Our Team
Audrey McGuire, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner
Audrey McGuire is the Chief Executive Officer and founding partner of Emax. Ms. McGuire started out as an investment banker on Wall Street and has since gained over forty years of experience providing public-private real estate and financial advisory services to a host of government and private sector clients. Ms. McGuire has in-depth knowledge of national real estate & capital markets, financing structures, risk assessment, and rates of return. She advances policy initiatives by implementing government programs from written legislation. In the last ten years Ms. McGuire has led, as either Engagement Manager or Senior Advisor, multiyear and multimillion-dollar public sector engagements for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC), General Services Administration (GSA), the District of Columbia (DC) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Emax clients value her expertise in MHPIs, PPVs, portfolio management, strategic planning, program compliance & oversight, enhanced-use leasing, government budgeting, feasibility analysis, asset valuation, capital market financing, and program risk evaluation. Aside from her leadership of the Emax Advisory team, Ms. McGuire is also a partner in Emax Fund, a real estate investment fund. Ms. McGuire holds a B.S.F.S in International Economics from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She holds a PMP Certification from the Project Management Institute.
Michael McGuire, President and Partner
Michael McGuire is the President and Partner of Emax Financial and Real Estate Advisory Services, LLC (Emax). Mr. McGuire has worked in real estate finance for over 16 years and has advised numerous federal, state, and local government agencies. Mr. McGuire has managed engagements for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the U.S. Air Force (AF), the General Services Administration (GSA), the District of Columbia (DC), and the Department of Treasury (Treasury). He has served as both a portfolio and project manager for over 100 PPV/EUL projects. Mr. McGuire brings 16 years of financial management experience, over 14 years of portfolio management experience for VA’s EUL program and over 10 years of MHPI experience. His expertise includes the execution of P3/P4 government real estate and capital market transactions, program compliance and oversight of long-term residential asset operations. Mr. McGuire holds a B.A. in Psychology from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from St. John’s University.
Emma Gleason, Executive Vice President and Principal
Emma Gleason is an Executive Vice President and Principal at Emax. Ms. Gleason’s expertise lies in conducting financial analyses, market research, compliance reviews, asset valuation & pricing, and due diligence. She leads various teams providing analytical and quantitative strategies that transform operations and achieve mission objectives for public sector clients. Ms. Gleason has seven (7) years of experience providing various real estate and financial services to clients such as the Office of Asset Sales (OAS) and the Multifamily Insurance Operations Branch (MFIOB) within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), various offices within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). Ms. Gleason received her B.A. in economics from Boston College.
Grant Heslin, Principal
Grant Heslin is Principal for Emax Financial & Real Estate Advisory Services’ New Business Development and the Navy HQ Real Estate Military Sector Practice. He is a former US Army officer with 30+ years of federal experience and over 20 years implementing complex asset management and real estate development public-private and public-public partnership solutions for DOD and other federal/state/local government clients, worth over $3B in transaction value. He leads multi-disciplinary teams of real estate, finance, engineer, energy, environmental, climate/sustainability, and technology experts to conceive of and implement innovative solutions for our clients' most complex challenges.
Matt Brookman, Principal
Matt Brookman is a Principal of Emax Financial and Real Estate Advisory Services, LLC. Mr. Brookman has over 25 years of experience in real estate, specializing in financial and economic analysis; deal-structuring and negotiation; property valuation, acquisition and disposition strategies; feasibility studies; economic development; market research; and, public/private development consulting. Mr. Brookman has managed the execution of multiple public private partnership projects under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative from concept development, developer solicitation and selection, exclusive negotiations and transaction closure as well as the restructure of multiple distressed projects. He has experience in all types of development, including housing, hotel, office, industrial, educational facilities, as well as utility and renewable energy infrastructure and has advised the Department of the Navy, Department of the Army, Department of the Air Force, Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as local government clients across the country. Mr. Brookman holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Towson University and an M.B.A. from Loyola College.
Deborah Gates, Managing Director
Deborah Gates is a Managing Director at Emax. Ms. Gates specializes in Government Real Estate and was a Real Estate Contracting Officer for both the Army and the Navy. Her recent work included developing classes for the Army and the Navy, working at the Secretarial level, writing the Navy Real Estate Procedural manual, co-writing a Military Housing Privatization Initiative class, and drafting real estate policy for the Navy. She has also served in several contingency operations. She has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University. She is a certified Housing Development Finance Professional and a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps.
Russell Strom, Senior Consultant
Russell Strom is a Senior Consultant for Emax. Mr. Strom has over 20 years of experience in real estate finance and consulting and has advised numerous federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as private companies. Formerly a Managing Director at Emax, Mr. Strom has managed engagements for the U.S. Air Force (AF), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Department of Education (Education), among other agencies. He has served as a project manager for the Privatization Support Contractor for the $500 million Hickam Air Force Base Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) as well as many other MHPI and Enhanced Use Leasing (EUL) projects. He has also been directly involved with the purchase, development, and sale of over 50 real estate investment projects with a value of over $100 million, mostly in the San Diego, CA area. Mr. Strom brings 20 years of real estate financial management experience, over 18 years of experience with VA’s EUL program, over 17 years of MHPI experience, and over 10 years of experience in real estate investment. His expertise includes managing large, complex projects, valuation, and modeling of real estate and other unique assets, including in-kind consideration for EULs, real estate project financing, negotiation, and extensive knowledge of and connections in the local real estate and financing markets in San Diego.
