The Real Estate Finance Association of Connecticut (REFA-CT) has elected its new president, George Yerrall of RiverOak Investment Corp. Yerrall serves as the company's chief investment officer. He is in charge of sourcing and analysis of investment opportunities and the execution of investment and asset management strategies. He started his career as an acquisition associate and assistant to the chairman at First Winthrop Corporation. Upon leaving First Winthrop, Yerrall assumed the position of president and majority owner of his family's residential real estate business in western Massachusetts. In his tenure, he tripled the size and revenue of the company before selling the business. He later became president of Pecoy Development Company, the leader in high-end custom-built homes in the greater Springfield, Mass. area. Yerrall has a B.A. in Economics from Amherst College and an MBA in Real Estate Finance from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

FAIRFIELD/WESTCHESTER CHAPTER
REFA also elected the new chapter president of the Fairfield/Westchester chapter, Elizabeth Chappel along with the vice president, Don Gustafson.
Beth Chappel, vice president, joined CB Richard Ellis' Stamford, Conn. office in 2002, covering the northern suburbs of New York City. She has completed more than four million s/f of transactions over her 25 years of commercial real estate experience on behalf of tenants and owners, buyers and sellers, and for corporate clients in all industries. Prior to joining CB Richard Ellis, Chappel was a director at what is now Colliers International, and was the primary force in developing a business strategy for the opening of the firm's first Connecticut office. Previous to this, Chappel was a senior vice president in charge of investment sales and business development at Grubb & Ellis. During her 10 years at Helmsley-Spear Inc., Chappel earned her title as corporate vice president, covering agency work for the State of Connecticut.

Donald Gustafson of Shipman and Goodwin has counseled local, regional and national financial institutions with regard to commercial real estate financing, construction projects, loan restructuring and workouts. He is experienced in representing developers, municipalities, corporations and real estate investment trusts in connection with the financing, acquisition, development and sale of properties, including office buildings, shopping centers, hotels and multifamily residential projects. Gustafson has represented both landlords and tenants in the commercial leasing of office and retail properties, and has experience in obtaining local land use and zoning approvals in connection with real estate developments. He is also a licensed title insurance agent with various national title insurance companies.
HARTFORD CHAPTER
The Hartford Chapter has also elected Pat Mulready, and newly elected vice president Skip Alleman.
Mulready joined CB Richard Ellis in 1996 as an appraiser, specializing in the valuation of office buildings. He became a member Brokerage Staff in 1998, and has developed a career as an investment specialist in Central Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. Mulready has played a significant role in more than 120 building sales in the past ten years, including several downtown Hartford office towers and three suburban portfolios.
Dudley (Skip) Alleman is a Connecticut Licensed Environmental Professional (LEP) and senior project manager within the Geological Services Division at HRP Associates, Inc. based in Farmington, Conn. His environmental consulting career began in 1980 and he has been with HRP since 1985. Alleman's responsibilities include management of environmental site investigations and remediation at commercial and industrial facilities, including brownfield properties. He also is responsible for developing new business with new and existing clients.
The Real Estate Finance Association of Connecticut is comprised of over 500 commercial real estate professionals in Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. Currently these professionals are members of two chapters, Hartford and Fairfield/Westchester Counties.