SHARING CONNEXION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Principal, Alan Colussy Architecture Board Member, Urban Land Institute Colorado
Job Titles:
- Associate in Ballard Spahr 's Real Estate Department
- Associate, Ballard Spahr LLP
Biography
Alejandro is an associate in Ballard Spahr's Real Estate Department. He focuses his practice on affordable housing and community development matters that expand economic opportunities and build thriving communities. He has expertise with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), or New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs), or both, and provided counsel on matters concerning the LIHTC program, including Qualified Action Plans, post-year 15 considerations, and preservation of affordability issues.
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Senior Vice President, Bellwether Enterprise, Former Sharing Connexion Board Member, Current Board Member at Housing Colorado and the State Housing Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- President
President - Denver Market, FirstBank; Past Boards include: South Metro Housing Options, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Downtown Denver Partnership
Biography
Over his 36-year real estate finance career, Dan has been responsible for originating, structuring, and closing over $1.2 billion in debt and equity transactions for commercial real estate. Prior to joining Commerce Bank, Dan originated long-term and interim debt financing, and sale-leaseback financing for GE Real Estate - Business Property. He also served as Vice President of Finance for Trammell Crow Residential - Midwest Division and has held senior commercial real estate lending positions with Wells Fargo Bank and its predecessors. Dan earned his B.A. degree in Government from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from the University of Denver. He is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), an active member of the Denver NAIOP chapter and the Colorado University Real Estate Council. Dan has served as Chairman of the Board of the St. Anthony Health Foundation and the CHI Colorado Foundation. He was former Chairman of the Board at Brothers Redevelopment, a Colorado-based nonprofit that provides housing solutions for the poor, elderly, and disabled.
Job Titles:
- Director of Acquisitions and Asset Management, Connexion Asset Group
Biography
Mr. Chasnow has widespread experience in real estate investment, focusing on coordinating acquisitions and asset management for Connexion Asset Group ("CAG"). Mr. Chasnow joined CAG in 2008 and has played a key role helping to establish the company as a strong performer in the arena of private equity real estate investment. Prior to CAG, Mr. Chasnow was an analyst at Archstone, one of the largest investors, developers and operators of apartment communities in the U.S. Mr. Chasnow co-authored a white paper titled "Commercial Real Estate Debt Maturities: Shortfall & Implications", published by the Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management in 2009. Mr. Chasnow is a CFA Charterholder and holds a Master of Science in Real Estate and Construction Management from the University of Denver's Burns School, as well as an undergraduate degree from Tulane University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Partner, Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher Denver Jewish Day School, Former Chair of the Board Founding Board Member, Civic Center Conservancy
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Real Estate for Elevation Community Land Trust
Biography
David Ogunsanya is the Vice President of Real Estate for Elevation Community Land Trust and brings over 15 years of experience in real estate, affordable housing and community land trusts. He is responsible for the organization's real estate acquisition and development strategy, and external partner relations to create more than 1000 affordable homes in metro Denver and ultimately statewide.
Prior to joining Elevation CLT, David served as the Director of Housing for Athens Land Trust in Athens, Georgia. He oversaw all real estate and strategic planning activities and led the management of a portfolio with more than 60 multi- and single-family homes. He also ensured the implementation of best practice models to preserve housing affordability and land trust ground leases.
David's expertise extends into the intersection of community engagement and policy awareness where he educates key stakeholders about the benefits of the community land trust model as a mechanism for creating permanent affordability and driving positive change in communities. His work focuses on affordable housing policies such as inclusionary zoning, to assist in the creation of more affordable homes within market rate developments.
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Executive Vice President, CBRE
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- President, Rose Medical Group Chair, Denver Med Society Foundation Co - Founder, Breckenridge Outdoor Ed Center
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Weave Social Finance Director at Impact Charitable Former Sharing Connexion Board Member
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer, Connexion Asset Group
Biography
President, Edwin G. Anderson III is a highly accomplished and nationally recognized individual for making places a reality through his extensive dealings and holdings in real estate concerns. Mr. Anderson is the founding Principal of Connexion Asset Group, LLC, and has 30+ years' experience in real estate, including the acquisition, management, finance, joint venture or repositioning of nearly $1 billion of real estate. In this portfolio are several of the nation's prestigious real estate properties inclusive of landmark properties, office, multi-family, industrial, hotel, resort and land development. He is actively involved in the acquisition of distressed and underperforming properties, defaulted debt instruments and partnership interests as well as structuring transactions involving international joint ventures and entity recapitalizations.
