ULI NEXT Philadelphia is designed to champion the ULI mission through a compelling avenue of engagement for mid-career professionals. The goal of ULI NEXT Philadelphia is to actively engage members in meaningful leadership, educational, and a network building activities. Meet the third ULI Philadelphia NEXT Flight.

Susannah Henshel (NEXT Co-Chair) 

Susannah Henschel is a Vice President at RPM Development, a firm specializing in residential and mixed-use development with an emphasis on affordable housing in New Jersey. She works on all aspects of the development process – from identifying development opportunities, to putting together financing packages, securing local and state approvals, and working with the in-house construction and management departments. Henshel has been with RPM Development since 2012 and has worked on over a dozen buildings representing hundreds of residential units, tens of thousands of square feet of commercial space, and millions in investments in communities across the Garden State. She holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Haverford College in Growth and Structure of Cities.

Telsa Love (NEXT Co-Chair)

Telsa Love is Design Director for Interiors at Coscia Moos Architecture with a demonstrated history of working in the architecture and planning industry. Her background is focused on managing commercial design projects, higher education, mixed-use, residential and hospitality. Telsa received her Bachelors of Arts in Interior Design and Masters of Arts in Interior Architecture and Design from Drexel University.

Steven Anastasio (NEXT Programming Chair)

Anastasio is a structural engineer at Bala Consulting Engineers, a regional multi-disciplined engineering design organization. He is responsible for the structural design and management of buildings across many types of construction methods. His expertise includes commercial, residential, industrial, adaptive re-use and data center sectors. His membership in ULI is motivated by the exciting development that is happening all over Philadelphia and the diverse, talented teams that drive it.

Anthony Bottenfield 

Anthony Bottenfield is an attorney with the law firm of Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC in their Philadelphia office.  Anthony primarily practices construction law and is licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  He represents a wide range of clients including contractors, developers, and design professionals.  Anthony counsels clients from the contract formation process, through contract negotiations and the construction phase, post-construction, the claim process, mediation, arbitration, litigation, and appeals.  He has represented clients in multiple jurisdictions and alternative dispute resolution forums including mediation and arbitration before the American Arbitration Association and in private settings.  Anthony regularly presents seminars and continuing education courses on construction law related topics.  He is an active member of Habitat for Humanity.  Outside of the office, Anthony is an avid Philadelphia sports fan and loves spending time with his beloved dog, Buddy.

Tony Bracali

Tony Bracali is an award winning architect who has built his career designing educational, institutional, recreation, sports and community related projects. Tony is a talented designer who is expert at conceptualizing the “big picture” ideas for a project in a manner that clients can understand.  Tony has also directed many public and community engagement meetings of all sizes that are often part of the development process.

As Vice President of Design at Goldenberg, Tony’s role is to direct the design process on all projects to achieve successful development projects that are well designed. Tony works across all markets, evaluating sites, developing alternatives, conceptual designs and renderings and setting the overall design direction. He also manages development projects as they move from the concept stage into design and construction.  His skills and experience working in the Philadelphia Region and with community groups and non-profits are employed to support Goldenberg’s development projects and generate responsive, community oriented projects.

Annemarie Caruso

Prior to joining First American Title Insurance Company, NCS, Annemarie was a Title Officer and Escrow Officer closing large national commercial and multi-site transactions. A recent transfer from Seattle, WA back to the Greater Philadelphia area has given her a comprehensive perspective on underwriting and escrow matters. She obtained her Limited Practice Officer License from the Washington Bar Association in 2011, has a Bachelor’s degree from West Chester University and an Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies from Miami Dade College. Her introduction to national commercial real estate transactions began as a real estate paralegal at Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm based in Miami, FL.

Michael DiVietro

Michael graduated Rowan University in May 2001 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Geography, specializing in Land Use Planning.  His intentions were to pursue a Planner’s License and work for his family’s Civil Engineering/Land Planning firm. Just prior to starting here, he abandoned his planned career track, and enrolled in Paramedic School at Camden County College while pursuing a full time job as an EMT in Camden City, New Jersey.

After close to 15 years, Michael returned to help with the family business. He obtained his Real Estate license in 2016 and immediately went to work as a commercial real estate broker to learn another critical dynamic to the development process. While maintaining a perspective on community and economic development and the need for focused citizen engagement through his time in Camden, both as a resident and as a public safety professional, Michael has committed to improving the quality of life in the region. Through serving on the Public Participation Task Force of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission for four years, he had the ability to contribute through evaluating Safe Route to School Corridor grants, serving on the Healthy Communities Taskforce, and contributing to the Haddon Avenue Corridor Beta Project.  Michael is currently the Associate Vice President of Vantage RES and is an active member of the Urban Land Institute South Jersey Council.

