Mike Gatto, a former California State Assembly Member and current overseer of LACERA's $75 billion retirement fund, boasts a career marked by legislative prowess and legal victories. With eight successful elections and four terms in the Assembly, he chaired influential committees, shaping policy in consumer protection, privacy, and utilities. Gatto authored 55 laws, including significant legislation, showcasing expertise in government finance, technology, and cybersecurity.
Gatto's commitment to public service extends to various roles in congressional and mayoral administrations, alongside active participation in boards and educational institutions. Mike also remains dedicated to community and family life in Southern California.
As global co‐head of research and strategy of real estate private markets, Erin is responsible for developing and executing the real estate platform’s overall research strategy and house view, leveraging predictive analytics and proprietary modeling that guide the acquisition and asset management real estate lifecycle. She works closely with the regional chief investment officers and functional teams in these efforts, contributing investment decision‐making insight and working toward an increasing level of sophistication and quality with regard to evaluating and advancing the investment thesis. In her role, Erin sits on the global real estate leadership team.
Previously, Erin was director of real estate research and strategy at Wafra Real Estate, responsible for executing and maintaining a research and strategy platform in support of the Wafra real estate team, fund, and portfolio investments. Before that, Erin was a senior vice president at JLL, where she led and managed engagements with major global corporate occupiers in various real estate portfolio and organizational transformation strategies. She also managed principal and investor‐side engagements that included real estate investment/portfolio strategy, feasibility analysis, and market impact studies. Prior to that, Erin worked at DWS, where she was responsible for leading research and strategy for office investments across the United States.
Dean Allara serves as Vice Chairman of Bridge Investment Group. He has experience in the real estate investment process including analyzing, raising capital, acquiring, financing, developing, managing, improving and selling properties beginning in 1986. Dean is responsible for capital raising, investment analysis, and investor relations. Dean is directly responsible for investing in over $4 billion in real estate assets. Property types include multi-family and single family residential, commercial, seniors housing, resort golf properties, hotel, and retail properties. Dean has been with Bridge Investment Group since March 2009, where he is involved in raising capital from high net worth individuals, family office and institutional partners in addition to responsibilities related to ownership, investment analysis, development, asset management, investor relations, and legal & tax issues. Dean is also responsible for real property development including permits and zoning, master planning, debt financing, insurance, construction management, home owners’ association management, marketing and residential sales. Dean’s previous experience includes a ten-year career with Trace Digital, a leading global supplier of software manufacturing equipment, where he rose from a Regional Sales Manager to President and CEO. Dean earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the St. Mary’s College in 1984, which included one year at Loyola University of Rome, Italy. He also earned his Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara University in 1986 with a semester at the Tokyo University studying Business Law.
Dara Friedman is a Managing Director and Co-Portfolio Manager of the BGO U.S. Core Plus Fund. In addition to her portfolio management responsibilities, she focuses on new product development efforts and U.S. acquisition strategies throughout the platform.
Dara joined the firm as Senior Vice President and Co-Portfolio Manager of the U.S. Strategic Value Fund from Morgan Stanley Real Estate Advisors in 2017. At Morgan Stanley, Dara executed over $2 billion of real estate acquisitions through various asset classes, including office, multifamily, nonperforming loans, land development, and hospitality.
Prior to Morgan Stanley, Dara was an investment associate within the Structured Finance Group at CapitalSource Finance and an analyst in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Banc of America Securities.
Dara holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Sabeen is a Vice President on the Real Estate Investment team, where she is responsible for the evaluation and due diligence of real estate investment opportunities.
Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2020, Sabeen worked at Pathway Capital Management on their investment team. Previously, she worked at Real Asset Portfolio Management where she was responsible for conducting due diligence across real assets opportunities, as well as client reporting.
Sabeen received a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Oregon.
