Spotlights

October 2022

October 2022

September 2022

September 2022

September 2022

September 2022

Today’s Alumni Spotlight is Nicole Ferrarini, MRED+U Class of 2016. After graduation, Nicole joined Fortis Design + Build as a Project Engineer and has since become an integral part of their team as a Development Executive. Nicole has experience in boutique & luxury hotels, multifamily condominium & rental developments, and high-end custom residences. She’s the recipient of the Addison Mizner Medal for Excellence and was selected as Who’s Who in America.

September 2022

Sam is a co-founder of REDconnect, a networking group for those involved in and around our MRED+U program, and is currently working as an Associate at Grass River Property. Grass River is a part of the Project Team for CocoWalk, which is a finalist for the Project of the Year at this year’s ULI Southeast Florida/Caribbean Vision Awards taking place in September.

August 2022

July 2022

Today's Board Member Spotlight is Steve Owens, former President of Swire Properties Inc. (USA). MRED+U Program Director Charles Bohl shared some insight into Steve's involvement with our program.

July 2022

July 2022

June 2022

June 2022

June 2022

May 2022

Founders Samuel Herrera, Michaela Senior, and Nick Nicola, three MRED+U Alumni that found themselves asking, "Why isn't there a networking group to mingle and connect?" after graduation -- so they came together and founded REDconnect, a networking group for MRED+U alumni, Advisory Board members, faculty, students, mentors, and more.

May 2022

May 2022

Anthony Graziano, Chairman and CEO at Integra Realty Resources.The University of Miami School ofArchitecture hosted its first Spring Term Salon series back in February 2022 where Anthony was a special guest panelist. The guiding question for this Salon was: “What has been the impact of COVID on South Florida real estate, and what does the future hold in the ‘Post-Pandemic’ era?”

April 2022

Kathy Moorman is Corporate VP of Real Estate at Baptist Health Enterprises. 

Kathy has been in the healthcare real estate division with Baptist Health since 2006 and brings an interesting perspective to

ourreal estate board, as healthcare is the primary focus of their real estate decisions. One of the things that she tells students who are unsure if they are starting in the right field is that she didn’t begin in

Medical Real Estate. “You can go anywhere, even if you don’t start there,” she tells them.

February 2021

As a dual graduate of the MRED+U and MCM programs, Chloe is skilled in all phases of real estate development. Today, she uses her industry experience as a BIM Coordinator for Coasta Construction to provide insight to potential buyers in the residential real estate realm.

February 2021

Since graduating, Amanda has nurtured a variety of industry segments including historic preservation, new construction, adaptive reuse, and interior design. She works as the Director of Design and Construction for Vagabond Group and remains an active member of our MRED+U alumni network.

January 2021

MRED+U was founded to provide students with hands-on education and effective tools to further their futures in real estate. "The University of Miami is not only a place to study and learn, but a place where opportunities happen," expressed Celeste Desiano, MRED+U class of '20.

January 2021

This exemplary MRED+U student works hard, gets involved, and stays engaged to maximize his efforts through our program. Since day one, Darwyn has contributed to multiple interdisciplinary projects to better our community. Some of his engagements include working with the Urban Land Institute to advise the City of Deerfield Beach, generating industry research, and publishing industry insights through his platform: True Works Publications.

January 2021

"I have always wanted to live in Miami – I love everything about this city. Once accepted into the MRED+U program, which combines both of my passions (Miami and real estate development), choosing to come here was a no-brainer," said current MRED+U student Hunter Holtz.

December 2020

Congratulations to current MRED+U student Tanya Rivera on her contributions to PMG Development, the full-service real estate development company, through our Mentorship program! 

December 2020

Why do students choose MRED+U to further their real estate education? "I chose this program to make connections with like-minded individuals and hopefully [to] make an impact in the world through these opportunities," said Spencer Sorfleet

December 2020

“Walking into the MRED+U program, I didn’t know what to expect — especially being my first time in Florida ever. All of the hands-on experiences, travel, events, conferences, and top-tier networking with South Florida Who’s Who of Real Estate was unmatched! I’m excited to tap into the world of sports venue development and architecture after my time at UM!” said MRED+U graduate Nonyelum Ogbodo

November 2020

Meet Krystal Sheppard: the stellar MRED+U student taking all elements of real estate by storm! With a background in interior architecture and design, Krystal is more than equipped to add real estate development to her dynamic portfolio.

November 2020

"The MRED+U program was great. I enjoyed meeting people starting out in the industry and the current leaders in the Miami market." - Nicholas Nicola (MRED+U class of '20)

November 2020

Today, we're recognizing long-time MRED+U Board Member Jacqueline Gonzalez Touzet for her contributions to our industry! As the Co-Founder of @touzetstudio, Jacqueline shares her passion for livable and sustainable design through professional and personal projects. In fact, she recently won three AIA Miami 2020 Design Awards, further cementing her impact on our community.

October 2020

Arden Karson, MRED+U Advisory Board member, recently launched her own firm, Karson & CO –– where she serves as Managing Principal. Arden has a diverse background in acquisitions, sales and marketing, asset management, leasing, development, and financing of commercial and residential properties in all asset types. Throughout her career, she served in executive and leadership roles at CBRE, Related Group, Lennar, Bank of America, and PWC. Ms. Karson is active with many industry organizations and has been acknowledged by the media as a Power Real Estate Leader and a Top Business Woman. 

