Waterton is a real estate investment and property management company with a focus on U.S. multifamily and hospitality properties.
Who We Are
About Waterton





Our Mission
Provide great places to live
Provide great places to work
Provide great results to our investors

Our Vision
To be the premier property and investment manager of residential real estate
Waterton has experience in selecting and managing attractive risk adjusted real estate investments located in major markets around the United States. Waterton is privately held by its co-founders and is headquartered in Chicago with regional offices throughout the United States. As of September 30, 2023, Waterton’s portfolio includes approximately $10.4 billion in real estate assets.

Careers
Empowering Associates
We empower our associates to think and act like owners and to use our core values to serve our customers in a way that exceeds their expectations, going above and beyond to create the ultimate service experience or what we call Resitality®!
We are committed to creating a positive company culture that allows our associates to use these values, learn new skills and acquire the knowledge they need to grow in their careers and achieve their professional goals.

Resitality®
Res • i • tal • i • ty – noun re-zə-ta-lə-tē
Bringing the best of a hotel experience to our apartment communities, providing a higher level of hospitality and service to our residents.
We want our associates to love where they work. We want our associates to feel heard, valued and empowered to own their career growth and personal achievements. We want our residents to love where they live. As the owner and manager of our properties, we’re committed to doing what’s best for our residents – making their satisfaction our greatest success.
We call that Resitality®.
Waterton's Service Approach Sets Us Apart
It means we look for ways to surprise and delight. We treat you with warmth and kindness. We listen well and communicate clearly and proactively. We respond to requests and concerns promptly. We are true to our word. And we strive to leave every person—and every place—better than we found them. It’s an important job, and we enjoy doing it the Waterton Way.

Performance
Awards & Recognition
2022
Chicago Tribune Top Workplaces – Chicago
2020
Preqin Most Consistent Top Performing Private Real Estate Fund Managers List
2020
Satisfacts National Award (The majority of Waterton communities received “Superior-Status” recognition)
2020
ApartmentRatings Top Rated Community Award (The majority of Waterton communities received this award)
2023
Grace Hill/Kingsley Top 100 in Resident Satisfaction – Aberdeen West Loop
Grace Hill/Kingsley Excellence in Resident Satisfaction Awards – 21 Properties
National Apartment Association Maintenance Mania Games National Champion – Lannon Quintana
2022
MFE Executive of the Year – David Schwartz
LA Conservancy Preservation Award- Chase Knolls| Los Angeles, CA
2021
MFE Multifamily Women of Influence – Michelle Wells
2020
IREJ Executive of the Year – David Schwartz
MFE Multifamily Project of the Year – The Citizen at Shirlington Village – Arlington, VA
The camaraderie and real estate investment expertise of Waterton’s principals sets the tone for our group of collaborative, experienced professionals. Each member of the senior team, on average, has more than 20 years of real estate investment and management experience.
- Leadership
- Transactions
- Portfolio Management/Research
- Operations/Technology
- Investor Relations
- Legal/Human Resources
- Finance

Prior to co-founding Waterton in 1995, Mr. Schwartz was a vice president of acquisitions for Equity Residential Properties Trust (EQR-NYSE) and, from 1985 through 1989, was with AMLI Realty Co.
Mr. Schwartz holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a member of the executive committee, a senior officer and immediate past chair of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC). He is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and is previous chair of the ULI Multifamily Blue Council and a member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA). Mr. Schwartz is a member of the Advisory Council for the Pritzker School of Medicine and the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Chicago, and serves on the Strategic Advancement Committee for the U.S. Holocaust Museum and Memorial in Washington D.C.

Prior to co-founding Waterton in 1995, Mr. Vilim was an investment officer with Berkshire Realty Company, Inc., responsible for Midwest acquisitions, dispositions and financings. Prior to joining Berkshire, he was the investment officer for AMLI Realty Co. Mr. Vilim started his career as a certified public accountant, working in the national real estate tax practice departments of both Coopers & Lybrand and Peat Marwick Mitchell.
Mr. Vilim holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in taxation from DePaul University. Mr. Vilim serves on the Board of Directors of All Chicago – Making Homelessness History, the collaborative applicant for HUD funding of homeless services in Chicago. He serves on the Property and Grounds committee for Bridge Communities, a non-profit transitional housing provider. He is on Advisory Councils for Mercy Housing Lakefront, a non-profit program restricted housing provider, and Housing Opportunities for Women, a non-profit developer, owner and operator of program restricted housing for women.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Brock served as the senior vice president of multifamily asset management and operations at McWhinney Real Estate Services, co-leading the multifamily business unit and leading the firm’s entry into the Texas market by way of acquisition. She previously served as president of US Residential, responsible for operations at more than 40,000 units in 35 markets across the country, and as senior managing director for Greystar Real Estate’s Central Mountain Division, comprising 50,000 units in 18 states.
Ms. Brock holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Texas, Austin.

