Vice President of Multifamily Development
Vice President of Industrial Development
Controller
Director of Operations & Asset Management
Capital Markets
Affordable Housing Counsel
Charisse Harris
is Vice President of Multifamily Development for Zieben Group and serves as the Asset Manager for ZG Management’s Real Estate portfolio. She has over 16 years of affordable housing and commercial real estate development experience. She previously worked as a Vice President for the Chaparral Group, a company, which specializes in Commercial Real Estate Development of Affordable Housing properties. Charisse’s portfolio experience is valued in excess of $300M.
In her current role with the Zieben Group, she specializes in Development, Acquisitions, Financial Analysis, Asset Management and all Regulatory Compliance for the company’s Tax Credit and HUD projects.
Charisse attended the University of Southern Mississippi and later transferred to the University of Phoenix in Houston where she received her B.A. in Business Administrative and Finance. She is a licensed Texas Real Estate Agent and is also a member of the Houston Association of Realtors, Texas Association of Realtors, and National Association of Realtors. She has received compliance certifications with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Development and HUD.
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Mr. Neal Rackleff is the former U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. He oversaw approximately $7.9 billion in annual funding for affordable housing, economic development, revitalization and serving the nation’s homeless population. Additionally, he directly managed $35 billion in long-term disaster recovery funding (CDBG-DR and MIT) following the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. At the request of members of the US Congress, he provided technical assistance in crafting the appropriation statutes providing such CDBG-DR and MIT funding.
Before his work at HUD, Mr. Rackleff served as Director of the Housing and Community Development Department for the City of Houston where he oversaw the city’s community development projects and led the financing and production of over 7,800 multifamily housing units and assisted 1,700 single-family homeowners with reconstruction of hurricane damaged homes, financial assistance to low-income buyers and emergency home repairs. In this role he also directly managed and turned around a troubled CDBG-DR program. The turnaround involved finding common ground with Fair Housing Advocates that allowed the City and GLO to successfully deploy over $200 million in CDBG-DR IKE funding.
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Ben Jones is the Capital Markets consultant for Zieben Group. His role is to arrange debt and equity financing for new and existing assets as well as provide strategic asset management functions for the organization. Prior to consulting with Zieben, Ben was a Partner and Managing Director at Lurin Capital, a real estate private equity firm located in Dallas, TX. At Lurin, Ben acquired and sourced debt and equity for more than 6,000 apartment units throughout the Southeast, totaling more than $500mm in capitalization. Prior to Lurin, Ben advised Eureka Holdings, Inc., a private equity owner/operator of 11,000+ units of multi-family real estate located primarily in the state of Texas, on all aspects of capital formation, deal structuring, capital budgeting, asset management, and was a member of the Investment Committee. At Eureka, Ben also oversaw the assemblage and aggregation of land in East Austin. Prior to Eureka, Ben was Managing Director and Partner at Red River Multifamily, a boutique multifamily private equity fund focused on market rate and student housing multifamily properties. At Red River, Ben participated in a ground-up student housing development and adjacent land assemblage, which was sold to San Diego State University. Prior to Red River, Ben held various real estate investment banking positions at Deutsche Bank, Nomura Securities, and Berkshire Mortgage Finance where he was responsible for originating, underwriting, and closing more than $5bb in commercial real estate. Ben received an MBA with distinctions from the Yale School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington and Lee University.
Lee Orr brings 30 years of institutional industrial development experience to the Zieben Group team. Lee has in-depth experience in entering new markets, underwriting industrial development strategies, structuring and negotiating joint ventures and public-private partnerships, and on-the-ground execution of all aspects of the design, permitting, infrastructure, earthworks, construction, lease-up and sales elements.
Lee started his career as a broker with CBRE and transitioned to the land and building development side of the business with Hines Interests in the 1990’s, where he co-lead the acquisition and development of two world-class industrial parks in Mexico. He later joined Hillwood (a Perot company), and co-lead the company’s expansion into Southern California, culminating in the development of Alliance, California, a highly successful 2,000-acre logistics park in the Inland Empire market. Lee then returned to his roots in Mexico as the owner-operator of RIO International Property Company, where he executed two industrial park developments in equity partnerships with Clarion Partners and Kimco Realty.
