JP Ackerman

JP Ackerman is the Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Techo Funding.  Techo is a lender to real estate developers and homebuilders making a lasting positive community and environmental impact. The platform provides project-specific financing solutions designed around these needs. Techo primarily finances developers who deliver innovative solutions that create or preserve attainably priced homes. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Yellowstone Capital Partners, a Pan-American real estate investment firm with approximately $1.1BN in assets under management.

Prior to Techo, JP’s career spanned housing development, technology and venture capital. During his 10 years in homebuilding at PulteGroup, he was involved in the sale of over 20,000 homes & acquisition of more than 15,000 lots throughout the Western US, including the acquisition of Centex Homes. This includes bringing over 50 communities to market, where he was involved in site planning, positioning, pricing and architecture. In addition to his time in homebuilding, Mr. Ackerman spent 9 years in technology and venture capital with 5 years in leadership at HouseCanary, an Executive in Residence at Data Collective Venture Capital and as a product manager at Hewlett Packard. He also serves as an advisor and director at several early-stage organizations in the real estate space. He has partnered with many rental operators, large scale home aggregation platforms and with institutional investors to help scale their platforms.

Ryan Colker

Ryan is the Code Council’s Vice President of Innovation. Colker works to identify emerging issues in the building industry, including how new technologies can be leveraged by codes and standards, methods to modernize the application of building regulations, and the development of new business strategies that support members and building safety professionals. He also serves as executive director of the Alliance for National and Community Resilience. Prior to the Code Council, Colker was the Vice President of the National Institute of Building Sciences, where he led the Institute’s efforts to improve the built environment through collaboration of public and private sectors. Before that, he was the manager of Government Affairs at ASHRAE. Colker holds a Juris Doctor degree in Environmental & Administrative Law from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy from the University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.

Cindy Davis

The Division of Building and Fire Regulations is responsible for the promulgation of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code and Statewide Fire Prevention Code, as well as the VA Building Code Academy, which provides training and certification of code officials and technical assistants. The division also administers the Amusement Device Technical Advisory Committee, Industrialized Buildings Program, the Manufactured Housing Program and the State Technical Review Board. Cindy serves on the Board of Directors of the International Code Council as the Immediate Past President.

Cameron Diehl

Cameron Diehl became the Executive Director on October 16, 2017. Cameron studied political science at the University of Utah, was the Editor of the Hinckley Institute Journal of Politics, and later graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law. He started his career at ULCT as a legislative intern and returned to ULCT in 2010. During his time at ULCT, he has also been an administrative assistant, policy analyst, attorney, and Director of Government Relations. He previously worked for the Boys and Girls Club in Salt Lake City and coached basketball and football at Justice (CO), Fairview (CO), and Murray (UT) High Schools. He is an avid University of Utah fan; his paternal grandparents had their first date during the Utah State-Utah game on Thanksgiving Day in 1944 and Cameron and his family have been fixtures at Utah football games ever since. Meanwhile, his maternal grandparents met at BYU and his grandfather was later the mayor of Glenns Ferry, Idaho for 24 years. Cameron is a Murray native where he was a member of the Murray City Youth Council and attended ULCT Local Officials Day. Cameron and his wife Rachel are the proud parents of Annelise, who visited three national parks with her parents before she was four months old and Sierra, who was born during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ask Cam anything about local government, Utah history, Utah football, Jazz basketball, or politics.

Dejan Eskic

Dejan Eskic is a senior research fellow and scholar at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

Eskic is involved in housing, construction and real estate research, fiscal impact studies and economic and demographic analysis. His professional career has focused on providing the best information to key decision makers, whether they’d be local or state officials, executives of national retailers or publicly listed REIT’s. Prior to joining the Gardner Policy Institute, Eskic worked in the retail research industry where he evaluated current and future sales performance for retail sites through statistical gravity modeling reflecting market demographics throughout the Country. Additionally, he has worked on a number of public-private-partnerships relating to Tax Increment Financing, along with numerous real estate market studies and economic development plans. Before earning a Master’s in Real Estate Development, Eskic earned a B.S. in Urban Planning, both from the University of Utah. He also serves as an adjunct professor of Real Estate Market Analysis at the University of Utah.

