ROBERT D. BRONSTEIN
Co-founder of the Scion Group, Robert Bronstein has more than 13 years of experience in consulting, financing and/or development of student housing facilities. Since 1999, he has led the firm's growth from its original two employees to one of the largest owners and operators in the sector. He is recognized as an expert in the financial and operational analysis of educational housing and auxiliary facilities, and is often asked to lecture and participate in roundtable discussions for such organizations as the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International and the National Association of College and University Business Officers, among others. He has consulted with national real estate and financial firms on student housing-related issues. Bronstein has also written several articles and white papers on student housing, specifically concerning the balancing of institutional cost, risk and flexibility.

NATHAN S. COLLIER
Operating under the Collier Cos. and Paradigm Group umbrellas, founder and chairman Nathan Collier has been in multifamily acquisition, development, operation, and finance for most of his business life. Since buying a single duplex while he was in college, Collier has assembled a still-growing portfolio of approximately 8,500 apartments across Florida as well as in Norman, OK. He has endowed the Nathan S. Collier Master of Science in Real Estate program at University of Florida's Warrington College of Business, where he is an adjunct professor. The lead author of Construction Funding: The Process of Real Estate Development, Appraisal and Finance, Collier also sits on the boards of the U.F. Center for Real Estate Studies and National Multi Housing Council.

JOSEPH M. COYLE
When the Michaels Organization created a new business unit dedicated to excellence in student housing, they brought Joseph Coyle on board to head up the new company, University Student Living LLC. An experienced leader with more than 20 years' experience in the housing and development industry, Coyle previously served as president of College Park Communities, the student housing division of GMH Communities Trust, where he also held the position of EVP. At the time, GMH Communities Trust, based in Newtown Square, PA, was one of the largest specialty housing companies focused on providing off-campus housing to college and university students. At Michaels, Coyle is focused on expanding development and management of student housing communities through public-private partnerships with colleges and universities. He also oversees fee-management opportunities available from other private student housing owners as well as acquisition opportunities in this market segment.

MICHAEL F. KING
Active in the real estate industry since buying his first student housing property in 1978, Michael King currently leads the development of Trinitas' strategic vision and direction. One of the firm's highlights is the Collegiate Kentucky, a 278-unit, 699-bed property that will serve students attending the University of Kentucky and surrounding institutions. Prior to entering real estate, King served as regional vice president of sales and marketing for national retailer General Nutrition Centers. A member of his local builder, realtor and apartment associations, King is also an active member of his local chamber of commerce and is a deacon of his church.

HENRY A. MORTON
Campus Suites president Henry Morton has previously co-developed, or is developing, over 13,900 student housing and conventional bedroom units in Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Arizona and Montana, with a value of over $500 million. In addition, his property management company has simultaneously managed in excess of 4,500 leases. His projects have won numerous awards, including “Top Student Housing Community” in Murfreesboro, TN, the “Student Choice Award” in Columbia, SC and The Best Place to Live” at the University of Maryland, College Park. Morton has also consulted on a student housing development in Eilat, Israel and spearheaded a project being awarded as the preferred proponent for a 2,000-bed RFP in Toronto. Morton is involved in a number of charitable and community activities and has been a speaker at the industry's top conferences.

FREDERICK W. PIERCE
Fred Pierce founded Pierce Education Properties LP in 1995 to provide real estate investment and development services to the education industry. Today, the San Diego-based company owns and manages a portfolio of 5,000 beds in properties owned in joint ventures with institutional partners. Over the years, the president and CEO has become a nationally known leader in education and educational development. His wide-ranging career includes roles as chief financial officer and principal of Los Angeles-based Platt Cos. and western regional director of real estate consulting for Price Waterhouse. From 1999 to 2004, Pierce served as a trustee of the 23-campus, 440,000-student California State University System, where he chaired the Institutional Advancement, Audit and University and Faculty Personnel committees.