Alex Bhathal is Founder of RAJ Capital, the Bhathal family’s investment office including its Revitate investment management platform, leading the firm’s activities in the sports ecosystem and real estate. Since 2013, Alex has served as co-owner and Executive Director of Sacramento Basketball Holdings, which owns the Sacramento Kings of the NBA, the Stockton Kings of the G-League, MiLB’s River Cats, Golden 1 Center and Downtown Commons entertainment and sports district. In 2024, he led the acquisitions of Portland Thorns (NWSL) and the WNBA Portland expansion team which represent a milestone for the city of Portland and places it at the epicenter of growth for women’s sports. Alex serves as Alternate Governor for both teams. Alex was honored with the Orange County Business Journal’s “Businessperson of the Year” in 2025 and “Excellence in Entrepreneurship” Award in 2023. In 2019, Globe St.com named him “Opportunity Zone Investor of the Year”. He serves as Board Director for Compass Diversified (NYSE: CODI) and Mark IV Capital and is Chair of the California Coast Chapter of YPO. He is an alum of the University of California Los Angeles (B.A.), the University of Southern California (M.B.A.) and Harvard Business School (P.P.L.).
Jennifer Halvas is managing director of investor relations Cityview, a leading multifamily investment management and development firm. Halvas is a 10-year veteran at Cityview and a partner and member of Cityview’s investment committee. She will continue to report to CEO Sean Burton and support the continued growth and evolution of the firm’s investment strategy and initiatives; enable new capital development opportunities; and continue to bolster the infrastructure for existing and future investors.
Halvas joined Cityview in 2011, and prior to her promotion served as senior vice president of operations and associate general counsel. She was named a partner of the firm in 2020 and has successfully overseen fundraising for Cityview’s high net worth platform since 2019. Halvas has previously been responsible for the firm’s corporate operations including identifying best practices, implementing policies and procedures, and championing Cityview’s ESG strategic initiatives and its merit-based performance culture focused on innovation, transparency and inclusion.
Prior to joining Cityview, Halvas was counsel at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where she represented a variety of clients in real estate, project development, and finance transactions. She received her dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science, with honors, from the University of Southern California and her Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt Law School.
Daniel Kattan is an executive director at PGIM Real Estate. Based in Los Angeles, Daniel is responsible for originating structured real estate investments including senior and mezzanine loans, and preferred equity for the Western U.S., including the Mountain States and Texas.
Prior to joining PGIM Real Estate, Daniel was with Canyon Partners Real Estate where he was a Vice President with a focus on equity acquisitions and high yield debt originations throughout the Western US. In his five-year tenure, Daniel was responsible for executing $430 million of invested equity equal to $1.5 billion of total real estate capitalization.
Prior to Canyon Partners Real Estate, Daniel was an associate with Colony Capital, an institutional real estate investment management firm, with a focus on equity acquisitions and bridge lending. Previously, he was an associate with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, a leading accountancy firm, with a focus on tax and accounting services for institutional and high net worth real estate clients.
Daniel has a bachelor’s degree in history and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the Jewish Federation Real Estate & Construction (REC) Network of Los Angeles.
Toll Brothers (NYSE) is a $10 billion Fortune 500 company (ranked #394) founded in 1967. It's currently the 4th largest homebuilder in the U.S. by revenue and one of the largest land and community developers. Toll is also a major player in multifamily rental apartment development and is Investment Grade rated by all three major credit rating agencies.
Operating across 24 states and 60+ markets, Toll's projects range from urban and suburban for-sale homes to rentals, student housing, high-rises, condos, 55+ communities, single-family build-to-rent, and large master-planned developments. These projects span from $10 million to over $1 billion.
Fred Cooper is the Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Toll Brothers. His role involves expanding domestic and international equity and debt relationships, as well as fostering institutional partnerships to support the company's growth in areas such as homebuilding, rental apartments, land development, and build-to-rent communities. He also engages with lenders and investors to collaborate on repositioning and repurposing distressed property and loan portfolios.
