Bill Bayless began his student housing career in 1984 with Allen & O'Hara, where he held the positions of resident assistant, resident manager and area marketing coordinator. Today, he's considered one the nation's foremost experts on student housing. As president and CEO, he is a co-founder of American Campus Communities and serves as its board of directors. ACC is one of the largest developers and managers of private student housing in the US. In 2004, ACC became the first student housing REIT to be publicly traded. Prior to assuming the role of CEO in 2003, Bayless served as the firm's COO, where he directed all of the company's business segments. From 1993 until July 1995, he served as vice president of development. Prior to the formation of ACC, he was the director of operations for Century Development's student housing division and as the director of marketing for the student housing division of Cardinal Industries.

PAUL O. BOWER

Paul Bower was Education Realty Trust's chief executive officer and president until his retirement in 2009. He still serves as chairman of the board of directors—a position he's held since July 2004. Bower holds the Certified Property Manager designation conferred by the Institute of Real Estate Management and is a member of the Memphis Board of Realtors and the Association of College and University Housing Officers International. He's also on the board of directors of Youth Villages, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families. He joined Allen & O'Hara Inc. in 1969, holding a variety of positions until he was promoted to senior vice president of the student housing group of Allen & O'Hara's management services department in 1977. Twenty-two years later, Bower became CEO and president of the company.

ROBERT CLARK

As president of Peak Campus Management, Bob Clark is passionate about people. “The soul and performance of the company is directly linked to attracting and retaining great people,” he has said. “Our people-centric culture starts during the recruiting relationship phase and continues daily with an intimate company-to-employee relationship through simply treating employees like we know we would like to be treated. We know that getting the people right trumps getting the real estate right.” At Peak Campus, Clark is responsible for all national management services and brings years of experience in multifamily residential housing to the organization. Prior to leading the day-to-day operations of Peak Campus, he held varying executive roles over the past seven years at Place Properties, including successful oversight of the company's finance, acquisition and management functions. He also controls company-level finance and accounting operations including project finance, corporate finance, financial planning, property accounting, risk management, legal matters, and directing acquisition activities.

JOHN CLAYTON

Jon Clayton is the co-founder and principal of Fountain Residential Partners, where he was responsible for the development of over $700 million of high-density and garden-style student housing projects as well as traditional multifamily communities across the US. Previously, he served as development VP for Place Properties, where he headed the development operations for the Dallas office, focusing on new projects in the western and central US. He has collaborated with major development companies such as JPI Student Living Development, Echelon Residential and Carbon Residential. He is well versed in every aspect of student housing development, acquisitions, and asset management from market and site/asset selection through the underwriting and permitting processes, to construction, lease-up and asset management oversight.

BRIAN DINERSTEIN

Brian Dinerstein is a principal at the Dinerstein Cos. and is responsible for generating all new business in the company's student housing and conventional apartment divisions. He came to the firm with experience working in business development at Internet Capital Group and in the real estate division of Wells Fargo Bank. The Dinerstein Cos. currently has $1.2 billion of assets under development predominantly in Central Florida, Southern California and Texas. Sterling University Housing, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dinerstein Cos., has developed 26,000 student beds in 26 states with another 4,200 beds under way. Since 2004, the company has sold 45 student properties to a multitude of buyers; it's especially proud of the fact that 84% of its sales have been to repeat buyers. Dinerstein sits on the boards of the National Multi Housing Council and the Firefighter's Foundation of Houston. He's also on the Urban Land Institute's Multifamily Blue Council.

MICHAEL GODWIN

Michael Godwin has been president and CEO of Ambling Cos. Inc. since 1996, and he boasts over 20 years of experience in the development, construction and management arenas. He is responsible for all facets of the company's operations, including strategic planning, new business development, finance, administration, planning, construction and property management. Godwin has built Ambling into a nationally recognized firm in the student housing and affordable housing markets. He is an expert in the utilization of tax credits and other financial instruments in the development of affordably priced, quality shelter. Previously, he was president of Professional Housing Partnerships Inc. and president of Godwin Construction Co., where he first entered the affordable housing market following the development of several landmark projects. Godwin serves on the boards of directors for the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association and the National Multi Housing Council. At the local level in Georgia, Godwin serves on the boards directors of the Boys and Girls Club and Park Avenue Bank.

