has been Life Sciences and delivering best solutions for academic, pharmaceutical and developer clients.

Mr. Wolfe is the Managing Partner in the Property Tax Department at Skoloff & Wolfe, PC, where he focuses his practice on representing taxpayers in significant real estate tax appeals and property tax related matters. He has extensive experience in all types of property tax appeals, including hotel, multi-family, retail, office, and industrial properties. Mr. Wolfe frequently counsels clients on the property tax implications of the development, acquisition, and disposition of significant assets. He also counsels clients with respect to property tax exemptions and PILOT agreements. Mr. Wolfe serves on the Board of the National Association of Property Tax Attorneys (NAPTA) and as the Co-Chair of the Real Property Tax Practice Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Mr. Wolfe has been featured or quoted in a wide variety of local and national publications, including Forbes.com, GlobeSt.com, Marketwatch.com, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Law.com, Law360.com, The New York Law Journal, and Commerce Magazine. Mr. Wolfe has a track record of obtaining significant assessment reductions on behalf of his clients. Examples of those assessment reductions include: • Reduced hotel assessment from $188 million to $131million; • Reduced multi-family assessment from $116 million to $67 million; • Reduced office assessment from $115.5 million to $90million; • Reduced supermarket anchored center from $66.9 million to $46 million; • Reduced nursing home assessment from $36 million to $10.1million; • Reduced big box retail assessment from $21.3 million to $13.4 million; • Reduced office assessment from $27.8 million to $6.5million. Mr. Wolfe began his career as an associate at the law firm of Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York. While at Davis Polk, he focused his practice on regulatory investigations, securities litigation and banking disputes. Mr. Wolfe is a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates and is the Co-Chair of the ABA’s Diversity & Inclusion 360 Presidential Commission. As a young lawyer, Mr. Wolfe served as the Chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division, the ABA’s largest entity with more than 130,000 members. Mr. Wolfe received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, and graduated from Cornell University with distinction in all subjects.

Bill Harris, AIA, is the Managing Director of the New York studio of Perkins&Will. Active in all aspects of the practice, including Commercial, Mixed Use, Healthcare, Science & Technology, Higher Education and Corporate Interiors, Bill’s professional focus has been in the design of vibrant and innovative environments for the commercial life sciences. His area of expertise was critical to the NYEDC’s impactful Life Sciences Infrastructure Initiative Study of 2016. An advocate of the convergence of science, engineering and technology with cultural and social networks, Bill speaks frequently on the “secret sauce” of successful science developments. One of Bill’s favorite accomplishments is the creation of the Battle of the Biotech Bands, an annual social and business networking event that has raised nearly a million dollars to fight disease through research. Bill has a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University.

Nancy J Kelley is a senior executive and lawyer with exceptional leadership ability and management skills. She has over twenty years of executive management and board experience in starting, growing, and restructuring organizations, raising capital, recruiting diverse management teams, creating and implementing strategic plans, developing real estate, developing internet based information platforms, data warehouses and marketing/branding. She has a particularly deep understanding of the healthcare, life science and research fields and has in-depth knowledge of the related legal, business, government, non-profit and academic sectors.