In all, Lee has been responsible for over 6.5M sf of building developments from inception through lease-up, and the acquisition and development of more than 2,000 acres of land.
Author, professor, lecturer, public speaker, entrepreneur, music executive, artist manager and founder of Music World Entertainment (MWE) would be the words used to sum up the professional career of Mathew Knowles, Ph.D.
Based out of Houston, MWE is one of the world’s leading music and entertainment conglomerates, with record sales exceeding 450 million worldwide, having worked with Chaka Khan, Earth Wind & Fire, The O’Jays, Destiny’s Child, Solange and Beyoncé, just to name a few. Knowles is widely recognized in the entertainment industry for his effective approach to developing and promoting award-winning artists. Through Music World Entertainment and Artist Management, he has served as executive producer for more than 100 award-winning, platinum and gold albums in multiple genres, including pop, R&B, gospel, dance, and country, as well as soundtracks and special-themed
projects.
Knowles has garnered countless awards for his achievements in business, the music industry, and community partnerships. He is the winner of an MTV Video Music Award, the recipient of the Century Award of Excellence (1911-2011) from the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, and he also received the 2011 Living Legends Foundation Award. He was named the “2007 International Executive of the Year” by the Greater Houston Partnership, and was honored by the City of Houston with the declaration of “Mathew Knowles Day.”
Knowles is a 1974 graduate of Fisk University, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He was bestowed with the honor of Doctor of Humane Letters from his alma mater at the University’s 2008 Commencement Ceremony.
Dr. Knowles possesses an MBA in Strategic Planning and Organizational Culture and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Cornerstone Christian Bible College, and has held professorships at Texas Southern University, where he taught both undergraduate and graduate level courses on the entertainment industry and entrepreneurship. He was also a distinguished lecturer at Cornell University, Fisk University and Rice University.
He has been a popular keynote speaker and guest lecturer at colleges, universities and various organizations throughout the country. This includes Berklee College of Music where he was the keynote speaker for The Formation of a Star…the DNA of Achievers and a panelist for The Evolving Music Industry seminar, along with other speaking engagements at Hampton University, Howard University, Alabama A&M, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, University of Southern California, The Learning Annex, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, Billboard Music & Money Symposium, The Power of Diversity Leadership Panel Discussion, E Women’s Network, Circle of Sisters, Revolt Music Conference and numerous others. Knowles is also the author of the #1 best-selling book, The DNA of Achievers: 10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals. His other books include Racism from the Eyes of a Child, which is a personal reflection on racism in America through the lens of his childhood, and his newly released book The Emancipation of Slaves Through Music, where he presents a keen examination of the liberating effects of music on oppressed people.
As a self-made entrepreneur from the small town of Gadsden, Alabama he became the top salesperson at Xerox Medical Systems and then one of the world’s top entertainment managers and executives in the music industry. Knowles highly enjoys motivating and educating others by sharing his knowledge and experience.
His philanthropic efforts and community service include The Knowles Temenos House, 400 apartment units to help the homeless, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Gospel Music Association Board of Directors, Rhythm and Blues Foundation Board Member, The Recording Academy Board Member, and the Survivor Foundation.
As a pioneer for African-American success in the corporate world, Dr. Knowles intimately understands the need to empower the community by sharing knowledge.
Chuck Nelson is the Director of Construction for Zieben Group. Chuck has over 30 years of extensive Real Estate Construction Management experience. He has served as the General Contractor for over 5,000 units of Single and Multifamily developments. His commercial development experience includes over 3,000 acres of mixed used development, a 14-acre Multi-phased medical development, 147,000/sf of Warehouse development, 50,000/sf of Community Services Development, and 229,000/sf of Faith Based Commercial development.
Chuck enjoys the unique Accreditation, and is currently working on his LEED AP, BD+C Accreditation. challenges and innovations of the construction industry. He has become a nationally recognized Graduate Master Builder, Section 3 Certified, holds a LEED Green Associate.
