The Multifamily Hangout

Paul Rhodes started his multifamily career 29 years ago, picking up trash at a Roswell, GA, community. Before going national, his on-site history included working in multiple service-focused roles for all property types and as a pool builder. In 2005, Paul changed focus to educating the multifamily maintenance industry as the Lead Instructor for HD Supply Customer Training, where he expanded the reach of apartment education by increasing the use of digital facilitation tools. In 2011, he became the National Maintenance Instructor for the National Apartment Association Education Institute, responsible for maintaining the Certificate for Apartment Maintenance Technician curriculum. He delivered the program to Associations and Management Companies Nationwide while updating it and other NAAEI credentials and programs.In 2020, when the pandemic canceled all classes, he joined The Life Properties as the Director of Maintenance Operations, writing policies, organizing the structure of and leading on-site repair operations.  Paul joined Brookfield Properties as the Senior Manager of Maintenance Learning in June 2022, where he is creating a Maintenance Learning team focused on growing the skills of technicians and maintenance teams at Brookfield Properties communities. In 2024, Paul started The Maintenance Mindset Podcast as a part of the Multifamily Media Network and founded Directional Maintenance Services. Both of which share information with the goal of developing industry professionals and expanding knowledge in all related areas. He continues to be involved in all areas of Multifamily Maintenance management and regularly speaks and is a part of conferences, webinars, or any other event where learning can occur. Paul holds the following designations: CAMT, CAPS, CAMT+E, CAMT+L, EPA 608 Universal, PHTA-CPO Instructor, OSHA OTI 510+511, and maintains membership in NAAEI Faculty.

Jesse Miller is a three-time, national award-winning real estate executive with over two decades of property management experience. He is the founder of Pacific Housing Association, leads Greystar Hawaii, and serves as a university instructor at Portland State University. Miller is passionate about training and education and has taught at multiple conferences, industry associations, and academic institutions in the US, Japan, the United Kingdom, China, and Malaysia. As a first-generation graduate who owes much of his career growth to strong mentor influence, he now pays this forward by bridging academia with industry to mentor others about dynamic career opportunities in property management. Due to his industry contributions, Miller was named a 2022 National IREM REME CPM of the Year Finalist and was awarded the 2020 NAA ACE Industry Practitioner of the Year, 2019 National IREM REME ARM of the Year, and the 2018 NAA Credential Holder of the Year Honors.

Lisa Gunderson is responsible for the strategic planning, operating performance, and financial success of existing Bristol communities. Prior to joining Bristol, Ms. Gunderson was responsible for Asset Management at Covenant Capital Group, overseeing a billion dollars’ worth of real estate investments. She also has eight years of previous property management experience, including Regional Manager roles overseeing several communities in Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. Ms. Gunderson earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from St. Leo University in Florida. She also holds an MBA from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and a CPM designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management.

Lisa Taylor is a Senior Managing Director for Greystar’s US Client Services. Lisa has an extensive background in property operations for multifamily and build for rent and strategic positioning of assets to include new construction, lease-up, acquisition, renovation, and repositioning of financially and physically stressed assets. Prior to joining Greystar in 2005, Lisa was a Vice President at Trammell Crow Residential Services and prior to that, she was a Senior Regional Property Manager with Summit Properties, Inc. She is a Certified Property Manager through Institute of Real Estate Management, a Certified Apartment Manager, and Certified Apartment Portfolio Supervisor through the National Apartment Association and is a frequent speaker at industry events. Lisa currently serves on the Executive Board for the Apartment Association of North Carolina (AANC) as President 2023-2024 and has served on the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association Board of Directors in many roles including President. She is a GCAA’s Lex Marsh Award recipient (Lifetime Achievement) and recently honored by the AANC as a Hall of Fame inductee for her significant impact and dedication to the industry. She serves on the National Apartment Association board as a Regional Vice-President (Region IV). Lisa also holds a Broker-in-Charge license for North Carolina. Lisa graduated from the American Business & Fashion Institute (now known as The Art Institute of Charlotte) in North Carolina.

Tina West is an Executive Vice President for Sares Regis’ Client Advisory team. In this national role, Tina is focused on growing the firm’s 3rd party management footprint beyond its 7 state and 37,000-unit portfolio. Ms. West has more than 30 years of experience in the multifamily space, most recently as Executive Managing Director for the West Region at Cushman and Wakefield covering a portfolio of 110,000 units from Texas to California. In this role, she also served as the firm’s National Mixed-Use Leader. Just prior, as the Multifamily Practice leader at CBRE she launched the first ever Multifamily Management Practice and led the Mixed-Use Specialty product line. Her role as COO of Capstone Real Estate overseeing the management of over 36,000 apartment units predicated both national roles. She also held senior leadership roles at LMC Living (Lennar), Sunrise Management, Monarch Group and has owned her own business focused on brokerage and property management of both multifamily and residential properties. She has experience in new development, reposition, market rate, affordable, active adult, HOA, and purpose-built single-family rentals. Tina has built several management organizations from the ground up and has been successful in the launch of third-party endeavors at each. She is a seasoned leader and has led organizations with over 10,00 team members. A dedicated industry professional, Tina serves on multiple boards and leadership forums.