MICHAEL S. McGRATH

President and chairman of Asset Plus Corp. and Asset Campus Housing Inc., Michael McGrath handles corporate planning and financial operations for the company and supervises all activities of its operating divisions. He's also an investor and co-general partner on over $350 million in property acquisitions and developments undertaken by the investment affiliate of the company. Over a 25-year period, he has been involved in the analysis and operation of more than $1 billion of real estate investment properties. His career has been illustrious; he became senior vice president of Houston-based Asset Plus Corp. during its inception in 1986 and was promoted to president and CEO in 1988. Later, he acquired Asset Plus Corp. from its institutional-based owner. McGrath is also on the board of directors for W.E. Perry Realty Investment Funds.

MICHAEL J. PETER

Mike Peter began his career in student housing in the mid-1980s, rising from resident assistant to resident director and, quickly, to manager for Allen & O'Hara in Wisconsin and California. He then served in the US Peace Corps in the West Indies before returning to earn a law degree at the University of Minnesota. Having returned to student housing full-time in 1997 as director of on-campus business development for American Campus Communities, Peter is now founder, president and CEO of Campus Advantage. As such, he's responsible for all strategic planning and financial operations for the firm, as well as initiating and maintaining relationships with colleges, universities, private owners and allied business partners. He responds to and customizes programs for schools and private owners looking for student housing management and consulting expertise.

DONNA PREISS

For over 25 years, the Preiss Co. has specialized in the development, acquisition, and management of off-campus student housing and is currently the fifth largest privately owned student housing provider in the country. Led by founder and CEO Donna Preiss, the company has 240 employees and is one of the largest and fastest-growing student housing providers in the US, currently owning and/or operating properties in six states. The Preiss Co.'s properties have achieved “Best Places to Live Off-Campus” designation on multiple occasions by their respective campus newspapers. Preiss has participated in the development, acquisition and management of over 12,000 beds and secured lending for just under $420 million in development and investment property. She's been recognized by Triangle Business Journal as one of the Triangle's most successful professional women.

J. WESLEY ROGERS

As president and chief executive officer of Landmark Properties, J. Wesley Rogers has overseen the acquisition, financing, development and operations of nearly $500 million worth of new-construction student housing since establishing the company—with partner James Whitley—in 2004. In recent years, he and his firm have largely focused on developing student cottage communities under the “Retreat” brand. Rogers is responsible for establishing and implementing Landmark's overall corporate strategy and is involved in the development and finance side of the company's business. According to the company, “his hands-on leadership style keeps him engaged in all aspects of the business.”

TED W. ROLLINS

Ted Rollins and Mike Hartnett founded Campus Crest Group in 2004 and grew it to become a leading developer, builder, owner and manager of high-quality, purpose-built student housing properties located in targeted US markets. As co-chairman and CEO of Campus Crest Communities Inc., Rollins has been instrumental in the company's significant growth and strategic direction, including its sustainability initiative. His core focus has been on operations and finance, while working together with Hartnett to source development opportunities and oversee construction. Rollins is also owner of MXT Capital, which is a holding company whose primary investment is its interest in Campus Crest Group. During his career, he has served as president of Rollins Investments Inc., a real estate development and property management company and as chief financial officer of RealtiCorp, a research-based land fund focused on the procurement of land for multisite users such as retail chains, restaurants and convenience stores.

DOUG SHERMAN

A co-founder of Innovative Student Housing, Doug Sherman helped to establish the company in 2010. The firm provides an end-to-end suite of services including sourcing high-value acquisition opportunities for investors, developer services and growing NOI through management. Before taking on this role, he was CEO of Aspen Heights, where he developed over $200 million of student housing on seven university campuses. Touching upon skills required of an operator and developer allowed him to create and implement a best-practice model for student housing derived from his experience in consulting with Fortune 500 companies. Before moving into student housing, Sherman was the founder and CEO of DSG Consulting Inc. Boeing Commercial Aircraft, IBM, HP, Siemens were among some 150 worldwide organizations that selected his firm to design and implement best practices to grow their businesses.