He has co-authored two white papers with the University of Denver's Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management including "Commercial Real Estate Debt Maturities: Shortfall & Implications", published by the Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management. He is the past chair of the Salvation Army's real estate committee and holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Colorado. Mr. Anderson is a member of the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, the American Institute and the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, European-American Tax Institute and the University of Denver's Burns Society for Real Estate and Construction Management.
From a young age, Ed has always been passionate about affordable housing and solutions for homelessness. Ed has served the community through multiple board positions, and personally invested in innovative solutions creating homeownership opportunities for veterans. Now, he is now using his real estate passion and expertise to lead this cause and share his connections, envisioning a strong Colorado for nonprofits and residents who are seeking an affordable place to live.
Since January 2019, Emily has led Sharing Connexion's strategy, growth, programs, and organizational management. Emily's passion for the nonprofit sector and affordable housing naturally aligns with the mission and work of Sharing Connexion. Emily brings 14 years of nonprofit administration experience, including fundraising, communications, and volunteer management. Prior to Sharing Connexion, she ran communications at Housing Colorado, the state's affordable housing association. Emily holds a Master in Public Administration with a Concentration of Nonprofit Management from University of Colorado Denver and a Bachelor in History from Regent University. Emily currently serves on the board of Denver Young Artists Orchestra.
Job Titles:
- Principal of Baker Consulting Services
Biography
Fred is in the process of retiring from active real estate development and entitlement activities. Fred is currently the principal of Baker Consulting Services, which provides consulting services for owners and developers in the commercial real estate development industry. He specializes in real estate projects where the highest and best use and marketability are more difficult to ascertain. His mission is to identify the highest and best use and to assist in the development and realization of the highest return for these real estate projects. Fred is a past Partner and Broker for BakerSmith & Company Commercial Real Estate Services, where he oversaw brokerage, entitlement and development consulting activities for the firm. BakerSmith represents clients searching for the location of prime developable land as well as the horizontal development and governmental interfacing throughout the development process.
Fred also served as Director of Marketing, Site Acquisition and Development for Ojala & Company for 16 years. While there, Fred expanded the marketing division to provide brokerage services, as well as, research, development and entitlement services, resulting in the acquisition and entitlement of many significant business park projects along the Front Range. As Vice President - Development for United Properties, Fred worked on the acquisition and development of several sizable mixed use projects, totaling more than four million SF in Stapleton and South Denver. Fred also founded and served as president/owner of Commercial Investment Services, Inc., a 44-broker real estate investment organization in San Diego. Fred received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Colorado State University and did post-graduate study in Chemistry and Chemical Process Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. For board service, Fred has served in the following capacities: past Chairman of the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation; current President of the Mountain West Metropolitan District; Treasurer of the San Diego Boys and Girls Clubs; and as board member of Arvada Economic Development Association, the Ken Caryl Business Park Association, and the Coors Technology Park Association.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Vice Chair, Apartment Realty Advisors Former Board Member, Arapahoe House Board Member, Apartment Association of Metro Denver
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer
- Chief Investment Officer, Continuum
Biography
Jenny is the Chief Investment Officer, leading all debt and equity transactions and directing asset management activities. Jenny originally joined Continuum's finance department in 2005 where she has worked on sourcing debt and equity for nearly all Continuum's development projects to date as well as underwriting new project opportunities. In her current capacity, Jenny has overseen the debt and equity raises for several hundred of million dollars of Continuum's current pipeline of projects and been involved in several billion dollars of financial structuring and underwriting.