Mr. Hurd has over 35 years of real estate investing experience with a strong focus on multifamily. Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Hurd was the co-founder, president and chief investment officer of Strategic Capital Partners, a privately held real estate investment management company that invested over $1 billion in value add multifamily, hotel and commercial properties across the country. Prior to that, Mr. Hurd spent almost 20 years at GE Capital Real Estate ("GE"), where he was most recently a managing director responsible for GE’s institutional real estate equity program. While at GE, Mr. Hurd invested just under $2 billion in various equity joint ventures, preferred equity, mezzanine debt and convertible preferred equity strategies.
Mr. Hurd holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MBA from Drexel University. He is a board member of The Catalyst Schools, a Chicago based chartered school organization. Mr. Hurd is a member of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Multifamily Silver Council. He is also on the board of Up for Growth Action.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Lukowski spent almost 20 years at Heitman LLC, most recently as senior vice president, portfolio management. In this role, he acted as senior portfolio manager for public and corporate pension fund clients and was responsible for the selection and oversight of third party management firms, monitoring of property operations and leasing, and coordinating investor accounting, performance and valuations. Mr. Lukowski was also employed by the accounting firm of Pannell Kerr Forster in the real estate appraisal department while attending DePaul University.
Mr. Lukowski holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from DePaul University. He served as Chairperson of the Performance Measurement Committee of National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) from 1995 – 1996 and has been a member since 1989. He previously served as a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC) and National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM). Mr. Lukowski is an Executive Committee sponsor member of DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business, The Real Estate Center and a board member of the One for the Kids charity organization.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Marszewski was CFO of Brookfield Properties retail group where she oversaw all aspects of the accounting and finance functions including property and operational accounting, SEC reporting and compliance, corporate finance, financial planning and analysis, and taxation. She was previously chief accounting officer of General Growth Properties, Inc., which later merged with Brookfield, and, prior to that spent 10 years as a senior manager in the real estate audit practice at KPMG, focused on both public and private REITs as well as equity funds.
Ms. Marszewski holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Marszewski is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and a former member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trust’s (NAREIT) Best Financial Practices Council and co-chair of its Accounting Committee.

Ms. Wells has been involved in real estate investment management since 2000. Prior to joining Waterton in 2013, Ms. Wells was a director with RREEF Real Estate where she was responsible for West Coast client and consultant relations. Previously, Ms. Wells led the investor communication teams at The Praedium Group and AIG Global Real Estate and began her career in real estate-focused investor communications with AMB Property Corporation (now Prologis) where she managed investor relations.
Ms. Wells holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of California, San Diego and a master’s degree in education from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ms. Wells previously held Series 7 and 63 designations from FINRA and is a board member of Women in Real Estate’s Chicago chapter. She is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Multifamily Platinum Council; Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC).

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Mering spent six years with Graves Hospitality as director of development, where he was responsible for identifying new hospitality development and acquisition opportunities, and oversight of the company’s food and beverage operations. Prior to Graves Hospitality, Mr. Mering was a Principal at Salita Development, where he served as director of development.
Mr. Mering holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Michigan State University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Mr. Mering is also involved with All Kids Play, a non-profit with a mission to transform the lives of financially disadvantaged kids through youth sports.

Mr. Hurd has over 35 years of real estate investing experience with a strong focus on multifamily. Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Hurd was the co-founder, president and chief investment officer of Strategic Capital Partners (“SCP”), a privately held real estate investment management company that invested over $1 billion in value add multifamily, hotel and commercial properties across the country. Prior to that, Mr. Hurd spent almost 20 years at GE Capital Real Estate, where he was most recently a managing director responsible for GE’s institutional real estate equity program. While at GE Capital, Mr. Hurd invested just under $2 billion in various equity joint ventures, preferred equity, mezzanine debt and convertible preferred equity strategies.
Mr. Hurd holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MBA from Drexel University. He is a board member of The Catalyst Schools, a Chicago based chartered school organization. Mr. Hurd is a member of the National Multi Housing Council and a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Multifamily Silver Council. He is also on the board of Up for Growth Action.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Mering spent six years with Graves Hospitality as director of development, where he was responsible for identifying new hospitality development and acquisition opportunities, and oversight of the company’s food and beverage operations. Prior to Graves Hospitality, Mr. Mering was a Principal at Salita Development, where he served as director of development.
Mr. Mering holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Michigan State University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

