RDS - Key Persons
Brian Smith has been engaged in mass appraisal for more than 30 years for municipal revaluations and reassessments, in addition to performing municipal appeal defense work before County Tax Boards and the New Jersey State Tax Court. He served as an appraiser for more than two decades with Realty Appraisal Company (West New York, NJ) and as the President of World Appraisal of NJ (Berkeley Heights, NJ).
Brian is a Certified General Appraiser and serves as the Tax Assessor in the municipalities of Emerson, NJ in Bergen County and the Assistant Tax Assessor in Westfield, NJ in Union County. He graduated from Rutgers University and has continued his education by completing a wide variety of courses through the Appraisal Institute - the largest professional organization for real property appraisers.
Julia Maier works as an RDS project coordinator, responsible for streamlining communications between property owners, RDS inspection teams and municipal officials, in addition to conducting Remote Virtual property inspections. She is a graduate of Brookdale Community College and Red Bank Regional High School. Julia previously worked in guest services at Monmouth Park Race Track in Oceanport, NJ and is a resident of Red Bank, NJ.
Job Titles:
- RDS' Office Administrator
Margaret Spence serves as RDS' Office Administrator and coordinates the firm's Remote Virtual inspection system. She has 22 years of C-Suite administrative experience at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, where she worked with the Director of Clinical Operations in the Health Care Management Division. She attended the Katherine Gibbs School in Piscataway, NJ and is a resident of Howell, NJ.
Job Titles:
- Investment Banker and Corporate Executive
Michael Panter has been an attorney, investment banker and corporate executive in New Jersey and New York, and handled more than 400 tax assessment cases in Middlesex and Monmouth counties from 2009 to 2013 with a 99% success rate.
Prior to forming RDS, he was a Vice President in the investment banking division of Citigroup/ Salomon Smith Barney; the co-founder an investment advisory firm which oversaw more than $800 million in private pension assets; a corporate and mergers/acquisitions attorney for Paul Hastings LLP (formerly Battle Fowler LLP); and a member of the New Jersey State Assembly (2004-2008) representing the 12th Legislative District in Monmouth and Mercer Counties.
His efforts have been featured in national publications ranging from the New York Times to Stars and Stripes, Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, and he has appeared on programs such as NPR's All Things Considered and Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes.
Michael earned his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Syracuse University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and funded his education by working with the United States Army, and his Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School.
He plays a leading role in a variety of community and charitable organizations and is a resident of Shrewsbury, NJ.
Neil Rubenstein has been a practicing appraiser of real estate since 1983. He has spent a significant portion of his career engaged in data collection and the mass appraisal field, specifically as it relates to municipal revaluations. He has dealt with all types of municipalities including urban centers, suburban communities, and rural districts.
Neil is a Certified Appraiser and Certified Tax Assessor and serves as Tax Assessor in the municipalities of Haworth, Midland Park and Westfield, NJ. He received his Bachelors of Arts from Muhlenberg College and has continued his education at Rutgers University in New Brunswick as well as augmenting his skills through courses offered by the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers. He is resident of Berkeley Heights, NJ.
Steven Rubenstein has been mass appraising property and performing data collection services since 1986. He has given testimony before the county tax boards of Monmouth, Middlesex, Morris, Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Sussex, and Ocean Counties, as well as before the Tax Court of New Jersey.
Steven is a Certified Tax Assessor and Certified General Appraiser (retired) and is a member of the Appraisal Institute and Bergen County Association of Assessors. He has served as a guest speaker and panelist at numerous conferences and boards, and as the Tax Assessor in the municipalities of Glen Rock and Wood-Ridge, NJ and continues to work with RDS as a consultant.
Steven graduated from Boston University and has continued his education through a variety of seminars and courses given by the Appraisal Institute of Real Estate Appraisers.