Jenny currently sits on the board of Craig Hospital, a $130 million asset community bank and takes an active role with several real estate industry organizations. She is heavily involved with the University of Colorado Real Estate Center, ULI, the Downtown Denver Partnership program, and CREW, being twice nominated for the Woman of Influence award in 2015 and 2017. Mentoring young women entering the professional workforce is a passion of hers and she currently has two mentees through the Denver Urban Scholars program and the CU real estate center. Jenny began her career in real estate with Principal Financial Group, as a commercial mortgage underwriter. She graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in finance and accounting and went on to complete a master's degree in finance and real estate from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Job Titles:
- Merrick Capital in 2019 As Vice President
- Vice President, Merrick Capital
Biography
Jessica joined Merrick Capital in 2019 as Vice President, where she is responsible for the management of existing strategic partnerships and operations and identifying and transacting new business opportunities. Prior to joining Merrick Capital, Jessica served as Vice President & Associate General Counsel at McWhinney, a Denver-based commercial real estate development firm, where she managed the legal and securities aspects of the organization's equity syndications, real estate acquisitions, land and asset sales, hotel, joint venture and lease negotiations. Jessica started her career as In-House Counsel at McCord Development, where she focused on the development of Generation Park in Houston, Texas.
Jessica holds a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Florida and earned her J.D. degree from Santa Clara University. She spent a year at the Department of War Studies at King's College in London. She is a Member of the State Bars of Texas and California. Jessica is also an Active Investor with Thrive Investments, which facilitates the introduction of female entrepreneurs to angel investors interested in capitalizing female-led, privately held companies in the early stages of development.
Job Titles:
- CEO, Sharing Connexion Hawaii
Biography
Jim has forty years of Public and Private Development and construction experience with a specific focus upon Design-Build Projects of scale for government and institutional clients; as well as working with community groups developing projects in under-invested communities. His experience includes executive responsibility for strategic planning, project due diligence, negotiating complex contracts, securing entitlements and profitable project completion. He has earned recognition for innovative infrastructure solutions, adaptive reuse of facilities, brownfield restoration, and implementing a successful mentor/protégé program for small and disadvantaged contractors. Jim continues advising community groups with their strategic planning structure for sustainable economic growth.
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Development, Pinkard Construction
Biography
Jim has long been involved from both a professional and personal level in Denver's affordable housing and homeless outreach from a construction perspective. His firm, Pinkard Construction Co. has been a leading provider of construction services of affordable housing since its beginnings in 1962. On the personal side, Jim has served on both the Denver Rescue Mission's and The Salvation Army's Red Shield Center board of directors to further address the affordable housing needs of Metro Denver. He has been involved in numerous affordable and homeless development projects - his favorite being the Champa House; a women with children's transitional housing project. Champa House provides a safe place for women and children for up to three years while providing child care, GED educational advancement, and general life skills training.
Job Titles:
- Partner, Milgrom & Daskam
Biography
John Daskam joined Milgrom & Daskam as a Partner in January 2019. He focuses his law practice on real estate and corporate law. His real estate practice includes acquisitions and dispositions, landlord-tenant matters, leasing, financing, development, and contract preparation and negotiation. John's corporate law practice encompasses the formation and maintenance of corporations, general and limited partnerships, and limited liability companies, debt and equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, and private placement of securities, including regulatory filings and preparation of private placement investment memoranda. John believes in balancing the practice of law with significant involvement in local community organizations and an active outdoor personal life. In addition to Sharing Connexion, he also sits on the board of directors and is General Counsel for Burning Through Pages, a local non-profit fostering a community of avid readers and inspired thinkers by providing literature, resources, and time to youth organizations. John enjoys playing golf and soccer and is a Colorado sports enthusiast. He and his wife Amanda are both Colorado natives and live in the Park Hill area of Denver.
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- President, McWhinney Senior VP / GM, Opus Northwest President of Board, University of Colorado Real Estate Foundation
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Partner, Holland & Hart
Job Titles:
- Project Manager and Director of Business Development, Gilmore Construction
Biography
Justin Gilmore is the Director of Business Development for Gilmore Construction. He has served in other roles as an Estimator, Project Engineer, and Project Manager in projects totaling over $300 million dollars. Justin has developed long lasting industry relationships within market segments both existing and new. He provides strategic direction for Gilmore Construction to navigate and grow in the Colorado market. Through this process he helps manage, grow, and build customer relations to increase the business's visibility and reputation. A key part of his role in Gilmore Construction is to not only promote the growth and branding of the company but to support Gilmore Construction's community outreach. Gilmore Construction is an enormously proud member of the Colorado community and believes in giving back. Justin is also engaged in the construction community and helps small businesses with sustainable growth and capacity building.
