Goldie Scholars^® 2020-21

Ines Andrade  
Master’s in Real Estate Candidate
Cornell Baker Program in Real Estate, Ithaca, NY

Ines is currently a full-time MSRE student at Cornell University where she is the President of the Associate Cornell Real Estate Council (AREC)  and the Vice President of the Association of Cornell Women in Real Estate (ACWIRE). This past winter break, she interned at JLL Chicago on the Capital Markets Debt Placement team and this summer she will be interning at USAA Real Estate in San Antonio. Prior to pursuing her master’s degree, Ines served as an Acquisitions Associate with Heitman in Chicago. Ines earned her Bachelor’s in Economics with a minor in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where she served as President of the Rho Epsilon Student Real Estate Association and received numerous scholarship awards and other accolades. While in school, Ines interned with Jimmy John’s, Starwood Retail Partners, and CyrusOne.

Angela Azmitia
Leasing Consultant | CHA Coordinator
Related Midwest, Chicago, IL

Angela is a Master of Science in Real Estate candidate at Roosevelt University (RU). She currently works as a leasing consultant and Chicago Housing Authority coordinator for Related Management. Angela is committed to discovering ways in which affordable housing and community resources can be further built into for-profit development and private-sector negotiations. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Printmedia from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Kemena Brooks
Senior Project Manager
The Community Builders, Chicago, IL

Kemena is a Senior Project Manager for The Community Builders (“TCB”).   TCB is a leading nonprofit real estate developer with a focus on community investment that helps neighborhoods thrive for people of all incomes.  In her role, Kemena leads the development of several mixed-income housing and community assets in multiple Chicago neighborhoods. Kemena is also leading the development of one of the City’s first carbon-neutral mixed-income residential building in Chicago’s Loop. 

Kemena is currently enrolled in the Baumhart Scholars MBA program at Loyola University Chicago.  She holds a Master of Urban Design from the University of North Carolina Charlotte and a Bachelor of Science with a major in interior architecture from the University of North Carolina Greensboro.  Kemena is a Goldie Initiative Scholar, an Associate Board member of the Greater Chicago YMCA, a ULI member, and serves on the board of Innovative Housing Solutions Foundation.

Megan Burrows
Executive Vice President
American Realty Advisors, Chicago, IL

Megan is pursuing her MS in Real Estate from Georgetown University with a concentration in Finance. Megan Burrows is ARA’s Executive Vice President, Asset Management responsible for leading the multifamily asset management team while directly overseeing $1.5 billion and approximately 4,500 apartment units in the central and eastern portions of the U.S. Investment strategies span from stabilized core assets, ground up development, and value add. Prior to joining ARA, Ms. Burrows worked for DWS in their asset management group, where she was responsible for a portfolio of multifamily and student housing properties located throughout the country. Prior to that, Ms. Burrows worked at UBS Realty Investors where she spent time in both asset management as well as Portfolio and Client Services team fundraising equity contributions for their direct Real Estate platform.
Ms. Burrows has over 14 years of experience and earned a B.S. degree from the University of Southern California.

​Wanqiu Chen
Joint MBA and M.S. Civil Engineering Student
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Wanqiu is currently a full-time student at the University of Illinois.  She interned with Greystar in Chicago as well as with engineering firms in China.  Wanqiu earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology. She is active in the Graduate Society of Women Engineers and the Rho Epsilon Real Estate Association at the University of Illinois.

Grace Choi
Tax Manager
Standard Companies, Chicago, IL

Grace is pursuing her MBA degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.  Prior to  pursuing her MBA, Grace was a tax manager at Standard Communities. She also worked for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Grace earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and her Master’s of Business Taxation from the University of Southern California. 

Wyesha Dillard
Full-time Student
Washington, D.C.

Wyesha Dillard is pursuing her MBA at Georgetown University with a concentration in real estate. She has worked in programmatic advertising, CPG, and affordable housing specializing in budget management, value engineering, and data analytics. Her long-term goal is to found a company that develops transit-oriented, mixed-use, and affordable housing real estate projects, expanding into larger urban revitalization projects over time. She received her undergraduate degree from The University of Georgia and is a licensed real estate salesperson in Georgia. 

Anastasia Gillen
Director – Asset Management
LivCor, Chicago, IL

Anastasia is pursuing her MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. At LivCor, Anastasia she oversees 15+ multifamily properties. Before LivCor, Anastasia was at Greystar and prior to that she spent four years with Redwood Capital Group where she was running a multifamily portfolio across multiple markets. At Redwood, Anastasia was responsible for all facets of asset management including financial analysis, client reporting, executing value add strategies, and partnering with her transactions counterparts to facilitate acquisitions and dispositions. Anastasia has extensive experience in several markets and with various institutional partners. Before Redwood, Anastasia began her real estate career at LaSalle Investment Management.  Anastasia graduated from Brown University, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science. While at Brown, she was a four-year member of the women’s soccer team.  