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Eric DeVelasco is the Director of Operations and Asset Management for the Zieben Group. During his tenure at the Zieben Group, Eric has overseen the rehabilitation of approximately 1,000 apartment units across (5) properties in both Texas and Arkansas and has implemented a cloud-based document management solution and asset management software.
Eric is responsible for creating the annual budgets which are utilized to identify value-add rehabilitation projects. He is responsible for supervising and/or executing capital projects. Additionally, he monitors daily operations to achieve monthly and yearly objectives, develops new and preserves current vendor and supplier relations, monitors city, state and federal regulatory statues to ensure compliance across the portfolio and works directly with the properties’ management staff as their point of contact.
Eric attended the University of Texas at Austin where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration with degrees in Finance and Accounting.
Tilak Mandadi
In his role as Executive Vice president and Global Technology Officer for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Tilak leads a large and diverse team of technology professionals across the U.S., Asia, and Europe. His team is a fully integrated partner in executing growth and innovation strategies for all businesses in the segment, including theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Signature Experiences (Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Aulani, A Disney Spa & Resort and Golden Oak), food and beverage, consumer products, retail, gaming, publishing and Walt Disney Imagineering.
Tilak’s commercial and consumer focus, as well as his hands-on technical expertise in digital and physical convergence, ecommerce, data science, AI/machine learning, cloud, lean practices, infrastructure operations and information security, provide the foundation for defining and delivering the segment’s end-to-end technology capabilities and roadmap. Tilak and his team deliver relentless innovations and strategic solutions in guest and consumer experiences and products, cast and crew experiences and productivity, strategic business growth and competitive advantages.
Throughout his career, Tilak has consistently led transformative, business-critical, global initiatives well beyond traditional technology functions. He has held progressively expanded leadership roles, while building strong, successful partnerships with senior- and board-level executives across a very diverse set of industries and business cultures, including financial services, hospitality, retail, energy and technology.
As a versatile leader, Tilak has successfully created and led innovative startup teams as well as large, enterprise technology organizations. Prior to joining the company, Tilak served as Senior Vice President, Digital Technologies and Enterprise Growth at American Express, where he oversaw the digitization of the card business and the technical enablement of the business expansion into new growth adjacencies and demographics. He has also held senior, global digital and technology leadership positions at FedEx Office and Dell Online after starting his career as a technical consultant at AT&T Bell Labs.
Tilak holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Oregon.
James Ryland Miller is a lawyer licensed in Texas that practices (1) estate planning, including wills, trusts, estate tax planning, powers of attorney, and living wills; (2) probate; (3) small-business law, including LLCs, Limited Partnerships, outside general counsel services, and small-business litigation; and (4) asset protection law. Mr. Miller wants to protect his clients’ legal rights while helping them understand the legal effect of their documents or decisions.
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Alexander vonFischer is the Controller for the Zieben Group and brings 10+ years of accounting and finance experience to the Zieben Group with extensive experience in budgeting, cash flow forecasting and analysis, and financial modeling across multiple industries. Alex holds an active CPA and Real Estate license, and completed his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Bryant University.
As Controller of the Zieben Group, Alex is responsible for developing and implementing all accounting policies and procedures, coordinating and reviewing annual tax returns and audits, and maintaining company compliance with applicable tax rules and regulations. He is tasked with managing capital project finances, which includes performing reserve analysis, identifying funding options, determining optimal draw and payment schedules, and managing intercompany transactions. Alex also provides monthly budgeting reports with cost analysis and develops models for timely cash flow analysis used for potential growth opportunities.
