Raleigh-Durham Multifamily Forum!

Caitlin Shelby is the Director for the Raleigh-Durham office of Wood Partners. In this role, she manages the sourcing, financing, and development of multifamily communities in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. Prior to joining Wood Partners, Ms. Shelby managed nearly 2 million square feet of development for Boston Properties and The JBG Companies in Washington, DC. Ms. Shelby began her career working in corporate finance and project management at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Ms. Shelby received her MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, with a concentration in Real Estate Development and Real Estate Finance. She graduated from Fordham University with her BS in Business Administration. Ms. Shelby is a member of the UNC Kenan-Flagler Leonard W. Wood Center for Real Estate Studies Advisory Board, ULI Regional Initiative Council for the Carolinas, and ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative Steering Committee for the Triangle.

Mr. Barker serves as the CEO of NorthView Partners and has over 20 years of multifamily real estate experience. He has been directly involved in the development of over 5,000 multifamily units and has provided oversight for the construction of nearly 2,700 multifamily units in his career. Mr. Barker’s experience includes multifamily product types ranging from two-story direct-entry, three-story breezeway with integrated garages, and four and five-story residential with structured parking. Mr. Barker has financed multifamily projects through both private equity and institutional partners. Prior to forming NorthView Partners, he joined Colonial Properties Trust in April 2005 and served as Senior Vice President, overseeing multifamily development and supporting acquisitions for Colonial within the East Coast region, including the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. In addition, Mr. Barker was a member of Colonial’s Senior Management Team and provided additional business development input and guidance for the company. From 1999 to 2005, he was a Director in the Raleigh-Durham office of Wood Partners focusing on multifamily development in the Triangle market and was responsible for developing the Triangle’s first urban apartment project with structured parking. Prior to joining Wood Partners, Mr. Barker served as Development Coordinator for Steven D. Bell & Company (Bell Partners), in which Mr. Barker had development responsibility for multifamily and assisted living housing and supported Bell on existing multifamily and commercial asset acquisitions. Mr. Barker graduated from Appalachian State University in 1992 with a degree in Social Science Education with a Concentration in History. After teaching high school social studies for two years, Mr. Barker entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where in 1996 he received a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning with a major in Real Estate Development and Finance. Mr. Barker is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and his church.

Palmer McArthur is Managing Director of Development for the Carolinas and Tennessee at RangeWater Real Estate. Since his arrival in 2014, Palmer has closed eight projects totaling 2,500 units. He led the expansion of RangeWater Real Estate into North Carolina and South Carolina developing several projects of note including the Penrose, winner of Top Apartment Development at the 2019 Charlotte Business Journal Heavy Hitters Awards. In his role at RangeWater Real Estate, Palmer is responsible for identifying and analyzing development opportunities in the Carolinas and Tennessee, raising debt and equity capital, and managing project execution. Palmer oversees the development of midrise and garden multifamily projects and manages multiple teams of architects, engineers, attorneys and contractors. As an expert in the commercial real estate industry, Palmer speaks frequently at conferences and industry forums. Palmer was previously an assistant vice president at an American international banking and financial services company, where he underwrote CMBS loans for the real estate capital markets group. Palmer holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BSBA with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was an active member of the real estate clubs at both institutions. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and sits on the Carolina Trends Council. Palmer lives in Atlanta with his wife and three children, and enjoys golf, hunting and spending time with his family and friends.

Maurice co-founded Blue Heron in 2011. He oversees the firm’s operations and the investment strategy, portfolio construction, and management of Blue Heron’s funds, serving on the Investment Committee for each fund. Maurice plays a key role in sourcing opportunities and negotiating deal structure and terms. He is actively involved in the visioning and development of the value-creation business plan for each asset and the oversight of its execution. Maurice has 20 years of real estate experience, spanning investment, commercial brokerage, development, and construction, and during the recession, served as a key member of a distressed asset receivership team on behalf of a regional bank. Maurice began investing in real estate in 1996. As a commercial broker, from 2005-2011, Maurice successfully closed 85 lease and sale transactions, spanning office, retail, industrial, self-storage and land; and served as property and or asset manager for several retail, office, and residential rental properties. Over his career, Maurice has co-founded, operated, and profitably exited several ventures, including real estate investments and a construction/property maintenance company. From 2000-2005, Maurice was a partner with a NYSE-member broker-dealer firm, covering buy-side institutional investors as an equities sales trader. He began his career as a systems analyst for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Maurice is a NC-licensed real estate broker and a past member of the Board of Directors for the Realtors Commercial Alliance in Wilmington, NC. As an active member of the Urban Land Institute, he serves on the “Rethinking Southern Cities” Regional Initiative Council. Maurice is an active supporter of Habitat for Humanity and a regular participant of CEO Build and Team Build events, and a frequent guest lecturer at the UNC Kenan Flagler School of Business. Maurice received a BS in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University.