Following three and a half years of serving as Senior Managing Director at CBRE and leading three South Florida CBRE offices (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Boca Raton), she decided it was time to launch her own firm. “I felt it was time to take my 25+ years of South Florida real estate experience and my national and global contacts, and put them to work to help build a real estate venture focused on South Florida”, says Arden. “One of my goals for Karson & CO is to be at the top of the list when companies are looking to invest in commercial real estate in South Florida. As new capital enters the Miami market, my plan is for Karson & CO to facilitate those transactions while leveraging the contacts I have cultivated throughout my career”, added Arden.

Arden enthusiastically enjoys being a mentor to young entrepreneurs. When asked, what she would recommend for aspiring graduate students who desire to immerse themselves in the real estate industry she replied, “get a real estate license, join a young professionals networking group, be persistent, prepared, have a story, and everything matters”.

September 2020

Steve Cohen, MRED+U Advisory Board member, recently commenced a new position with Synovus in Miami, Florida. In his new role, he will serve as Senior Director. Steve is responsible for the management of the team and clients based in Southeast and Southwest Florida, within the Synovus Commercial Real Estate Line of Business. Steve has spent 35 years in the Real Estate commercial banking industry in various leadership roles throughout north, south, and central Florida. He has developed this wealth of experience working for Sun Trust Bank, American Momentum Bank, Iberia Bank, and now Synovus. He credits his prosperity throughout his career to, “doing the current job really well and being in the right place at the right time for the next opportunity”, says Steve.

The Synovus opportunity came about through an industry friendship that he developed with a competitor while he served as Senior Vice President for American Momentum Bank in Orlando. Synovus is in the midst of evolving to serve future clients and Steve looks forward to helping transform the company from a strategic direction and a client management standpoint. He strives to help Synovus, “create the brand where we are known for creative financing solutions in South Florida”.  

For new MRED+U students who are looking to make the most out of their time in the program, Steve renders invaluable advice. “It is essential to build relationships with classmates and Advisory Board members. Those relationships will propel them to great success in the future”, says Steve. Covid-19 has brought upon us unprecedented times ­–– forcing students to adapt. Steve advises students to, “Take advantage of every opportunity to be exposed to information. Nobody has all of the answers, but with information you can be pointed in the right direction. That information can be shared with prospective employers. If a prospective employer sees a candidate who is well informed through their own initiative, they will want to hire that person”.

August 2020

“Not only did the world literally change when I was at UM, UM changed the way I view the world.” Recent MRED+U graduate Andrew Samonas has thrived living out our program's lessons on resiliency and perspective as we all transition into a new age of real estate development.

June 2020

"The past year has been terrific for learning extensively about real estate development and making connections in development circles in Miami. Through the site visits to projects under construction, the immersive courses at school, trips to real estate conferences, networking with Advisory Board members and making new friends in a new city, I have truly enjoyed and maximized my MRED+U experience."

May 2020

"The impact of buildings on society fascinate me... thanks to the MRED+U program, I was able to realize this passion and had the tools at my disposal to make it a reality." Troy is also a graduate of the UM Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Urban Design. Troy is currently the VP of Development, Planning and Design at Redevco Management.

March 2020

As a graduate from our 2017 class, Ariel has a Corporate Develpoment Internship with Florida East Coast Industries and a Development Coordinator position with Housing Trust Group under his belt. He was recently promoted to Development Manager at Housing Trust Group. "I'm grateful to the MRED+U team for everything they do to make our program a success and one of the top real estate development programs in the country."

February 2020

Thanks to our program, Elena met several influential industry leaders who gave her the tools to apply for the Starwood Property Trust Summer Internship. After eight weeks, she was offered a position as a rotational analyst through Starwood's 2.5-year training program. Now, she is a full-time senior analyst at Starwood Mortgage Capital's CMBS originations segment.

January 2020

"The high level of networking and real access to leading experts and players in the fields of Real Estate and Construction is an incredible asset to all attending the MRED+U program. Continued support from faculty and staff keeps all students and alumni connected, like a renewed family, throughout the year and semesters."

December 2019

"For me, the most beneficial aspect of MRED+U was the focused curriculum and exposure to major participants in the development world in Miami." Emran now teaches "Retail Placemaking" to MRED+U and Architecture students.

November 2019

"Being an alumni member has not only provided an excellent opportunity to work with former graduates as the advance their careers, but also the inside track to hiring the best upcoming talent."

October 2019

"The MRED+U program has been a remarkable learning experience for me, and the most enjoyable one that I have been a part of here at the University. The faculty have been very helpful and accommodating, and always look for the students' best interest. Just the network of diverse and educated classmates that I have met are enough reason to take the program. The amount of netwroking that the program provides is extremely valuable; including the mentroship program, various conferences, or casual outings. In addition, I have not seen another program at the University put this much effort in helping students land jobs and internships. Looking forward to pursuing my last semester.”

September 2019

Stephanie Tarud shines bright with several prestigious honors, including awards and certificates from big names in our industry like ULI SE Florida. With a Master in Real Estate development + Urbanism and in Construction Management, as well as a previous Master in Architecture, there's no stopping this diligent 'Cane grad. 

July 2019

Chao Wang, set to graduate duo MRED+U and MUD program this December. Chao is skilled in a multitude of related fields. After completing his intership from Fortune International Group last year, he has decided to expand his experience overseas by exploring more opportunities in real estate and urban design.

May 2019

Erin Sutherland, MRED+U Class of '18. During her time with MRED+U Erin brought an engaged spirit and unique industry knowledge to the classroom as she worked full-time at Akerman. Her success at MRED+U earned her an internship with Starwood Property Trust and ultimately a full-time position with Terra Group. This shining star is an active MRED+U alum, participating as a mentor to incoming students.