Millington at Merrill Creek, Everett, Washington

Pamela Alcala, Senior Vice President, Human Resources

John Atwater, FOUNDER, CO-CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

John Atwater

Mr. Atwater founded Prime Group in 1989. Mr. Atwater is a Co-Founding Partner of Prime Finance and Chairman of the Short and Long Duration Investment Committees. Mr. Atwater has been involved with all forms of property ownership, management and financing. A graduate of Brown University and Stanford Business School, he has served on a variety of for-profit and non-profit boards, including Montgomery Street Income Securities, Lone Mountain School for Children, The Hamlin School, The California Academy of Sciences (Board Chair 2010-2014), the Corporation of Brown University and the Policy Advisory Board of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, UC Berkeley.

Dan James, CO-CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Dan James

Mr. James is the Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Prime Group. He is also a Co-Founding Partner of Prime Finance, head of Multifamily Credit and a member of the Short and Long Duration Investment Committees. He joined Prime Group in 1992 and has been involved with all forms of property ownership, management, financing and development. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School, Mr. James also attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He serves on the California Apartment Association Leadership Council and is the past chairman of the California Housing Council.

Will Madison, President

Will Madison

As President of Prime Residential, Mr. Madison oversees all aspects of investment and operations. He is responsible for strategic growth, executing business plans and driving continuous improvement. Prior to joining Prime Residential in 2008, he worked as an Associate at Hall Capital Partners, an investment advisor to families, foundations and endowments. In this role he sourced and researched private investment managers in real estate, energy and other hard asset sectors. Mr. Madison graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in Engineering, is a CFA charterholder, serves as a trustee of the Scandinavian School and Cultural Center and has served as a trustee and Vice President of the board of Lick-Wilmerding High School.

Josh Frieman, Principal and Chief Financial Officer

Josh Frieman

In his role as a Principal for Prime Group, Mr. Frieman leads the accounting, investor relations, compliance and business technology teams for both Prime Residential and Prime Finance. Mr. Frieman joined Prime Group in 2005 and has been involved in all facets of real estate investment, finance and administration including leadership roles in over $5 billion of real estate transactions. Prior to that, he was an advisor to distressed businesses, overseeing numerous restructurings and liquidations. Earlier in his career, Mr. Frieman practiced corporate law with Latham & Watkins and served as the General Counsel for a start-up technology company. Mr. Frieman graduated with honors from University of California at Berkeley and Harvard Law School.

Bryan Taing, Head of Property Management

Mr. Taing brings broad real estate experience, as Head of Property Management. He is responsible for driving internal property management, leading the evaluation and deployment of high-quality service and operating standards, and having responsibility for Prime Residential’s 400 on-site associates. Mr. Taing holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Cal State East Bay. He is also a licensed real estate broker in California and holds a Certified Property Manager designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management.

Bert Ortiz, Senior Vice President, Property Management

Bert Ortiz

Bert Ortiz is a Senior Vice President for Prime Residential. He joined Prime in 2007 and has over 25 years of experience in multi-family operations. His portfolio includes over 4,000 apartments spread through San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura counties. His responsibilities include the oversight of daily operations of properties within his portfolio to ensure communities are run efficiently and effectively while maximizing productivity and profitability. He manages a team of 3 Regional Managers in delivering excellent customer service. Bert has worked with market rate and affordable communities through Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Aryn Thomez, Vice President, Property Management

Aryn Thomez

Ms. Thomez is the Vice President of Property Management for Park La Brea, a 4,200-unit property in Los Angeles. She joined Prime in 2021 and has over 18 years of experience in multi-family operations, asset management and capital improvements. Ms. Thomez has her ARM and CPM certifications and is an active member of the Institute of Real Estate Management and the California Apartment Association. Prior to joining Prime, she worked for Greystar where she oversaw their Southern California region for their newly developed and owned assets.

