The Real Estate Finance Association has named their board of directors for 2015. Andrew Rosen, senior vice president of commercial real estate banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch will serve as president in 2015 and Natalie Herald of Fidelity Investments will serve as the 2015 president-elect.
Rosen is a registered representative with Bank of America Securities, LLC. He is responsible for managing a variety of client relationships including Boston-based developers and investors and REITs, and national fund managers, mortgage banking firms, and tax credit syndicators. He started his real estate career at Bank of New England, and joined Fleet Bank in 1989, where he has held a variety of positions within real estate banking, including underwriting, credit risk management and new business development. Rosen received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from University of Massachusetts. Rosen is a member of several business associations including NAIOP and has served on the REFA board of directors in various roles since 2009.
REFA has also revealed seven new members of the board:
* Paul Bauer, Bowditch & Dewey;
* Robert Brown, Commercial Real Estate Brookline Bank;
* Nilesh Bubna, TA Associates Realty;
* G. Douglas Lanois, Tremont Realty Capital;
* Nicholas Moise, Eastern Bank;
* Robert Parsekian, Synergy Investments; and
* Max Ricciuti, Spaulding & Slye Investments.

The following will continue to serve on the board for 2015:
* Paul Ayoub, Nutter McClennen & Fish;
* Bruce Bagdasarian, Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green;
* Ryan Bradley, Colliers International;
* Travis D'Amato, JLL;
* Tom Goodwin, DebtX;
* Bill Flynn, Net Lease Capital Advisors;
* Natalie Herald, Fidelity Management & Research;
* Michael Hussey, US Bank;
* Paul Jakubowski, WilmerHale;
* Sarah Lagosh, Eastdil Secured;
* Jim Lerner, Goulston & Storrs;
* Gail McDonough, Magnolia Realty;
* Tim Mulhall, Colliers International;
* Keith Munsell, Boston University School of Management;
* Paul Nasser, Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation;
* Doug Novitch, Wells Fargo Bank;
* John O'Neill, Holland & Knight;
* James Partridge, Capital One Bank;
* Tom Pereira, Boston Capital;
* Timothy Schlitzer, MassPRIM; and
* William Tanski, Realty Financial Partners.

REFA's Annual Forecasting Luncheon - January 15
REFA's Annual Members Only Forecasting Luncheon will take place on January 15 at WilmerHale's office in Boston. This is the most popular members-only event of the year, as attendees are asked to predict where various economic indicators will stand at the close of 2015. In addition there will be a panel discussion moderated by Carlos Febres - Mazzei, senior vice president, CBRE | New England, and features four prominent industry leaders who will break down the economic outlook for real estate in 2015.
Economist: Anika Khan, director and senior economist, Wells Fargo
Panelists:
* Andrew Ebbott, CIO & EVP, Cabot Properties;
* Paul Nasser, CFO & COO, Intercontinental Real Estate Corp.; and
* Ed Marsteiner, partner, director of acquisitions, National Development.

Who we are:
Mission: The Real Estate Finance Association (REFA), a division of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB), is a commercial real estate business association providing members with high quality networking and educational opportunities. REFA strives to maintain its reputation for excellence by promoting the exchange of information between professionals in the real estate finance community, and fostering a platform for growth and development for its emerging leader membership.

What we do: Real estate professionals from a variety of institutions join REFA to network and exchange ideas through educational programs, networking events and committee participation. From forums featuring senior level executives to the Annual Gala, REFA programs are well attended with leaders from the industry and provide excellent opportunities for industry updates and networking. Formed in 1988, REFA currently has over 575 members, 65 corporate sponsors, and last year hosted over 30 educational and networking events. Now in its 10th Year, REFA has a strong Emerging Leaders membership with over 200 members.