TEAM

Jordan Albaugh

Jordan leads the Systems Solutions team at Ballast, supporting the technology needs of all divisions and departments across the company. He advises and guides teams on how to best utilize software and technology to improve their workflows and access actionable data.

Jordan holds a Bachelors degree in Studio Art from University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters degree in Studio Art from New York University.

Paola Alunni

Paola is the Schematic Design Manager for Ballast’s architecture and construction affiliate. Paola manages multiple projects, making sure each design fits the desired requirements and budget. She has relationships with construction and structural engineers to ensure that designs meet all business constraints. Before joining the firm, Paola worked at Bartos Architecture, a firm specializing in renovations across the education industry.

Paola has BA in Architecture from Academy of Art University.

Kevin Bacon

Kevin is a Manager for the Operations Department at Ballast’s property management affiliate. He oversees telecoms, utilities, and security projects, and assists the Operations team with data aggregation and operational expense reduction initiatives. Prior to joining the team, Kevin worked with BIM firms across the Bay Area as a 3D-Architectural modeler and CNC/ Laser Cutter Fabricator.

Pace Barker

Pace is a Principal for Ballast focused on acquisitions throughout the Western U.S. He also serves on the investment committee and assists with maintaining relationships with key Ballast partners Prior to joining Ballast, Pace was a vice president on the U.S. real estate team at The Carlyle Group where he focused on acquisitions and asset management of over $2.0bn in assets across various property sectors and geographies.

Pace received his BA in Economics from Brigham Young University.

Brittany Blacksmith

Brittany is a Senior Project Administrator for the human resources team at Ballast. Brittany facilitates staffing, development training, company culture, communication, transparency, and risk management for the company. She started her human resources career at Dutch Bros Coffee, where she managed all items relating to payroll, benefits, and employee relations.

Brittany studied Elementary Education and Spanish at Oregon State University. She is a licensed notary in California

Ryan Brewer

As co-founder and managing principal of Ballast, Ryan focuses on developing corporate strategy and leading the acquisitions efforts for Ballast. He also serves on the investment committee and is responsible for maintaining relationships with key Ballast partners. Prior to establishing Ballast, Ryan focused on multifamily acquisitions at Veritas Investments. Prior to that, Ryan was on the U.S. real estate team at The Carlyle Group, where he focused on asset management across property sectors that included over $6.0bn in value. Ryan began his real estate career on the investments team at McMillin Capital.

Ryan received his BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from London Business School.

William Cadle

William is a manager supporting the revenue team of the Accounting division. William’s background includes both commercial and residential accounting across multiple states. Prior to joining Ballast, William worked for CBRE.

William has a BS in Accounting from Grand Canyon University.

Amy Chan

Amy is a manager supporting the Architecture, Engineering, and General Contracting divisions. Amy’s experience in residential and commercial design ranges from high-end custom homes to affordable multi-family housing in the Bay Area. Prior to joining Ballast, Amy worked for Apple’s Interior Retail Space Planning division.

Amy holds a BA in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, with a minor in Urban Planning.

Xiao Chen

Xiao is a Senior Property Accountant at Ballast. Xiao started her real estate accountant career in 1988.  Prior to joining Ballast, Xiao worked for Mid-Peninsula Housing, CBRE and Prado Group.

Xiao earned a degree in Accounting and Computer Application from Heald Business College.

James Cook

James is the Leasing Manager for Ballast’s property management affiliate. He began his real estate career as a sales assistant to one of Southern California’s top real estate producers and went on to work with Trinity Property Management as a Leasing Agent.

James has a BS in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge. He is a licensed Real Estate Agent in California.