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Regina Churman is the Regional Director for Summit Living Management. She began her career in Property Management as a TREC licensed broker with single family homes. For the past 7 years, her multi-family management responsibilities were for program types ranging from conventional to Rural Development, LIHTC to Project-Based Section 8, Bond, CDBG, and HOME. Her past portfolios have also taken her throughout 6 different states, along with certifications as a COS, TCS, and MORS. Regina brings with her an intense focus on training and the development of teams. Her experience also includes facilitating company growth through directing and coordinating all property management operations, functions, and activities to ensure that all company financial and business objectives are achieved through successful initiatives and strategies.SaveSave
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Rhonda Baker is the Vice President of Property Management and Compliance for Summit Living Management. Her career began in the Affordable Housing industry in Pennsylvania in 1988 as Property Manager of a 148-unit Rural Development property layered with low-income tax credits. She was quickly promoted to Area Manager and Training Manager overseeing 6 RD/LIHTC properties in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. Rhonda relocated to Texas in 1993 where she worked as Property Manager for a conventional property until 1995. She then accepted a position with a large property management company as Manager, advancing quickly to Senior Manager and Compliance Team Associate. After ten years she moved on to work as a Compliance Manager for a third-party compliance monitoring company in the LIHTC industry. She has previously developed a full-service Compliance Division and has written compliance policies and procedures, manuals, training and supervising teams, and has worked with LIHTC, HOME, BOND, CDBG, Rural Development, and HUD Programs. She has been responsible for file audits and physical inspections as well as submitting quarterly and annual reports in Texas and 10 other states across the U.S. Rhonda currently holds several designations and certifications which include HCCP, COS, CPO, TCS, MOR Specialist, Public Housing Occupancy Specialist, and CAM Certification.
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Kaushin Shah serves as the Director of IT for ZG Management. He has more than 15 years of experience in information technology as a senior support and administrator for Microsoft applications. Previously, Kaushin worked for large, prestigious multifamily organizations, managing the development, implementation and migration of legacy server infrastructure, migrating to modernized operating systems, and negotiated and managed IT contracts. He also has extensive work history in outsourcing project management and implementation.
Kaushin helps drive data integrity, technology innovation, and strategic technology adoption for continued growth and to capture market advantages for Zieben Group. Similarly, his past success in managing virtualized, high throughput secure networks and server environments has enabled core business objectives and strategies to be fully realized through migration to the Cloud.
Kaushin is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Systems Administrator.
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Eve Wu is the Controller for ZG Management. Eve brings fourteen years of accounting and finance experience in her role as Controller. Eve previously worked as the Controller for Ashford Communities, where she provided monthly financial reports, developed the model used for budgeting, provided cash flow analysis for reinvestment opportunities, interfaced with auditors, offered memorandums for investment packages, and managed daily general ledger activities.
As Controller of ZG Management, Eve is responsible for the daily operations of managing intercompany accounts payable and receivables, and providing monthly budgeting reports with cost analysis. She is also tasked with developing and implementing all accounting policies and procedures, maintaining company compliance with all applicable tax rules and regulations, coordination and review of annual tax return and audit with a third-party CPA firm, and developing models for timely cash flow analysis used for potential growth opportunities.
Eve holds a Master of Business Administration – Major in Finance- from the University of Houston and a Master of Science Accountancy (Forensic Accounting) from the University of Houston. Eve is also a Certified Public Accountant.
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Tami Hudson is the Regional Supervisor for ZG Management (ZGM). She brings over 27 years of experience in the Multifamily and Affordable industry, having managed a wide variety of assets including Class A, B, and C type communities in numerous states. Tami has a diverse range of experience in multi-million dollar renovations, value enhancement of Class B and C type properties, and stabilization of assets.
Tami is responsible for the oversight of the company’s regional operating portfolio. She is responsible for assuring the property portfolio files are in compliance with HUD, TDHCA, and HOME and ensuring successful audits and inspections. Tami is integral in implementing marketing and training strategies to drive growth initiatives across the region. Her expertise in transitioning distressed properties into profitable ones by enacting operational expense controls to increase revenues ensures that the properties meet monthly financial targets.
Tami is active in the Houston Apartment Association and has obtained her Certified Occupancy Specialist (COS) designation.
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Angela Meador serves as the Director of Accounting. She has over 9 years of experience in the multifamily property management industry. Angela has previously worked with several large multifamily organizations as the head of their accounting departments.
Angela is fluent in utilizing various Real Page products including Accounting, Leasing and Rents, Purchasing, and Ops Technology. She is currently pursuing her CPA license and will sit for her exam in 2017. Angela has also served in the United States Airforce.
