Meet the 2015 MHN Excellence Awards Judges

By Andie Lowenstein, Associate Editor

New York—MHN was thrilled to host the judging for the 2015 MHN Excellence Awards this week. The judging panel consisted of industry experts coming from numerous sectors including investment, asset management and design. Learn more about this year’s judges below. The award winners will be announced in the October issue of MHN digital magazine.

Terry Danner, Executive Director of Real Estate, Greystar

Terry Danner oversees Greystar’s U.S. real estate operations and the national client services platform. In this role, he is responsible for overall property performance of more than 1,600 properties in nine divisions nationwide. He maintains an office in Dallas, and travels extensively throughout the company’s portfolio of managed properties and regional offices. Terry holds expertise that is instrumental in guiding the company’s overall strategic direction, and in ensuring that Greystar remains at the forefront of practices designed to meet client goals and maximize asset performance.

Danner has worked in the property management industry since 1989. Prior to his role at Greystar, he established Riverstone Residential Group in 2006 and served as its president and later CEO. He formerly served as chief operating officer at Trammell Crow Residential Services. In addition, he previously occupied the roles of regional manager and vice president at Summit Properties.

Danner currently serves as a member of the NAA/National Multifamily Housing Council joint legislative committee. He graduated from Georgia Tech with high honors, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. He also holds a master of business administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ava Goldman, President, Michaels Development Company

Ava Goldman was named president of The Michaels Development Company in 2012, after serving 12 years as a senior vice president. During her time at Michaels, Goldman has been responsible for a development portfolio of more than 6,000 residential units valued in excess of $800 million.

She has overseen HOPE VI and other mixed income developments in cities as diverse as Kansas City; Missouri; Washington, D.C.; Jersey City, N.J.; and Meridian, Miss. The new homes and apartments in these communities cater to renters and homeowners with a wide range of incomes.

Housing preservation, the acquisition and rehabilitation of existing affordable rental developments, has also become a specialty since Ms. Goldman joined the Michaels organization. She has supervised the preservation of federally assisted rental developments in such states as Texas, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Virginia.

Before joining Michaels, Goldman was the department head of the Atlantic County Department of Regional Planning and Development, in Atlantic City, N.J. She attended Case Western Reserve University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies from Temple University. She also received a Master of Science degree in Urban Planning from the University of Arizona.

Stephanie Moore Hager, Owner and Principal, Moore Design Group

Stephanie Moore Hager is a demonstrated leader and celebrated interior designer with a national reputation in the architecture and design industry. With more than 24 years of experience focusing on multifamily installations and commercial design, Hager and her award-winning team offer a level of excellence that exceeds the most rigorous standards within the industry.

Hager earned her degree in Interior Design from the Art Institute of Dallas. In 1991, she established Dallas-based Moore Design Group, which has since entrenched itself as one of the leading designers of multifamily living communities in North America. The interior design firm is characterized by its chic, forward-thinking designs and attention to detail in implementing luxury interiors. Moore Design Group has delivered successful installations in every market segment, including urban design, high-density infill, mixed use, transit-oriented and sustainable projects.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has recognized many of Moore Design Group’s projects with The Pillars of the Industry Awards. The firm has also been honored by the ASID Texas Chapter with Design Ovation Awards and Legacy of Design Awards. Hager’s expertise has been widely celebrated in a variety of publications including Multi-Housing News, Urban Land, Multifamily Trends, Multifamily Executive and Modern Luxury Dallas. Hager has been named multiple times by her peers as one of “The Best of the Best” designers in Dallas in D Home magazine.

Seeking inventive, unexpected results to challenging design problems, Hager has a singular reputation for successfully helping clients develop their vision by delivering high quality interiors true to the original design and architectural intent. She possesses a keen sense of space and scale, a sophisticated eye for color, a signature styling of textures and unparalleled access to global resources. With an unremitting energy and a passion for timeless design, Hager has cultivated relationships with owners, developers and architects across the nation. Leading real estate developers such as Lang Group LLC, Zale/Corson Group, Martin Fein Interests, Bristol Development Group and Hillwood, A Perot Company, have benefited from her association and leadership.

Hager is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and is NCIDQ certified. The accomplished interior designer continues to redefine the thriving urban landscape with her signature aesthetic spaces that evoke the pulse and verve of contemporary life. She embraces inventive solutions, and her forward-thinking environments have indeed afforded her a permanent position among the nation’s foremost designers.

Eric Silverman, Managing Partner, Eastham Capital

Eric Silverman is a founder and Managing Partner of Eastham Capital, a private real estate investment firm based in Needham, MA.  Since 2007, Eastham Capital has raised four funds and has approximately $200MM under management. The funds invest in distressed multifamily apartment properties across the United States. Along with Matt Rosenthal, Silverman is responsible for overseeing all operations of the company.

Silverman was also a founder of St. James Capital LLC, a Michigan based FHA-approved lender specializing in multifamily residential housing financial services. As of December 2012, St. James Capital is a division of Pillar Multifamily LLC, an affiliate of Guggenheim Partners LLC.

From 1995-2010, Silverman was president and then chairman of RentGrow, Inc., until it was sold in 2010 to Yardi Systems. RentGrow provides resident screening tools to the multifamily housing industry. Before joining RentGrow, Silverman was a founder and principal of St. James Mortgage Company, a Fannie Mae-approved residential mortgage banker.

Silverman graduated from Bowdoin College in 1985 with an AB in Mathematics. In 1991, he earned the degree of Master of Science in Management, with a concentration in Finance, from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is an active alumnus of MIT where he is currently a Friend of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research; and an active alumnus of Bowdoin College where he sits on the College’s Museum Advisory Board. Eric is also a founding director and shareholder of Leader Bank in Arlington, MA.

Jen Stencel, AIA, LEED AP, Associate, Magnusson Architecture and Planning, PC

Jen Stencel brings 10 years of professional experience to Magnusson Architecture and Planning, PC. As a registered architect and LEED accredited professional, her background includes the design and construction administration of new and existing sustainable multifamily affordable housing, institutional, and educational buildings. Stencel is the project manager of an adaptive re-use project Middletown, N.Y., which will convert an old mill building into 42 units of affordable housing, and a new 50-unit, multifamily building on Warburton Avenue in Yonkers, N.Y. She is also managing a 121-unit affordable housing redevelopment plan with the Yonkers Housing Authority including a multifamily building and senior building on a brownfield site. Upon completion this new development in Yonkers will be LEED-Silver certifiable.

Stencel is the co-chair of the AIANY Women in Architecture Committee. As a student her studies focused on sustainable design and construction. She served as the president and treasurer of the University of Florida Architecture College Council. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Design in Architecture.