The Master in Real Estate class of 2026-2027 has 35 students. Fifty-seven percent are from the United States, and forty-three percent are from other countries, including Canada, China, Colombia, Greece, India, Lebanon, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Zara Adel is a Navy Seabee veteran and real estate investor bridging civil engineering with commercial development. She earned her Bachelor’s in Architecture from the University of San Diego. Over five years of military service, she acted as a project manager and crew leader for international construction and humanitarian operations, including building an elementary school in South Korea and managing disaster relief in Okinawa, Japan. Outside of academia, she enjoys sailing, horseback riding, watching football, and horror movies.
Nicolás Briceño is an architect and art historian from Bogotá, Colombia. Prior to joining Harvard, he worked at Bogotá’s Urban Renewal and Development Company, where he led two urban renewal initiatives for the country’s capital district, structuring the planning, regulatory, and financial strategies that unlocked over $425 million in private investment. Previously, he led urban and social housing projects across the private sector in Colombia and Latin America, representing more than 30,000 units and over $10 billion in planned investment. Drawing on experience across both the public and private sectors, his work spans real estate development, urban planning, and public-private partnerships.
Matteo Carbone is an architect and real estate professional from Colombia, holding a Bachelor of Architecture with a business minor from Universidad de Los Andes. Before Harvard, he led Inacar’s Real Estate and Asset Management unit, overseeing a commercial, logistics, and office portfolio. He also supported the development division, contributing to the sale of over 2,000 housing units annually. Previously, he co-founded a brokerage firm and founded an architecture firm leading projects spanning marinas, heritage restorations, and commercial spaces. Matteo enjoys sports and traveling.
Patty Castillo is a real estate professional raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, interested in how capital, development, and the built environment come together to shape cities. She holds a BS in Business Administration with a minor in Urban Studies and Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill. After graduation, Patty joined Greystar’s Portfolio Management team and supported execution of development-focused investment vehicles in partnership with global clients. Patty enjoys exploring cities through architecture and gastronomy and participating in education and community initiatives.
Ryan Darmanie is a professional urban planning consultant from Trinidad and Tobago, and founder of Darmanie Planning + Design. As a graduate of Colgate University and Rutgers University, he brings 14 years of experience to the MRE program, from the public, private, and multilateral sectors, working as a permitting specialist, zoning code drafter, project manager, and urban revitalization consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank. He is a strong advocate for people-oriented planning and design, having authored a regular newspaper column and led workshops, seminars and feature addresses on the topic. Ryan brings this passion to real estate, where he aims to create sociable, beautiful, sustainable and enduring places.
Barkev Daron is a California-licensed architect focused on advancing resilient, high-performance real estate. With over a decade of experience contributing to award-winning projects, his work spans architecture, interiors, and development strategy, emphasizing sustainability and long-term value creation. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from SCI-Arc with distinction and has developed multidisciplinary expertise in project management, evidence-based design, wellness, and sustainability through industry-recognized certifications. Barkev aims to bridge design and development by leveraging data-driven strategies to create projects that align financial performance with measurable social and environmental impact.
Luis Escribano has built a career in architecture, working across Europe and the Middle East. He earned a First Class Honours BArch from the Manchester School of Architecture and has worked at leading studios in Spain and the UK, most recently Bjarke Ingels Group, contributing to assets in Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat District, affordable housing in Italy, and historic retrofits in England. A certified Passivhaus professional, he has also volunteered with community and sustainability initiatives in the built environment. This design experience has shaped his interest in the decisions that precede architecture: development strategy, planning, finance, and delivery.
Zack Feldman comes to real estate from the delivery side. He worked as a Project Manager at Apple, within Real Estate & Development, now Places, overseeing corporate construction from capital approval to facility handover. Zack now runs an independent owner’s representative practice supporting clients on design, permitting, procurement, and construction administration. He holds a BS in Building Construction with honors from Virginia Tech. Zack grew up in Florida, spends his free time on the water, and is a student of history.
Boback Firoozbakht works at the intersection of design, development, and marketing. His career has taken shape across some of the most demanding environments. Trained as an architect at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Texas at Arlington, he approaches development using design as the framework through which brand identity, environmental performance, social responsibility, operational efficiency, and financial outcomes align. His goal is to create assets that retain their relevance and value over time, whether as a brand or a building. Boback is an avid cyclist, a symphony goer, and appreciates a well-set dinner ambiance.
