NYC Residence of the Future

Jenny Wu is the Managing Director of Development for Jonathan Rose Companies who has been with the company since 2012. She brings a broad base of design and construction, finance, and development experience, and is responsible for leading the firm’s pivotal green development projects in the East Coast. Prior to joining Jonathan Rose Companies, Ms. Wu was an architect for the New York-based architecture firm Rogers Marvel Architects where she designed and managed the construction of several adaptive reuse projects, including conversion of a piano factory into a non-profit film school and a mattress warehouse into a community soup kitchen. Ms. Wu received a Master of Science in Real Estate Development degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from University of Texas at Austin. She is a Registered Architect in the State of New York, LEED Accredited Professional, and actively serves on the Board of Women in Housing and Finance.

As Founder and CEO of Synapse Development Group, Justin directs the continued growth and vision of the company, while overseeing all aspects of Synapse’s real estate investments. Prior to co-founding Synapse, Justin served as Assistant Vice President at Lehman Brothers, where he oversaw the work-out and repositioning of a 1,300-unit multi-family portfolio in New York City, as well as the foreclosure and restructuring of a large mixed-use development portfolio totaling 1.4 million square feet of development rights located in New York and Washington, D.C. At Lehman, Justin completed more than $75 million in construction projects, primarily in New York City. Justin began his career in real estate at Clarion Partners (formally ING Clarion), a global real estate investment management firm with $36 billion in assets under management. While at Clarion, Justin served as a Portfolio Analyst and was a member of the Lion Value Fund portfolio management team. Justin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and macroeconomics with honors from the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Bernard Baruch College (CUNY).

Martin Mucha Martin is a Co-founder & CEO of Igluu LLC. His focus is on the disruption of the residential real estate industry thru big data, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. Martin has a demonstrated history of working in the real estate industry, having participated in over $1B in completed transactions. Martin is a member of the Brookings Council and guest speaker at several universities. He enjoys books, art, nature and is an avid player of chess.

Executive Vice President, Managing Director of Sales and Business Development, Bess Freedman is a strong leader, motivator and educator. Formerly a Senior Managing Director of the Corcoran Group's East Side headquarters, Bess brings to her real estate career at Brown Harris Stevens a high level of professionalism, interpersonal skills and negotiating savvy that are respected by agents and peers alike. Bess was appointed in 2013 by Brown Harris Stevens President Hall F. Willkie to foster business development for both the agents and the firm. She enjoys being a resource for brokers and staff and finding creative solutions to every situation, particularly new ways to pitch and market listings and to coach agents through difficult negotiations. She encourages a cohesive working environment that invites mutual inspiration and sharing. Prior to her promotion to Senior Managing Director at Corcoran, as an agent Bess attained great success at their Carnegie Hill office. Bess achieved repeated membership in their Multi-Million-Dollar Club thanks to her exemplary customer service, knowledge of the market and results. Originally from upstate New York, Bess earned her undergraduate degree from Ithaca College and her law degree from The University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law, in Washington, D.C. Prior to entering real estate, Bess practiced law as an Assistant State's Attorney in Montgomery County, Maryland, and also worked at Legal Aid as an attorney. Bess is a member of the Florida, Washington, D.C. and Maryland Bar, and worked in New York pro hac vice. She speaks Spanish and has lived in various cities including Washington D.C., Miami, and Seville, Spain. Bess is the mother of two children who are attending school on the Upper East Side. In spare time she enjoys family and friends, music, reading, knitting, weekends in Woodstock, N.Y., and regular meetings with her Mahjongg group. She is an active member of the Real Estate Board of New York.

