Team

Jonathan Berns

Co-Founder, Principal and Investment Committee Member

Mr. Berns is a co-founder of ORG and has been active in the real estate and consulting industry for 38 years. Mr. Berns has dedicated his time and vision, along with co-founder Edward Schwartz, to growing ORG into a premier real estate consulting firm. As a senior investment professional, Mr. Berns is directly involved in and administers client service, investment fund and real asset due diligence, portfolio strategy and manager oversight. He also is responsible for the oversight of the ORG Diversified Real Estate Portfolio, a separate entity that owns and manages a $150 million investment portfolio including apartment, office, retail and industrial properties. Mr. Berns is a voting member of the ORG Investment Committee.

Prior to forming ORG in 1999, Mr. Berns was president of Berns Properties, Inc., a real estate development, investment and consulting company that he founded in 1984. Acting as a consultant under Berns Properties, Mr. Berns was responsible for negotiating an investment by Nuon International, a $2 billion Dutch utility, in North Coast Energy, as well as consulting in the acquisition of two large research facilities located in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Mr. Berns is a past chairman of the First Suburbs Consortium, a nationally recognized government-led advocacy organization focused on redevelopment of urban property and has been a national speaker on real estate investment strategies, urban redevelopment and energy utilization optimization and procurement. Mr. Berns studied at the University of Michigan.

Edward Schwartz

Co-Founder, Principal and Investment Committee Member

Mr. Schwartz is a co-founder of ORG and has 31 years of experience in investment consulting. Mr. Schwartz’s vision and planning, along with co-founder Jonathan Berns, has resulted in ORG’s growth and standing as a premier institutional real estate consulting firm. Mr. Schwartz also participates in and administers the firm’s review of investment managers, co-investment opportunities and secondary offering purchases. He formulates ORG’s economic and real estate market opinions and develops client portfolio strategies. Mr. Schwartz is a voting member of ORG’s Investment Committee.

Prior to forming ORG in 1999, Mr. Schwartz was a Senior Consultant with a global institutional consulting firm where his clients included some of the largest public and private US pension plans. As a consultant, his responsibilities included investment manager reviews and strategic portfolio construction. Mr. Schwartz participates on The Institutional Real Estate Letter’s Editorial Advisory Board. He is a frequent panelist and speaker at industry conferences and educational forums for public pension plan staff and trustees. Mr. Schwartz has authored articles for a variety of pension and real estate focused publications and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal relative to his opinions on real estate issues. Mr. Schwartz has a Master of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Kenyon College in Ohio.

Barbara McDowell, CEBS

Chief Compliance Officer, Principal and Investment Committee Member

Ms. McDowell joined ORG in 2003 and has 33 years of experience in the institutional investment and real estate industry. Ms. McDowell manages ORG’s client reporting, performance measurement, portfolio compliance and monitoring. Ms. McDowell is the project manager and original designer of ORG’s on-line proprietary database ACRES (Automated Client Reporting System). She also serves as ORG’s Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to joining ORG, Ms. McDowell spent 10 years with the SBC Communications Inc.’s Master Pension Trust (SBC Master Pension Trust) as Director of Real Estate and Alternative Investments. Ms. McDowell managed the Trust’s real estate asset class investments, including private and public real estate and private equity.

Throughout her career Ms. McDowell has been active in Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and was a member of the Plan Sponsor Executive Council. In 2000, she chaired the Plan Sponsor PREA conference. Prior to working with the SBC Master Pension Trust, Ms. McDowell held various positions at SBC Communications Inc. in Finance, Audit and Information Systems acquiring significant experience and knowledge of compliance and audit procedures, financial reporting, investment and risk management and oversight. Ms. McDowell also worked at a boutique equity investment management company here she was responsible for performance measurement and reporting which included GIPS Level 1 compliance reviews. Ms. McDowell is a member of National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF). She has been a member of the Real Estate Information Standards (REIS) Council and remains active in the organization’s task forces. Ms. McDowell has a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Houston in Texas and hold a designation as a Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS).

Thorsen Eriksen

Principal and Investment Committee Member

Mr. Eriksen joined ORG in 2016 and is responsible for conducting research, analyzing statistical data, and developing financial models for investment due diligence. In addition, he assists with evaluating real estate managers, performing asset level analytics, and managing specific client research requests Prior to joining ORG, Mr. Eriksen completed a two-year Investment Analyst program with ValStone Partners, a middle market private equity real estate firm. At ValStone, Mr. Eriksen was primarily responsible for analyzing, evaluating, and monitoring investments made by the firm and its related entities. Mr. Eriksen received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance from the Boler School of Business at John Carroll University in Ohio.