Benjamin Garrison is a real estate professional with a strategy and operating background. As a Director at Hines, he focused on developing new global operating platforms and real estate ventures across office, sports and entertainment, and emerging technologies, also managing direct and indirect investments in Proptech companies. He has also worked directly with leading PE firms, building proprietary AI workflows for their investment processes. Ben began his career working for BCG X, and has led international expansions for two unicorn startups, including a travel and hospitality platform. A dual US/UK citizen raised between London and Barcelona, he holds a degree in Political Science from Georgetown University.
Edgar Hasbun is a real estate developer and investor pairing institutional finance training with hands-on commercial, residential, and industrial development in El Salvador. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from Loyola University Chicago. Before Harvard, Edgar was a Fund Controller at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, overseeing valuation controls across the firm’s fund assets, before returning to Grupo Hasgar as Director of Real Estate. He founded BC Holdings, a development venture, and advises HAUS, a leading developer of vertical housing. Edgar composes music for cello and piano.
Ayaan Kadiwala, a Mumbai native, is a real estate finance and investment professional with experience spanning both sides of the capital stack. He began his career at CDPQ on the real estate credit side, covering construction and term financing across asset classes in North America. Most recently, he was a Senior Investment Analyst at Empire Homes, leading due diligence and financial modeling for acquisitions and new community launches. Ayaan holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Real Estate from the University of Guelph and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Real Property Valuation from the University of British Columbia. His interests lie in mixed-use development and community-centric housing in rapidly urbanizing emerging markets.
Nicholas Kester is a real estate development professional focused on complex urban and adaptive reuse projects. He serves as Vice President of Investment and Development at Capri Investment Group, where his work spans acquisitions, finance, design, and construction. At Capri, Nicholas has worked across more than $1.4 billion and 2.6 million square feet of development, including the redevelopment of Chicago’s James R. Thompson Center for Google. His experience has shaped his belief that projects absorbing significant capital, time, and public trust must justify the resources committed. Nicholas aims to strengthen his framework for evaluating how those resources are deployed and what they ultimately create for cities and communities.
Angela Kim has experience across real estate and infrastructure private equity, having worked at Starwood Capital Group, contributing to project management and capital raising for its Opportunistic Funds and Starwood REIT (SREIT). She also gained infrastructure private equity experience at Argo Infrastructure Partners, supporting acquisitions. Angela holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. Her passion lies in real estate development, specifically sustainable, ESG-driven development. She is originally from Seoul, South Korea, and has lived across Japan and the United States.
Martin Lindestreng is a real estate developer with a background in management consulting. He has experience across land acquisition, master planning, and residential development. He holds two bachelor’s degrees from Uppsala University: one in architectural history and one in politics, philosophy, and business. His interests lie at the intersection of real estate finance, sustainable architecture, and liveable urbanism, with a particular focus on creating profitable and enduring, human-scaled communities and exploring new models for patient real estate investment. Martin is a keen outdoorsman, rower, and reader.
Leo Liu is an architect-developer who has worked both sides of the deal. A licensed architect trained at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, he began with early experience at Shigeru Ban Architects, Zaha Hadid Architects, and Morphosis. He has since led high-rise, mixed-use, and multifamily projects across the United States and China from pre-design through construction administration – among them a $2.5 billion, 1.1-million-square-foot Los Angeles development pairing twin residential towers with the restoration of a landmark hotel. In 2024 he founded ONU Living, which develops affordable and senior housing on urban sites where conventional underwriting doesn’t pencil.
Keir Matthews-Hunter is a Registered Professional Planner from Toronto, Canada with over seven years of experience in land use planning, real estate, and housing policy development. Before joining the GSD, Keir was an Associate Development Manager with Toronto Community Housing Corporation, where he worked on large-scale development projects containing market and affordable housing on municipally owned lands. Keir has also worked as a senior analyst in housing economics and real estate for SHS Inc. (a pan-Canadian housing consultancy) and a housing policy planner for the City of Toronto. He holds a Master of Science in Planning from the University of Toronto.
Alec Melkonian is an Armenian-American architect, landscape designer, and emerging developer bridging design, real estate, and territorial strategy. Raised across Beirut, Paris, and Los Angeles, he brings four languages and a diasporic perspective to place, ownership, and opportunity. His experience spans Morphosis and Mossessian Architecture, teaching, research, and active projects in Beirut and Armenia, expanding from buildings and landscapes to territorial systems and development. Through Joints & XRAYS, Alec is building an interdisciplinary platform that connects overlooked sites and ideas with capital, partnerships, and the execution required to advance them. Pursuing Harvard’s Master in Real Estate after completing a Master in Landscape Architecture at the GSD, he sees real estate as the mechanism that makes design consequential and operative, with the aim of creating lasting environmental, cultural, and economic value across markets.