Chris Gamvroulas

Chris Gamvroulas is president of Ivory Development, the land acquisition and development affiliate for Ivory Homes. Chris joined Ivory Homes in 1993 and since then has been involved in the land acquisition, planning, entitlement and construction of over 20,000 home sites and apartments and hundreds of acres of retail, industrial and commercial properties totaling nearly $2 billion in real estate assets. The Ivory family of companies includes Ivory Homes, Ivory Development, and Ivory Commercial. Prior to joining Ivory, Chris worked in state government for eight years in several capacities including three years as Assistant Director of the Division of Business and Economic Development and five years at the Utah Film Commission. Chris completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Utah.

Amanda Gattenby

With over 17 years of experience in the deployment of primarily affordable housing across two states, Amanda has overseen the on-site construction of over a thousand units. Her background consists of affordable housing development, owner’s representation, and construction project management. Amanda embraced modular construction in 2016 as a way to solve some commonly found problems and hasn’t looked back. She believes that modular is the future of building and the ONLY way out of the current housing crisis. At CRATE Modular, she manages a complex pipeline of both container-based and steel frame modular projects as VP of Development. She has been in this role since 2019.

Matthew Haas

Matthew is a dedicated community and housing development finance professional. He is currently SVP & Senior Banker for Key Bank Community Dev Lending & Investing covering CA, AZ, NM & NV. Matthew has over 25 years of industry experience in New York City, Chicago and Southern California, serving in numerous capacities for government entities, a bank, a GSE and a CDFI. Most recently, he was a Director of Investor Relations with Berkadia Affordable and prior to that Merritt Community Capital, both syndicators of LIHTC equity. He holds an MS in urban planning from Columbia University and a BS in Architecture / Environmental Design from UC Berkeley.

Jon Hannah-Spacagna

Jon has worked for over 22 years in the government affairs arena leading and managing lobbying efforts at the regulatory, state, federal and provincial levels. He joined the MBI team in 2018 and has worked diligently to remove industry barriers and open new opportunities and significant new funding for the modular industry in the United States and Canada. Prior to joining MBI he worked in Corporate Law for a major insurance company.

Jon is a graduate of Concord University and the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. In 2012 he was awarded with Sorensen’s highest achievement, their Expression of Ideals Award for his exemplary work in government affairs in Virginia. He and his family live in Fishersville, Virginia.

Dan Hardcastle

Dan Hardcastle is a Special Policy Advisor at HUD and FHA, focused on innovative, affordable, and equitable solutions for housing and homeownership. As an organizer, lawyer, and entrepreneur, he has spent his career pursuing creative strategies for housing affordability and grassroots political change. Prior to joining HUD, he had over a dozen years of business and campaign management experience. In 2017, he founded a public-benefit corporation to help homeowners develop and finance Accessory Dwelling Units, aiming to both expand the supply of affordable rental housing and provide homeowners with additional income to keep them in their homes. He also served in senior statewide leadership roles on the 2012 Obama-Biden and 2020 Biden-Harris campaigns in Florida. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and the George Washington University Law School. He grew up in Orlando, Florida, and lives in Washington, DC’s Shaw neighborhood with his wife, Beth.

John Herzog

Since 2012, John has ensured that national and local developers and other key stakeholders access flexible and innovative debt solutions to meet their needs across a diverse range of property types, and through multiple real estate cycles. A dedicated professional with significant portfolio management and underwriting skills, he’s committed to supporting clients across the U.S. seize opportunities to realize growth – and to exceed expectations by providing an extraordinary service experience. His personal aspiration is to ultimately be considered a trusted advisor – and go-to resource – levering an understanding of emerging trends, market insights, and regulatory change to provide clients with a distinctive competitive offering that includes business originations and deal structuring. He believes real estate firms need a partner with extensive products and services, a strong capital base, and the ability to fund their needs through economic cycles. WaFd Bank’s team of experts helps developers, REITs, private equity funds and institutionally sponsored firms achieve their goals.

Eric Holt

Eric Holt is a Purdue University Building Construction Management graduate with 22 years of home, remodeling and building industry experience. His career path started as a building material salesman, then a building inspector, then a project manager for a local home builder. Along the way he got frustrated with the quality of the plans he was working from and thought I could do better. For the last 18 years, he has been a residential home design/remodel consultant and business owner. He also has a passion for teaching the next generation of building professionals. In 2007 he went back to graduate school to pursue his MS and PhD in Construction Management Education. Holt is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Denver Burns School of Real Estate & Construction Management.