Drew Michalak, Head of Asset Management

Drew Michalak

Mr. Michalak is responsible for leading the Prime Residential Asset Management team on the existing portfolio and collaborating with the Acquisitions team in evaluating new investment opportunities. Mr. Michalak works closely with Prime’s Operations and Capital teams to maximize cash flow growth and minimize risk for all properties. Prior to joining Prime Residential, Mr. Michalak was Vice President of Portfolio Management at Pacific Urban Residential. Mr. Michalak is a CFA charter holder and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Dan Wright, Vice President, Construction

Mr. Wright is Vice President of Construction and is responsible for overseeing the planning, coordinating, and budgeting of all projects, while leading multi-tiered staff in the strategy, vision, and execution of all construction initiatives. Mr. Wright comes with over twenty-five years of design, construction, and architectural experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Drexel University, and a Master of Architecture from UCLA. He is a licensed architect in Pennsylvania and California, and an active member of PMI (Project Management Institute), AIA (America Institute of Architects), and ULI (Urban Land Institute). He volunteers at Habitat for Humanity.

Daissy Saito, Senior Associate, Asset Management

Ms. Daissy Saito is a Senior Associate for Prime Residential. She joined Prime in 2008. Her responsibilities include overseeing revenue management for the portfolio and strategizing how to maximize rates. She also works with the operating team for the Bay Area and Park La Brea to maximize cash flow and streamline operations. Daissy graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz, with a B.A in Mathematics and is a CFA charter holder.

Rebecca Delmar, Portfolio Investment Associate

Rebecca Delmar

Ms. Delmar is responsible for evaluating investment and reinvestment opportunities across the Prime portfolio.  As a member of the Asset Management team her focus is on improving cash flow while taking a long-term view of each asset. Ms. Delmar brings over a decade of experience in construction, energy, and real estate to her work at Prime.  She is a graduate of UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental design and holds her MBA from Haas.

Emma Olds, Senior Analyst, Asset Management

As a Senior Analyst with the Asset Management Team, Ms. Olds works closely with Prime’s Property Management, Transactions, and Construction departments to generate data-driven financial and operational insights. She oversees the Portland, Bay Area, Sacramento, and Reno portfolios and shares responsibility for the Seattle region. She has prior experience in public accounting and is a licensed CPA with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Southern California.

Katharine Grant, Analyst, Asset Management

Ms. Grant is a Data Analyst with Prime Residential. She joined Prime Residential in 2019 and is responsible for gathering, analyzing, and communicating data findings within the Asset Management team. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Evergreen State College and a Master of Science in Business Analytics from Santa Clara University.

Kiaran O’Keeffe, Analyst, Asset Management

Mr. O’Keeffe is an analyst, and he is responsible for gathering, interpreting, and tracking the financial performance related to asset-level budgets for the Asset Management department. He graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Management Information Systems. Prior to joining Prime, Kiaran worked as a Client Services Associate for PricewaterhouseCooper’s SMART product team.

William Liu, Analyst, Asset Management

As an Analyst, Mr. Liu supports the Asset Management department through analyzing both data and financials to help produce reporting that provides industry insights. He obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance and Marketing Analytics from the Northeastern University D’Amore-McKim School of Business. Previously, he worked as a Real Estate Private Equity Analyst at LGT Capital Partners and a Real Estate Analyst at the Boston Consulting Group.

Kara Wiard, Head of Transactions

Kara Wiard

Ms. Wiard is responsible for Prime’s capital transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, and financings within the portfolio. Prior to joining Prime Group, she was at Eastdil Secured for 14 years where she executed the sale, financing and recapitalization of over $8B of assets. Subsequently, she led WeWork’s Real Estate Advisory team for the West region of North America. Kara is an active member of Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and previously served as Vice Chair of the NMHC’s Emerging Leaders Committee. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University.

Justin Pan, Vice President, Finance

Justin Pan

Mr. Pan is a Vice President with Prime Residential. He joined Prime in 2011 and is responsible for all aspects of Prime Residential’s debt portfolio. He is also a part of the Asset Management team and in that role he works with Operations to maximize cash flow. Mr. Pan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Clifford Yu, Senior Associate, Acquisitions

Clifford Yu

Mr. Yu is a Senior Associate with Prime Residential. He joined Prime Residential in 2016 and focuses on all aspects of sourcing new multifamily investment opportunities as well as working on the disposition of existing assets. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Geosciences with a Minor in Mathematics from Hamilton College and a Master of Science in Subsurface Geosciences from Rice University.

