Aaron is the president and co-owner of Perennial Properties, Inc., an Atlanta-based firm specializing in development and management of high-end urban apartments with street level retail. In 2012, Aaron became a founding board member of the Atlanta Real Estate Collaborative (AREC), a group of real estate principals that joined together to address homelessness and to advocate for sound affordable housing policy. Aaron also serves as the founding board chair of Open Doors, a non-profit initiated by AREC to connect Atlanta’s homeless population to properties with vacancy.

Aaron is an active board member of Partners for H.O.M.E., Inc., a non-profit which collaborates for the Atlanta Continuum of Care (CoC) to secure funds for programs and coordinate efforts across the community. Raised in Milwaukee, Aaron is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin real estate program and has served on the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association Board of Trustees. While working in finance in Chicago, Aaron served as a volunteer and board member of the Cabrini Green Youth Program (now Chicago Youth Programs). Aaron also served as a board member for Cool Girls, Inc., a nationally recognized mentoring and after school program serving at-risk girls. Aaron is married with three children and resides in Atlanta’s Morningside neighborhood.

During his tenure, Matt has helped Open Doors recruit 400 new real estate communities (representing 150,000 units) and establish partnerships with over 100 non-profit service providers in Metro Atlanta. In partnership with the Open Doors Board of Directors, Matt has developed innovative financial products to reduce risk and increase financial upside for owners. In addition, he has helped implement visionary new technologies that streamline operations. Matt has consulted with housing leaders in Seattle, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Denver and Phoenix in their efforts to replicate components of the Open Doors model in their communities. Additionally, Matt has presented seminars on landlord recruitment for leading homeless non-profits across the nation.

Matt is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has practiced in the fields of behavioral health and supportive housing for 15 years. Prior to joining Open Doors in 2015, Matt was a Clinical Systems Manager with Advantage Behavioral Health Systems in Athens, Georgia and the Director of Residential Services with the DeKalb Community Service Board in Decatur, Georgia. As a clinical therapist, he specializes in the treatment of co-occurring disorders for adults with severe and persistent psychiatric illness and addictions. Matt has served as the planning committee chair and board member for the DeKalb County Continuum of Care and a board member of the Georgia Supportive Housing Association. A native of Florida, Matt earned a bachelor’s and master’s of social work from Florida State University. Matt is a lifelong runner and an active member of Skyland United Methodist Church. He enjoys any activity outdoors and loves spending time with his family and friends.

Melissa Frawley is a senior vice president and regional manager for the Atlanta region of Wells Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate business line.  She is based in Atlanta and has responsibility for leading a team that covers private real estate developers and owners based in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.  Melissa was promoted to her current position as a Regional Manager when Wachovia merged with Wells Fargo in 2009. Prior to the merger, she managed Wachovia’s Atlanta origination effort.  Melissa joined Wachovia Bank in 1996 as a relationship manager for the Commercial Real Estate Group in Atlanta, covering Atlanta, and later West Coast markets. She started her banking career in Florida at Barnett Bank as a credit analyst.

Melissa also serves on the Executive Committees of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Children’s Shelter in the position of Board Secretary and as a board member of Central Atlanta Progress.  She is a member of the HouseATL Task Force, the Urban Land Institute’s Capital Markets Council, and Wells Fargo’s Student Housing Council.  She has been a featured speaker or panelist at wide ranging events sponsored by ULI, Emory University’s M.B.A. program, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers, BisNow Atlanta, InterFace Student Housing, Commercial Real Estate Women, and the Southern California Development Forum.  Melissa earned a B.A. in finance from the University of Florida and an M.B.A. from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.   She resides in the Virginia Highland neighborhood of Atlanta with her husband and three children.

Under Sara’s leadership, ECP became a founding partner with the Atlanta Real Estate Collaborative, providing resources and leadership for Open Doors program development and sustainability.  Sara’s expertise and connections have allowed Open Doors to build relationships within the affordable housing community in Atlanta.

Within Enterprise, Sara leads emerging work in Miami, and develops and implements affordable housing preservation and non-profit capacity-building initiatives for the Southeast. Prior to joining Enterprise, Sara developed and managed national AmeriCorps VISTA programs focused on affordable housing and community development at Habitat for Humanity International and Points of Light. Sara earned a master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology School of City and Regional Planning and received a bachelor’s from the Emory University Goizueta Business School. She lives in the city of Atlanta with her husband Stew, son Eli and dog Dolly Parton.