Michelle Kilgallon
MBA Candidate
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Michelle is pursuing her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  Prior to business school, Michelle was an Associate on the Investments team at Calzada Capital Partners, a global real estate private equity firm.  She was also previously an investment banking analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at BMO Capital Markets.  Michelle earned her BBA at the University of Notre Dame, where she double majored in Finance and Political Science.

Katie Latchford
Master’s in Real Estate Candidate
Cornell Baker Program in Real Estate, Ithaca, NY

Aishwarya Leen
MBA Candidate at University of Wisconsin – Madison
Madison, WI

Aishwarya Leen is a current full-time MBA student at UW-Madison where she is the President of the Real Estate Club. This past summer, she interned at JLL Boston in their CRE Research team. Prior to pursuing her master’s degree, Aishwarya earned her Bachelor’s in Finance at Northeastern University with a minor in Economics. At Northeastern, Aishwarya interned at State Street Corp. and Santander Bank. She was a member of the Women in Business Association.

Caroline Lehman
MBA Candidate, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Caroline is pursuing her MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan with a certificate in real estate. She has spent the past six years working in civil engineering and construction in the Washington D.C. metro area. Her interests include real estate, affordable housing, green infrastructure, and sustainable development. She earned her BSE in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Duke University.

Lynn Lin
Intern at Link Logistics Real Estate

MBA Candidate, University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

Originally from Taiwan, Lynn has recently come to Chicago to join the University of Chicago Booth School of Business as an MBA student. Lynn is the co-founder of a real estate company focusing on land acquisition and property development in Taiwan. Prior to establishing her real estate company, she worked for Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong. In the future, she plans to combine her experience in finance and real estate by pivoting into real estate portfolio management.

Cydney Lyons
Full time Student, Master’s degree in Real Estate Development
Columbia University, New York City, NY

Cydney is pursuing her Master’s degree in Real Estate Development at Columbia University in New York City. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from the University of Waterloo. Cydney specializes in strategic planning and business development wherein she built a consulting practice that serves mission-driven clients across several sectors. Her most recent project included working with a team on a 76-unit affordable housing complex with a youth centre. Cydney has also worked on adaptive reuse projects, master plan proposals, and infill multifamily. She is passionate about the intersection of sustainability, social impact, and real estate. 

Becky Mati
Chief Financial Officer
Kinexx Modular Construction, Chicago, IL

I took a circuitous route to commercial real estate. After graduating from Boston University and living in Florence, Italy for four years, I returned to Chicago and began working at my family’s real estate investment and property management firm. Over the years, I have worked in all areas of finance, acquisition, development and property management. Today, as managing partner of A & G Property Management, I oversee all aspects of corporate strategy and implementation. In addition to my real estate responsibilities, in 2021 I joined Kinexx Modular Construction, a Chicago based start-up focused on modular construction for affordable urban infill housing, as CFO. I am currently enrolled at DePaul University in the MSRE program which has been an incredible learning experience. When I am not at the office, I am at home in Glenview, IL with my three kids or out riding my horse, Chip.

Alexandra “Lexx” Mills
MBA Candidate, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business + Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning 
Ann Arbor, MI

Lexx is a dual-degree MBA/Master of Urban & Regional Planning student. She previously served as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Malaysia and taught elementary school in D.C and Baltimore. Prior to graduate school, Lexx worked as an Impact Investment Associate on a $5.5B urban redevelopment project in Baltimore where she led supplier diversity initiatives by hosting recruitment events for over 300 minority and women-owned businesses. In this role, she also supported six low-income communities with their strategic neighborhood revitalization efforts. Lexx is passionate about utilizing investment in real estate and businesses in Black communities as a platform for economic development and generational wealth building.

Natalie Montgomery
Paralegal/Legal Coordinator
First Industrial Realty Trust

Natalie is currently a rising 2L in the part-time program at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Her real estate journey began in Philadelphia at Brandywine Realty Trust. Prior to Brandywine she was the Research Review Committee Coordinator for the School District of Philadelphia in their Office of Research of Evaluation. Natalie began working for the School District as an intern while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

Natalie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Penn, with minors in Africana Studies and Urban Education: Research, Policy, and Practice. She served as the President of the Penn Chapter of the Petey Greene Program – an initiative in which university students tutor incarcerated adults and youth working towards their high school diploma or GED. Furthermore, Natalie also volunteered as a sexual assault crisis advocate and hotline counselor at the WOAR Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence.