Stefan serves as Deputy Director at the Real Estate Board of New York, spearheading major innovation initiatives and technology development on behalf of the most prominent brokerages, developers, and operators in New York City, the real estate capital of the world. He is responsible for advancing modernization of the City’s real estate listing systems through REBNY’s Residential Listing Service (RLS), building trailblazing products that facilitate real estate leasing and sale transactions, and ensuring that New York City remains the leading edge for the global real estate technology ecosystem by fostering innovation and collaboration. Background Prior to REBNY, Stefan was Founder & CEO of Create.io, a pioneering 3D mapping and real estate data software company which he started in his living room and grew to serve over 10,000 users from across the real estate, AEC, and government sectors in Washington DC. Stefan built Create.io to 12 employees after raising $4 million in venture capital, graduated from the prestigious Techstars Fintech accelerator program, and was a finalist for ABC’s Shark Tank. In addition to technology, Stefan has deep domain expertise in real estate and economic development, contributing to over four million square feet of real estate investments including hotels, office, retail, and institutional uses, as well as hundreds of units of affordable housing, multifamily, and condo projects. He has worked on behalf of Fortune 100 corporations and private developers in structuring millions of EB-5, LIHTC, CDBG, and tax abatement capital. Stefan was the visionary behind the proposed development of 500 modular homes in the Park Heights community of Baltimore, the largest Frank Lloyd Wright prefabricated revival project in the country. He holds a pending patent on the application of geospatial technologies for modeling qualitative and quantitative analysis of real estate development projects, and is a noted lecturer at industry conferences and major research universities including Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins. He is an active member of various industry organizations and committees including the Urban Land Institute, the US Green Building Council, NAIOP, the International Economic Development Council, the National Building Museum, and CoreNet Global. He is a LEED Green Associate, a former board member of DC’s Dupont Underground, and volunteers his time at Habitat for Humanity as an advocate for affordable housing. Stefan earned an MBA in Finance from the College of William & Mary in 2009, and got his start in real estate after beginning his career at the Pentagon, as well as several quantitative hedge funds and private equity funds. He has served as a board member and advisor to multiple real estate and urban technology startups, including Haven, a home remodeling investment company, and REVMAX, an autonomous vehicle routing platform. Stefan is a news and documentary junkie that spends his free time traveling, boating, fly fishing, building Legos, and exploring all that urban life has to offer. He lives in the West Village with his fiancée Ariella, a corporate attorney, and their rescue dog Gatsby, a very lazy black lab mix.

Douglas Wagner has established himself as a reputed leader and manager in the New York City residential market since 1996. As Director of Brokerage Services at BOND New York Properties, he leads the new development arm of the company while supervising the Sales and Leasing divisions as well as education and compliance for the organization. Like many brokers, he began his career as a rental agent working in the fast paced and high volume Manhattan market. After only a year in the field, Douglas undertook management and agent training to develop a leading boutique residential brokerage for more than a dozen years. As a sales and leasing manager, he has supervised and closed tens of thousands of deals in New York City. Douglas’ leadership has been recognized by the Real Estate Board of New York, who awarded him the 2016 Eileen Spinola Award for distinguished service. He has served as co-chair of REBNY’s Residential Rental Committee since 2001. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the RLS. He previously served on both the Board of Governors and the Residential Board of Directors. He frequently teaches continuing education at REBNY, and he authored its Rental Industry Best Practices, which were adopted into the organization’s regulations in 2006. Landlords, tenants, builders, sellers and buyers have relied on Douglas Wagner’s experience and expertise through good markets and bad. He has been instrumental in converting rental buildings to condominium, in leading distinctive branding and marketing campaigns for numerous residential projects, and he has been a mentor to a generation of real estate agents who work in the City.

Stefani Berkin is President of Rutenberg NYC, where she leads an experienced management team responsible for more than 700 licensed agents. The company’s 100% commission model favors entrepreneurs, rewarding independent operators with the highest payout in the industry. In 2015, Mrs. Berkin introduced a full real estate education curriculum, built around seminars from industry leaders and specialists to support agent needs. She facilitates team building and encourages collaborative work amongst agents. Stefani also formed a partnership with Wounded Warriors to fast-track veterans into second careers with Rutenberg. Prior to joining Rutenberg, Mrs. Berkin worked on a myriad of high profile deals at The Heddings Property Group, Douglas Elliman and The Modlin Group. She is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, as well as the Real Estate Divisions of UJA, YJP, AIPAC, and FIDF. Her reputation for marketing luxury properties to elite foreign buyers was built on complete discretion and by offering personalized client services to close transactions effectively. In her current management role, Mrs. Berkin interviews every new agent and seals top-level partnerships with developers to secure exclusive listings for the firm. Stefani is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan, an avid tennis player, and also enjoys dance, theater, fitness and fashion. She is an active supporter of The New York City Rescue Mission, City Harvest and Race for the Cure.