Mike Costello

Mike is a Vice President at Ballast Investments focused on acquisitions and asset management of multifamily assets. Prior to joining Ballast, ​Mike was at Meridian where he focused on acquisitions of value-add office and medical office properties throughout the Western United States. Mike began his career at Prologis where he focused on financial planning and analysis of the company’s $200bn global portfolio. ​ ​

Mike received his BA in Finance from Bentley University.​

Taylor Fairman

Taylor is a Project Manager for the Property Operations Team. Taylor facilitates projects, throughout all phases from planning to closure. She started her career in construction management prior to transitioning to operations management.

Taylor graduated cum laude with two Bachelor of Science degrees in Human Health and Performance from Montana State University. She is a licensed Project Management Professional (PMP).

Tami Gallagher

Tami is a Senior Administrator for the Revenue Management team at Ballast. Tami oversees the collections team and assists in communicating with residents on past due balances, ledger clarifications, and rental assistance for the San Francisco metropolitan area.

Tami has over 15 years in Property Management and is a Licensed Real Estate Agent in Texas.

Jake Herczeg

Jake is the Chief Operating Officer for Ballast and its affiliates. Previously, Jake led the Property Operations division and Halyard’s Architecture, Engineering, and General Contracting divisions. Before joining Ballast, Jake founded Herczeg + Tobias Architects, where he specialized in multifamily renovation and addition projects.

Jake holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from The Cooper Union. He is a licensed Architect in California, Illinois, Arizona, and Texas.

Biannca Grant

Biannca is a Senior Accountant for the Treasury team at Ballast. Biannca started her career in multifamily real estate management over a decade ago, holding positions onsite, and now oversees all activities related to treasury functions for multiple real estate entities at Ballast. She assists with lender and equity partner reports and requests, supports the reporting team with annual audits and tax returns, and is responsible for the training and management of the Treasury team staff.

Oscar Hernandez

Oscar is a manager supporting the Architecture, Engineering, and General Contracting divisions. Oscar has experience in custom single-family homes, commercial retail, mixed use and multifamily projects all around Northern California. Prior to joining Ballast, Oscar worked in the Entitlements division of a single-family home builder.

Oscar holds a Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Kris Hicks

Kris oversees revenue accounting for Ballast owned properties. Kris started her real estate accounting career at Invitation Homes, where she worked in various accounting teams and specialized in updating processes to create efficiencies and synergies.

Kris has a BBA from Baylor University with a double major in Accounting and Finance, as well as an MBA with an Accounting emphasis from Grand Canyon University.

Daniel Ibarra

Daniel oversees all maintenance operations for the company. Daniel has over 25 years of experience and has been responsible for operating procedures, building systems, project management, construction development, security, safety, and green building initiatives for several large real estate companies during his career.

Daniel has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Architectural Designs from UPAEP (Universidad Popular Autonoma de Puebla Mex) and has completed more than 100 certifications of maintenance in the United States.

Kuahiwi Kahapea

Kuahiwi is a Manager of Communications for the Property Operations team at Ballast’s property management affiliate. In this role, Kuahiwi oversees resident communications and drives the enhancement and implementation of new communication processes, consistently innovating to foster better tenant engagement.

Chris Lee, CPA

Chris is an Asset Management associate at Ballast that focuses on transaction due diligence and driving operational value within Ballast’s multifamily portfolio. Chris started his real estate career in 2019 at Carmel Partners, where he worked as a fund manager handling investor reporting and capital forecasts.

Chris received his BA in Economics and Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Greg Long, CFA

Greg is a Director focused on Investor Relations, where he partners with current and prospective investors to deliver the Ballast platform to the marketplace. Greg has worked across private assets since 2007. Prior to joining the company, Greg raised capital from leading public and private institutions while working at Barings LLC. Prior to that, Greg was a real estate investor for the Bank of America Pension Plan, where he also oversaw private equity and hedge fund allocations.

