Meet the Speakers

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.

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.

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.).

Jill brings 15 years of industry experience to the firm and is Chair of the firm’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee. As Senior Managing Director and Chief Impact Officer, she oversees the measurement, management, reporting and enhancement of the firm’s ESG initiatives. Key areas of focus include climate risk and resiliency, carbon emissions reduction and human health and wellness. She is also a Co-chair of the Firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.

Jill began in the environmental arena as a resident student associate where she was tasked with designing a closed gas system for a particle detector in order to eliminate the emissions of over four tons of Freon into the atmosphere every year. Her first job post-college was as an associate scientist studying inertial confinement fusion. Fusion, while far from commercially viable, could potentially become a clean energy source. There she worked in the department of material science’s cryogenics division and used holographic interferometry to determine how heavy hydrogen targets reacted to extremely low temperatures. This research led to improved alternative energy experimental results.

While at Harrison Street, she worked on the Galvin Electricity Initiative, which was a campaign to transform the United States power system into one that was reliable, efficient and clean. She was involved in ensuring this effort, which later became the Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal (PEER) program was able to scale via acquisition from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Before joining the industry, Jill held positions at Motorola, Argonne National Laboratory and KMS Fusion, Inc. Jill holds several patents and publications, and was awarded Best Presentation at the annual MOOT CORP® Global Business Plan competition. She is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

Jill has a BS in Physics from the University of Illinois, an MSEE from The Ohio State University, and an MBA from Northwestern University.

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.

Michael Kaufman is a Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Client Solutions Group at Bridge Investment Group. Michael focuses on strategic initiatives, sales optimization, infrastructure improvements and team management. Prior to joining Bridge in 2022, Michael was an Executive Director at JP Morgan where he spent over 10 years. His roles at JP Morgan were focused on Wealth Management, both in the Private Bank and in the Chase Wealth Management channels. Michael has extensive experience overseeing advisor sales, strategic growth initiatives and all aspects of the discretionary client offering from product development through delivery. Michael began his career in major gifts fundraising before moving to financial services at Alliance Bernstein on the Alternatives Sales and Client Service and Product Development teams. He received his Bachelors of Arts degree from Georgetown University where he majored in Psychology and Theology.

He leads Credit, Underwriting, and Business Development, and is the Chairman of the Investment Committee. He is integral to underwriting and structuring transactions, leveraging his 30+ years of experience in structured finance.

Prior to Petros, he was the President and CEO of Accent Capital and was responsible for the investment and administrative activities of the firm. He was also a Managing Director at Transamerica Technology Finance Corporation, which was subsequently acquired by GE Capital, and a Principal at Sternhill Partners, a $100 million venture capital firm based in Houston.

Prior to joining Sternhill, he was the Founder and SVP/Regional Manager of Imperial Bank’s Southwest Region of the Emerging Growth Industries Group (acquired by Comerica Bank). He was also a VP in the National Accounts Division of Silicon Valley Bank, focusing on investments in high-technology and biotech companies in Texas.

Mansoor also currently serves on the following boards: Petros, STG Design, C-PACE Alliance, as well as the Andy Roddick Foundation. In addition, he is also an Executive Committee Member of Petros, C-PACE Alliance, and a finance committee member of the Andy Roddick Foundation.

Mansoor is a graduate of Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California and holds an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston.

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 '11, a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience, is a Partner and Managing Principal at CSFG Real Estate. A graduate of Friends Academy (2011), Duke University (2015), and NYU Schack 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

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.