Marc Lefar recently served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of RentPath, the leading digital marketplace connecting millions of consumers with apartments, condos and houses for rent. RentPath’s network of popular websites and mobile apps includes ApartmentGuide.com, Rent.com, Lovely and Rentals.com. Under Marc’s leadership, RentPath created the RentPath Gives Back Foundation, focused on eradicating homelessness by putting muscles, minds and money to work in communities nationwide. Through this effort, Marc saw an opportunity to leverage RentPath’s strength as a digital powerhouse, and he pulled together a talented group of engineers to create Open Doors’ own digital platform. The new website tool and phone app increases access to affordable housing in Atlanta and give Open Doors a platform to extend its reach.

Over his 30-year career, Marc has developed a unique blend of global marketing, financial and operational expertise. Prior to RentPath, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Vonage. Under his leadership, the company underwent a financial, operational and strategic transformation while expanding into new markets and driving dramatic shareholder returns. Prior to Vonage, Marc was the chief marketing officer of Cingular Wireless (now AT&T Mobility) where he played a lead role in the acquisition and integration of AT&T Wireless into Cingular in 2005 and later worked with Steve Jobs and his team to develop the exclusive partnership to launch the iPhone. Marc currently serves on the Board of Directors of IPC Systems, the leading provider of communications for the financial services and trading communities. He is a frequent guest lecturer on the topics of strategy, marketing and global commerce and serves on the Board of Advisors of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

From 2011 – 2016, Marc served on President Obama’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. He is a past director of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Georgia and Alabama. An inventor, Marc holds two U.S. patents and has five additional patents pending. More importantly, he is the proud father of two sons who have followed in his footsteps at the University of Virginia. A native of Chester, New Jersey, Marc currently resides in Atlanta.

Russ Hardy is a Managing Director with Berkadia and is the Institutional Solutions Group lead for the Southeast Multifamily Group based in Atlanta.   During his career as an investment advisor, he has been involved in the sales and marketing of several hundred institutional assets across the Southeast, totaling over $12 billion of transactions. Russ specializes in multifamily assets across a variety of construction types, geographies, and risk profiles.  In addition to his investment sales experience, he also has extensive experience on the principal side of the commercial real estate business.

An Atlanta native, Russ spends time volunteering with the homeless at Atlanta Mission both in their men’s shelter, The Shepherd’s Inn, and with his family at My Sister’s House – the shelter for women and children.  An advocate of homelessness programs, veteran’s programs, and cancer research, he has sponsored and hosted numerous fundraising events to raise money and awareness for these various causes.  He also spends time mentoring college students and volunteers at Decatur City Church and Intown Community School.  Russ earned a bachelor’s degree in management with a marketing concentration from the Georgia Institute of Technology and earned a Master of Business Administration in finance and a Master of Science in real estate from Georgia State University. He also served proudly in the United States Marine Corps.

Christie Eash is recently retired as the senior vice president with AMLI Residential after a 25+ year career with the company. In 2017, Christie served as the Chair of the Atlanta Apartment Association and served on the Georgia Apartment Association Foundation Board. In addition, she was previously held the position of Chair of the Operations Committee with the National Apartment Association. Christie began serving on the Open Doors’ Board of Directors in 2019 and is co-chair of Open Doors’ Property Engagement committee. In this role Christie dedicates her time to helping expand the portfolio of affordable housing available to Open Doors’ collaborative non-profit partners.

Christie and her husband Steve are empty nesters. Christie’s son Jake is in college, and her daughter Jordan’s family lives in Dallas, TX. A new grandmother, Christie loves to travel to visit her new grandson, Conner. Christie and Steve reside in Atlanta and Lake Burton with their two dogs Bella and Charlie.