Fred has been with Toll Brothers since 1993, initially founding and leading its Finance and Investor Relations departments. Over the years, his team has raised over $30 billion through various channels and advised on project structuring, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and large property deals. He also played a key role in creating Toll Brothers City Living, which has developed over 6,000 urban high-rise condos, and Toll Brothers Apartment Living, with $4 billion in rental assets.
Fred holds a Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School, focusing on finance and international development. He serves on several boards, including the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board and the University of Wisconsin’s Graaskamp Center Real Estate Advisory Board. He is also an active mentor, lecturer, and participant in graduate-level real estate programs and is involved with various organizations focused on affordable housing in emerging markets.
Alecia Hill is a Vice President and Assistant Portfolio Manager at FCP, a privately held real estate investment company headquartered in Washington, DC. With expertise in community development finance, Alecia is responsible for expanding the firm’s impact investing initiatives and co-leading the affordable housing preservation multifamily platform. Before joining FCP, Alecia was a member of the Impact Investing team at Enterprise Community Partners, where she focused on Opportunity Zone Fund development, transaction underwriting, and innovation finance within affordable and workforce housing.
Alecia has been a featured facilitator on community development finance structuring and policy with HUD and the EPA. She holds an MPA in Management and Finance from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, a BA from Columbia University, and is an alumna of McKinsey & Company’s Black Leadership Management Accelerator and the Wharton Social Impact Initiative.
Alecia is an Advisory Board Member for the BILT Foundation, iGlobal ESG & DEI Real Estate Summit, and a Leadership Council Member for the Washington Partnership to End Homelessness. She is Chair of Smart Growth America’s LOCUS Coalition for inclusive, transit-oriented development across the U.S. and a Black Venture Institute Fellow (Berkley Hass). Alecia received an Emerging Leaders Award at the 2024 National Multifamily Housing Council Annual Meeting and is a 2024 National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC) UP Fellow.
Anthony Russo ’15, a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience, is a Partner and Managing Principal at CSFG Real Estate. A graduate of Duke University (2015) and NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate (2020), Anthony began his career at Sterling Project Development, where he honed his skills as a project manager from 2015 to 2020. In 2020, he joined CSFG as its first full-time employee, playing a pivotal role in expanding the firm's real estate investment portfolio across the United States and Europe. His expertise spans various sectors, including multifamily, industrial, hospitality, and retail, with deals ranging from $10 million to $100 million.
Rachel Davis is Senior Vice President of Partner Management and Originations at Petros PACE Finance.
Rachel is based in Houston and is responsible for business development, marketing activities and managing a growing originations team.
She began her career at Reliant Energy, a Houston based provider of electricity and smart energy services. As a Marketing Manager, she spent 12 years working with customers and consultants managing commodity price risk through electricity contracts in Texas and the Northeast. Most recently, Rachel led a national business development team for NRG Energy, a Fortune 200 energy company, where along with her team, she pursued partnerships for onsite/offsite solar, wind, community solar, energy efficiency and combined heat and power systems with Fortune 500 clients. Additionally, she worked with strategic partner firms in the energy efficiency sector to develop and implement sales acquisition strategies for thermal energy storage and evaporative pre-cooling solutions for utility programs in California.
Rachel graduated with honors from Texas A&M University with a BBA in Marketing.
Mr. MacDonald is a partner and Chief Operating Officer for StepStone Real Estate. He is also involved in various investment and portfolio management activities.
Prior to joining StepStone in 2014, Mr. MacDonald was a founding partner of Clairvue Capital Partners, a real estate investment manager that integrated with StepStone to establish StepStone Real Estate. At Clairvue, he was an investment committee member and sourced, underwrote, and managed investments in the US, Europe, and Latin America. Before Clairvue, he was a director at Liquid Realty Partners, an investment manager focused on real estate private equity secondaries.