Job Titles:
- Fundraising & Communications Associate
Justin brings over a decade of experience working as a nonprofit professional and consultant to Sharing Connexion. In that time, he's built communications and fundraising plans for social sector organizations and raised upwards of $50 million dollars to advance an array of missions. He is passionate about environmental & social justice issues and applies a community-centered approach to his work. He also writes about the nonprofit sector on his blog, Social Resonance. Justin holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater.
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Executive Vice President and Regional Director, United Properties Former Board President, NAIOP Colorado Former Board Member, Rocky Mountain Human Services
Job Titles:
- Director of Development - Colorado, Gorman & Company
Biography
Lauren Schevets is responsible for Gorman and Company's planning and implementation of Colorado development, including new construction projects as well as land acquisition and existing housing. At Gorman, she currently has two exciting projects underway: the Colburn hotel, a preservation and rehabilitation of homeless housing in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood, and The Stella, a mixed-income affordable community in the Globeville neighborhood which partners with the Laradon Hall Society for Exceptional Children and Adults.
Lauren joined Gorman in 2017 with a diversity of public sector experience in land use planning and real estate from Boulder Housing Partners ("BHP"), the City of Westminster, and Denver Water. Among her achievements at BHP were the development of the award-winning High Mar senior housing project, and the development of the Palo Park family housing project, a unique partnership project between BHP and Flatirons Habitat for Humanity. Lauren participated in the real estate diversity initiative at ULI Colorado. Lauren holds a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Colorado - Denver and a Bachelor in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado - Boulder.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Professor, University of Denver Endowed Chair, Burns School of Real Estate Management and Construction
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Managing Director, Triumph Capital Group
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Managing Partner, ZF Capital Vice Chair, ULI Colorado Former President, RedPeak Properties
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Affordable Housing Consultant, RaiseHomes Former Executive Director, Hope Communities Board Chair, Project Education South Sudan
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Manager of Dream Unlimited
- Portfolio Manager, Dream US Industrial Fund
Biography
Mr. Gillis is the portfolio manager of Dream Unlimited open-ended U.S. industrial real estate fund. Prior to joining Dream in 2021, he shared responsibility for disposition efforts and mergers and acquisitions across North America for Prologis (NYSE: PLD). Previously at Prologis, he managed an open-ended investment fund consisting of over $3.0 billion industrial real estate assets across 30 North American markets, and also served in Research, Financial Planning/Analysis, and Treasury departments. Prior to joining Prologis, Mr. Gillis worked for a Denver based commercial real estate management and investment firm and two publicly held homebuilders where he was responsible for land acquisitions and market research. Mr. Gillis holds an MBA in real estate and finance from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business, a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a minor in Spanish from Colorado State University, and is an active member of PREA, NCREIF, NAIOP, and the University of Colorado Real Estate Council. Mr. Gillis also serves on the Board of Mile High Youth Corps.
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner Former Trustee, Denver Zoo Former Denver Civic Ventures Board Member, Downtown Denver Partnership
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Managing Director, JP Morgan Emeritus Member, the Denver Foundation
Job Titles:
- Community Lending Officer, Colorado Enterprise Fund
Biography
Stefanie has a diverse background in nonprofit, corporate and start up environments. In her current position with Colorado Enterprise Fund, she does regional business development to support the mission's micro-finance initiative by giving entrepreneurs and small businesses access to capital when traditional sources are unavailable. Stefanie specializes in making impact to minority owned, veteran owned and lower income entrepreneurs. Prior to the nonprofit world, Stefanie cofounded and contributed to the success of 2 profitable start-ups, a consumer product company in the baby and child industry and an event planning company in South Florida. She received her MBA with a focus in Entrepreneurship and BA in Communication from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. As a resident of Florida for over 30 years, she happily traded the beach for mountains in 2016.
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Founder / CEO, Destiny Capital Corp Founding Member, Punts With a Purpose Board Member, LOVE, Inc
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Executive Director, Washington State Health Care Authority
Executive Director, Washington State Health Care Authority; Former Executive Director, CO Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing; Fellow, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Livingston Fellows; Board Member, Colorado Health Foundation Philanthropic Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Partner, Kutak Rock
Job Titles:
- Member of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE