Natalie Herald, Fidelity Investments

On Monday, July 18, REFA held its Annual Charitable Golf Tournament at Blue Hill Country Club in Canton, Mass. with over 115 in attendance. The two beneficiaries for this year’s tournament were FamilyAid Boston and Rosie’s Place, charities dedicated to helping end homelessness within the greater Boston area.

On July 28, REFA hosted a Women’s Roundtable Luncheon with speaker Lisa Greeley, senior vice president – commercial real estate banking, Capital One Bank. The REFA Women’s Luncheon Series was launched in 2015 to help engage women in the CRE industry. The luncheons provide an opportunity for women to hear from a senior-level female who shares information about her career path and provides insight for professional development.

Shown (from left) are Ken Decosta of Decosta Appraisal; Adam Bokon of Brookline Bank; Ryan Bradley of Tritower Financial Group LLC and Robert Brown of Brookline Bank at the REFA Annual Charitable Golf Tournament.

REFA’s Anatomy of a Deal Program and Annual Summer Reception was held on August 3 at Goulston & Storrs, 600 Atlantic Ave., Boston with 90 in attendance. The program portion of this event focused on a hypothetical site development project in Cambridge’s Central Sq., with a panel of speakers walking the audience through their underwriting strategies and the factors that play into the “Anatomy of a Deal.” The panel was led by moderator Jessica Hughes, managing director, JLL and speakers Darren Baird, director, Goulston & Storrs; Steve Bonelli, senior vice president, finance & acquisitions, Samuels & Associates; Justin Krebs, founder, KIG Advisors and Michael DiMinico, senior director, King Street Properties LLC.

Hans Nordby, managing director at CoStar Portfolio Strategy will be this year’s keynote speaker at REFA’s Fall Conference. Marci Griffith Loeber, principal, Griffith Properties will moderate a panel discussion including: Scott Tully, principal, Novaya Real Estate Ventures; Bill Lovett, senior development manager, Toll Brothers; John Hueber, managing principal, Crosspoint and Claudia Piper, senior vice president, Webster Bank. The conference will be held at the Westin Waltham on Friday, September 9 from 7:30 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Shown (from left) are: Sam Crossam of CBRE; Michael DiMinico of King Street Properties; Steven Bonelli of Samuels & Associates; Justin Krebs of KIG Advisors; Darren Baird of Goulston & Storrs; panel moderator Jessica Hughes of JLL; and Max Ricciuti of Spaulding & Slye Investments at the REFA’s Anatomy of a Deal Program.

Interest rates will be the topic of discussion at REFA’s Education program on September 27 at WilmerHale, Boston. This program will touch on where interest rates are headed, economic conditions, national and regional trends, and recent monetary policy actions – affecting real estate finance. Jonathan Schneider, SVP – Capital Markets, JLL will moderate the discussion led by keynote speaker Dr. Paul Willen, senior economist and policy advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and panelists Michael Tyler, CFA, chief investment officer, Eastern Bank Wealth Management and Bob Powers, managing director, team lead, interest rate risk management securities & investment group, Wells Fargo Bank.

The Annual REFA Gala will be held on Thursday, October 13 at the Westin Copley Place from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. John Drew, founder and president of The Drew Company will be the recipient of this year’s Robert S. Swain Jr. Distinguished Service Award. Sponsorships and tickets are now available. Join over 550 Member and CRE professionals for the premiere industry networking event of the fall.

Natalie Herald is a real estate loan originator at Fidelity Investments and 2016 president of the Real Estate Finance Association, Boston.