Center for Real Estate

Joel Behrens is a second year MBA in the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. This past summer he interned at Continental Properties Company. At Continental Properties Joel performed entitlement activities for retail shopping centers and participated with the creation of investment committee documents and presentations. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, with a BBA in accounting and finance, he spent four years working for Kohler Company, most recently as a Senior Internal Auditor. While at Kohler Joel traveled internationally where he led and performed financial and operational audits. During this same time Joel has acquired commercial and residential investment property and land. Joel also started and sold an online foreclosure subscription website. Joel enjoys traveling, cooking, and landscaping in his spare time.

Richard Castro rcastro2@wisc.edu

Richard is studying for an MBA in Real Estate and will graduate in May of 2008. During the summer of 2007, Richard sold real estaet in California. He enjoys the entrepreneurial aspects of the business as well as using his marketing and strategic skills. Richard’s goal was to get a broad real estate education but he will eventually like to do developments in the U.S. and in Latin America. He graduated from the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona where he studied marketing management. He lived in Germany for two years while in the U.S. Army. After the military Richard worked in residential brokerage and sold 150 condo- conversions over a period of two years.

Erica Healey emhealey@wisc.edu

Erica M. Healey is studying for an MBA in Real Estate. Prior to the program, Erica spent 4 months as a law clerk with Corneille Law Group and 8 months working as a self-employed real estate attorney where she did contract and lease negotiations. Through work in this industry, Erica developed her interest in Real Estate. During this past summer, Erica interned at Callahan Capital Partners in Chicago, where she worked in acquisitions and asset management. She is a member of the Applied Real Estate Investment Trust Team, and desires to continue working in acquisitions or as a REIT analyst. Erica graduated from University of Wisconsin Law School in 2005 with a JD and the University of North Carolina in 2003 with a BA in History and Political Science. She enjoys flying and learning to play golf in her spare time.

Felipe Izquierdo fizquierdo@wisc.edu

Felipe is a second year MBA specializing in Real Estate and is the 2007 recipient of the James A. Grasskamp Scholarship. This summer, he interned at Bank of America in the corporate real estate group where he was the project lead on a green belt six sigma project that identified methods to reduce utility consumption within the banks domestic portfolio. After graduating from the University of Florida with a BS in Civil Engineering, he spent 3years working at ACE Constructors, Inc., an infrastructure and land development contractor in northeast Florida. Felipe enjoys all boating activities and is an avid traveler.

Jacob Maliel, CPA maliel@wisc.edu

Jake is a second year MBA in the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. This summer, Jake interned in the real estate group at Bank of America where he implemented a system that will allow the Bank to make better financing decisions related to its core real estate assets. For his efforts, Jake earned a Six Sigma Green Belt certification. In 2003, Jake graduated from Boston University with dual degrees in Accounting and Finance. Upon graduation, he spent three years in public accounting with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where his clients included Honeywell International and Major League Baseball. Jake is also a Certified Public Accountant as recognized by the State of New Jersey.

Sean McDonald scmcdonald@wisc.edu

Sean is a second year MBA in the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. He interned at Liberty Property Trust where he worked in the Urban and National Development group. After graduating from the University of Delaware with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1998, Sean began his career at IBM. He was hired as a sales engineer where he assisted in closing over $30 million in software sales. In 2003, Sean took a position in IBM's world wide sales training group where he traveled across Europe, Asia, and the Americas to provide sales and technical product education. During his time at IBM, Sean earned two promotions and received multiple awards for leadership and teamwork. After spending several years in the technology business, Sean decided to switch careers so that he could pursue his interest in real estate.

John Minahan djminahan@wisc.edu

John Minahan is a second year MBA student in the Real Estate and Urban Land Economics Department. This past summer he interned at Macquarie Real Estate in Chicago. At Macquarie John worked in the Acquisitions Group and assisted in the formation of various joint ventures. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a BA in 1998, he spent the next seven years working for LaSalle Investment Management in Chicago and London. Prior to pursuing an MBA, John was a Vice President in the Acquisitions Group responsible for sourcing office and industrial investments on behalf of the Firm's clients. He also spent twelve months in the London office working for the Capital Markets Group. Subsequent to graduation John is interested in continuing his career in institutional real estate with an investment manager or private equity firm.

Charles Minett ceminett@wisc.edu

Charles is a second-year MBA in the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. He interned at Wrightwood Capital in the underwriting department, where he performed financial analysis, underwriting due diligence, and authored investment committee submissions for transactions totaling $206 million across Wrightwood's national structured debt and JV equity platforms. After graduating from the University of Washington with a BA in Pre-Law in 2003, he spent the next three years working within the commercial real estate industry, first at the Rifken Group as a development assistant in Madison, Wisconsin, then as a project analyst at the University of Wisconsin's Capital Planning and Development department in Madison. Through his work participating in the many facets of the pre-development process and later, helping manage the University's $1.56 billion campus development pipeline, he developed a broad perspective of the many hats developers must wear in order to be successful. Mr. Minett plans to incorporate his passion for architecture, green building, and people into a career in real estate development upon graduation.

Mike Pfaff mpfaff@wisc.edu

Mike Pfaff is a second year MBA student at the University of Wisconsin studying Real Estate. Prior to joining the program, Mike spent four years working in automotive finance for Fortune 125 tier one parts suppliers, most recently holding the position of Assistant Controller of a major manufacturing plant in south east Wisconsin. This past summer, Mike interned at Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group in Midtown Manhattan, where he underwrote single asset and portfolio acquisitions and development, prepared financing packages, and negotiated terms with lenders. Mike earned a BBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame in 2002.