Darion Dunn, Professional Engineer, is the managing partner of Atlantica Properties, a real estate investment and property management company specializing in workforce housing in metro Atlanta.   Atlantica’s mission is to empower individuals by establishing thriving, holistic communities.  Since Atlantica’s founding in 2010, Darion has expanded from single family into multifamily investment and established the company as a role model for workforce housing acquisition and property management.  In his early career, Darion worked as a project manager for Harrington, George & Dunn and later as Lead Program Manager for Croy Engineering, where he led projects with a budget of over $250 million.  Darion has also served as the Director of Capital Improvements and Planning for the Buckhead Community Improvement District, managing projects for one of the most dynamic regions in the southeastern United States.

Darion began his career as a real estate investor in 1998 while earning a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a Certificate in Economics at the Georgia Institute of Technology.    He is sits on the boards of Chattahoochee Technical College Foundation, the Center for Family Resources, a community organization with a mission to provide stable housing to families experiencing homelessness, and Star‐C, a non-profit with a mission to reduce transiency in the local school system and improve student academic success.   Darion and his wife Raquel live in Smyrna and are avid Atlanta United and Atlanta Hawks fans.

David brings experience from a variety of industries, with a focus on media, local advertising, technology and private equity. He serves as Senior Vice President of Growth and Operations for Internet Brands, headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to joining Internet Brands, he held senior Strategy, Product, and Marketing roles at RentPath, LLC, YP Holdings, Inc., and Bain & Company, Inc. He began his career at BKV Advertising in Atlanta. David earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University. He currently serves as a volunteer for the Princeton Alumni Schools Committee. He lives in Morningside with his wife Roselani and four sons, Beau, Asa, Luke, and Arrow.

Michael J. Baum is Chair of the firm’s Chicago Real Estate Practice. He focuses his practice on domestic and cross-border real estate transactions. Michael represents clients in connection with the sponsorship, formation and implementation of U.S. and international (primary focus in Mexico) real estate opportunity funds, joint ventures, acquisitions, developments, financings, leasing and dispositions of multi-family, industrial, office, retail and resort properties. He also represents both financial institutions and borrowers in connection with all aspects of the capital markets, including construction, mezzanine and general secured real estate financings.

Michael’s philanthropic initiatives include his active directorship on the Digestive Health Foundation Board, in affiliation with Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Digestive Health Center. He also actively supports the University of Texas @ Austin, providing scholarships and mentorship within the McCombs School of Business.

Michael lives in Chicago, with his wife (Stephanie), and their 3 boys and 2 dogs.

Nia is a public policy professional and civil rights attorney whose professional and academic experience has been focused on using the law to protect diverse populations. She has worked with non-profits, with government agencies and in the corporate sphere. Currently, she is a Public Policy Manager for Airbnb, overseeing the company’s government affairs and community engagement work throughout the Deep South. Nia works every day to promote and protect the people and culture in the communities she serves. She loves music, food, art and dancing.

Shea Campbell is a senior vice president with CBRE’s Southeast Multifamily Group. Shea represents private, high net worth buyers as well as institutional investors in the disposition of multifamily properties throughout the Southeast. Shea’s connections to owners and property managers in the apartment business have helped to create new connections for Open Doors.

Since joining CBRE in early 2010, Mr. Campbell has led or co-lead over $10 billion in apartment transactions.  He serves on the University of Georgia’s Terry College Young Alumni Board and the Real Estate Alumni Steering Committee. He is also an active member of the East Lake Foundation’s 691 Society.  An Atlanta native, Shea enjoys playing golf, cheering on the UGA football team, and spending time with his wife Trish and their two young daughters.

Mr. Raphael Holloway joined the Gateway Center in July 2016 as the Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Holloway is an accomplished leader with 20+ years of experience in the social services arena specializing in behavioral health, correction, homelessness and public health sectors. He has displayed a strong non-profit and state government business acumen and understands “how to change when change is hard”.

Mr. Holloway is a proven professional with expertise in motivating human resources and aligning multiple groups with divergent objectives and priorities towards a common goal. He utilizes skills, theories, and strategies that are not only relevant but necessary for leading results-based organization and team of professionals that desire to be “agents of change”. Mr. Holloway has displayed a commitment to the utilization of data; desire to utilize a human centered approach in service design; strong initiative and exceptional skills in leading an organization’s business.

A native of Toledo, OH, Raphael received his B.A. in Child and Family Services and M.A in Mental Health Counseling from Bowling Green State University.