Alex Ferszt, Vice President and Director of Administrative Operations
Alex Ferszt is the Director of Administrative Operations. She is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of Emax and functions as a strategic advisor for all business operations; developing, implementing and maintaining short-term and long-term strategic plans. She manages the Human Resources department and all hiring, training, payroll and benefit maintenance. Ms. Ferszt also supervises the fiscal and IT areas of the business. She is the primary point of contact for all third-party vendors and manages the operations and maintenance of all site facilities. Ms. Ferszt holds a B.S. in Business Management from SUNY Empire State College.
Atticus Keane, Manager
Atticus Keane is a Manager at Emax. Mr. Keane specializes in conducting market research, compliance reviews, financial advisory, portfolio and compliance oversight, and due diligence to provide analytical and quantitative services to government clients. Mr. Keane has nearly five (5) years of experience providing various real estate and financial services to clients such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), various offices within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) and the U.S. Treasury Department. Mr. Keane has a B.A. in Anthropology and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.
Griffin Gill, Manager
Griffin Gill is a Project Manager at Emax specializing in data and financial analysis, compliance reviews, portfolio oversight, and due diligence for government clients. Mr. Gill has led projects in business development and data analytics for a management consulting firm serving F1000 clients in multiple sectors. He also served as an asset management analyst for one of the nation’s largest electric vehicle charging companies, where he led data projects to refine budgets for maintenance costs and strategize the future of legacy equipment in the field. With Emax, he has provided various real estate and financial services to clients such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and General Services Administration (GSA). Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Gill currently supports the Office of Asset Enterprise Management (OAEM) at VA in the post-transaction oversight of its Enhanced-Use Lease (EUL) portfolio of nearly eighty (80) projects. Mr. Gill holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from Columbia University, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a B.A. in Social Sciences from Sciences Po Paris.
Luke Donohue, Senior Associate
Mr. Donohue is a senior associate at Emax. Mr. Donohue specializes in providing analytical and quantitative services to government clients; supporting on projects involving government operations, internal controls, policy research and government communications. During his time at Emax, he has supporting clients including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the U.S. Treasury Department’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program. Mr. Donohue holds a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs – Economics from The George Washington University.
Mashiyat Karim, Associate
Mashiyat Karim is an Associate at Emax. Ms. Karim specializes in creating and updating financial models; preparing custom reports for clients; assisting in real estate oversight and compliance reviews; synthesizing data for published monthly reports; conducting various levels of quality assurance reviews for various federal programs; and performing financial evaluations on real estate assets. She has worked with a variety of clients including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Treasury, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Ms. Karim holds a B.S. in Hotel Administration from Cornell University.
Frederic Liu, Associate
Frederic Liu is an Associate at Emax, specializing in providing financial and real estate consulting services to government clients. Mr. Liu creates and updates financial models; assists in real estate oversight and compliance reviews; performs both qualitative and quantitative analyses for federal clients; and develops project timelines for projects. He has worked with a variety of clients including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the D.C. Office of the Chief Financial Officer (DC OCFO), the Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the General Services Administration (GSA). Mr. Liu graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Swarthmore College.
John Sakos, Associate
John Sakos is an Associate at Emax who specializes in developing and updating financial models, supporting asset sales, assisting in real estate oversight and compliance reviews, creating custom reports for clients, participating in conference calls and project timeline development for clients and project teams. He has worked with a variety of clients including the Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA). Mr. Sakos graduated from Tulane University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance.
Tony Wright, Analyst
Tony Wright is an analyst at Emax who specializes in providing financial and real estate consulting services to government clients. Mr. Wright assists in providing analytical and quantitative strategies to transform operations and achieve mission objectives. He specializes in conducting market research and compliance reviews, financial advisory, portfolio and compliance oversight, due diligence, underwriting, and asset valuation. He has worked with a variety of clients including the Department of Navy (DoN), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the General Services Administration (GSA). Mr. Wright holds B.B.A.’s in Real Estate & Urban Land Economics, and Entrepreneurship from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Mariana Pennybacker, Analyst
Mariana “Mari” Pennybacker is an Analyst at Emax, providing qualitative and quantitative analytical insights to government clients. Specifically, she has worked on Department of the Navy (DoN) Public Private Venture program, monitoring utility consumption data through the Resident Energy Conservation Program (RECP) and supporting Family Housing project finance working groups. Ms. Pennybacker holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Economics from Colgate University.
Jack Perry, Strategic Analyst
Jack Perry is a Strategic Analyst at Emax who specializes in supporting the Emax professionals who provide research, analytical and quantitative support services to government clients. He provides support on projects involving government operations, internal controls, policy research and government communications. Mr. Perry works closely with the Chief Executive Officer developing the strategic mission and vision for the company. Mr. Perry is responsible for the design and maintenance of the website. Mr. Perry graduated from Fordham University with a BA in Economics.
Amy Han, Consultant
Amy Han is a consultant with Emax. Ms. Han specializes in supporting quantitative and analytical services to a variety of federal government clients. During her time at Emax, she has been supporting clients including the Department of the Navy’s Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Public Private Venture (PPV) and Real Estate (RE) Program. Ms. Han holds an M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University and a B.A. in Global Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In Memoriam
Jay McGuire
We continue to strive, everyday, to bring a work ethic and uphold the values that Jay could be proud of. Jay brought 35 years of insurance experience to Emax, where he directed the customer service operation for the Multifamily Insurance Operations Branch (MFIOB) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). His work included customer liaison between lenders and HUD MFIOB with regard to premium audits, terminations, billing issues, MIP rating and general communication between the two parties. Apart from HUD, Mr. McGuire has also worked with such federal clients as the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE), the Department of Education (DOE), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).