Prior to joining Waterton, he was the executive vice president at Fifield where he oversaw multifamily acquisitions nationwide. Prior to Fifield, Mr. Masinter was the chief investment officer at Covington Realty Partners, where he oversaw the acquisition and portfolio management of over $300 million in multifamily and commercial properties. Prior to Covington, he was the vice president of acquisitions with The Laramar Group and with Heitman, LLC, and acquired over $1 billion worth of multifamily and commercial properties.
Mr. Masinter holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis. He has previously held the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is a member of the National Multi Housing Council and the Urban Land Institute.

Mr. Carlson has been involved in real estate debt capital markets and private equity since 1997. Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Carlson was a senior vice president at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in its Real Estate Corporate Banking Group, where he was responsible for structuring, underwriting and managing a $1 billion portfolio of bank loans to REIT, Homebuilder and Real Estate Opportunity Fund clients. Mr. Carlson also spent five years in Bank of America’s Debt Capital Markets business, where he executed over 35 private placement transactions raising over $7 billion in long-term debt for clients in diverse industries in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Earlier in his career, Mr. Carlson was an associate director in MetLife’s Private Equity Investment Group and a senior consultant at Accenture.
Mr. Carlson holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He is a member of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC).

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Ibasco worked for J.P. Morgan as an analyst where he was responsible for building projection models, creating cash flow analyses, constructing cash management strategies, and played a key role in an educational initiative that involved analyzing alternative investment offerings for new funds.
Kevin holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics with a minor in economics from Northwestern University.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Heigel held the role of vice president at Pearlmark Real Estate where she supported both high-yield debt and equity origination efforts in the Midwest and Southeast. Prior to that, Ms. Heigel was a financial analyst with PNC Bank in Pittsburgh, where she completed commercial credit training and graduated from the Real Estate Banking Development Program.
Ms. Heigel is a member of the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”) and currently participates as a member of the ULI Chicago Program Committee. She is also a member of the ULI National Multifamily Council (“MFC”) - Bronze and serves as a representative on the MFC-DEI committee. Ms. Heigel also volunteers her time as an Associate Board Member for City Year Chicago.
Ms. Heigel holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration in finance with a minor in economics from The Ohio State University.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Stern was an associate with Jaguar Growth Partners where he was responsible for sourcing, analyzing and executing new investments, and designing and implementing value add strategies for existing portfolio companies. Previously, Mr. Stern worked for The Stahl Organization where he was responsible for pursuing new investment opportunities and Apple Bank, a subsidiary of The Stahl Organization, where he analyzed commercial mortgages for income producing properties.
Mr. Stern holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Mog was an associate at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in its Real Estate Corporate Banking group, where he assisted in structuring, underwriting and managing a portfolio of bank loans for REIT, Real Estate Opportunity Fund and Homebuilder clients.
Mr. Mog holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association.