Ana Lewis leads the Zieben Group’s property management company as Executive Vice President. Previously, she had a nearly decade long career with Eighteen Capital Group where she served as President of Property Management and oversaw their portfolio of over 6000 units. She has been entrusted with portfolios valued over $290 Million, Ana has directed over $75 Million dollars’ worth of rehabilitation to value-add assets The properties included both affordable, market rate and student housing in the states of Atlanta, Indiana, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
In addition to Executive Management and site level experience at the Zieben Group, Ana has had extensive responsibilities for Due Diligence, Underwriting and Asset Management for all acquisitions. Additionally, Ana oversees all company rehabilitation projects.
Ana has a passion for operations, something that grew organically out of having done virtually every job on-site from marketing to management. It is this depth of “hands’ on” experience that allows her to understand on a granular level what needs to happen on site to be successful and guides her short and long term decision making processes.
Ana provides leadership as an active member of the National Apartment Association and she is currently a candidate for the Certified Apartment Portfolio Supervisor (CAPS) program.
Ben Dietz serves as the Director of IT for the Zieben Group. He has more than 10 years of experience in information technology in both a hands-on and management capacity. Previously Ben has worked in and helped manage large prestigious multi-site organizations with as many as 10,000 end users.
Ben’s previous positions were in government and health care industries. And, as such, Ben brings with him a wealth of compliance and regulatory knowledge and experience, including HIPPA, CAPA, CLIA, and other government regulatory knowledge.
Currently, Ben helps drive data integrity, technology innovation, and strategic technology adoption for continued growth and market advantage at Zieben Group of companies. Similarly, his past success in managing virtualized, high throughput, secure, networks and server environments has enabled core business objectives and strategies to be fully realized.
Ben attended the University of Muskingum in New Concord, OH where he received his B.S. in Computer Science in 2007. He also holds a top secret government clearance and professional certifications in security, remote management, and vendor cloud storage.
Jennifer Wismer serves as the Executive Assistant to the President. She has over 13 years’ experience in the field of organizational management and human resources. She has also led strategic planning committees and has provided leadership & program support to Executive level team members.
She has a graduate degree in Organizational Management from Concordia University, St. Paul MN, and holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources certification (SPHR) from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).
As a member of HR Houston and SHRM, she supports the community in the development of best practices related to employee engagement and performance improvement. Jennifer specializes in providing leadership for project management with a human resources focus.
In her current role she supports the President in implementing his vision for the company through providing strategic project management support while also ensuring the company operations run smoothly through positive internal communication and time management.
Chelsea Cox serves as the Director of Accounting. Over the past 10 years, Chelsea has provided accounting and office management services to small and medium sized businesses in over a dozen different industries including but not limited to: property management, real estate development, industrial chemical and equipment manufacturer, and healthcare staffing services. Working for a CPA firm, she trained business owners and bookkeepers on proper bookkeeping, researched and corrected problem areas and created solutions to streamline current accounting procedures. Having worked with smaller companies, her experience covers everything from cash flow management to job costing. Chelsea is a Certified Bookkeeper from the NACPB and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. When she is not working, she is at home with her husband and their five children enjoying the organized chaos of the everyday life of a big family.
Jane Grubbs serves as the General Counsel & Vice President of Property Management. Jane will provide legal counsel on development, acquisition and property transactions, monitor, instruct and support Property Management on compliance matters for all tax credit, affordable housing and HUD programs, and provide general day to day legal and operational support to the entire organization.
Jane is the former President of Nova Management Services, Inc., a property management company which specialized in the development and management of multi-family affordable housing properties financed and subsidized under the programs of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”).
Prior to forming Nova Management, she served in HUD’s Office of General Counsel in Washington and later transferred to the Dallas Area Office where she moved to management positions, becoming the Chief, of the Loan Management Branch. She later became the Director of the Community Planning and Development Division, overseeing both block grant and small cities programs where she received both the Assistant Secretary of HUD’s Embry’s “Rookie of the Year” Award and the Secretary of HUD’s Certificate of Merit.