Mr. Horn received his Bachelor’s in Arts from Israel Torah Research Institute where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. He then went on to the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall, where he was a co-founder of the Account/Finance Student Club. Mr. Horn graduated with a Master’s in Finance and a Master’s in Business Administration. As a result of winning the Capstone Project, Mr. Horn and his team, were recruited by AXA Equitable to join the fund as a Financial Analysts. Mr. Horn joined AXA Equitable immediately after graduation.

Taking the knowledge of finance and business management to complement his knowledge of the industry; Mr. Horn transitioned from equity markets to eventually joining his clients in brokering and ultimately syndicating multi-family complexes. In January 2017, Mr. Horn began purchasing and operating multi-family assets in the Atlanta Metro Area, ultimately founding a boutique multi-family real estate firm, Tusk Equity Partners.

Within a few years Moshe and affiliates have purchased over 17 metro Atlanta communities comprised of over 3300 units. In partnership with his local property management company, Hammond Residential which is led by founding Open Doors board John Marti, Mr. Horn has become a leading participant in Open Doors placements. With a hands-on proactive approach, Mr. Horn and his team carefully rebrand each property as a community, with the goal of instilling family-friendly environment for each of its residents. Through a variety of public and private partnerships, including with nonprofit corporations, Mr. Horn has been able to keep his units accessible and affordable to all members of the community. Tusk Equity Partners has consistently increased occupancy rates.

Horn has been a primary fundraiser for his community’s premier non-profit religious school and serves as a board member of the prestigious Ishei Yisroel synagogue in Woodmere New York.

Mr. Horn and his team are eager to continue to grow their portfolio with new choice acquisitions. Recent acquisitions have increased Mr. Horn’s footing in the Southeast, including properties in Alabama.

Lisa R. Hurd is the Executive Vice President of Capital Markets at Atlanta-based real estate investment and development firm The RADCO Companies. Ms. Hurd is responsible for a team of Capital Markets professionals who structure and raise private equity capital, source and close creative and accretive debt, manage RADCO’s diverse debt portfolio, and service RADCO’s investor base of more than 1,000 high-net worth investors. Ms. Hurd and her team have raised north of $800 million in private equity capital and sourced just shy of $3 billion of debt to finance RADCO’s value-add acquisitions and ground-up developments throughout the United States.

Ms. Hurd has spent her entire career at RADCO and has held multiple roles within the firm during its unprecedented growth following The Great Recession. Beginning her career as an Asset Manager, Ms. Hurd oversaw the operations, renovation, repositioning, and ultimate disposition of 5,000 apartment units in multiple markets. She also has worked in both Capital Markets and Acquisitions Analytics, where she underwrote hundreds of potential investment opportunities to expand RADCO’s multifamily portfolio.

In addition to Ms. Hurd’s role at RADCO, she works with several organizations focusing on female empowerment. In 2016, Ms. Hurd co-founded Real Estate Network Empowering Women, Inc. (RENEW), an initiative to inspire, empower, and advance women in commercial real estate finance where she currently serves as Co-President. She is also a board member and serves as Chairwoman of Resource Development for Cool Girls, Inc, a non-profit organization seeking to end the cycle of poverty, low self-esteem, and teen pregnancy for Atlanta girls. Ms. Hurd also sits on the board of The RADCO Companies and serves as Treasurer for The Radow Family Charitable Foundation. In 2018, Ms. Hurd was featured as a “Woman to Watch” in commercial real estate finance by Globe Street’s Real Estate Forum.

Chelsea has more than 10 years of experience in housing policy and community engagement in Atlanta. She has been with the Atlanta Apartment Association since 2016 where she directs the organization’s public affairs efforts. In her role as Director of Public Relations and Advocacy, she is focused on building meaningful relationships and partnerships between apartment industry leaders and public, non-profit, and philanthropic organizations focused on addressing housing challenges and opportunities across metro Atlanta.

Chelsea holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she concentrated in housing policy and community development. She lives in Cobb County with her husband Jonathan, their three small children, and two dogs.

Melanie has more than 10 years of experience working in the nonprofit field in leadership positions that include fundraising, policy and advocacy, nonprofit management and program oversight. She has spent the last two years as the Northwest Regional Director for the United Way of Greater Atlanta where she had oversight of Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas and Paulding Counties.