Mr. Rath holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and economics from The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Lukowski spent almost 20 years at Heitman LLC, most recently as senior vice president, portfolio management. In this role, he acted as senior portfolio manager for public and corporate pension fund clients and was responsible for the selection and oversight of third party management firms, monitoring of property operations and leasing, and coordinating investor accounting, performance and valuations. Mr. Lukowski was also employed by the accounting firm of Pannell Kerr Forster in the real estate appraisal department while attending DePaul University.
Mr. Lukowski holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from DePaul University. He served as Chairperson of the Performance Measurement Committee of National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) from 1995 – 1996 and has been a member since 1989. He previously served as a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC) and National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM). Mr. Lukowski is an Executive Committee sponsor member of DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business, The Real Estate Center and a board member of the One for the Kids charity organization.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Gerig held the roles of senior portfolio accountant for Interra Development Partners, a real estate development firm partnered with Prudential Real Estate Investors, and senior associate at Ernst & Young, LLP.
Mr. Gerig holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of Toledo. He is the firm’s NCREIF representative, a Counselor of Real Estate, and a licensed Certified Public Accountant and is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Illinois CPA Society, Valuation Committee of the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), Chicago Real Estate Council, and Chicago’s Real Estate Investment Association.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Hahn spent over sixteen years at Kensington Realty Advisors (“Kensington”), most recently as vice president, and has been involved in the real estate industry since 2001. In his role at Kensington, Mr. Hahn was responsible for the asset management of a portfolio of multifamily, seniors housing and retail assets on behalf of pension fund and foreign capital investors. Additionally, during his tenure, Mr. Hahn executed the disposition of approximately $900 million of multifamily, seniors housing and student housing assets. Mr. Hahn began his career at Wangard Partners in Milwaukee, WI
Mr. Hahn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in information technology from Marquette University. He has been an active member of the Urban Land Institute since 2009 and participates in the group’s Chicago Local Product Council. Throughout his career, Mr. Hahn has been involved with the Chicago Real Estate Council, National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers and Young Real Estate Professionals.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Kruse served as portfolio manager with First Industrial Properties Trust where he was responsible for portfolio and financial oversight for several private equity joint ventures with clients CalSTRS, UBS Wealth Management and the Kuwait Finance House. He also served 12 years in various portfolio and investment management roles with Equity Office Properties Trust including role as the Director of Portfolio Management for regions totaling over 15 million square feet.
Mr. Kruse holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Myers spent two years with Lee & Associates and served as an Associate Appraiser.
Mr. Myers holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from DePaul University.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Everett was Head of Research and Strategy at Benchmark Senior Living. He was previously Senior Managing Consultant at CoStar Portfolio Strategy where he was a multifamily strategy consultant for some of the largest investment managers, life insurers, pension funds, banks, and private equity funds in the U.S. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant at The Concord Group, a boutique national real estate consulting firm where he worked a wide range of housing market analysis, ranging from feasibility studies, to product program recommendations, to portfolio valuations for both for-sale and for-rent product.
Mr. Everett holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from John Hopkins University. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) where he is co-chair of the Research Forum. He is also a member of the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC).

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Brock served as the senior vice president of multifamily asset management and operations at McWhinney Real Estate Services, co-leading the multifamily business unit and leading the firm’s entry into the Texas market by way of acquisition. She previously served as president of US Residential, responsible for operations at more than 40,000 units in 35 markets across the country, and as senior managing director for Greystar Real Estate’s Central Mountain Division, comprising 50,000 units in 18 states.
Ms. Brock holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Texas, Austin.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Ferguson was a district manager for Related Management Company, where he directed the lease-up of two newly developed luxury apartment towers in downtown Chicago and managed a portfolio of high-end condominiums in Chicago’s South Loop. Previously, Mr. Ferguson spent nine years with Village Green Management serving in various roles including assistant vice president, where he managed a variety of urban and suburban assets for institutional clients throughout the Midwest.
Mr. Ferguson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oakland University in Rochester, MI. He is an Illinois licensed real estate managing broker and serves as a member of the Chicagoland Apartment Association Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Scharfenberg was a regional director for Holiday Retirement where he managed the operations and sales for senior living communities throughout the state of Washington. He also spent nine years with Oakwood Worldwide where he had oversight of corporate housing communities in major U.S. markets. Mr. Scharfenberg’s career started with the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas where he served in various managerial roles.
Mr. Scharfenberg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in hotel administration from University of Nevada – Las Vegas. He is a licensed broker in New York State.

Mr. Daley has more than 40 years of experience in development and construction. Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Daley was president for the Real Estate Capital division of Scout Development, where he was responsible for managing the internal team and consultants related to acquisition, capitalization, design, architecture, engineering, and field construction. Prior to joining Scout Development, Mr. Daley held the role of chief operating officer for Northern Heritage Development, a building and development company. He has extensive experience in both multifamily and hotel projects and is a member of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Ms. Blackall has 30 years of experience in the design and construction field. Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Blackall worked for real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield as director of project management. Previously, she worked for Ford Fry Restaurants where she was vice president of development and Scout Capital as vice president of design and development.
Ms. Blackall holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Louisiana State University School of Architecture. She has been a licensed architect since 1990.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Wells spent eight years with American Invsco, a national developer, as project manager for condominium conversions in Chicago and Las Vegas. She also worked for eight years at The Habitat Company, a Chicago multifamily property management company, where she managed a variety of high-rise apartment communities in downtown Chicago.
Ms. Wells holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Carl spent 10 years at Plantation on Crystal River (Scout Capital) as director of engineering where he was responsible for new development.
Mr. Carl holds an associate’s degree in electrical engineering from Hudson Valley Community College and holds his Florida general contractor license.

