Orlando Multifamily Boom

Richard Lamondin is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of EcoSystems, a rapidly growing water and energy conservation firm proving that conservation is good for business. Under Richard’s leadership, EcoSystems is approaching three billion gallons of water saved by the end of 2019 by consulting with property owners and upgrading more than 75,000 bathrooms nationwide with water-efficient fixtures. Additionally, Richard and his team led the “largest water conservation retrofit in Colorado history” according to Denver Water, and they currently administer their Low Income and Non-Profit conservation programs.

With more than 30 years of experience in architectural design, project management, and community planning, Bobby has an extensive history of regional and national projects with a focus on creating home. He has experience with all phases of community development from initial land acquisition and zoning through construction closeout and owner occupation requirements. This includes planning, real property, engineering, and building department coordination, as well as experience with planning commissions, boards of appeals, city councils, and county commissioners. His focus is on developing residential and mixed-use projects in partnership with clients and community that successfully create “home” for residents, and connect and enhance the neighborhood, all while being functionally and financially viable. Bobby’s passion and commitment to impactful and attainable housing reflects KEPHART’s mission statement of “EVERYONE deserves a well-designed place to live.”

Stephanie Brown, SVP of Client Services, is responsible for new business development nationally for Rivergate KW Residential. Prior to joining the firm, Stephanie served as Director of Business Development for The Rainmaker Group, where she was responsible for software sales to national accounts and Institutions nationwide. Stephanie also has over 20 years of multifamily property management experience with companies such as Riverstone Residential Group and Trammell Crow Residential Services, where she was also named partner. Stephanie is active in the community and serves on the regional board for Apartment Life in Orlando. She has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Connecticut, majoring in Finance with a minor in Real Estate Finance. Stephanie has held both a broker and appraiser license in the State of Connecticut.

Nikolaï Ray is the founder and CEO of the MREX (multifamily real estate exchange). He is considered by many of his peers as one of North-America’s leading experts in apartment investing with over 1 billion dollars in analysis, underwriting and transactions. A pioneer in mid-cap multifamily financial engineering, he is often called upon as a teacher, advisor and keynote speaker. Nikolai is also a real estate tech innovator through his current work on multifamily real estate big data, artificial intelligence and property tokenization using blockchain technology.

Mr. Socarras is the CEO and Founder of Upshot Capital Advisors, LLC. He has over 20 years of combined experience in the areas of commercial real estate, investment management and advisory services, and in the operations and management of global operating businesses. Before Upshot™, Mr. Socarras served as the operating partner of many commercial real estate development and construction projects within the United States, while simultaneously serving as an Executive of a global manufacturing and technology company serving customers in 32 countries. Prior to this, Mr. Socarras was a practicing attorney in Florida, representing governmental entities and corporate clients on various, complex real estate, land-use, corporate and commercial transactions. Mr. Socarras remains an active member of the Florida Bar. Mr. Socarras has participated in the acquisition, development, construction or representation of over $1 billion of real estate and corporate transactions throughout his career. Mr. Socarras also has various investments and stakes in other operating companies and start-ups throughout the United States. Mr. Socarras has had the pleasure of serving on various local and national community and corporate boards and has participated in many other civic activities throughout his career. He was also a NCAA collegiate athlete in multiple sports, including playing and being a member of the Florida State University Football Team in the 95'/96' football season (during these years FSU won the ACC Championship twice and the Orange Bowl Championship). Mr. Socarras is also a licensed Private Pilot with over 500 hours of flying experience and holds an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) rating.

Chris Finlay began investing in real estate early in his career as a commercial airline pilot with Eastern Airlines. Casual investing soon evolved into a major commercial real estate business, and in 1983 Chris resigned from Eastern to concentrate exclusively on the Finlay Company. During the ensuing years, Chris grew the company into one of the largest real estate firms in New England with offices throughout the region. In 1990, he began to focus on real estate development, and over the next fifteen years developed and constructed approximately 40 communities and 5,000 units, plus 20 post office facilities. At the same time, he expanded his property management company to accommodate an expanding portfolio of multifamily communities. Today, he leverages his successful 40-year track record to lead Lloyd Jones as our Chairman and CEO. Chris’s education includes Upper Canada College and post-graduate studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He has also completed extensive industry training through the CCIM, SIOR, RESSI, IREM and LIHTC programs. He has served as senior instructor at the University of Maine Real Estate Division and senior instructor for the Graduate Realtors Institute of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Chris chaired the Commercial Investment Division of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors and served as chairman of the New Hampshire Association of Industry and Commerce.

Patrick Howell is Board Certified in Construction Law by the Florida Bar, a recognition for having the highest standards of skill, specialty knowledge, proficiency, professionalism and ethics in construction law. Patrick has represented condominium and HOA clients throughout Central and Northeast Florida, obtaining substantial results for his clients in construction defect cases brought against developers, contractors, and subcontractors. He has also successfully argued appellate cases before the First, Second, and Fifth District Courts of Appeal. Patrick won the landmark case of Maronda Homes v. Lakeview Reserve before the Florida Supreme Court, which was a great win for all Florida homeowners associations.