Prior to relocating to Cobb County, she held leadership positions with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central New Mexico and the United Way of Central New Mexico. Melanie was honored as both a Women of Influence in 2016 and a 40 Under 40 young professional in 2017 by the Albuquerque Business Journal. She currently serves on the boards of the Cobb Collaborative and Georgia Metro Dance. Melanie and her husband Maxwell, along with their five children, reside in Cobb County.

Dave Loeffel is the CEO of Highlands Residential. Highlands Residential develops, owns and manages age exclusive rental communities. As a board member of the Atlanta Real Estate Collaborative (AREC), Dave has been integral to addressing the housing needs of homeless individuals in Atlanta. As part of that effort, he spearheaded Open Doors’ Limited Rent Guarantee to reduce risks and increase program participation by owners. His strong ties in Cobb and Gwinnett counties helped Open Doors enter those difficult-to-penetrate markets.

Dave began his real estate career at Walton Communities working in various aspects of the business starting with property management and maintenance before working with the chief financial officer in all financial activities. Dave created Walton Communities’ affordable housing business platform building partnerships with various housing authorities in the state. Dave also serves on the Georgia Affordable Housing Coalition and the PTF Board of his children’s school. He is involved in the mentor programs at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory’s Goizueta Business School. Dave received an MBA from Emory’s Goizueta Business School in 2011. He earned a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech and is a chartered financial analyst (CFA). He lives in East Cobb with his wife Laura and three kids, Nate, Luke, and Sophia Kate.

Judy has more than 25 years of commercial real estate expertise in sales, market research, and appraisal. Over that time, she has been involved in the closing of more than 60,000 multifamily units with an aggregate value in excess of $2.5 billion.

Prior to joining Berkadia in 2015, Judy began her real estate career as an appraiser, first for Pritchett, Ball, and Wise and then for Cushman & Wakefield. In 1992 Judy joined the disposition team at Travelers Realty Investment Company as an Investment Manager.  Beginning in 1996, Judy entered apartment brokerage at the Atlanta office of Moran & Company as their Sales Manager. While at Moran, Judy facilitated the sale and marketing of more than forty multifamily properties valued at over $800 million for institutional clients such as Heitman, The Related Group of Florida, and SSR Realty Advisors. In 2004 Judy joined Brown Realty Advisors as a Senior Vice President of Investment sales, specializing in Class A, B and C apartment communities throughout the Southeast. Judy is a proud graduate of Michigan State University.

Sam Moses has over 20 years of technology experience with several companies including Walmart and NCR. Sam joined The Home Depot in 2020 and his responsibilities include Human Resources and Financial Systems.

Prior to his current role, Sam served as CTO for the Walmart Team at NCR. This role included building integrated sales solutions that translated Walmart’s business objectives into technology that transformed sales floor and Point of Sale (POS) transactions.

Sam’s experience within Walmart Technology included serving as VP of Technology Modernization and VP of Corporate Systems. While serving as Sr Director of Global Technology, he completed an expatriate assignment in Bengaluru, India. As Sr Director, he was responsible for building and leading a software engineering organization that provided services and capabilities to Walmart. Sam’s application development experience at Walmart included responsibilities within Back Office Systems, IT Strategy & Governance, Store Systems Application Development, Merchandizing/Replenishment, QA & Operations Support, and Merchandizing Application Development. Since starting his career as a software developer in 1999, Sam held many leadership positions within Walmart.

Sam holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration degree with a major in Management Information Systems from the University of Alabama.

Idea Associates is a full-service marketing and branding agency that has served the real estate industry for over 30 years. They have worked in every facet of commercial and residential real estate and we are grateful for their partnership with Open Doors.

Homelessness is a national crisis. There are several ways to serve families who are transitioning out of homelessness and we want to help Open Doors connect with companies looking to make a difference. The families we meet and the stories we hear when we volunteer show us how great a need there is.

“My hope is to leverage my 30+ years in real estate to meet a basic need: shelter. Too often we forget how privileged we are to have a home. In partnering with Open Doors I am excited to use my relationships with clients and other industry leaders to help make long term housing options more easily available for families transitioning out of homelessness.”
– Sibet Freides, Principal at Idea Associates