Ms. Castaneda has over 20 years of multifamily operations and management experience. Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Castaneda was an asset manager at Braddock & Logan Services where she was responsible for oversight of operations and third-party management for a portfolio of properties in the Bay Area, Seattle and Denver markets. During her tenure in the industry, she has held positions with Equity Residential, Trammel Crow Residential Services and Investco Financial Corporation.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mrs. Fall-Ndoye was a property manager at Greystar and Archstone where she was responsible for oversight of operations, sales and marketing. She started her career in the hospitality industry as a Food and Beverage Outlets Manager with Ritz Carlton and a Hotel Assistant Manager with Hilton.
Ms. Fall-Ndoye holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Maryville University of Saint Louis in Chesterfield Missouri.

Mr. Pearce has over 33 years of information technology and leadership experience. Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Pearce was the head of information technology at Henderson Global Investors where he was responsible for the design, development and ongoing support of the technology infrastructure and systems used in support of Henderson’s Real Estate, Institutional and Retail (Mutual Fund) departments in Chicago, IL and Hartford, CT.
Mr. Pearce holds a Bachelor of Arts in business administration and information technology from the University of Hartford. He is a member of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and NMHC Innovation Committee.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Kersten was vice president of data management at Performance Trust Capital Partners and director of business intelligence at OpenHouse Acquisitions.
Mr. Kersten holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, a master’s degree in management information systems and an MBA, all from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Cole spent two years with Northern Trust and served as IT project manager. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Mr. Cole spent 13 years with Central Maine Medical Center and served as Project Manager.
Mr. Cole holds a Bachelor of Science in business/industrial organizational psychology from Southern New Hampshire University.

Ms. Wells has been involved in real estate investment management since 2000. Prior to joining Waterton in 2013, Ms. Wells was a director with RREEF Real Estate where she was responsible for West Coast client and consultant relations. Previously, Ms. Wells led the investor communication teams at The Praedium Group and AIG Global Real Estate and began her career in real estate-focused investor communications with AMB Property Corporation (now Prologis) where she managed investor relations.
Ms. Wells holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of California, San Diego and a master’s degree in education from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ms. Wells previously held Series 7 and 63 designations from FINRA and is a board member of Women in Real Estate’s Chicago chapter. She is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Multifamily Platinum Council; Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC).

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Bakrins worked in various accounting and finance roles at Heitman, most recently responsible for the oversight of accounting, financial reporting and analysis, including valuations, for a commingled fund with a value in excess of $1 billion across all property types as part of the private real estate equity division.
Ms. Bakrins holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Loyola University Chicago. She is a Certified Public Accountant and an active member of NCREIF.

Prior to joining the investor relations team, Ms. Wangyal served in various capacities within the firm including legal, insurance and portfolio and risk management. She was also a key participant in the development and marketing of Waterton’s first commingled fund, Waterton Residential Property Venture XI, L.P.
Ms. Wangyal holds an MBA in real estate investments and finance from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology from Carleton College in Minnesota. She is a member of Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) and the Chicago chapter of Women in Real Estate (WIRE).

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Porath served as managing director, investor relations at Citymark Capital where he was responsible for coordinating fundraising and business development initiatives with existing and prospective investors in the firm’s private equity real estate funds. Prior to Citymark, he worked for Zelman & Associates, where he managed relationships with clients including top domestic and international hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, private equity firms and quantitative funds.
Mr. Porath holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Boston College and in 2022, was recognized as one of Crain’s Cleveland Business’ “40 Under Forty.” Mr. Porath previously held Series 7 and 66 designations from FINRA. He is a member of Pension Real Estate Association (PREA).