Lyda Milidoni is a real estate developer and asset manager from Greece. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Athens University of Economics and Business. Her professional background includes project management and strategy consulting at Deloitte and the European Commission. Lyda established an asset management business focused on repositioning residential properties through renovation and long-term leasing. She later expanded into residential development, creating energy-efficient smart homes. At Harvard, she aims to integrate investment, design, and sustainability through a broader multidisciplinary approach to real estate and the built environment. Outside of work, she enjoys photography, travel, tennis, and wakeboarding.
Walker Murphy received his undergraduate degree in Finance from Brigham Young University. After graduation, he joined Blaser Ventures, a real estate development start-up focused on redeveloping 60+ acres of downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, where he spent five years gaining experience in underwriting, acquisitions, entitlement, development, asset management, and investor relations. His work spanned multifamily, retail, adaptive reuse redevelopment, industrial, and commercial assets. Walker’s efforts contributed to raising over $150 million in equity and $100 million in debt. The small team gave him exposure to every stage of the investment lifecycle, from land acquisition through stabilization.
Karim Nasser’s career spans post-crisis reconstruction in Beirut and large-scale development in the Gulf. Trained as an architect at the American University of Beirut and London’s Architectural Association, he rebuilt the NGO Nusaned’s damage-assessment framework after Beirut’s 2020 port explosion, trained fifty architects in one week, enabling the restoration of over 2,500 homes and businesses. At AtkinsRéalis in Dubai, he moved upstream from design: co-leading the 95,000-square-meter DIFC Heights tower, reimagining eight Yas Island plots as a four-million-square-foot super plot, and directing development strategy for the winning entry in an international transit-oriented development competition with Santiago Calatrava.
Ethan Ortmann previously served as an Associate at Expedition Capital Advisors, where he underwrote investments, prepared investment committee memoranda, and supported opportunistic and value-add investments across the firm’s funds. Prior to ExCap, Ethan began his career as an Analyst at Ridgehouse Companies, supporting all phases of multifamily development, from acquisition through disposition. Throughout his career, Ethan has contributed to the acquisition and development of more than 3,800 multifamily units representing $950M in total capitalization. Outside of work, Ethan enjoys golfing, hunting, and traveling with his fiancée.
Danny Ostler earned his BS in Finance from the University of Utah, where he began researching public-private real estate partnerships across the United States. This interest led him to Zions Bank, where he developed tools and resources to help public landowners strategically manage their real estate assets for maximum community benefit. His work involved navigating and building complex partnerships among public, private, and philanthropic institutions. He enjoys tackling unique real estate challenges that integrate finance, policy, and development to promote meaningful public benefit. Outside of work, Danny enjoys backcountry skiing, surfing, traveling, and time with family and friends.
Patrick Rollins comes to the MRE program with a background in construction management and humanities. Patrick served as a project manager at IA Construction Management, where he managed high-end residential renovations exceeding $1,000 per square foot in landmarked districts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. He previously worked as a builder and project manager on historic residential renovations in Vermont. Patrick graduated summa cum laude from Middlebury College with a BA in Literary Studies and a minor in Classics. His interests center on design-driven development, adaptive reuse, and the execution of architecturally ambitious projects.
Pichaya Ruktapongpisal is a Thai real estate developer whose work bridges real estate, education, and community building. An NYU Psychology graduate, she discovered a passion for creating institutions and large-scale communities. She serves as Project Executive at Reignwood Park, a $1B+ mixed-use community, and co-founded KIS International School, where she led the development of its $250M campus. Believing that thoughtfully designed places shape how people learn, connect, and thrive, she approaches real estate through a people-centered lens and is interested in the role development can play in fostering communities. Beyond work, she is an avid runner, equestrian, and golfer.
Álvaro Santos Montiel joins the MRE program with over a decade of experience across architecture, development, and construction in South Florida, contributing to more than $1.8 billion in development value. His work includes a public-private partnership with a county government that delivered several hundred mixed-income units, retail, and a new transit hub; a series of condominium towers with projected sales exceeding $1.1 billion; and a portfolio of multifamily projects with aggregate sales surpassing $500 million. Originally from Nicaragua, Álvaro enjoys road cycling, amateur sailing, and photographing vernacular architecture in remote regions worldwide.
