CREW-OC
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CREW Network exists to influence the success of the commercial real estate industry by advancing the achievements of women.

CREW Network exists to influence the success of the commercial real estate industry by advancing the achievements of women.

About CREW-OC

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CREW-OC Board Members
 
Kristi Oates
President
Squar Milner
koates@squarmilner.com

Kristi Oates is a Partner in Squar Milner’s Tax Department. She has over 20 years experience in public accounting and serves as a tax consultant specializing in real estate development, construction and syndication (both residential and commercial), financial institutions, equity participation, tenant-in-common associations (TIC’s), Non-Profit organizations, restaurants, franchises, affordable housing, technology, start up companies, closely held businesses and high net worth individuals.

Business Experience
Kristi’s background includes diverse experience in the areas of multi state partnerships, affiliated groups of companies, closely held corporations, multi-state corporations, and high net worth individual taxpayers.

With a strong focus on the interplay between company and individual Kristi works to minimize overall taxes and maximize after tax profits for the affiliated group as a whole.

Prior to joining Squar Milner, Kristi worked as a tax consultant at Ernst & Young, LLP in Newport Beach. She was responsible for performing income tax services for various entities including real estate partnerships, multi-state consolidated corporations, and closely held companies.

Professional License , Affiliations and Accreditation

Education

Terri Riker
President Elect
Lee Ventures Realty, Inc.
TLRiker@Verizon.net

Ms. Riker currently serves as a court-appointed Receiver for several rents, issues and profit cases, involving both direct and securitized commercial real estate loans. She also provides asset & project management /property management and real estate advisory services for bank-owned as well as non-distressed assets. Ms. Riker brings over 25 years of experience in financial, operational, leasing and construction oversight of commercial real estate portfolios. She has successfully transferred the management and operations of nationwide commercial property portfolios, established internal financial controls, audit and operational standards and handled a variety of work-outs and dispositions of underperforming assets. Her expertise encompasses all product types, and investment structures (debt & equity), through all phases of the real estate life cycle.

CAREER SUMMARY / EXPERIENCE

Ms. Riker has extensive experience in asset/portfolio management, transactional due diligence, acquisitions and dispositions throughout the U.S. She has held senior management positions, overseeing institutional real estate portfolios for both private and public companies. Prior to offering receivership services through Lee Ventures Realty, Inc., Ms. Riker was employed by Grubb & Ellis in 2010, as an independent receiver for several cases in California. From 2004-2009, as President/CEO of Lee Ventures Realty, Inc., Ms. Riker managed a variety of entrepreneurial ventures and provided asset management and real estate advisory services.

Prior to Lee Ventures Realty, Inc., from 1999-2004, Ms. Riker was Vice President of Portfolio and Asset Management at HCP (NYSE:HCP), one of the largest public healthcare REITs in the U.S.  Her responsibilities included national operational oversight of a medical office building portfolio valued at $650 Mil and $90 Mil in revenue. This 4 Mil SF portfolio of 100 properties and represented approximately 20% of the company’s revenue. She directed internal staff of property/asset management, legal, accounting, portfolio/lease administration, and ten 3rd party management and brokerage firms.

            Ms. Riker served as Vice President Property Operations for Catellus Development (Prologis - NYSE:PLD) in San Francisco from 1997-1999 and contributed in a successful team effort to obtain land entitlements for Mission Bay, a 300-acre mixed-use development project adjacent to PacBell Park. She resolved title issues, negotiated lease buyouts, managed projects with engineers, surveyors, legal counsel, title and utility companies and worked in collaboration with City and County of San Francisco, Port of San Francisco, S.F. Redevelopment Agency and State Lands Commission.
From 1994-1997, Ms. Riker served as Senior Vice President of Project Marketing and Management at CB Richard Ellis (NYSE:CBG) in Los Angeles. Ms. Riker functioned as a single point of contact for all brokerage and management services for Westmark Realty Advisors (CBRE’s largest national account). She managed a 14 Mil SF portfolio and also held the title of Director of Client Relations, managing investor relations for over 175 pension fund clients totaling $3.7 Bil in assets. She was involved in the transitioned of $300 Mil in assets (as a result of a corporate merger) with $50 Mil in sales.
As a Real Estate Investment Officer for CalPERS, from 1988-1993, Ms. Riker was based in Sacramento and was responsible for portfolio management activities of approximately $2 Bil in institutional real estate assets. She supervised and directed investment managers, developers, brokers, legal counsel, contractors, engineers and consultants and reviewed acquisition, disposition and commercial loan proposals and presented to investment committee and CalPERS Board of Administration. Ms. Riker served as the JV partner on co-investments, approved fees, major capital projects, budgets, and renovations.

