OSWALD COOKE & ASSOCIATES - Key Persons
Benjy graduated from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina with a degree in Public Relations in 1995. After spending a number of years traveling, he settled into Charleston, his permanent residence since 1998. He and his wife Brandi live in Mount Pleasant with their children Anna Clark (7), Benjamin (4) and Tallulah (2). With over fifteen years of experience in the commercial real estate business, his expertise and knowledge of the regional and national investment market are extensive. His clients continue to benefit from his focus in net leased sales and 1031 exchanges.
Locally, he represents national home builders, multi-family operators and land owners as they work to bring development projects through entitlement and permitting. He is a member of the Realtor Land Institute, South Carolina Association of Realtors, and the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors. He has served on the Charleston County Parks & Recreation Commission, The Mount Pleasant Affordable Housing Committee and the Mount Pleasant Comprehensive Plan Committee. He has been named a Costar "Power Broker of the Year" for 2015, 2016, 2017 based on transaction volume.
Blair holds a BS from the College of Charleston in Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship, where she graduated in 2016. Blair began working at Oswald Cooke as an intern while at the College, and transitioned to becoming the full time property manager upon graduation. With five years of management and leasing experience, she now manages and leases over 115,000 square feet of commercial property including retail, industrial, office and medical office assets. She is an active member of the South Carolina Association of Realtors, CREW Charleston, and the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors. She currently serves on the Communications Team for the Commercial Real Estate Women Charleston chapter.
Surrounded by a family in commercial real estate in Greenville, South Carolina, Blair has always held an interest in real estate transactions and development. Her current role consists of property management, tenant and landlord representation, and investment sales. Blair contributes to several local charities including East Cooper Meal on Wheels, East Cooper Habitat for Humanity, Hope to Home, and The Ronald McDonald House of Charleston. Blair resides on Sullivans Island and spends her spare time reading and walking by the ocean.
Catherine has been helping clients create generational wealth through commercial real estate for the past ten years, specializing in net lease and 1031 exchanges. Prior to working at Oswald Cooke, she was a commercial broker for Birchin Lane Realty Advisors, LLC. She is skilled at risk assessment, budgeting, creative problem solving and tackling time-sensitive projects. She is well versed in stand-alone retail space, grocery anchored retail space and shopping centers. She is licensed in South Carolina but assists her clients in buying and selling net lease properties across the country with a strong network of collaborative brokers and developers.
Prior to working at Oswald & Cooke she was a broker for Birchin Lane Real Estate Advisors. She also served as a Documentation and Project Manager for a large international software company for a decade before becoming a commercial real estate broker. Catherine is also an investment property owner, successfully operating and managing her own rental properties both in-town and long-distance for almost twenty years.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Spanish from Clemson University Honors College. She is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). She and her husband David, reside in Mount Pleasant with their family and attend Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church. She is a volunteer parent at Laing Middle School and Lucy Beckham High School. In her spare time she enjoys teaching spin classes and cheering on the sidelines for her kids' many sports.
Edward holds a BS from the Citadel (1995) as well as a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University (199 7). After graduate school, Edward began his career as an environmental consultant working with landowners and developers. For nearly ten years, his consulting work primarily focused on wetland delineations, wetland permitting and wetland mitigation. In 2007, he began his career in real estate and his prior experience in wetland consulting and development entitlement provides a unique skill set which has proven invaluable to his real estate clients.
Edward is the Broker-in-Charge at Oswald Cooke & Associates and he oversees the general day-to-day operations of the company which include general brokerage, property management and the management of OCA's in-house development projects. Edward is currently serving on the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors Board of Directors as President-Elect, the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service Board, the Mason Prep Annual Fund Board of Directors and as an advisor to the Sea Grant's Storm Water Advisory Council.
Edward does and has contributed to a number of local charities such as The Citadel Foundation, Share Our Suzy, East Cooper Habitat for Humanity, Operation Home, Swing for a Cure and the Luekemia and Lymphoma Society. He is a resting Deacon and active member of the Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church. He is also an active volunteer coach for the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department. While not at work, Edward enjoys spending time with his family and being very involved in the lives of his two children, Will and Sarah. Edward enjoys the wonderful Lowcountry outdoors both on land and in the water; he is an avid boater, fisherman, hunter and sports fan/enthusiast. He and his wife, Cameron, and their two children live in Mount Pleasant.
Katie graduated with a BBA in Real Estate from University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. After graduation Katie spent two years working for a retail development company in Atlanta, GA building, leasing and managing Publix anchored shopping centers and unanchored strip centers. Katie then returned to her home state of South Carolina and has spent 15 years working for both local and national homebuilders in multiple facets of the homebuilding process. She has transacted raw land and production lots in the Charleston, Bluffton, and Savannah markets, and is well versed in the zoning, entitlement and approval platforms in each of those areas.
Katie, her husband Joey and daughters Mallory and Cecelia reside on Hilton Head Island and attend St. Luke's Episcopal Church. She serves on the Teacher Parent Advisory Committee and the School Improvement Council at Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center and is a volunteer parent at Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts. Katie is also the founding member of FiA Hilton Head (Females in Action). In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outside with her family enjoying the many waterways of the Lowcountry.
Natalie serves as a bookkeeper for Oswald Cooke & Associates, handling accounts payable and receivable for their growing business. She received her BS degree from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1988 and worked in advertising from 1988-1997 in national media buying/planning (national television, cable syndication, magazine and radio). Years following, she served on various committees and boards while raising her family, in addition to helping start both a medical practice and a wine importing business. Currently, she also works for Dispute Resolution Data (DRD) in customer relations/admin and sales.
She is an active board member and VP of CALTA (Charleston Area Ladies Tennis Association), as well as a Special Olympics SC tennis coach for the Rockin' Racquets. In prior years she was a USTA Men's Combo Coordinator. In addition to these roles, she is active in many philanthropic organizations, having served in various positions - including President, of the Charleston County Medical Society Alliance (CCMSA) and Treasurer (6 years) of the Down Syndrome Association of the Lowcountry (DSAL). She has also been an active volunteer with the American Heart Association's Heart Ball. Natalie and her husband Brett have three children and live in Mount Pleasant. They are active members of Stella Maris Roman Catholic Church.
Ruthie graduated from Lander University in 2007 with a BS in Early Childhood Education. After teaching a short time she started a family with her husband Wade. They now have 3 children, Jackson, Joshua, and Madison Claire. Ruthie has been with Oswald, Cooke & Associates since 2010. She has received training with ESRI in Graphic Information Services and serves as the research analyst for OC&A. She is also a member of the South Carolina Association of Realtors and the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.