Jan Lindenthal-Cox

Jan Lindenthal-Cox (she/her) has dedicated her career to addressing economic and social inequity by creating affordable housing opportunities for low income community members across the Bay Area. During her more than 30 years in the SF Bay Area, Jan has overseen the development of more than 5,000 affordable homes across dozens of properties many of which have won national and global awards of excellence. Prior to joining the HAF, Jan led the Development Team for MidPen Housing, one of the nation’s largest non-profit developers and owners of affordable housing with real estate assets totaling well over $1 Billion. In this role she managed a team of 50+ professionals and a pipeline of more than 5,000 units. Jan also served as the Executive Sponsor for MidPen’s Collective Voices for Equity Council, helping to shape and lead MidPen’s Equity Agenda. Jan has received numerous industry recognitions including the Inspirational Non-Profit Leader Award from the Non Profit Housing Association and the Pioneer Award from the Affordable Housing Management Industry of Northern California, both awarded in 2022. In 2017 Jan was recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as a “Woman of Influence in Real Estate” and in 2013 as one of the “Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business”, Jan’s expertise in housing and community development is widely sought. She has served on the Boards of the California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH), Silicon Valley @ Home and Build It Green and has been an active supporter of and trainer/mentor for CCRH’s Internship Program for Diversity in Community Development and currently serves on the Advisory Committee for CCRH’s Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program. Prior to MidPen, Jan held leadership posts at South County Housing, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority and the Central New York Planning and Development Board. Jan has a bachelor’s from Hamilton College and a master’s degree from Tufts University Center for Public Service.

Zeeshan Mirza

Backed by 30+ years of private equity and operations experience, Zee founded US Modular Capital to bring flexible, financing solutions to the volumetric construction industry.

Zee has held numerous leadership roles including CEO, Chief Transformation and Board Member at private equity-owned companies managing portfolios in business and consumer services, technology, retail, and healthcare. Zee earned an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts—an institute focused on invention to help solve for tomorrow’s important challenges. Before MIT, Zee graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Religious Studies from Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Rick Murdock

Rick has dedicated 43+ years to pioneering and helping build the modular manufacturing industry—across the U.S. and Canada. An expert in plant operations, he was co-founder and COO of Guerdon Enterprises, where he pioneered significant innovations in large-scale multistory, multifamily modular manufacturing that made the company an award-winning industry leader. A natural connector, Rick more recently co-founded Prefab Logic, a consultant group specializing in modular construction planning, development, sourcing, and completion services. He is also the Founder and CEO of Waypaver International, a modular factory consultancy firm whose business is all about helping others entering modular manufacturing understand risks, avoid costly mistakes, and enjoy the adventure. Last but not least, Rick co-founded and is the CEO of Autovol, the nation’s first and world’s largest automated robotic modular manufacturing plant in Nampa, ID. Rick has a deep knowledge and understanding of the entire operations necessary for successful modular manufacturing and completion of large-scale projects. He has built a talented team at all of his companies that reflects his passion and exemplifies his character.

Representative Thomas W. Peterson

Rep. Thomas W. Peterson was born in Brigham City, Utah. He spent his formative years in Perry, Utah. The positive culture of being raised in the Brigham City area strongly influenced his life. In 2005, he became employed as the Building Inspector for Brigham City. He worked in this position until 2012 when he took a position as the Box Elder County Building Official. Since leaving his role in Box Elder county in 2015, Peterson combined his building expertise with his roles in the political landscape. Since then he joined the Board of Directors of the ICC, held a City Council position in Brigham City for 9 years, and has worked for the State of Utah for 9 years. Rep. Thomas Peterson was voted into the Utah House of Representatives in September of 2022. He is the President of his own small business, Peterson Electric.

Tyler Pullen

Using his background in civil and environmental engineering and urban planning, Tyler has experience researching the overlaps between housing development and policy, environmental sustainability, civic engagement, and innovative and industrialized construction approaches. In his work with both Terner Center and Terner Labs, he focuses on how off-site and industrialized construction methods can expand and improve housing production across the U.S. Simultaneously, his work elevates the ways in which these approaches can be a vehicle for improving the environmental performance of the built environment at large.