Stephen Stuckwisch, CFA, CAIA

Principal and Investment Committee Member

Mr. Stuckwisch joined ORG in 2021 and has 40 years of experience in real estate spanning, debt, equity, securities and valuation. He is responsible for conducting research, analyzing statistical data, and developing financial models for investment due diligence. In addition, he assists with evaluating real estate managers, separately managed accounts, performing asset level analytics and managing specific client research requests. Mr. Stuckwisch is a voting member of the ORG Investment Committee. Prior to joining ORG, Mr. Stuckwisch was a Portfolio Manager for Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (Retired), Administrative Officer for Chemical Mortgage Company and Commercial Appraiser for Don R. Scheidt & Co. He is a Senior Lecturer of Finance at The Ohio State University focused on real estate and real estate finance. Mr. Stuckwisch received his MBA from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business Administration from Hanover College in Indiana.

David Morton

Principal and Investment Committee Member

Mr. Morton joined ORG in 2023 and has over 34 years of experience in the investment industry. Mr. Morton is responsible for asset allocation, investment research, portfolio construction and client relations. Mr. Morton is a voting member of the ORG Investment Committee. Prior to ORG, Mr. Morton was a Lead Portfolio Manager at Goldman Sachs Asset Management where he led the Insurance OCIO initiative and managed all aspects of his clients’ balance sheets including cash deployment, asset allocation, investment manager sourcing and reporting to the client investment committees. He was also responsible for advising his legacy clients and researching private credit investment strategies.

Prior to Goldman Sachs, Mr. Morton was a founding partner of Rocaton Investment Advisors, a global investment consultant. During his tenure at Rocaton, Mr. Morton was the Chief Market Strategist and Head of Alternatives Research where he was responsible for developing global market thematic views, generating investment ideas, conducting research on alternative and traditional investment managers, managing client relationships and constructing client portfolios. Prior to Rocaton, Mr. Morton held various positions executing investment research, corporate finance and pension plan investments. Mr. Morton received his Master of Business Administration with a Finance specialization from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University and his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Isabel Ciolek

Director of Analytics

Ms. Ciolek joined ORG in 2017 and is responsible for performance measurement, performance reporting and preparing client focused special reports. In addition, Ms. Ciolek is responsible for maintaining all performance related information, including quarterly data, capital calls and distributions, in the ORG proprietary database, ACRES. Prior to joining ORG, Ms. Ciolek worked for nine years as a Performance Analyst in the performance measurement area at Hartland & Co. (now Clearstead), a financial services organization. She also worked with client accounts and prepared quarterly client reports at Hartland. Ms. Ciolek received her MBA from Cleveland State University in Ohio and a Bachelor of Science from Baldwin Wallace University, Ohio.

Kevin Stone

Vice President

Mr. Stone joined ORG in 2021 and serves as a Vice President. Mr. Stone leads all marketing and business development initiatives at ORG. He is active in formulating investment strategies and sourcing investment opportunities for ORG’s clients and is also responsible for investment due diligence, investment analytics, evaluating investment managers and is a member of the ORG Research Team. Mr. Stone received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance from The Ohio State University.

Lucas Tiberi

Associate

Mr. Tiberi joined ORG in 2022 and serves as an Associate. Mr. Tiberi is responsible for conducting investment due diligence, operational due diligence, economic research and investment manager evaluation. In addition, Mr. Tiberi assists in performing asset level due diligence and analytics and managing client requests. Mr. Tiberi is also a member of the ORG Research Team and is responsible for research and development of ORG's Research Thought Pieces and market outlooks. Mr. Tiberi received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.

Tate Held

Research Analyst

Mr. Held joined ORG in 2023 and is responsible for performance measurement, performance reporting and preparing client focused special reports. In addition, he is responsible for maintaining performance information in the ORG proprietary database, ACRES. Mr. Held received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Minor in Business Analytics from Ohio University.

Maddie Mittler

Investment Analyst

Ms. Mittler joined ORG as an Investment Analyst in January 2024. Her responsibilities include conducting research, analyzing statistical data, and developing financial models for investment due diligence. Ms. Mittler is also responsible for evaluating investment managers, performing asset-level analytics, and handling specific client research requests. Prior to ORG, Ms. Mittler held a role with Washington Prime Group and has experience in managing short-term vacation rentals. Ms. Mittler earned her Bachelor of Science in Real Estate & Urban Analysis from The Ohio State University.

Tonya Short

Chief of Staff

Ms. Short joined ORG in 2014 with prior 18 years of administrative and manager experience including budgeting, human resources, and executive services. Ms. Short is Executive Assistant to Jonathan Berns and is also a lead member of ORG’s Acquisitions Team and is responsible for project communications. She serves as the administration contact for construction projects, works closely with outside counsel to initiate contract documents, budget analysis, and coordinates property management services. Ms. Short received her Associate in Arts degree from West Hills Community College in California.