Jana Novotna
Treasurer
Squar, Milner, Peterson, Miranda & Williamson, LLP
jnovotna@squarmilner.com

Jana Novotna is a Manager in Squar Milner’s Audit Department. She has seven years of experience providing audit and assurance services to publicly and privately-held companies in various industries, such as real estate, hospitality, entertainment, manufacturing, and consumer services. She also serves as one of the firm’s Employee Benefit Plan audit specialists, where she acts as a manager for a number of 401k and other Benefit Plan audits. Jana is also involved in the development of the Firm’s audit practice, including recruiting, staff in-house training, and mentoring. She is an active member of the Firm’s internal real estate group.
Additionally, Jana has extensive experience with real estate and construction clients, including experience with commercial real estate developers, property management, partnerships, joint ventures and corporations. Jana has also been involved with mergers and acquisitions, transaction structuring, and valuations, including purchase price allocations of commercial real estate property acquisitions.
While employed in private industry, Jana provided accounting, management and budgeting services for a telecommunication company in the Czech Republic.

Professional License, Affiliations and Accreditation
Certified Public Accountant, California
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Member, California Society of Certified Public Accountants
Board of Directors, Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW)


Education
Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration/Accounting, California State University Fullerton (Honors)

Diane Fiorelli
Secretary
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc.
dfiorelli@langan.com

Ms. Fiorelli is a Senior Project Manager for Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc.  She has over 13 years of geotechnical engineering and environmental site assessment experience in public and private projects located throughout the United States as well as in the Middle East, Latin America and Europe.  Her experience includes shallow and deep foundation design and seismic analysis for commercial and industrial developments, private residential high-rise and low rise structures, hospitality, resort and mixed use developments, including brownfield and greenfield sites and historic landmark structures.  She has performed Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments.

Maria T. Arriola, CPA
Membership Chair
Maria came to ELLS in 1984 and became an officer and a shareholder in 2001

For over 25 years, Maria has served ELLS clients in a variety of areas including audits, reviews and compilations as well as individual and corporate taxation. Maria works with clients in the real estate and healthcare industries. Maria manages our ERISA Pension Plan Audit Department and coordinates and oversees all the pension audits at ELLS.

Maria specializes in working with clients in the healthcare industry, providing medical practices with profitability analysis, practice sale assistance, evaluating buy-sell agreements, budgeting and forecasting and maximizing cash flow. She is an active supporter of the Orange County Medical Association (OCMA) and frequently provides educational seminars to their membership regarding tax strategies, income tax planning and medical practice management issues.

As an expert in the real estate industry Maria brings tax strategies such as Cost Segregation to the table, 1031 exchanges, debt restructuring, capital financing and cash flow projections. Maria manages ELLS’ Cost Segregation department and is responsible for the implementation and completion of all Cost Segregation studies. She works closely with real estate clients advising them on development, government regulations, investments and risk management.

Professional License , Affiliations and Accreditation
Karen Torres
Sponsorship Chair

In her role as Director of Real Estate, Facilities, Karen heads the Real Estate department and is responsible for managing Hoag’s real estate portfolio comprising approximately 900,000 sf of owned and leased facilities/properties.  The portfolio consists of a diverse range of facility types, including hospital, outpatient services and medical office buildings.  Under her management, Hoag Health Center—Newport Beach won 2010 Outstanding Building of the Year award in the Medical Office building category from BOMA Orange County. 

Karen has served as president of the Orange County chapter of IFMA (International Facility Managers Association) and is an active member CoreNet and CREW (Corporate Real Estate Women).

In her free time, Karen enjoys traveling with her family and bike riding.
Ruth Brajevich
Public Relations Chair
Ware Malcomb

Ruth Brajevich is Chief Marketing Officer for Ware Malcomb, an international design firm, offering planning, architecture, interior design, graphic design and civil engineering services to commercial real estate, corporate and public clients.  Established in 1972, the firm has 12 offices throughout North America. 