At the request of HUD, Jane served as a founding director and second President of Houston Neighborhood Networks, Inc., a nonprofit corporation organized to promote the creation and support of neighborhood network centers throughout the Houston area jurisdiction. The organization received HUD’s “Best Practices” Award in 2000. Jane also works closely with AHMA East Texas, as past President and currently as a Director.
Quincy Wocker is the Controller & Vice President for Finance and Technology. As vice president, Mr. Wocker is charged with strengthening and aligning central technological and financial functions with the organization’s core missions of development, enhancement, and service. In this role, Mr. Wocker oversees a broad range of functions including organizational operations and financial resource planning, business affairs, corporate technology, information security, institutional individual development, communications, financial and technological compliance. He assists with internal auditing and audit procedures, technological enterprise risk services, and the implementation and training department.
Prior to joining our company, Mr. Wocker held the title of director of information systems and vice president of finance and technology within the time frame of December 2012 to May 2015 at American Spectrum Realty Management Group. In these roles, he managed finances, application development, implementations and training, contract negotiations, technology use; implementation and all technological securities including but not limited to the Yardi Voyager Property Management software system and in-house developed programs. He functioned as the primary contact with the Yardi Systems Inc. on all financial issues and served on the team responsible for conducting internal auditing and SEC/investor reporting.
Mr. Wocker’s property expertise spans Commercial, Residential, Student Housing and HUD properties. His exposure to HUD policies, regulations and procedures has been enhanced over the years as he has transitioned properties through the programs rule changes and financial and technological developments. Servicing clients from coast to coast and being involved in the financial and technical governmental regulatory developments, he brings a wealth of experience to our team.
From 2005 to present, Mr. Wocker’s sole industry of focus has been real estate and in this time his primary software has been the Yardi platform. His expertise has grown in the implementation and organizational use of Yardi software, one of the industry’s leading software platforms. Starting out with Yardi Systems Inc. as an account manager assisting and leading Yardi software implementations before moving on to the Yardi software development team, Mr. Wocker was forging his path of professional success. After leaving Yardi Systems, Mr. Wocker worked with the largest single owner property manager in the Durham region of Canada. Spending time with this organization, he and his wife developed a consulting and training company focusing on finance and technology, servicing clients both in Canada and the United States of America. It was because of the relationships developed in their private practice that Mr. Wocker, his wife Delia Wocker and three of their five children relocated to Houston, Texas. Their other two children remained in Canada to pursue their post-secondary education.
Mr. Wocker received his degree in Accounting and Computer Systems from Sheridan College, his MCSE through CDI College, PMP certification through Hi-tech Institute and Yardi software application training directly from Yardi System Inc. He is also is a member of various SharePoint software, project management and internet securities protocol committees.
Mark Foraker joined the Zieben Group in May 2015, after most recently serving as EVP at Innovative Student Housing. Prior to that, Mark had a nearly decade long career with The Dinerstein Companies where he last served as President of Apartment Management. In his 23 year career, Mark has also worked for Crescent Heights of America (Senior Project Manager), Genesis Development (Senior Property Manager) and R&B Realty Group (Acquisitions Manager and Property Manager). Mark has a passion for operations, something that grew organically out of having done virtually every job on-site from Maintenance to Leasing to Property Manager. It is this depth of “hands on” experience that allow him to understand on a granular level what needs to happen on site to be successful and guides him in his short and long term decision he making process at ZG. In addition to Executive Management and Site Level experience, Mark has had extensive responsibilities for Due Diligence, Underwriting, Asset Management, and Condo Operations and Sales on a national platform of 9000 Class A Conventional and Student Apartments.
Mark is a graduate of UCLA with a BA in History. In his spare time, he devotes time and resources as an instrument rated pilot to Angel Flight, providing free private aircraft transportation to financially burdened medical patients. Having grown up and graduated from high school in Alaska, Mark still calls Fairbanks home and is a passionate outdoor enthusiast.
