READS - real estate advisory & development services

224 Main Street
Metuchen, NJ 08840
phone: 732-635-1000
fax: 732-635-2000

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Brian M. Keenan, President-READS
Michael J. Lubben, Esq., Partner-Gibbons Law Firm
David M. Scheck, Community Development Investment Consultant
Karen Thomas, CEO-Marion P. Thomas Charter School
Andrew B. Zezas, President & CEO- Real Estate Strategies Corporation

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Brian M. Keenan
Real Estate Advisory and Development Services, Inc.
www.readsusa.com

Brian Keenan is the founder and president of Real Estate Advisory and Development Services, Inc. (“READS”) an innovative non-profit real estate development company founded in 2003. READS’ mission is to promote regional equity and build sustainable communities and socially progressive organizations through innovative real estate development.

Prior to READS Mr. Keenan served as the Vice President of Financial Products and Services at New Jersey Community Capital where he was instrumental in expanding the organization’s financial activities, including committing the organization’s first Charter School loan, first Social Enterprise equity investment and expanding the organization’s financial capital basis.

Mr. Keenan has more than 15 years experience in the field of Community Economic Development. While serving as Project Manager for Common Ground Community, a recognized leader in the Supportive Housing Industry, Mr. Keenan oversaw the development of 1,300 units of housing. As Project Manager for The Community Builders, one of the nation’s larger non-profit affordable housing developers, Mr. Keenan oversaw the development of the Jersey City YMCA, New Jersey’s largest Supportive Housing project. In addition, Mr. Keenan worked on the New Brunswick HOPE VI Project, the comprehensive revitalization of the lower George Street neighborhood of New Brunswick, NJ.

Mr. Keenan has a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Social Work from Molloy College, a Certificate in Community Economic Development from Pratt Institute and a Masters of Business Administration from St. Peter’s College.

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Michael J. Lubben, Esq.
Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione
www.gibbonslaw.com

Michael Lubben is an attorney and a Director at Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione, P.C., one of the largest law firms in New Jersey. Mr. Lubben is based in Gibbons' Newark office and he is a member of their Corporate Department. At Gibbons, Mr. Lubben focuses on transactional work, specializing in commercial lending and real estate finance transactions. He has represented investment funds, banks and other financial institutions, governmental authorities, and businesses in, among other matters, commercial financings, bond indenture financings, low income housing tax credits, real estate loans and letters of credit. Prior to joining the law profession, Mr. Lubben had a career in the banking field, working for United Jersey Bank, First Fidelity Bank and First Union National Bank.

Mr. Lubben received his Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School, where he was a Notes and Comments Editor of the NYLS Journal of Human Rights. He also graduated, magna cum laude, from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey, where he obtained a Bachelor of Sciences degree with a double major in Economics and Finance and a concentration in Information Systems. Following is a link to the Gibbons' website and a more detailed biography for Mr. Lubben: http://www.gibbonslaw.com/attys/dsp_viewattorney.cfm?bioid=114

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David M. Scheck
E + Co
www.eandco.dwellcreative.com

David Scheck is Chief Investment Officer at E+Co where he manages and oversees their portfolio of global investments. E+Co makes high impact investments in clean energy businesses in developing countries. Mr. Scheck previously served as the chief executive of New Jersey Community Capital, a socially responsible financial intermediary facilitating the flow of money and knowledge to create wealth and well being in New Jersey’s communities, where he grew their capital management and broadened their product offerings Prior to NJCC, Mr. Scheck was hired as the inaugural Director of Finance of the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority. Prior to his position with the NJRA, Mr. Scheck spent three years with PNC Bank as lead lender in an entrepreneurial unit responsible for economic development loans and investments for the New Jersey market. Following four years of progressive training as a credit management trainee and commercial lender with a commercial bank headquartered in New Jersey and as a research analyst with an investment bank on Wall Street, Mr. Scheck spent one year as a VISTA volunteer providing consulting services to affordable housing developers and community development corporations serving the urban and rural neighborhoods of North Carolina.

Mr. Scheck is an adjunct professor at Rutgers University's Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Mr. Scheck was a fellow in Leadership New Jersey’s Class of 1999; has been nominated to serve on the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance’s Community Financial Services Advisory Board; is a member of the Boards of Directors of CityWorks, University Ventures, and Real Estate Advisory and Development Services; and is a member of the Wall Street Without Walls, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch CDC NMTC, PNC Community Partners NMTC, TRF NMTC, and Rutgers University Community Development Institute Advisory Boards. He holds an MBA from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of Delaware.

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Karen Thomas
Marion P. Thomas Charter School
www.mptcs.org

Karen Thomas believes that to whom much is given, much is expected. It is in this spirit that she has committed her time and talent to giving back to her community. Although Thomas has worked and traveled throughout the world, her Newark roots, has kept her firmly focused and committed to the empowerment of this community. As a member of The New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, Thomas was one of the founders of The Marion P. Thomas Charter School (MPTCS), a not for profit 501 (C) 3. While originally a passive participant, today, she now actively serves as its CEO. The school began in 1999 with 60 students and today services 360 students in grades K-8. Prior to coming to MPTCS, she was the Marketing Director for ESSENCE magazine. Throughout her 20 years of service to ESSENCE she created and produced innovative marketing programs. She has traveled to almost every continent, working, collecting works of art and exploring other cultures. Ms. Thomas’ entrepreneurial spirit led her to open a marketing firm in 1991, RK Productions. Headquartered in Newark, the firm serviced clients such as ESSENCE, Revlon, Renaissance Newark, Sony, Burrell Advertising, The Carter G. Woodson Foundation, WNBC, Showtime At The Apollo, McDonald’s Gospel Fest, and The Winans Family Tour.

Ms. Thomas is an undergraduate of Simmons College in Boston, received her Masters from New York University and is currently working on a Masters at Kean University in education. In 2004, she completed and received a certificate from the Schools in transition program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Ms. Thomas is a graduate of Leadership Newark Class of 2005, a member of Simmons College Leadership Council and was an adjunct professor at NYU for 4 years.

As part of her commitment to service, she has served on the boards of the New Jersey Charter Public School Association, Institute for Arts and Humanities Education, Real Estate Advisory Development Services (READS), Simmons College Alumni Executive Board, Vision of Hope Community Development Corporation and volunteers at the Union YMCA as a water aerobics instructor.

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Andrew B. Zezas
Real Estate Strategies Corporation
www.realstrat.com

Andrew B. Zezas, SIOR, a long recognized authority in the corporate real estate industry, leads the diverse team at Real Estate Strategies Corporation, a New Jersey based advisory firm that helps companies create and execute Business Driven Real Estate Solutions. Mr. Zezas is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Company, and for implementing its vision of creating profitability for its clients through the effective planning and implementation of real estate solutions. He combines his more than 19 years experience in corporate real estate with his extensive technical understanding of strategic planning, financial engineering, creative transaction structures, leasing and sales, to provide clients with robust business-oriented real estate services. Following is a link to the Real Estate Strategies Corporation website and a more detailed biography for Mr. Zezas: http://www.realstrat.com/profileazezas.htm