ALBERT RABIL III
Al Rabil has been with Kayne Anderson since the launch of its real estate platform in 2007 and oversees the origination, execution and management of all private real estate investment activities while serving as a member of its investment committee. Between 2002 and 2007, he founded and was a principal of two real estate investment firms—RAMZ LLC and Rabil Properties LLC. During this time Rabil developed and acquired more than $250 million of off-campus student housing. In addition to his business activities, Rabil is actively involved in numerous charitable ventures. He is one of the founding board members of the Headstrong Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing cost-free, stigma-free and bureaucracy-free mental healthcare for military veterans.

HAROLD ROSENBLUM
Upon graduating from Dartmouth College, Harold “Ari” Rosenblum founded Woodlark Cos. in 2001 and began raising capital for multifamily opportunities. Soon, the firm refined its strategy to focus on student housing. To date, the White Plains, NY-based company has 5,200 apartment units, comprising over 13,000 beds at 22 different universities in 13 states, and over $500 million of assets under management. Rosenblum's investors include CEOs of public companies, investment bankers and leaders in the real estate industry. The combined net worth of his current group of roughly 300 individual investors is well over $1 billion. He also has significant relationships with institutional lenders, prominent real estate law firms and the hedge fund community.

WILLIAM RUVELSON
Icon Co. principal Billy Ruvelson is no stranger to hard work. He got his first job as an assistant cook at the age of 14, and upon graduating high school, moved to France. He spent two years as an apprentice chef and “stagier,” working long hours and weeks in one- and two-star Michelin restaurants. In 1995, when he was just 23, he purchased his first property. He sold it in 2002 for a price that more than quadrupled his investment. In 2003 he syndicated his first real estate investment fund, Forward Progress Management Real Estate Fund I LLC and within a year orchestrated the acquisition of three multifamily properties. He went on to syndicate three additional apartment building funds under the FPM umbrella. The four real estate funds purchased 20 apartment buildings throughout Los Angeles. He's served as the president of Forward Progress Management Inc. since its inception in 1995 and as the president of its successor company Forward Progress Management Real Estate Inc. since its inception in 2007, as principal of the Icon Co. in 2008, and as the president of Sperone Land and Real Estate Inc. since founding the entity in 2012. Through Icon Cos., Ruvelson is co-manager of the Icon Plaza at USC LLC, the Icon at SLO LLC, the Icon at UCSB LLC and the Icon Gardens at UCSB LLC.

ROBERT SHEPKO
With over 20 years of experience in partnering with the higher education sector, Bob Shepko guides the strategic planning and execution of Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions' education privatization endeavors. He is responsible for supervising ongoing privatization projects and the coordination of multiple disciplines, including finance, design, construction, renovation, community management, asset management and facilities maintenance. Previously, Shepko worked on the complete privatization of military family housing as SVP of project management for Balfour Beatty Communities' Navy residential portfolio, which is comprised of 19 military installations. Prior to joining the Balfour Beatty companies, he is best known for his work with institutions of higher education at Anderson Strickler Campus Housing and Real Estate Consultants, as well as College Park Communities, the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Cambridge Associates.

BRIAN THOMPSON
In March of this year, Brian Thompson, a senior vice president with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital LLC, spoke with GlobeSt.com about his firm acquiring more than 60 Long Island University Brooklyn graduate student apartments for more than $60 million. At the time, he said the deal “really fits within our focus on education-related properties. This part of the property is master-leased by LIU and in the past four or five years student housing has proven to be recession proof. Even when unemployment rises, kids are going back to school to fulfill their education.” The firm also buys up healthcare and storage-related real estate, more properties immune to economic downturns. Harrison Street has a broad footprint, including student homes in the South, California, the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast. Thompson and his team currently focus on sourcing, analyzing, and closing properties and venture relationships across North America. Thompson has more than 12 years of experience in the student housing business. During his tenure at Harrison Street, he has participated in the sourcing and closing of transactions valued at more than $2 billion, which includes the development and acquisition of over 35,000 beds. Prior to Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, he was the senior analyst of the acquisitions and capital markets team for GMH Communities Trust Inc.