Ivan Rupnik

Ivan Rupnik is an architect, scholar, consultant and Associate Professor of Architecture at Northeastern University. Over the last decade, Prof. Rupnik has collaborated closely with Prof. Ryan E. Smith on a series of research and consulting projects related to the global volumetric modular industry, including the “5 in 5 Modular Growth Initiative” Report for MBI. Last year, Rupnik and Smith launched MOD X, a platform for international exchanges related to the volumetric modular industry, with events in Boston, New York and Tokyo. Rupnik’s doctoral work at Harvard University has focused on the development of design and project management tools as well as regulatory frameworks specifically suited for offsite construction. He is a fellow of the Modular Building Institute.

Eric Schaefer

Eric is a determined and passionate Chief Business Development Officer at Fading West, responsible for forging meaningful partnerships with developers, non-profits, and municipalities in Colorado. His drive to create workforce housing and sell Fading West products was inspired by his many years of ministry, non-profit, and donor relations work in California and the Southeast. Almost three years ago, Eric relocated to Denver to open the Fading West office, furthering his commitment to making positive changes in the world through exceptional leadership.

Tyler Schmetterer

Tyler Schmetterer is a sustainable prefabrication entrepreneur and thought leader based in Switzerland and New York with 30+ years of creative business strategy, international marketing, business development, partnership development, project management, communications and consulting experience. Tyler currently serves on multiple International Advisory Boards in the high-performance building, renewable energy, impact capital and supply chain human rights sectors.

In 2006, Tyler co-founded an advisory group and award-winning producer of sustainable prefabricated buildings focused on the design and manufacture of high-performance green homes. The venture advocates for universal collaboration, knowledge sharing and integration of world-leading performance standards and sustainability certification programs across the global offsite construction industry. To date, the company has earned several historic United States environmental certifications and awards including: Nation’s 1st U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Platinum Factory-Built Home in New York (2009), New Jersey (2011), Georgia (2009); Nation’s 1st National Association of Homebuilders NGBS Emerald Factory-Built Home, New Jersey (2012); NAHB Green Project of the Year (2010); EarthCraft Project of the Year (2010); NAHB EVHA Factory-Built House of the Year (2010); and Professional Builder Design Awards|Best Modular Project (2018).

Matt Smith

Washington, D.C. born and raised, Matt relocated to California in 2020 to join the Factory_OS team. At Factory_OS, he currently serves as Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Matt takes pride in his responsiveness and his relentless support for his Factory_OS’ clients. Prior to his time at Factory_OS, Matt had an almost decade long career in Commercial Real Estate representing some of the world’s largest owners and occupiers in the Mid-Atlantic Region. While living in Washington, D.C., Matt served on the Young Executive boards of PLAYWORKS USA and The Washington Jesuit Academy. Matt graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and currently lives in San Francisco with his wife, Avery.

Ryan E. Smith

Ryan E. Smith is a Professor and Director of the School of Architecture at the University of Arizona. Professor Smith has been teaching, researching and consulting with respect to offsite construction, industrialized building, prefabricated and volumetric modular product R&D, factory setup and layout, design assist, and market analysis and surveys, for 20 years. Smith is author of numerous offsite construction reports, papers and books including the seminal text, Prefab Architecture (Wiley, 2010). He is the founding past chair of the National Institute of Building Sciences, Offsite Construction Council, a fellow of the Modular Building Institute and a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Offsite Construction + Innovative Structures at Edinburgh Napier University in the UK.

Justin Stewart

Justin Stewart is the CEO and Owner of 8-time National Excellence in Construction Award winning Synergy, Inc, and industry disrupting Synergy Modular. Synergy has built over 10,000 units and countless commercial projects as a GC over the last three decades in the PNW.

In 2017, in response to a demand for predictability, Justin founded Synergy Modular, building projects at a fixed cost, in 30-50% less time. Under his leadership they have aligned with the industry leading modular suppliers and quickly expanded their operational footprint to the western half of the country, with further expansion currently in progress. Justin now speaks at events educating developers, contractors and architects on Modular Development and Construction best practices, real project case studies, and as an evangelist for the modular industry.