Mr. MacDonald received his BS from Indiana University and MBA from Harvard Business School.
Kamil Homsi, Founder – CEO, GRC Investment Group is a single family office operating in the city of Dubai/UAE.
Mr. Homsi leads the international investment committee for the SFO whose mandate is global expansion, growth and capital preservation through direct and co-investments with global investment institutions, wealth managers, sponsors and other family offices principals forming partnerships and alliances in various countries while maintaining the oversight, alignment and integrity of the existing portfolio. Mr. Homsi focuses on alternatives in general and particularly on commercial real estate, renewable energy and waste management technologies, adding smaller investments in medical device technology, and pharmaceutical research.
Matt Friedrich draws on deep market knowledge and long-standing relationships to deliver practical, business-oriented advice. Matt advises clients on a broad spectrum of commercial real estate transactions, spanning various asset types and markets nationwide. He works with private equity firms, family offices, institutional investment advisors, REITs and real estate operating companies on a range of matters, including:
With over 20 years of industry experience, Matt began his career as a commercial real estate broker before transitioning to legal practice.
Matt is active in the community, serving on the board of Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles and serving as a Vice Chair in the Jewish Federation Los Angeles Real Estate & Construction (REC) Network.
Cary Carpenter is a Managing Director of commercial real estate, capital markets, trading and syndication at Starwood Property Trust. In this role, Mr. Carpenter is responsible for pricing, structuring and capital commitments for the acquisition and sale of CRE debt for Starwood Property Trust. He also manages the financing and sale of whole loans, as well as warehouse lines for the company.
Prior to joining Starwood Property Trust in 2010, Mr. Carpenter was a Partner at Coastal Capital Partners, where he managed the acquisition of performing, sub-performing and non-performing CRE debt. As an Executive Vice President with Countrywide Commercial Real Estate Finance, Cary was responsible for the pricing, structuring and sale of all fixed and floating rate high-yield commercial real estate debt. Before that, Mr. Carpenter served his initial stint at Coastal Capital Partners, where his responsibilities included client development and capital raising for third parties. Before that, he was a Managing Director for Precept Corp., an online marketplace for CRE financing, with responsibilities including business and product development, and capital raising. Prior to that, he was a Vice President of Structured Finance at Nomura Asset Capital, a Senior Consultant in Deloitte and Touche’s real estate capital markets group, an Assistant Treasurer in Toyo Trust and Bank’s real estate finance group, and a Project Designer for both The SWA Group and Sasaki Associates.
Cary received an M.S. in real estate development and finance from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Kansas State University.
Mr. Lucas is a senior vice president in the Product Specialist group, where he focuses on Oaktree’s real estate strategies. In this capacity, he is responsible for Real Estate group’s product marketing, investment strategy reviews, portfolio communications and new product development for the firm’s Real Estate Income business. Mr. Lucas joined Oaktree in 2020 from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where he was most recently an investment specialist for the Real Estate Americas business. In his previous role, Mr. Lucas was responsible for real estate client strategy and new business development, including advising clients on U.S. real estate equity and debt strategies. Prior thereto, Mr. Lucas worked in J.P. Morgan’s Institutional Advisory and Sales division. He received a B.B.A. in accounting and finance from Ohio University and has completed Level II of the CFA program.
Environmental, Social, and Governance at CIM Group®. In this position she is responsible for creating and maintaining a comprehensive ESG plan for CIM, setting related goals for the organization and managing ESG reporting and communication. Prior to joining CIM, Ms. Gutierrez-Sullivan served as a Vice President of Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Occupier Services Sustainability and Wellness Practice, where she held a global position and managed a wide range of sustainability related programs. She also co-founded the Los Angeles-based Women in Green networking group. Ms. Gutierrez-Sullivan earned a BA from University of California, Los Angeles. She is a LEED Accredited Professional, WELL Faculty, WELL Accredited Professional and a Fitwel Ambassador.
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