Charles Decker

Project Manager & Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Decker joined ORG in 2014 with prior eleven years experience in general building maintenance including heating and air conditioning, electric, plumbing operations, fire and safety and tenant relations. Mr. Decker is a lead member of ORG’s Acquisitions Team and oversees the QPAM construction projects. He is responsible for managing construction projects, bid analysis, contractor engagement, budget analysis, and supervising maintenance personnel. Mr. Decker is certified in Refrigeration Recovery.

Natalie Kruch

Operations Coordinator and Human Resources Officer

Ms. Topalovic joined ORG in 2015 and provides office organization, administrative support and oversight of property maintenance and operations. She is responsible for project coordination, tenant relations and maintains communications with high demand tenants regarding operations, project management and troubleshooting. In addition, Ms. Topalovic is the Director of Human Resources. Ms. Topalovic studied at Lakeland College in Ohio and is a certified notary public in Ohio.

Amy Exline

Construction Administrative Assistant

Ms. Exline joined ORG in 2024 with 12 years of construction and real estate administrative experience, along with 14 years of office management and quality assurance of documentation. Ms. Exline provides support to ORG Property Management as well as the newly formed ORG Construction Management team. Prior to ORG, Ms. Exline was the Executive Assistant and Office Manager at Otero Signature Homes where she oversaw the schedule of the CEO, managed reception and email communications, while fielding sales inquiries and coordinating various meetings. At Otero Signature Homes Ms. Exline was the liaison between project managers, superintendents, inspectors, vendors, clients and the design team, researched lots for sale, drafted design release letters and planned events. Prior to Otero, Ms. Exline was the Senior Administrator in Accounting and Finance at The NRP Group.  At the NRP Group, she handled core company wire transfers, prepared AIA Contractor’s Qualification Statements, and coordinated PPR meetings for executives, developers and project managers located throughout the country. Preceding The NRP Group, Ms. Exline was the Proofreader and Executive Assistant at a fourth-generation family printing and manufacturing company, William Exline Inc. Besides preparing quotations and letters for the CEO, she examined, edited and approved all copy before negatives were made, dies were ordered, or copy was digitally printed. Ms. Exline earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Roger Reed

Construction Supervisor

Mr. Reed joined ORG in 2024 with over 35 prior years of commercial and residential real estate development and construction experience. Mr. Reed is responsible for overseeing and managing construction initiatives undertaken by ORG. Prior to ORG, Mr. Reed owned and operated SawStone Inc., a commercial and residential real estate general contractor and subcontractor. While with SawStone Inc., Mr. Reed supervised the construction, remodels and additions of numerous homes and oversaw the carpentry work of various commercial properties throughout Northeast Ohio. Mr. Reed studied at Cuyahoga County Community College.

Marlene Simone

Corporate Accountant

Ms. Simone joined ORG in 2005 with over 30 years of accounting experience. Ms. Simone manages all internal accounting functions for the company. In addition to managing internal functions, Ms. Simone is responsible for monitoring capital activity for several ORG clients. Prior to joining ORG, Ms. Simone spent 30 years at Reliance Electric/Rockwell Automation as a senior financial analyst. Ms. Simone was also responsible for creating marketing reports for Rockwell’s sales and engineering teams. Ms. Simone received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Dyke College (now Chancellor University) in Ohio.

Louisa Kruger

Lease Administration Analyst

Ms. Kruger joined ORG in 2021 and is responsible for administration of accounts payable and accounts receivable. She has over 37 years of residential and commercial property management and real estate accounting experience.

Mike Gay

Senior Accountant

Mr. Gay joined in 2022 as a Senior Accountant. Mr. Gay previously worked at DDR as a Corporate Accountant and IRG Realty Advisors as a Property Accountant. Mr. Gay graduated from University of Malone with a BA in Accounting and Business Administration in Canton, OH.

Shana Shriver

Senior Accountant

Mrs. Shriver joined ORG in 2023 and has over 15 years of experience in accounting and management. Mrs. Shriver is responsible for real estate accounting. Prior to ORG, Mrs. Shriver was an Accounting Property Manager at J&S Management Co. where she oversaw property financials, accounts payable and budgets for 15 properties. In addition, she worked closely with regional managers and site staff on day-to-day property operations as well as with the Controller to maintain accurate financials and work on special assigned projects. Prior to J&S, Mrs. Shriver was an Accounting Manager at Fillmore Property Group where she oversaw day-to-day accounting operations, led a team of three bookkeeping personnel and managed financials for 45 properties locally and across the United States. Mrs. Shriver earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Franklin University and her Associate’s Degree in Accounting from Lakeland Community College.