Gordon Stott

Gordon is an architect who’s been in the modular prefab industry for over 18 years, starting at Marmol Radziner Prefab. In 2012, Gordon co-founded Connect Homes to turn the complex process of providing modern, green residential architecture into a simplified product more can afford. In 2020, Connect launched the Connect Shelter line to assist with critical housing needs. Connect has installed over 122 “standard plan” homes that have been thoughtfully adapted to their sites and 300 units of dignified Connect Shelter housing. Connect’s assembly line currently outputs 2,000sf of housing, to at least 90% completion, every 6 working days, with plans to scale production. Connect’s unique, vertically-integrated approach finishes homes in the field, on average, in under 80 days. Connect’s recently launched Pro Platform further optimizes modular efficiencies and offers a lower-cost modular solution for developer and single family home markets. Gordon has an architecture degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

Blake Thomas

Prior to leading the Salt Lake City Community and Neighborhoods Department, Thomas previously worked as Salt Lake County’s Director of Economic Development and in the Governor’s Office of Energy Development where his focus was on renewable energy development and alternative transportation projects. The Department of Community and Neighborhoods includes seven divisions: Building Services, Community Engagement, Engineering, Housing and Neighborhood Development, Planning, Real Estate Services and Transportation. Thomas earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Utah State University.

Mary Tingerthal

As Capital Markets Cos. for the Housing Partnership Network since 2007, Mary has a strong background in affordable housing and community reinvestment. In 2008, she was instrumental in establishing the National Community Stabilization Trust, an organization dedicated to helping local governments and groups put foreclosed properties back into use. Tingerthal previously held positions at National Equity Fund, GMAC Residential Funding, Community Reinvestment Fund, the city of St. Paul, and Minnesota Housing.

Bob Worsley

CEO of SkyMall since founding in 1989. Mr. Worsley seized the opportunity to synergistically bring together airlines, catalogers and airline passengers during their “downtime” to shop. SkyMall was the largest US in-flight catalog company. Over 70% of the business was web-based via www.skymall.com. In July 2001 SkyMall was sold to Rupert Murdocks’ NewsCorp group and Mr. Worsley agreed to transition SkyMall until November 2003. In 1999 Mr. Worsley was named Arizona’s Retail Entrepreneur of the year. Prior to SkyMall, Mr. Worsley founded ExecuShare, Inc., and provided time-shared CFO’s to smaller companies. From 1980 to 1985, Mr. Worsley was a CPA with Price Waterhouse and finished his time there as an Audit Manager. In 2002 Mr. Worsley pursued the acquisition, expansion and development of the New Mexico and Arizona Land Company’s rural assets (100,000 acres of fee land and 1,000,000 acres of minerals). The company is successfully developing uranium, travertine, potash, salt, water, oil and gas, coal and land assets in Arizona and New Mexico. By 2005 Mr. Worsley had entered the renewable energy field by founding and building a 28 megawatt biomass plant motivated by the clean up of the giant 2002 Rodeo Chediski Fire. In 2010 Mr. Worsley and Hunt Oil of Dallas, Texas formed a new JV to pursue the potash found in mineral estate in Navajo and Apache County, Arizona. The JV will use the same land and mineral estate to pursue renewable energy, transmission, energy storage and CO2 sequestration. Mr. Worsley has served on the Board of Directors for the United Families International and served on the executive board of directors of the Institute for American Values in NYC with a similar vision. Bob served as AZ State Senator from Mesa’s LD25 for 6 years. Bob and Christi Worsley have been married for 45 years with 6 children, 31 grandchildren and together enjoy their family’s Legacy Ranch in the tall pines of Northeastern Arizona. In 2020 Bob started his last big startup… ZenniHome. In Dec 2020, Arizona’s Department of Housing granted the company its license to be a Factory Built Building manufacturer. It manufactures 2 stackable models of homes that can be used as an ADU, stand alone home or multi family product that can stack up to 5 stories over podium. It will save 50% of scheduled time for building and 30% of costs compared to in situ building methods. Watch the crowdfunding at WeFunder.com/ZenniHome and the latest news at ZenniHome.com. Join the movement to shrink our footprint and live a zen-like life.

Michael Eriksen

Michael Eriksen is a Professor of Economics and the Director of the Dean V. White Real Estate Finance Program at Purdue University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Biology from Gonzaga University, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Syracuse University. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Cincinnati, University of Georgia and Texas Tech University before coming to Purdue University in August 2022. Michael was a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland in 2019.

Dr. Eriksen’s research focuses on the interaction of government, business and households in housing markets, especially low-income. His research has appeared in the top academic journals in public economics, urban economics, and real estate. It has also been cited or featured in the LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Frontline, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, Money Magazine, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Moneywatch, and U.S. Congressional Testimony.