Matthew Rauenhorst rauenhorst@wisc.edu

Matt Rauenhorst is studying for an MBA in Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin. Prior to the program, Matt spent 2 years working for Frauenshuh Commercial Real Estate where he managed healthcare and retail developments and brokered the sale of completed developments. Through work in the real estate industry, Matt developed his interest in commercial development. Prior to his time at Frauenshuh, Matt spent 2 years at UnitedHealthcare. In this position he sold group health benefits to companies across the country. In his second year, Matt was in the top 3% of all account executives at UnitedHealthcare. Matt graduated from The University of St. Thomas in 2002 with a BA in Entrepreneurship. In his spare time Matt enjoys fishing, hunting, and spending time outdoors.

Jason Rothenberg jarothenberg@wisc.edu

Jason is a second year MBA in the James A Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. He interned this summer with Wachovia's Real Estate Investment Banking group where he built valuation models and assisted with real estate capital markets transactions including private joint ventures and public offerings of debt and equity. After graduating from Duke University with a Master of Environmental Management degree, Jason spent the next seven years working in public policy. While in positions at the Office of Management and Budget and on Capitol Hill, Jason developed budget recommendations for over $15 billion in annual federal expenditures. He has participated in a broad range of high-level budget and policy discussions including the future of the U.S. space program, the construction and opening of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian, and the U.S. position on global climate change. Jason's interest in combining his broad knowledge of government and environmental issues with his interest in real estate and the capital markets led him to the University of Wisconsin's highly regarded real estate program.

Jeffrey Ruidl ruidl@wisc.edu

Jeffrey is a second year MBA in the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin. Prior to the program, Jeffrey graduated from Marquette University Law School and practiced real estate and business law at a large firm in Milwaukee. During law school, he served as a judicial intern to Justice Jon P. Wilcox of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Honorable John L. Coffey of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Last summer, he worked in retail development at Continental Properties and is currently serving as co-President of the Wisconsin Real Estate Club. Jeffrey graduated from the College of Business Administration at Marquette University in 2003 and serves on the Alumni Board of Directors at Marquette University High School.

Michael Scotti scotti@wisc.edu

Michael Scotti is studying for an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Development and Finance. Prior to the program, Michael spent 5 of years working for Kimberly-Clark Corporation where he worked as a material scientist. Michael worked on most materials that make up Huggies Diapers and Pull-Ups Training Pants. Through an internship at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, OH, Michael received significant exposure to the activities involved in Asset Management and Commercial Lending. Michael chose Real Estate Development and Finance as a concentration due to some personal and family interests. Michael graduated from North Carolina State University in 1999 with Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering and Pulp & Paper Science & Technology and from the University of Virginia in 2001 with a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. Michael enjoys playing golf, basketball, and other sports in his spare time.

Jonathan Shalik shalik@wisc.edu

Jonathan is a second year MBA in the Real Estate and Urban Land Economics specialization. Jonathan has a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture with a specialization in Environmental Sustainability and Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Prior to the program, Jonathan spent 2 years working for Shalik Realty Ventures, LLC, a private equity real estate investment and advisory firm based in New York, where he did underwriting and due diligence examinations, financial modeling, and market analysis and feasibility studies. Jonathan then spent 3 months interning with Real Estate Capital Partners, LP, a private equity real estate investment and advisory firm based in New York, where he gained relevant experience as an investment analyst and underwriter for multiple product types. Through his relevant professional and educational experience, Jonathan developed his interest in the real estate venture capital side of the industry.

Graydon Simkins gsimkins@wisc.edu

Graydon is a second-year MBA at the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He interned this summer with the Global Workplace Solutions Group at Johnson Controls, Inc. in Milwaukee. Graydon reported directly to the Director of Real Estate for the Americas, Kurt Farrell, who manages more than 13M square feet of office and industrial properties. In this function Graydon managed a variety of large transactions and special corporate real estate projects. He also held a spring internship with the Hammes Co. wherein he managed a marketing analysis and feasibility study for a resort and golf course complex located in northern Wisconsin. Prior to coming to Madison, Graydon worked as a closer in the escrow department at First American Title Co. His start in finance was as an accountant in the corporate finance division of Amazon.com. After graduating from the University of Washington, Graydon served several years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, West Africa.

Wen-chieh Wu wwu4@wisc.edu

Wen-Chieh is a second year MBA in the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. This summer, he interned with Shanghai Urban Development, where he conducted financial feasibility analysis and designed financial structure for a $3 billion mixed-use commercial development project in downtown Shanghai. Prior to joining the program, Wen-Chieh had been an investment advisor in Mizuho Securities Asia in Hong Kong for two years, where he provided investment suggestions and assisted to manage $80 million of clients’ assets. Wen-Chieh graduated from the National Taiwan University with a BBA in finance in 2002.

Keyi Xu kxu2@wisc.edu

Keyi is a second year MBA student specializing in Real Estate and Urban Economics. She interned at Bank of America's Corporate Workplace department, where she designed several models to help the bank optimizing facility utilization. Keyi also assisted with the bank's 2008 space allocation planning and operation budget forecast. After graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a BS in Business Administration, Keyi spent the next three years worked as a broker associate and office manager at Heritage Realty in the Bay Area (2003-2006). At Heritage Realty, Keyi led 15 employees in overseeing 900 investment property units. She was responsible for authorizing home improvement proposals and reviewing clients' monthly financial statements. What Keyi enjoyed most was to implement structural and procedural changes on some day to day business activities to enhance the office productivity. Keyi also took an opportunity and interned at CITIC Group Inc.'s fixed income department (in Beijing) underwriting corporate bonds during her senior year at UC Berkeley. Keyi's career goal is to become a leader in the real estate industry using her knowledge, experience, as well as her international business networks.

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Student Profiles: Class of 2008