Ginger Ackiss serves as Regional Development Partner for Crescent covering the Triangle. She manages the sourcing, entitlement process, design, financing, and asset management of new communities in this region. She began her career with Wood Partners, but spent most of her development career with Camden where she served as Vice President of Investments of the Mid-Atlantic region, overseeing all real estate investments including developments in Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. Most recently, she managed Crescent Communities Triangle developments. She has been involved in the financing and development of more than 4,500 multi-family units and 30,000 square feet of commercial space with a total capitalization in excess of $800 million. Ginger holds an MBA with an emphasis in Real Estate from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, and earned her BS with honors from the University of Mary Washington.

Kellie Falk is a Partner and Managing Director of Drucker + Falk, a family owned fee management real estate company operating since 1938. The company manages approximately 30,000 multifamily homes and 2.5 million square feet of commercial space in the Southeast. Kellie began her career at Drucker + Falk in 1988, but left shortly thereafter to satisfy her entrepreneurial spirit. After running a successful corporate housing company, she returned to Drucker &Falk in 1996 to focus her knowledge and energy on growing the family business, including overseeing the management of new apartment construction projects. She learned the importance of marketing and technology while running her own business, so upon her return to Drucker & Falk she spearheaded the company's first website, encouraged employees to use email and required properties to have a website. Drucker + Falk's early introduction to technology made it easier for the company to adapt to technology advances for property management. When the new construction boom in the late 1990's slowed, she focused her attention on repositioning older properties. Her actions resulted in owners seeing rental growth rates in properties that had not experienced growth in years. This was achieved by managing controlled expenses, understanding the submarket by implementing competitive rental rates, knowing the importance of curb appeal and initiating an interior rehab program. New construction, repositioning older properties and business development are still her focus today along with overseeing the management of Drucker + Falk with her partners to insure its success for another generation. Kellie's commitment to the apartment industry does not end at her office door. She currently serves as the President of the North Carolina Apartment Association and is a frequent lecturer at industry events throughout the country. She has also been recognized by her peers for her hard work and dedication to the apartment and real estate industry. She was listed in the top 40 for Real Estate and Construction by the Triangle Business Journal, awarded the Top Apartment Executive by the Triangle Apartment Association and the Triangle Leader Impact for Commercial Real Estate. She also has been named by the Business Leader Magazine as a Women Extraordinaire. Kellie is a Housing Credit Certification Professional (HCCP) through the National Association of Home Builders, a Certified Property Manager (CPM) with the Institute of Real Estate Management as well as a Certified Apartment Manager (CAM) and Certified Apartment Property Supervisor (CAPS) with the National Apartment Association. She has a Real Estate Brokers License in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia. In addition to her work for the apartment industry, she is actively involved in her community. She was recently appointed by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to the Board of Trustees for Wake Technical Community College, is a member of the Advisors Board for Paragon Bank and previously served on the Executive Board of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. However, her most valuable contribution to her community is her tireless work for a variety of non-profits including the Frankie Lemmon School, Meredith College, Beginnings and Band Together to name a few. She also serves on the Board of the National Multifamily Housing Council and is a member of the Commercial Real Estate for Women in the Triangle, Charlotte and Charleston and a member of The National Association of Women Business Owners. Kellie received her BA from Meredith College where she majored in Business Economics and minored in Religion. She earned her MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Finance and Urban Development from American University.

Rohit Anand brings industry leading thought-leadership to the design of multifamily and mixed-use development projects. With experience that includes the design of over 35,000 market rate, for-rent, for-sale, affordable multifamily residential units Mr. Anand counts, among his clients, many of the nation’s top multifamily residential and retail developers including JBG SMITH, Kettler, The Bozzuto Group, AvalonBay, Gables, Lincoln Property Company, Wood Partners, TCR and Gables. Mr. Anand and his team advise developers on product trends and positioning and are adept at providing efficient construction systems that help ensure successful projects. The work of Mr. Anand and his team has been honored with multiple national awards.

Susan Newman is managing director of real estate services for Greystar, and oversees a portfolio of assets located throughout the Carolinas. Active in the multifamily industry since 1981, she has extensive expertise in property operations, new construction, lease ups, and business development. Susan has been involved in rehabilitation projects, asset repositioning, student housing, distressed property management, and property acquisitions and dispositions. Most recently, she served as the senior vice president of the Southeast Division for Riverstone Residential Group before joining Greystar during the 2014 acquisition. Susan holds real estate broker-in-charge designations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. She is an active member of the Triangle Apartment Association, and has served on various multifamily committees. Susan earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Gardner-Webb University.

Erich Brunk, AIA, CDT Erich brings 14 years of architectural design experience to RATIO’s Raleigh studio. He has worked on numerous multifamily product types at a variety of scales, including townhomes, apartments, and high-rises. With numerous projects located in urban areas, Erich has significant expertise with the additional challenges of higher-density design, development, and construction, including zero-lot lines, tight infrastructure connectivity, neighborhood interests and issues, and political pressures. Utilizing appropriate materials from modern rain screens to traditional masonry and limestone, Erich’s designs fit within the context and fabric of the urban environment while meeting the needs of both the client and the community. Erich is an architect at RATIO, an international, multidisciplinary design practice with multifamily work throughout the United States, the Middle East, and Asia.