Andrew Fabbri

Andrew Fabbri is the Vice President of Fabbri Builders, Inc. Founded in 1968, Fabbri Builders, Inc. is, a regional multi-disciplined construction organization that serves private and public markets. Andrew is involved with the management and development of industrial and medical projects for the firm. He serves as a board member of the New Jersey Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors of America. Andrew is a member of the Design Build Institute of America and graduated from the School of Management & Labor Relations at Rutgers University.

Nate Hammitt

Nate Hammitt is a licensed architect at Erdy McHenry Architecture with experience working in architecture, planning, and construction industries. His background is focused on design for challenging urban contexts, with demonstrated expertise developing master-plans and feasibility studies for higher education facilities and cultural institutions. Since relocating to Philadelphia in 2012, Hammitt has worked on mixed-use new construction, industrial adaptive reuse and civic-scale projects locally and abroad. He is currently focused on rehabilitation and reuse efforts throughout the greater Philadelphia region. In his free time, Hammitt serves on the board of AIA Philadelphia’s Emerging Architects committee and as a member of the Design Advocacy Group’s historic preservation task force. Hammitt received his Bachelors of Science in Architecture from the University of Cincinnati, and dual degree Masters of Architecture & Masters of Science in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also an avid cyclist and lives with his wife and too many houseplants in Bella Vista.

Erica Harmelin

Erica Harmelin is a Partner and Co-Founder of the boutique hospitality firm APOP, A Place of Possibility, which specializes in the visioning and design of amenity driven environments. She has worked as an Interior Designer in Philadelphia for the past 16 years completing successful hotel, restaurant, multi-family, commercial office and luxury residential interiors spanning the East Coast. Erica holds a Master of Science Degree in Interior Architecture and Design from Drexel University, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sports Management from the University of Delaware and a NCIDQ certification. Erica is a native of the Lehigh Valley and currently resides in Wynnewood, PA with her family

Job Itzkowitz

Job Itzkowitz currently serves Executive Director of the Old City District.  In this role, Job oversees the day-to-day operations of the business improvement district for Old City, Philadelphia, which includes clean and safe, marketing, and economic development endeavors.  Prior to joining Old City District, Job served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Policy and Legislation for Councilwoman Cindy Bass.  In that role, Job oversaw matters related to legislation, policy, zoning and development.  Immediately prior to his work at City Hall, Job was an attorney at Ballard Spahr for eight years, where he practiced in the complex commercial litigation and government relations practice groups.

In addition to his work experience, Job is active in the civic arena.  Job is a co-founder of Young Involved Philadelphia, a grassroots civic organization aimed at providing a voice to the City’s young and young-at-heart. Job has also served on the boards of Operation Understanding, the Friends of Love Park and Philly Fellows.  Additionally, he is a founding board member of USA250, an organization that aims to plan, promote, advocate and coordinate the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of our United States of America and the signing of the Declaration of Independence and to promote Greater Philadelphia as the host for the celebration.  When he is not guzzling coffee or daydreaming about real estate development, you can find Job meandering around the city, examining zoning notices and Liquor Control Board applications.  And if you’re wondering, Job is 6’7.

Michael Kirby

Michael is a Project Manager with Toll Brothers Apartment Living in Horsham, PA where he is responsible for leading teams through the entitlement, design, permitting, construction and lease-up phases of luxury multi-family and student housing projects.

Prior to joining Toll Brothers Apartment Living, Michael spent ten years working for various real estate companies in design and construction management roles including James G. Davis Construction, Vornado Realty Trust, and Brandywine Realty Trust. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Architecture from the Catholic University of America, as well as an MBA from Villanova University.

Jeffery Pastva

Jeff Pastva, AIA is a Senior Project Architect at Bright Common, a firm that specializes in high performance building design and urban infill housing.  He has held numerous board and committee leadership positions at the local, state, and national levels of the AIA and currently serves as the 2019 AIA Pennsylvania Government Affairs Chair and editor-in-chief of the AIA College of Fellows’ quarterly journal.  He also serves his neighborhood as a co-chair of SOSNA’s Architectural Review Committee. He holds a B.Arch from Syracuse University.