Chelsa Moore
Master’s Candidate, Urban Planning and Policy
University of Illinois (UIC), Chicago, IL

Chelsa is currently pursuing her Master’s in Urban Planning & Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) concentrating on economic and community development. She earned her BS in Accounting at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and has several years of accounting experience.  Chelsa is committed to bringing revitalization and economic growth to underserved communities in Chicago through equity planning and community advocacy.  She currently serves in the Government Costing team at UIC and interns at Daylight Organization as a Community Capacity Building intern.

Liz Peterson 
Senior Marketing Coordinator at Newcastle Limited
Chicago, IL

Judy Klein Romero
Director, Real Estate Asset Management
Universal Health Realty Income Trust (NYSE:UHT)

Judy is currently pursuing her Master’s in Real Estate at Georgetown University, Washington, DC.  Judy joined Universal Health Realty Income Trust in 2017.  Prior to her current position with UHT, Judy has enjoyed a long and successful career, serving in such capacities as corporate Vice President – Operations for HTA, Associate Partner at Ensemble DevMan of Arizona, and Senior Vice President of Amerimar Enterprises, Inc.  Her experience includes contrarian, value-add, development and redevelopment of office, retail and medical real estate.  Judy earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire, is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the state of Arizona, and has earned the CCIM and RPA industry designations.

Kylie Ruffalo
Associate, Investments
Ancora, Chicago, IL

Kylie is pursuing an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Prior to her current position, she was a Senior Consultant at Altus Group. Kylie earned her BS/BA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Denver, where she was active in Alpha Phi International Fraternity.

Hannah Saed
JD Candidate
Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL

Prior to beginning her law school studies, Hannah was an Economic and Valuation Services Associate with KPMG in Chicago, where she also interned as an undergraduate. Hannah also served as a Leasing and Acquisitions Intern with Next Realty.  She earned her Bachelor’s in Finance, Real Estate from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, where she served as the Co-President of the Indiana University Real Estate Club.

Mairim Smith
Team Lead, Senior Manager | Project and Development Services at JLL
Chicago, IL

Mairim is currently pursuing her MBA from Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University. Mairim has over 20 years of Real Estate and Project Management Experience. At JLL she is a Team Lead for the Project and Development Services Group. In her role, she leads a team of high performing Senior Project Managers delivering ground up, interior fit out construction retail projects for a financial institution client across the Central North Region of the US. As part of her role she drives innovation and best practices solutions and ensures compliance against client key performance indicators.

Hope Swantko
J.D. Candidate at Notre Dame Law School
South Bend, IN

Hope Swantko is a current law student at Notre Dame Law School. She has gained experience working with real estate brokers and real estate attorneys prior to attending law school. She intends to practice as a transactional real estate attorney following graduation.

Liz Trautz
MBA Candidate
Wisconsin School of Business, Madison, WI

Liz is a second year Goldie Scholar as well as a second year MBA student at the Wisconsin School of Business, studying at the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. She is currently member of Wisconsin’s Private Equity Track and is President of the Real Estate Club. In between her two years of business school she interned at Buhl Investors, a commercial real estate developer based out of the Twin Cities. Prior to returning to school, she worked at Colliers Chicago on the industrial sales team. Liz received her BA from Colgate University with a double major in economics and Spanish; she was also a member of Colgate’s NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Team. 

Jenna WIlson
JD Candidate at Notre Dame Law School 
South Bend, IN

Jenna Wilson is a third-year law student at Notre Dame Law School, where she is the President of the Real Estate Law Society and senior editor for the Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies. Following graduation, she will be joining Faegre Drinker as an Associate Attorney. 

Margeaux Wysockey
MBA Candidate
Wisconsin School of Business, Madison, WI

Aspiring Real Estate Investment Associate. 3+ years of experience in commercial brokerage and property management, along with strong client-facing, strategy and portfolio management abilities. I am skilled at working with a variety of personalities and producing results. Seeking to combine my strong interpersonal skills with my new technical knowledge in an investment focused role. Pursuing real estate-focused internships in private equity, REITs and venture capital for the spring (remote) and summer of 2022.

Shelley Xu
Senior Portfolio Manager
Pine Tree, Oakbrook, IL

Shelley is currently pursuing her Executive MBA at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to her current role as a Senior Portfolio Manager at Pine Tree, a national leader in retail property acquisition, development, management and leasing, she was a Vice President at Security Capital Research & Management, a division of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., where she worked as a buyside investment professional analyzing publicly-traded US REITs. Shelley began her career at KPMG Advisory as a management consultant. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Master of Accounting Science with a Tax Concentration. She is a CFA Charterholder and licensed CPA.