Philip Welch is a founder of Somerset Partners and Director of Multi-family operations. He has over 20 years of experience in commercial real estate and is involved in all acquisition, debt + equity financing and capital market activities for the firm. Prior to founding SP, Mr. Welch was Vice President in the Princeton (NJ) office of LCOR and an Associate in real estate finance at Donaldson, Lufkin + Jenrette. Mr. Welch is a benefactor of numerous charities including: American Red Cross, YMCA and The Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ. Mr. Welch holds a B.S. Degree from the University of Colorado and an MBA from the Wharton School.
Jonathan Price serves as a Principal of SAM. In addition to the oversight of day-to-day property operations, Jonathan is responsible for Capital Projects and acquisition due diligence. Prior to joining SAM over 10 years ago, Mr. Price was an Associate with The Woodmont Company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Price was responsible for various aspects of managing the company’s existing real estate portfolio, ranging from marketing, capital improvements and leasing. Mr. Price is a graduate of The University of Oklahoma, with a major in Art’s & Science. He resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife and 3 children.
Mr. Skvarla is the President/CEO and a founding Principal of SAM. Since 2005, Mr. Skvarla has been involved in the acquisition, rehabilitation and disposition of over $2 Billion of multi-family assets. Mr. Skvarla’s real estate career dates from 2002 when he served as an Acquisition Associate of Sovereign Investment Company, LLC. At Sovereign, Mr. Skvarla participated in the acquisition and disposition of over $400 million in real estate assets. Mr. Skvarla started his career with Ernst & Young, LLC where he worked within the Financial Services Group, focused on providing advisory and assurance services to banks, insurance companies and hedge funds. Mr. Skvarla holds a MS in Accountancy from Rhodes College and a BA in Business Administration from Rhodes College.
David Spies is a founding Principal of SAM. Mr. Spies has been involved with with the acquisition, disposition and financing of over $2 billion in multifamily transactions. From 2002 - 2007, Mr. Spies served as a Vice President in the Commercial Mortgage Group at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. in New York where he was involved in the origination and underwriting of over $2.8 billion in securitized commercial real estate loans. Prior to joining Bear Stearns, Mr. Spies was an auditor in the Banking and Securities Group at Deloitte & Touche, LLP and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive). Mr. Spies holds a BBA from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and is a member of the University of Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association (WREAA).
Philip Welch is the Chairman and a founding Principal of SAM. He has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate and has been involved in over $5B of CRE transactions. Mr. Welch is currently involved in all aspects of SAM’s operations including acquisitions & dispositions, debt & equity financing and portfolio management. Prior to founding SAM, Mr. Welch was a co-founder of Somerset Partners in New York, a Vice President in the Princeton (NJ) office of LCOR and an associate in real estate finance at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Mr. Welch is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Real Estate Center in the Leeds Business School at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is also involved in many charities including the Salvation Army, American Cancer Society and the YMCA. Mr. Welch holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Colorado and an MBA from the Wharton School.
Chris Carr serves as a Senior Property Accountant, bringing over 5 years of experience in Accounting. Currently, he oversees the daily and month end accounting procedures, as well as financial reporting for properties located in Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Missouri. Prior to joining SAM, Chris worked in Accounts Payable for CNAC Finance and Walmart. Prior to that, he worked in collections for Navient and One Main Financial. Chris holds a B.S. in Business Management from West Virginia University.
Miki Eide serves as Chief Financial Officer with over 20 years of real estate finance and accounting experience. Prior to SAM, Miki was a Vice President in the Charlotte production office of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital and a Vice President in the commercial division of Crescent Resources (now Crescent Communities). She began her career in the audit and assurance division of Deloitte. Miki holds a B.S. and M.S. in Accountancy from the University of South Carolina, and is a Certified Public Accountant in North Carolina.
David Featherstone serves as a Senior Property Accountant, bringing over 3 years of experience in property Accounting to SAM. Currently, he oversees the daily and month end accounting procedures, as well as financial reporting for properties located in Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia. Prior to joining SAM, David worked as a Senior Property Accountant for Capstone Multifamily Group in Gastonia, NC. David is a North Carolina native and currently holds an A.A.S. in Accounting from Gaston College.
Henry Jones serves as a Senior Property Accountant, brining over 4 years of experience in property management accounting. Currently, Henry oversees the daily and month end accounting procedures, as well as financial reporting for properties located in North Carolina, Virginia, and Missouri. Prior to joining SAM, Henry worked as a Senior Property Accountant for Henderson Properties in Charlotte, NC. Henry also has prior experience in real estate and crypto currency investing. Henry holds a B.S. in Accounting from Claflin University.
Taewoo Kim serves as a Senior Accountant with SAM. Taewoo is responsible for the daily and month end accounting procedures as well as financial reporting for properties located in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. He is a graduate of Rhodes College with B.A. in Commerce Business. After achieving his Bachelor’s Degree, Taewoo also pursued a M.S in Accountancy at Rhodes College prior to joining SAM.