Greg received his BBA in Finance from University of Georgia. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Greg MacDonald

As co-founder and CEO of Ballast, Greg focuses on developing corporate strategy and leading the Ballast platform. He also serves on the investment committee and is responsible for maintaining relationships with key partners. Prior to establishing Ballast, Greg was a Principal at The Carlyle Group where he sourced residential assets across the multifamily, senior housing and manufactured housing sectors. He was also heavily involved in the asset management of portfolios post-acquisition and through divestiture. Prior to that, Greg worked in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch.

Greg graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Economics from Columbia University and earned his MBA in Finance with Real Estate concentration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Lauren Medley

Lauren manages the construction of ADU and other capital expenditure projects for Ballast’s architecture and construction affiliate. She manages the internal construction processes as well as the bidding process with the third party contractors to add value to the buildings while keeping costs manageable. Prior to joining the firm, Lauren was the assistant purchasing manager with a home builder where she maintained vendor relations and contracts.

Lauren earned a BA in Management from Georgia Gwinnett College.

Tyler Moser

Tyler is the Engineering Manager for Ballast’s Architecture, Engineering, and General Contracting divisions. Tyler’s experience spans from design and construction of multifamily residential to institutional and commercial structures. 

Tyler is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in California, holding a Masters in Structural and Earthquake Engineering University of California, Los Angeles with a BS in Civil Engineering from University of California, Berkeley, and a BA in Business Economics from University of California, Santa Cruz. 

Yuri Palhof

Yuri is a Transaction Administrator for Ballast Investments. Yuri previously worked as a Property Administrator and as a Maintenance Administrator for Ballast’s property management affiliate. Prior to Ballast, Yuri was an Assistant Property Manager for Blackpoint Management, Inc.

Yuri received a Bachelors degree in Social Sciences with a double minor in Modern Languages and Psychology from the University of Bridgeport, as well as a Masters in Elementary Education from the University of Bridgeport.

Brian Peyrovian

Brian is a construction manager for Ballast’s architecture and construction affiliate, focusing on unit renovations, and managing relationships with third party contractors. Prior to his current role, Brian managed capital expenditure projects for the firm. Before joining Ballast, Brian worked for Prado Group, where he specialized in ground up development and multifamily renovation.

Brian holds a BA in Economics with dual concentration in Accounting and Finance from California State University, Fullerton.

Patricia Prado

Patricia is a Manager supporting the Maintenance department for Ballast’s property management affiliate. Patricia’s experience in Maintenance and Construction ranges from Single family/Multi-family residential housing and Commercial in the Bay Area. Prior to joining Ballast, Patricia worked for the Maintenance department at Prado Group.

Patricia studied Psychology and Real Estate at Chabot College.

Krisel Ramos

Krisel is the Assistant Controller for the Compliance Accounting team at Ballast.  She brings with her over 14 years of Real Estate experience in Commercial, Development, Construction, and Retail Accounting. Prior to joining Ballast, Krisel worked as a Property Accountant and Corporate Accounting Manager at Hines and with Swift Real Estate Partners as a Property Accounting Manager.

Krisel has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from San Diego State University.

Jon Schwerin

Jon is an Investment Associate at Ballast, specializing in acquisitions and asset management. He has worked in the investment industry for the past 10 years spanning single-family home investment, multifamily asset management, and REIT research at Unison Investment Management, Essex Property Trust, and Uniplan Investment Counsel, respectively.

Jon received his BBA in Finance and Applied Investment Management from Marquette University and an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Additionally, he has successfully completed all three levels of the CFA Program.

Sophie Stoerkel

Sophie works across all entities within the company, focusing on operations and pre-design. Sophie implements new technologies that create a more efficient system for delivering timely and accurate floorplans. She focuses on improving the tenant experience and streamlining the unit turnover process and works to build effective systems that facilitate interdepartmental communication and knowledge sharing.

Sophie graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Environmental Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Jana Simmons

Jana oversees Revenue for the Property Operations Team. Prior to joining Ballast, Jana served in the role of Vice President of Operations for various property management firms across the Midwest and East Coast. With over 20 years of comprehensive experience in property management, Jana has gained expertise in all its diverse aspects.