Ruth is an excellent strategist, gifted communicator and inspiring leader. She is part of Ware Malcomb's Executive Team and provides direction and support to all of Ware Malcomb's leaders throughout the firm's 12 offices. Ruth has played a key role in the company's transformation from a regional to an international design firm. Ruth developed a company-wide leadership training program, an innovative strategic planning process and new mentoring program for the company.

Ruth joined Ware Malcomb in 1998, and initiated the firm’s marketing program. She implemented a new strategic approach to marketing and business development. In 2004, Ruth was promoted to Principal and has helped the firm strategically expand through geographic reach, product diversification and expansion of services. In 2007, Ruth was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer. Her strategic vision of redefining every aspect of Ware Malcomb’s marketing methods has been instrumental in increasing the firm’s brand recognition.

With the fusion of marketing and graphics in the firm’s branding strategy, she has redefined the way the company approaches marketing and has taken Ware Malcomb’s marketing to a new level of creativity, innovation and effectiveness.

In 2005, Ruth successfully launched “wm graphics,” a studio that offers innovative graphic design services to clients including branding, website design, digital marketing and environmental graphics. The marketing and graphic studios have received 7 national marketing awards.

education | accomplishments | industry involvement
UC Irvine, Bachelor of Arts, Social Ecology, Magna Cum Laude
CREW, OC, Director, PR 2013, Co-Chair PR 2012, Member from 1998 to the present
Business World Rising, Grande Vista, Member 2013, 2011
SMPS, OC, Member 2009 to present,  SMPS, LA Past Member, 1998 to 2008
Nominated 4 times for O.C. Business Journal’s Women in Business Awards
Authored articles for Social Media Marketing, CREW Networks, CREW OC, Building Design & Construction, RainToday
Speaking and Panel Participation for NAIOP, Vistage, Grubb & Ellis

Angela Kralovec
Programs Chair
BlackRock

Angela Kralovec, Vice President at BlackRock, is an Asset Manager responsible for managing multi-housing, retail, office, industrial, and single-family real estate investments in California, Colorado, and Minnesota on behalf of institutional investors. The assets include core, stabilized, and renovation properties, ground-up development, and joint venture structures. 

Prior to joining BlackRock in 2007, Ms. Kralovec was an Asset Manager at Western National Group responsible for a portfolio of apartments in Southern California.  Previous to that Ms. Kralovec worked at Merrill Lynch Capital in their commercial real estate division as a Credit Associate and as an Underwriter where she reviewed and compiled lending packages for standard debt, mezzanine, equity, and joint venture structures on core and hotel properties throughout the US.

Ms. Kralovec earned a BBA degree in Real Estate & Urban Land Economics and Marketing from University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2001. 
Jennifer Stroffe
Immediate Past President
Friedman Stroffe & Gerard P.C.
jvstroffe@fsglawyers.com

Jennifer is a real estate attorney at Friedman Stroffe & Gerard P.C (“FSG”). During her tenure at FSG, Jennifer has represented clients ranging from local startups to public companies through numerous complex real estate transactions. Jennifer is experienced in the structuring, negotiation and closing of transactions which involve the acquisition, disposition, financing, construction, leasing and development of real property. Jennifer also assists with litigation regarding real property matters. Real Property product types within Jennifer’s area of expertise include retail, commercial, office, industrial, mixed-use, single family residence, multi-family residence and raw land. 

Prior to joining the FSG, Jennifer was an associate attorney with the Los Angeles offices of Latham & Watkins LLP. Jennifer also co-founded a boutique real estate brokerage and investment company. Jennifer received her Juris Doctor in 2002 from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, her Master of Arts in Communications in 1999 from Michigan State University and her Bachelor of Arts in Communications, summa cum laude, in 1998 from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Jennifer was a four year starter on the nationally ranked NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Teams for both UC Santa Barbara and Michigan State University and was recognized nationally as All Big West and Academic All-American. 

Jennifer is on the executive board of directors of Commercial Real Estate Women-Orange County (CREW‐OC), a member of the California and Orange County Bar Associations, a member of Athletes Touch and a licensed real estate broker with the California Department of Real Estate. In 2012, Jennifer's accomplishments included, among others, acting as CREW-OC's President, being selected as an Orange County Business Journal Women in Business nominee, participating as a panelist at the ICSC 2012 Western Division Conference and participating as interviewee on Commercial Real Estate Radio on the topic "Can Women Break the Glass on the Ceiling of Commercial Real Estate?"

CREW-OC Committees

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