Michael is currently on the editorial board of the Journal of Housing Economics and previously served on the Board of Directors of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association (AREUEA) where he served as the chair of their National Conference in 2019 and 2020. He has also received financial support for his research from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, Research Institute for Housing America, AARP Foundation, Ohio Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Troup Howard

Troup Howard is an assistant professor of finance at the University of Utah. His research explores how regional economic outcomes and household finances are affected by the fiscal choices of state and local governments, with particular attention to public debt and taxation. He holds an A.B. in English literature from the University of Chicago, an M.B.A from Northwestern University, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in finance the from University of California, Berkeley.

Jason D. Kotter

Jason D. Kotter is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the BYU Marriott School of Business. His research focuses on household finance, banking, and the intersection of labor markets and corporate finance, and has been published in academic journals including the Journal of Financial Economics, Management Science, and Review of Finance. His most recent work seeks to understand the drivers of retail crypto adoption and documents the effects of these crypto investments on local housing markets.

Prior to joining BYU, Kotter was an Assistant Professor at the Smeal College of Business at the Pennsylvania State University. He received his BA in economics from Brigham Young University, his MA in economics from the University of Michigan, and his PhD in finance from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Kotter has also worked as a senior research assistant in the international finance division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He draws on his experience working at the central bank, along with his research, to teach a course on money and banking to masters of accounting students at BYU Marriott.

Lu Liu

Lu Liu is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Wharton School. Her recent work studies household decisions in housing and mortgage markets including mortgage contract choices; selling, moving and refinancing decisions; the frictions and trade-offs that household face in the process, and how these inform policy and market design. She holds a PhD in Finance from Imperial College London, and an MSc in Financial Economics from the University of Oxford. Her research has been published in the American Economic Review and awarded the Arthur Warga Award for Best Paper in Fixed Income (SFS Cavalcade), CEPR Household Finance Best Student Paper Award, and Michael J. Barclay Young Scholar Award (FRA).

Branka Minic

Branka Minic is the CEO of Building Talent Foundation (BTF). Prior to her executive role at BTF, she was the president of Future Work Consulting, advising donors, global corporations, governments and international NGO’s on the latest research, best practices and policies for addressing youth unemployment. Her clients included the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, Making Cents International, USAID, Global Center for Youth Employment, Accenture, and many others.

Branka has spent her career as an expert in the staffing industry. Her research deals with best practices to reduce youth unemployment, and specifically the protocols for implementing successful workplace mentoring and apprenticeship programs. She has extensive experience in labor market and skill gap analysis. Branka holds a MSEE degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Belgrade, Serbia and a MSCSE degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Miami, Florida.

Gregor Schubert

Gregor Schubert is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. His research studies the impact of technological innovations on firms and labor markets, and the dynamics of housing markets in response to economic shocks. He created and currently teaches an MBA course on the rise of technology-focused business models and data analytics in the real estate sector. His previous experience includes working as a strategy consultant for The Boston Consulting Group. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University.

Jaehee Song

Jaehee Song is an Assistant Professor of Finance and Real Estate in the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Yale University and a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences and a B.S. in Management Sciences from KAIST. Her primary area of research is Urban and Real Estate Economics, and other research interests include Public Economics and Industrial Organization. Her current research studies zoning regulations in the United States.

Christophe Spaenjers

Christophe Spaenjers is an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. He is an academic expert on the markets for real estate, art, and other “real and private-value assets”. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Finance from Tilburg University (the Netherlands) in 2011, after which he joined the Finance department of HEC Paris (France). His research has been published in leading academic journals such as American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, and Management Science. His research has been covered extensively in the popular press (e.g., The Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal) as well.

Scott Wentland

Scott Wentland is a Senior Research Economist with the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), where his research focuses on housing, real estate, land, and environmental valuation. Currently, Mr. Wentland leads BEA projects developing environmental-economic accounts, cultivating new ‘big data’ sources, and improving economic measurement in housing and real estate. Prior to joining BEA in 2016, he was an Associate Professor of Economics at Longwood University. He received his PhD in Economics from George Mason University in 2009.

Dayin Zhang

Dayin Zhang joined the Wisconsin School of Business in August 2020 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics. His research interests include financial intermediation, real estate finance, and macroeconomics.

Professor Zhang earned his Ph.D. in Finance and Real Estate at the Haas School of Business, University of California-Berkeley. His dissertation was awarded honorable mention of the Homer Hoyt Doctoral Dissertation Award, and CES Gregory Chow Best Paper Award.