Jana recently earned her CCRM certification in the state of California and remains committed to ongoing professional development and growth.

Rodney Smith

Rodney is an Accounting Manager who oversees the Accounts Payable vertical at Ballast. He is responsible for ensuring that all invoices are processed accurately and in a timely manner. Additionally, Rodney is responsible for managing the Vendor Relations team and ensuring that staff members are properly trained and departmental procedures are followed. Prior to joining the team, Rodney worked with Real Estate firms managing Accounting for Commercial, Multi-Family, Single Family, and Retail portfolios.

Rodney holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Prairie View A&M University as well as an MBA from the University of Incarnate Word.

Ronice Sweet Gaines

Ronice is an Accounting Manager at Ballast, overseeing cash management for corporate and multifamily properties. Ronice began her career with Ernst and Young. Prior to joining Ballast she worked as an Accounting Manager for Signature Development Group.

Ronice has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Saint Mary’s College and a Master’s degree in Accounting from University of Virginia. She is a licensed CPA.

McNeil Sylvester

McNeil works as an architecture manager for Ballast’s architecture and construction affiliate’s ADU team. McNeil creates & coordinates the in-house architectural plans for new ADU projects. Prior to joining Ballast, McNeil’s experience includes working for a design-build company where he created and coordinated architectural plans for both single family homes & multi-family townhomes.

McNeil holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the New York Institute of Technology. He is a licensed Architect in New York State.

Gino Tarantino

Gino is a Senior Investment Analyst that focuses on reporting and analytics within Ballast’s multifamily portfolio to help keep investors and lenders updated on Ballast’s fund performance. Prior to joining Ballast, Gino worked as a Loan Underwriter at Luther Burbank Savings in their Income Property Lending department.

Gino received his BS in Accounting & Financial Management from California Polytechnic State University.

Matt Tripaldi

Matt is a Senior Investment Analyst focused on multifamily acquisitions, where he analyzes multifamily deals across different markets. During his time at Ballast, Matt has experience working across asset management and single family rental acquisitions. Prior to joining Ballast, Matt worked as an Investment Analyst at Newmark Knight Frank on the Investment Sales team in San Francisco.

Matt has a BA in Economics & Political Science from Indiana University.

Duong Tran

Duong is an accounting manager for the month-end close team. He oversees the month-end closing process to ensure all properties’ books are closed timely and accurately in accordance with GAAP. Prior to joining Ballast, Duong spent five years as an accounting manager in the hospitality industry with a focus on multi-unit full-cycle accounting and process improvements.

Duong holds a Master’s degree in accounting and financial analysis from Northeastern State University.

Alex Wall

Alex is a Vice President for Ballast where he helps source new acquisition opportunities, develop business plans, and manages various portfolios of homes across the West Coast. Alex has worked in the institutional residential market, servicing both the multifamily and single-family sectors across brokerage, asset management, and acquisitions. Prior to joining Ballast, Alex worked for The Jones-Saglimbeni Group of Institutional Property Advisers as a Financial Analyst.

Alex received his BSC in Finance from Santa Clara University and has been a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of California.

Mackenzie Wall

Mackenzie is the Human Resources Manager for Ballast, where she oversees employee engagement and HR functions across all divisions. Prior to joining the company in 2019, Mackenzie worked in the corporate retail and fitness industries.

Mackenzie received her BS in Business Marketing from Santa Clara University.

Alex Zhao

Alex oversees all construction activities for Ballast’s construction affiliate, including fire alarm upgrades, seismic retrofits, ADUs, and maintenance. Alex develops construction strategies and phasing plans in order to meet project timelines and tenant demands. Alex directly manages internal construction and maintenance teams. Alex has been working in the construction industry for 20 years and has experience in both residential and commercial building constructions.

Alex has a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Alex has E.I.T, General B and C-10 License from the State of California.