Richard Friedman joined Greystar in 2014 through the Riverstone Residential Group acquisition and is currently a Managing Director of Client Services & Strategic Partnerships. Over the past decade, Greystar has successfully grown its US Property Management business both organically and through select strategic partnerships and acquisitions. As Greystar continues to look for opportunities to grow their geographic footprint across the U.S. and Canada, Mr. Friedman leads a small team with dedicated resources to facilitate intentional pursuit of these opportunities. Prior to his current role, Mr. Friedman spent the last 15 years responsible for the business development process in California, which included lead development, predevelopment consulting, underwriting, market assessment, and strategic planning for both potential and new assets under management. Prior to joining Greystar, he held the role of Vice President for Riverstone Residential Group in both an operational and client services capacity. Mr. Friedman started his career in property management in 1994 with R&B Apartment Management Company, and in 1996, joined Trammell Crow Residential Services, which later transitioned into Riverstone Residential Group. Mr. Friedman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Miami, FL.

Bob Knakal has been a broker in NYC since 1984. Over that time, he has brokered the sale of over 2,329 buildings having a market value of approximately $22 billion. For 26 years of those years (1988-2014), he owned and ran Massey Knakal Realty Services which sold more than 3x the number of properties as the #2 firm in NYC from 2001-2014. Running the firm with a Servant Leadership management style, focusing on empowering everyone on the team, intensely training them and building their self-esteem, led to this overwhelmingly dominant platform. The firm was sold to Cushman & Wakefield in 2014 for $100 million. The Massey Knakal Legacy is illustrated by the fact that today in the New York City investment sales market, there are 29 companies, or divisions of companies, that are either owned by, or run by, folks who learned the business at Massey Knakal. Bob is a prominent thought leader in the commercial real estate business, frequently writing about the market, lecturing on the market and appearing podcasts and national television shows on networks like Fox, CNBC and MSNBC.

As a frustrated (repressed?) architect, David Ohlrich credits Mike Brady with starting him on his real estate journey. From his first drafting class in high school to his current role running property operations at a fast-growing, boutique, alternative asset management and investment firm, he enjoys all aspects of the built environment and is fascinated by the future “use of space” discussion that much of the commercial, residential, and hospitality world is engaged in. An accomplished multifamily operations executive with over 25 years of real estate experience, David Ohlrich has successfully led growth and improvement strategies at several of the most innovative and respected real estate operators in the country. His experience in a wide variety of locations, property types, and ownership structures gives him a unique and valuable perspective on the industry. He thrives on creating and leading teams in pursuit of improving operations and driving value. David has focused his efforts in residential operations as he believes there is significant opportunity to improve property performance through the use of data and the targeted application of technology to drive success while materially improving not only the experience of the resident but of all stakeholders. He is a die-hard Michigan Wolverine, a lifelong Washington Capitals fan, and an avid cyclist always looking for that elusive combination of a beautiful day with time for a long ride!

Karen Key is a Division President and leads the Southeast region for Asset Living’s conventional portfolio. She has worked in the industry for over 20 years, gaining experience and expertise in new developments and lease-ups, value-add and repositions, and build-to-rent communities across the East Coast and Sunbelt regions. At Asset Living, her goals include driving property operations and assisting clients with evaluating existing and potential investments while cultivating a culture that fosters engaged team members. Karen is an Executive Certified Property Manager (CPM) through the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), past president of the IREM Georgia Chapter, and 2022 recipient of the J. Wallace Paletou Award from the IREM Foundation. Karen holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Hospitality Administration and Business Management from Georgia Southern University.

Jeff is currently Chief Operating Officer at Middle Street Partners. Oversee the company’s operations and lead the asset management team, responsible for executing property level strategies to enhance and protect asset value. – Developing and managing platform level processes and best practices– Providing operational oversight at the property level and managing investment objectives for the Company– Most Recently: Director of Asset Management with Chartwell Holdings responsible for leading the asset management and operations divisions– Prior to Chartwell: Senior Director at Greystar Real Estate Partners where he co-led the Atlanta regional office, overseeing a portfolio of 45 assets (approx. 14,500 units)– Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from James Madison University– Master’s of Business Administration with a focus in real estate from The University of Georgia