Ms. Steeg has over 25 years of real estate marketing and property operations experience. Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Steeg served as the industry principal at Reach by RentCafe (a digital marketing agency within Yardi Services) where she served as liaison between the sales, marketing, and product development teams. She previously served as senior vice president marketing and training for Simpson Housing, where she was tasked with hiring, mentoring, and managing corporate and regional marketing associates. In that role she oversaw all corporate marketing and training initiatives for the firm’s 20,000-unit portfolio across 15 states.
Ms Steeg has served on the membership, careers and the National Apartment Association (NAA) Education Institute board of directors, as well as the National Multifamily Housing Council’s (NMHC) marketing and resident experience committee. Ms. Steeg serves as the President of Saint Vincent De Paul Society of Castle Rock Co., and is a founding member of the Castle Rock food pantry, an agency partner of Food Bank of the Rockies.
Ms. Steeg holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in history from Alma College in Alma, MI.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Aguiar worked for the City of Chicago for over 17 years. He began his career with the City as an attorney in the Constitutional and Commercial Litigation Division of the Department of Law, focusing on land use and zoning litigation. He subsequently served as a deputy commissioner, chief operating officer and general counsel for the City’s Department of Planning & Development and most recently as the administrative deputy for the City’s Department of Law, managing its daily operations.
Mr. Aguiar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in English and government from Colby College and earned his Juris Doctor from The George Washington University School of Law, graduating with honors.

Prior to joining Waterton, Mr. Joseph served as assistant vice president, service provider oversight at Nuveen Investments where he was responsible for the execution of Nuveen’s compliance oversight program. Mr. Joseph also served as assistant vice president, risk assessment and testing at Nuveen Investments where he was responsible for preparing the annual risk assessment that addressed regulatory and business risks, preparing testing plans and performing periodic testing. Before joining Nuveen Investments, he held the role of senior investments compliance and reporting analyst at Great West Life and Annuity. His experience also includes working at Spicer Jeffries, LLP as audit senior, and National Futures Association where he served as regulatory compliance audit manager.
Mr. Joseph holds a Bachelor of Arts in accounting from Indiana University.

Ms. Kyler began her career at Waterton as a senior internal auditor where she was responsible for managing the property operational audits and joined the portfolio accounting team in 2011. In conjunction with the operational audits, Ms. Kyler was responsible for accounting and reporting for the funds.
Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Kyler spent two years with Grant Thornton, LLP and three years with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP (formerly, KGN) where she was an auditor in the real estate, governmental and not-for-profit practices.
Ms. Kyler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Brooks worked for Greystar where she was responsible for the talent acquisition function for the East division and the U.S.-based student housing line of business comprising roughly 800 properties, 13 city offices and 5,000 employees.
Ms. Brooks holds a Bachelors degree in Business from Georgia State University.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Marszewski was CFO of Brookfield Properties retail group where she oversaw all aspects of the accounting and finance functions including property and operational accounting, SEC reporting and compliance, corporate finance, financial planning and analysis, and taxation. She was previously chief accounting officer of General Growth Properties, Inc. (GGP), which later merged with Brookfield, and prior to that spent 10 years as a senior manager in the real estate audit practice at KPMG, focused on both public and private REITs as well as equity funds.
Ms. Marszewski holds a Bachelor of Science in accountancy from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Marszewski is a member of the AIPCA and a former member of NAREITs Best Financial Practices Council and co-chair of its Accounting Committee.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Schuetz worked for SP+ Corporation where she held the role of director of treasury.
Ms. Schuetz holds a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Bradley University and an MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant as well as a Certified Treasury Professional and is a member of the Association for Financial Professionals.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Borus worked as an auditor for Ernst & Young, LLC specializing in the real estate industry, serving public and private clients including hospitality, private equity firms, and real estate investment trusts.
Ms. Borus holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Marquette University and is a Certified Public Accountant. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Prior to joining Waterton Mr. Hainaut worked as an auditor at Grant Thornton, specializing in audits of financial services companies.
Mr. Hainaut holds a Master of Science degree in accountancy from University of Illinois.

Prior to joining Waterton Mr. Daou worked at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP as an auditor in the real estate practice.
Mr. Daou holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Science degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Illinois CPA Society and the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF).

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Kovac worked for Starwood Retail Partners where she served as a portfolio controller specializing in retail real estate accounting and reporting in both GAAP and IFRS for JV partners and bond investors.
Ms. Kovac holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Western Michigan University and a Master of Science in taxation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Prior to joining Waterton, Ms. Polhill worked as a senior auditor for Deloitte, primarily serving real estate clients.
Ms. Polhill holds a Master of Science degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Prior to joining Waterton Mrs. Chambers spent 10 years at Brookfield Properties (formerly known as General Growth Properties) where she served as director of finance and was responsible for building the reporting and requirements surrounding the new management company. Prior to that, Ms. Chambers served as director of corporate accounting, responsible for overseeing the firm’s corporate accounting, payroll accounting and compensation budgeting and forecasting functions.
Ms. Chambers holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Chicago State University and an MBA in leadership from Roosevelt University.