Stuart M. Bitting, a finance and operational executive with over 30 years of broad leadership, acquisition and operational experience across multiple industry segments and ownership structures, currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of e+CancerCare, a Kohlberg & Company private equity portfolio company, which provides outpatient radiation and medical oncology services across the United States. Previously, he served as the Executive Vice President and CFO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian and seventh largest overall publisher, where he led a recapitalization of the business bringing in Kohlberg & Company as a new majority owner. The Nelson business was then successfully sold to HarperCollins 18 months later and merged with Zondervan to form HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Prior to Nelson, Stuart was Chief Financial Officer of Houston, TX-based David Weekley Homes, one of the largest privately-held home builders in the United States. He also previously served as CFO International for NCH Corporation, a privately-held international chemical manufacturer and wholesaler and CFO for CompX International Inc., a publicly-traded international component manufacturer. Stuart led operational finance and acquisitions for Centex Homes based in Dallas, TX which has since merged with Pulte. Prior to Centex, he spent 14 years in the PepsiCo system with the Frito-Lay, Inc. division in ten progressive roles starting in tax accounting and culminating in leading the financial and strategic planning team. Stuart started his career as a tax accountant with Atlas Powder Company, then a Dallas, TX-based manufacturer and distributor of commercial explosives.
Stuart has a BA in Accounting from St. Ambrose University and a Finance Certificate from Southern Methodist University’s Edwin L. Cox School of Business where he helped pilot the Finance Certificate Program jointly with Frito-Lay and Electronic Data Systems. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.
Stuart and his wife of 31 years, Carol, currently reside in the Nashville, TN area and have two grown children and one grandson.
An accomplished entreprenuer and investor, Will Bunker co-founded One-and-Only.com in late 1995. He and his partners grew the company into the largest online dating site and eventually sold the firm to TicketMaster-City Search for $45 million in June of 1999. Soon after, the company was rebranded as Match.com.
Mr. Bunker has a passion for working with early stage entrepreneurs, helping their firms grow and working towards an exit with the highest possible valuation. A long time resident of the Silicon Valley, where he lives with his wife and two teenage children, Will serves on the screening committee of the Band of Angels, (www.bandangles.com) the oldest funding organization in the Valley. He also serves as a member of the Silicon Valley Founders Institute (www.fico.com). The Founders Institute is a global launch network that helps entrepreneurs create meaningful and enduring technology companies.
On January 21, 2001, the United States Senate confirmed Dr. Rod Paige as the 7th U.S. Secretary of Education. For Paige, the son of a principal and a librarian in public schools, that day was the crowning achievement of a long career in education. Born in 1933 in segregated Monticello, Mississippi, Paige’s accomplishments speak of his commitment to education. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Jackson State University in his home state. He then earned both a master’s and a doctoral degree from Indiana University.
Paige began working with students early in his career as a teacher and a coach. He then served for a decade as dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University (TSU). In this position, Paige worked to ensure that future educators would receive the training and expertise necessary to succeed in the classroom. He also established the university’s Center for Excellence in Urban Education, a research facility that concentrates on issues related to instruction and management in urban school systems.
Elected in 1989, Paige was sworn in as a trustee and an officer of the Board of Education of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in January 1990, in which capacities he served until 1994. In 1994, Paige left TSU to become superintendent of HISD, the nation’s seventh largest school district. Inside Houston Magazine named Paige one of “Houston’s 25 most powerful people” in guiding the city’s growth and prosperity. In 2001, he was named National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators.
During his tenure as Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education from 2001 to 2005, Paige was a fierce and innovative champion of education reform who led the way in setting new standards of achievement for all students in our education system. He spearheaded the implementation of the historic No Child Left Behind Act, with its goal of reinvigorating America’s education system.
Paige is also an active member of several highly respected boards, including the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, The Broad Foundation, the American College of Education, the New England College of Finance and Business, the National Council on Economic Education’s Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, and is a former board member of News Corporation. After he left the administration in 2005, Paige served as a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. There he was able to explore a more global perspective of education. As he said: “Civilizations rise and fall depending upon the quality of education.”