Puja Peruto 

Puja Peruto is Principal and Founder of perutoRE, a real estate advisory firm focused on providing value added services for real estate owners, investors and private equity clients. With her experience and breadth of industry contacts, she provides a strategic understanding of how to grow efficiently in a competitive and ever changing real estate environment.

Ms. Peruto has acted as a real estate operations, transaction and asset management advisor for private equity firms, real estate investors, developers and institutions for over 15 years. Prior to establishing her own consulting practice, Ms. Peruto spent almost a decade in Ernst & Young’s Transaction Real Estate group and co-managed the Philadelphia Transaction Real Estate group’s personnel and financial goals. During this time, she worked with industry leading real estate fund and private equity clients on every facet of the transaction life cycle, including underwriting, due diligence, asset management and financial reporting.

Ms. Peruto is a full member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and a former chair of the Young Leaders Group. She is currently serving on the University Innovation Development Council and is a member of ULI NEXT Global Committee and ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative. Ms. Peruto received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Peruto resides in Center City Philadelphia with her husband and three children.

Robert Reeves

With over 18 years of experience in the construction and real estate industry, Rob Reeves currently serves as the Greater Philadelphia lead for Kinsley construction, a Mid Atlantic multifaceted construction firm.  Rob has served as a board of directors for a few associations and is involved in a wide variety of business related organizations. Rob is a 2002 graduate of University Miami and currently resides in Center City Philadelphia with his wife and family.

John Schwartz 

John P. Schwartz, a member of  Greenberg Traurig’s Real Estate Practice, has a great deal of experience in real estate finance, joint venture and acquisition and sale transactions. He has represented investment banks and insurance companies in commercial real estate financings, and pension fund advisory firms, insurance companies, private equity funds, REITs and other institutional investors in the acquisition, development and disposition of real property, joint venture transactions and real property secured financings. John has also represented lenders and other market participants in secondary market transactions, including whole loan and B-note sales, participations and securitizations.

Kristin Vessio

Kristin is currently Operations Manager at Scout, an urban design and development practice focusing on the adaptive redevelopment of a 340,000 former vocational high school in South Philadelphia. Her previous work includes creative development and project management with branding and design firms in Philadelphia focused on environmental design. Kristin’s interests have always included interior design, architecture, and how people interact with space. Her role as with Scout blends her experience of account and project management as well as concept and creative development.

Kate Ward

Kate Ward is the Director of Business Development for Bernardon, an architecture, interior design and landscape architecture firm.  Since she joined the firm in 2015, Bernardon has been ranked #8 on the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Architectural Firms List, #39 on the Hot Firm List by Zweig Group, and among the top 300 U.S. firms by Architectural Record.

Kate’s prior experience includes almost a decade in commercial interiors, working for her family’s business, Brennan’s Office Interiors, in Philadelphia, PA, as well as Interior Office Solutions in Irvine, CA. Kate began her career working at the Chester County Chamber and the Chester County Economic Development Council. In addition to a number of professional affiliations, Kate volunteers her time on committees for the March of Dimes and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Kate received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame.

                                                                         Kenneth Wellar

Ken Wellar, Managing Partner of Rittenhouse Realty Advisors, has twelve plus years of experience in the multi-family housing industry. Ken specializes in the purchase, sale, and financing of multi-family housing investments. In this role, Ken brings his clients first-hand experience in many aspects of the real estate industry including brokerage services, property management, and development experience. Throughout his career, Ken has brokered the sale of over 22,000 units totaling north of $1,135,000,000 in consideration.

Ken is very active in the real estate industry and is a member of the National Multifamily Housing Council and the Jewish Federation Real Estate Group, as well as the Pennsylvania Apartment Association, the New Jersey Apartment Association, and the Delaware Apartment Association. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Building Industry Association.  Ken is a supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters and is the founder and co-chair of the Building Big Awards. Ken is licensed in PA, NJ, MD, DE and NY.

Matthew Wittemann

Matt manages the growing business of Meyer’s Living Studio, a full-service architecture and interior design firm in Ardmore, PA. As a Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM), Matt has developed a reputation as a leader in marketing and business development within the architecture, engineering and construction services field through his expertise in strategic planning, market research, implementation and promotion. Matt has been involved with ULI Philadelphia for 6 years as former co-chair of Young Leaders, former Welcoming Committee member for the 2016 Spring Meeting, former Strategic Planning Committee and Advisory Board member, and current Housing Council member. He recently attended the 2017 and 2018 ULI Fall Meetings in Los Angeles and Boston, respectively, as a Senior Housing and Lifestyle Residential Development Product Council guest.