Hale Cook serves an Acquisition Analyst, overseeing the underwriting of new deals for SAM’s portfolio. In addition to underwriting deals, he is responsible for Acquisition Due Diligence, Pricing, Capital Spending Analysis, the Implementation of SAM sponsored Renter’s Insurance Program and Investor Relations. Hale graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2011 with a B.S. in Financial Economics and a M.S. in Real Estate from Georgetown University in 2018.
Kara McCullough is SAM’s Human Resources Manager. She joined SAM in 2017 bringing 15 years of experience in the property management industry. Prior to joining SAM, she worked in association management and commercial property management, handling all financial and legal issues for her clients. At SAM, Kara works closely with all on-site managers across the portfolio to complete all HR tasks. Her areas of expertise include compliance and best practices, accounting and payroll, benefit administration and employee relations. Kara is a graduate of Virginia Tech.
Dana Foti joined SAM in 2019 as Operations Coordinator focusing on Investor Relations and Corporate Operations. Dana’s focuses include Investor Communications, Property Performance Reporting, Acquisition Due Diligence and Investor Distribution’s. Dana has also taken on an additional role at SAM with the Marketing Team, focusing on Reputation Management and Social Media Marketing. Dana is a graduate of Loyola University Maryland with a B.B.A in Business Economics.
Dugan Slappe joined SAM in 2019 as an Operations Coordinator, focusing on Social Media Marketing and Corporate Operations. In December of 2019, he was promoted to Marketing Manager, overseeing all things Marketing for SAM’s portfolio. Dugan’s daily responsibilities include Branding, Strategy Development, Website Design, Paid Advertising, Social Media Marketing and Employee Relations. In addition to his Marketing role, Dugan oversees new software implementations and serves as an internal support for the company's PMS. Prior to joining SAM, Dugan worked for Core Spaces, as a Leasing and Marketing Professional in student housing. Dugan graduated from West Virginia University with a B.S in Business Administration, which included a concentration in Human Resource Management and a minor in Communication Studies. He also currently holds an active North Carolina Real Estate Broker license and serves as SAM’s Broker-in-Charge.
Andrea Bullard joined SAM with 12 years of property management experience. Andrea began her career in Baton Rouge, LA, where she graduated from Louisiana State University. Prior to joining SAM, Andrea worked in the multi-family housing industry with Pegasus Residential, where she held a Regional Manager position and oversaw communities in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Andrea specializes in and has been involved in the success of multiple lease-ups and value-add communities. Currently, she oversees the day to day operations and performance of 9 communities located in North Carolina and Virginia, as well as their capital improvements.
Kathy Devaney serves as a Senior Vice President with SAM. Mrs. Devaney has been a part of several national companies including Trammell Crow Residential, Bell Partners and The Laramar Group. Prior to SAM, Kathy was the Vice President of Operations for Bell Partners, where she oversaw the operations of 40+ communities in 18 states. Prior to that, she was an Area Vice President for The Laramar Group, where she oversaw the daily operations of 12-20 communities in 8 states. She currently oversees the daily operations and performance of 11 communities located in Missouri. Kathy has held broker licenses in numerous states, as well as a B.S. degree from the University of Kansas.
Alex Grimanis joined SAM with 10 years of property management experience. Alex transitioned from leasing at a student housing community to the multi-family industry when graduating from the University of Alabama. She holds an A.A. in Accounting and a B.S. in Marketing with a focus in Professional Sales. Prior to joining SAM, Alex successfully managed value-add and lease-up communities in Alabama and Tennessee for Pegasus Residential. Her execution is detailed, focused, and results oriented. Alex currently oversees a portfolio of 8 properties in Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio.
Heather Lockhart joined SAM with 20 years of property management experience. She began her career in Charleston, SC, while attending College of Charleston, where she graduated with a BS in Business Administration. Prior to joining SAM, Heather worked in the multi-family housing industry with Colonial Properties Trust, Bell Partners, and, most recently with Pegasus Residential, where she held a Regional Manager position and oversaw communities in North Carolina and Virginia. Heather has overseen garden-style, mid- and high-rise construction, both stabilized and lease-ups. Currently, she oversees the day-to-day operations and performance of 8 communities located in Alabama and Georgia, as well as their capital improvements.
Jud Towner, serves as a Senior Vice President with SAM. His responsibilities include the oversight of daily operations for properties located in Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Prior to joining SAM, Jud was the CEO of Towner Property Services, which provided asset management, construction supervision and operation oversight to owners and developers of multi-housing projects. From 1989 to 2004, Jud was employed by LEDIC Management Group, where he served as Senior Vice President of Operations. His responsibilities at LEDIC included complete profit and loss responsibility for a diverse portfolio of fee managed multifamily apartment communities and Home Owner Associations. This portfolio included up to 20,000 units ranging from new construction to distressed properties requiring extensive renovation. He was the direct supervisor of up to 15 staff members including District Property Managers, Construction Managers, and Administrative Staff. Jud holds a BA in Agricultural Business from the University of Tennessee.