Steven Carlisle, Transactions Associate

Steven Carlisle

Mr. Carlisle is an Associate in Prime Residential’s transactions group. He joined Prime Residential in 2020 and focuses on all aspects of Prime’s capital transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions and financing executions. Prior to joining Prime, he was a Senior Financial Real Estate Analyst at Gap Inc. covering the Western United States and held analytical positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Carlisle holds a CPA designation and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Accounting from the University of California at Santa Barbara

Grant Butler, Transactions Analyst

Grant Butler

Mr. Butler is an Analyst in Prime Residential’s transactions group. He joined Prime Residential in 2021 and focuses on all aspects of Prime’s capital transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions and financing executions. Prior to joining Prime, he was a Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in San Francisco, where he served real estate and private equity clients. Mr. Butler holds a CPA designation and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Accounting from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Dan Leonard, Senior Controller

Dan Leonard

Mr. Leonard is the Senior Controller for Prime Finance and Prime Group. He oversees ownership accounting, tax, and treasury functions for over $3.5 billion of assets. Prior to joining Prime Group in 2004 as Senior Controller, Dan was in charge of the U.S. accounting for Kumagi Gumi and Kabuto International, two large Japanese development companies. Spending approximately 10 years with each company, his experience includes the acquisition, finance, development, management, construction, operation, and sale of real estate. Dan is a graduate of the University of San Diego.

Sheila Chee, Senior Vice President, Finance and Accounting

As Senior Vice President of Finance & Accounting, Ms. Chee leads the corporate and portfolio accounting operations, treasury, and administers the financial aspects of the investor relations function of Prime Residential. Ms. Chee brings over twenty years of experience leading accounting operations, audits, compliance, financial analysis, and treasury management. Ms. Chee is an Ernst & Young alumni, with over ten years in assurance services for both publicly listed clients and high-profile private companies. She is a CPA and obtained her Bachelor of Accountancy from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Alexandra Walter, Director of Tax

Alexandra Walter

Ms. Walter leads Prime Group’s tax function, having served and advised privately held businesses and their stakeholders for over ten years. Prior to joining Prime, Ms. Walter was most recently with a Private Investment Company and Family Office. She began her career in Public Accounting. Ms. Walter graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Dartmouth College. She is a Certified Public Accountant in California.

Joe McNicoll, Controller

Joe McNicoll

Mr. McNicoll is the Controller for Prime Residential. He oversees the operations accounting function for
a portfolio of multi-family housing assets located in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada.
Prior to joining Prime Residential in 2009 as Controller, Joe spent 4 years in public accounting with an
emphasis in auditing and taxation before earning his CPA certificate, CMA certificate and California Real
Estate Brokers License. His industry experience included 5 years as Finance Manager for Technicolor and
eleven years as Controller for Mobile Storage Group. Joe’s experience includes accounting, auditing,
finance, taxation, budgeting, forecasting, management, construction, operation, acquisition and sale of
real estate. Joe is a graduate of California State University at Northridge.

Cynthia Marchesani, Investor Relations Associate

Ms. Marchesani is the Investor Relations Coordinator for Prime Group and is based in the San Francisco office. Prior to joining Prime in 2006, Cynthia handled operational and administrative duties for a project team at The Nature Conservancy – California. Cynthia holds a B.A. in Government from Oberlin College.

Everett Chew, Investor Relations Administrator

Everett Chew is an Investor Relations Administrator for Prime Residential. Prior to joining Prime, Everett worked for United Airlines in various capacities including customer service, agent scheduling, and personnel audit support. Everett holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from San Francisco State University.