Akanksha Shetty is a licensed architect whose work spans healthcare, institutional, and residential development in India. After earning a BArch from MSAP Manipal, she began her career at Perkins Eastman, where she contributed to a 1.2 million-square-foot hospital targeting LEED Platinum certification and led housing developments for Isprava, including the Mumbai studio’s first end-to-end construction delivery. Outside her professional work, she developed illa By the sea, a boutique hospitality property, from design through market launch. At Harvard, Akanksha brings her design and execution expertise to real estate, exploring how financial feasibility, development strategy and policy shape the built environment and the communities it serves.
Federico Silva, a Monterrey, Mexico native, is an entrepreneur with over ten years of experience in real estate development. Prior to Harvard, he co-founded Grupo Protea, a real estate investment, management and advisory company focused on the net lease space in northern Mexico, where he directs industrial sale leaseback transactions and national retail chain expansion. He started his career working at New Rise Capital, an NYC based fund specialized in industrial and controlled-use real estate, after receiving a Cognitive Brain Science degree from Tufts University. Federico has a keen interest in urban regeneration and enjoys running, cooking, and live music concerts.
Pranav Subramanian is a multidisciplinary professional passionate about housing affordability innovation with a background in design and development. His architectural experience spans global firms including SOM (San Francisco) and MVRDV (Rotterdam) across a variety of asset classes with a focus in multifamily. He later worked at DJDS, a Bay Area nonprofit integrating design and development for social impact, and was most recently an Ivory Fellow in Affordable Housing at Jonathan Rose Companies. In his free time, he enjoys playing music and tennis. Originally from Dallas, Pranav holds a Bachelor of Architecture and Business minor from UT Austin.
Anisha Suri is a trained architect with experience in real estate strategy and consulting across India and the Middle East. Anisha worked with JLL’s consulting team, advising on residential, retail, hospitality, and mixed-use developments through feasibility studies, demand assessments, highest and best use analyses, and development strategy. Her work also spans large-scale masterplans in Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, and Azerbaijan. Earlier, she worked in Paris in architecture and urban design, contributing to international research and urban planning projects. Outside of work, Anisha enjoys discovering cities through food, debating art, traveling, and gardening.
Lucie Tao has a background in architecture and urban design. She earned her Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard GSD. Lucie worked as an architectural designer at a leading architecture firm in Washington, D.C., contributing to large-scale multifamily and mixed-use developments across multiple phases of design and delivery. She later gained capital markets experience at JLL in China, supporting financial modeling, transaction analysis, and market research across multiple asset classes, including cross-border investments.
Felix Tubiera is a seasoned asset management professional with experience across retail, residential, and mixed-use properties. He began his career at JBG Smith, supporting the asset strategy of a $500M+ portfolio, including the company’s largest retail asset and its affordable housing portfolio through the Washington Housing Initiative. At Carmel Partners, Felix handled a portfolio of ground-up developments and value-add projects where he governed lease-up strategy, renovation execution, and operational performance. He aims to leverage his experience across the full real estate investment cycle to contribute to thoughtful developments and sound investments. Felix graduated summa cum laude from Portland State University.
Carlos Valdovinos is a real estate developer who has spent six years building master-planned communities and multifamily housing in California and Massachusetts. Born in Mexico and raised in Central California, he attended San José State University on a full Division I soccer scholarship and later played in the USL. For the past two years, he has lived and worked in Boston while supporting his partner through her MBA at Harvard Business School, where he has held leadership roles in the Harvard real estate and soccer club.
Kevin Wang is a Chinese-Canadian designer and investor whose third-culture upbringing has shaped a path across countries and disciplines. Trained in architecture at McGill, he moved into technology for social impact, spending five years at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative designing AI tools to accelerate discovery in bioimaging. Today, he is co-founder of Ohome Investments, where he creates responsible pathways to homeownership for families overlooked by traditional lending. The firm has completed 22 transactions and has $5 million in assets under management. Based in Cambridge, Kevin brings a welcoming, candid spirit—and a photographer’s eye for the quiet geometry of cities.
Patrick Zepeda is a commercial real estate professional with experience in direct equity investments and financing advisory across North America. Patrick spearheaded acquisitions for new markets at BKM Capital Partners, where he led the underwriting for a $1.8B light industrial portfolio acquisition from Blackstone, ultimately doubling BKM’s assets under management. Before BKM, he advised institutional clients on investments and structured financing at JLL and Cushman & Wakefield, and began his career in strategy consulting at PwC. Born in Mexico, Patrick is fluent in three languages and has lived and worked in four countries. He holds a BA in International Business from Universidad de las Américas Puebla.