Matt Morris serves as the CEO of Stewart Title Company (NYSE: STC). As CEO, Morris focuses on enhancing growth and financial performance while preserving Stewart’s culture of integrity and service to customers.
Previously, he was senior executive vice president for Stewart Information Services Corporation, Stewart Title Company and Stewart Title Guaranty Company. Morris also served as the president of the former Stewart Professional Solutions Division, overseeing home office and back office functions, including marketing, information technology, human resources, finance and accounting, the strategy and program management office, and audit/risk management for the Stewart companies.
Morris rejoined Stewart in May 2004 to serve as senior vice president of planning and development. Prior to rejoining Stewart, he served as director for a strategic litigation consulting firm, offering trial and settlement sciences and communications strategy. He received his bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and his MBA from the University of Texas.
Fred S. Zeidman acts as chairman of Gordian Group LLC, a leading U.S. investment bank specializing in board-level advice in complex, distressed or “story” financial matters. He has served as director of SPCI since July 2013, as chairman of Petroflow Energy Corporation and Petro River Oil Corporation since 2011, as director of Hyperdynamics Corporation since 2009 and as director of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. since 1986. He currently also serves as trustee for the AmeriSoft Liquidating Trust.
Zeidman has been involved in numerous high-profile workouts, restructurings and reorganizations. He was the former CEO, president and chairman of Seitel, Inc., a Houston-based provider of onshore seismic data to the North American oil and gas industry where he was instrumental in the highly successful turnaround of the company. He also held the post of chairman of the board and CEO of Unibar Corporation, the largest domestic independent drilling fluids company, until its sale to Anchor Drilling Fluids.
Zeidman has served as CEO, interim CEO and chairman of a variety of companies, including several in the oil and gas sector. He is the chairman emeritus of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He was appointed to that position by President George W. Bush in 2002 and served from 2002-2010. He is also chairman emeritus of the Texas Heart Institute and is vice chancellor of the Houston Community College System. He further serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the University of Saint Thomas and is national campaign chairman of Development Corp. of Israel (Israel Bonds).
He currently serves as chairman of the board of CompanionDx (a healthcare concern), Lucas Oil, Straight Path Communications, Inc. and Prosperity Bank in Houston. He was formerly bankruptcy trustee of AremisSoft Corp. and co-chief restructuring officer of TransMeridian Exploration Inc.
Zeidman received his bachelor’s degree from Washington University and an MBA from New York University.
Akbar Mohamed, president of Prime Communications, is an entrepreneur and founder of numerous successful companies. As president of the largest national retailer of wireless devices and accessories for AT&T, Akbar oversees the company’s sales leadership team of over 1,500 employees at more than 375 retail locations.
Akbar has founded several companies including GamesPlus, Prepaid Works and Wireless Works. Akbar also operates the largest Rogers’ Wireless authorized retailer with approximately 50 retail stores in Canada. He is an active investor with interests in hotels, private equity and venture capital funds.
Previously, Akbar worked as a professional at Hicks Muse, a private equity firm in Dallas, and as a merger and acquisitions professional at Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank in New York. Akbar holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant. Akbar serves on the Aga Khan Economic Planning Board as a national member and previously acted as chairman of Nizari Credit Union.
Chase Untermeyer has been an international business consultant since returning in 2007 from Qatar, where he served three years as United States ambassador on appointment of President George W. Bush. He is a 1968 graduate of Harvard College with honors in government.
During the Vietnam War he served as an officer in the United States Navy aboard a destroyer in the Western Pacific and as aide to the commander of US naval forces in the Philippines. Upon his return to Texas, Ambassador Untermeyer was a political reporter for the Houston Chronicle and a member of the Texas House of Representatives, elected for a district on the near west side of Houston. He left the Legislature in 1981 to go to Washington as executive assistant to then-Vice President Bush.
Three years later, President Reagan appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower & Reserve Affairs. When George Bush became president in 1989, Mr Untermeyer returned to the White House as Director of Presidential Personnel and in 1991 was appointed Director of the Voice of America.
Ambassador Untermeyer is a member of the Texas Ethics Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the board of the Episcopal Health Foundation.
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