Steven Sutton, Managing Director, Legal & Chief Compliance Officer

Steven Sutton

Mr. Sutton is Prime Group’s Managing Director – Legal & Chief Compliance Officer. He is responsible for providing legal support to various Prime Group teams and executing Prime Group’s compliance program. Prior to joining Prime Group, Mr. Sutton practiced corporate law at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP where he counseled private equity sponsors in fund formation and compliance matters. Mr. Sutton graduated from UCLA with honors and the UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) and is a member of the State Bar of California.

Andrea Wilson, Chief Human Resources Officer

Ms. Wilson is our Chief Human Resources Officer and based out of the San Francisco office. She is responsible for organizational planning, development and execution of human resources strategy, succession planning, executive coaching and development, talent acquisition and development, as well as HR systems, tools and processes. Ms. Wilson holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Psychology with a minor in Business from San Diego State University, along with several certifications including Human Resources Management (University of San Francisco), Change Management Organizational Design (UC Berkeley), and HRCI accreditation. Ms. Wilson has a diverse industry background across small and large, public and private companies, and is an expert at evolving and innovating company culture. She has a son, daughter and husband, and they live in Marin.

Karen James, Vice President, Human Resources

Karen James

Ms. James is a Vice President of Human Resources for Prime Group and joined the firm in 2007. Ms. James works out of the Los Angeles office, and along with her human resources responsibilities, she chairs two committees for Prime Residential: Employee Engagement; and Talent. She is also a member of the COVID-19 Response Team. Prior to joining Prime Group, Ms. James enjoyed over 20 years of working with other multi-state companies based in the Bay Area where her focus in human resources was on employee and labor relations, health and welfare, recruiting, payroll, compliance, and workers compensation.  A graduate of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, Ms. James currently belongs to both SHRM and NCHRA.


Luke Pfaffinger, Vice President, Information Technology

Luke Pfaffinger

Mr. Pfaffinger is VP of Information Technology for Prime Group, having joined the firm in 2007. Prior to joining Prime Group, Mr. Pfaffinger led several IT departments in the high-tech engineering and manufacturing sectors. Mr. Pfaffinger has over 25 years of IT experience, having graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Mr. Pfaffinger also holds a degree from the Japanese Language Institute Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan.

Elif Kimyacioglu, Senior Counsel and Vice President, Risk Management

Elif Kimyacioglu

Ms. Kimyacioglu is Senior Counsel and VP of Risk Management at Prime Residential. She oversees the Legal Affairs Department, which is responsible for legal compliance, risk mitigation, claims and litigation management, as well as public and governmental relations. Ms. Kimyacioglu is a member of Prime Residential’s Executive Committee. She is also on the California Apartment Association’s Board of Directors and serves on its Legislative Subcommittee. Ms. Kimyacioglu joined Prime Residential after practicing for ten years as a litigator at Latham and Watkins LLP. She graduated from UC San Diego and received her law degree from Santa Clara University, School of law, cum laude. She is a member of the California State Bar.

Stephanie Mariani, Counsel

Stephanie Mariani

Ms. Mariani is Counsel for Prime Residential. She advises on risk and claims management matters across the portfolio. Prior to joining Prime Residential, she was a litigator in private practice. She graduated from UC Berkeley and received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a member of the California State Bar.

Ariana Shadan, Associate Counsel

Ariana Shadan

Ariana Shadan is Associate Counsel for Prime Residential and is based in our San Francisco office.  Ariana provides legal support to business units, responds to claims, and provides guidance on laws pertaining to housing providers. Prior to joining Prime, Ariana worked at a compliance firm with responsibility for various matters, including regulatory compliance for private fund managers, contract negotiation, risk mitigation, and employment law.  She graduated from UC Riverside and received her law degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of law. She is a member of the California State Bar.

Doug LePore, Vice President, Property Management Administration

Mr. LePore has been a valued member of the Prime Residential team for 16 years. He holds the position of Vice President of Property Management Administration. In this role, Doug focuses on continuously improving our property management processes, procedures and on-site training to ensure Prime provides best-in-class services to our prospects and residents, and a first-class experience for our property management team. He is also responsible for supporting the due diligence process for new acquisitions and oversees the budgeting, collections, screening and renters insurance processes. Doug holds a Bachelor of Science in Consumer Affairs.