Real Estate Colloquium featuring Sara Cassidy and interviewed by Noreen Short

About Real Estate Colloquium: Real Estate Colloquium provides an overview of the real estate field through weekly sessions with industry professionals. Each session covers diverse topics including finance, investment, law, planning, public policy, REITs, capital markets, leasing, brokerage, and development. Representatives from across the industry share insights into career paths and provide a comprehensive view of this multifaceted field. The Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action welcomes Guest Speaker, Sara Cassidy. She will give a short 30 minute presentation. Following, there will then be a moderated discussion conducted with Noreen Short. Guest Speaker: Sara Cassidy Sara Cassidy is a Managing Director at AEW and Head of Portfolio Management for the firm’s Private Equity Group. In this capacity, she is responsible for the oversight of all portfolio management activities across strategies and separate accounts. Sara is also a Senior Portfolio Manager for the firm’s open-end, core property strategy, where she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the strategy's investments and operations as well as working closely with investor relations on marketing and providing support to investors. She is also a member of the firm’s Investment and Risk Management Committees. Prior to joining AEW in 2018, Sara worked with J.P. Morgan Asset Management since 2006, and she most recently held the title of Executive Director. In that role, she was responsible for the origination, structuring, negotiating and underwriting of investment transactions in the Northeast, focusing on acquiring core, value-add, and opportunistic real estate. Prior to J.P. Morgan, she had affordable housing equity investment experience with Related Capital. Sara holds a B.A. in finance from Boston College and serves as a council member for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and is a Management Committee member for ULI Boston, is a past President and current active member of NAIOP Massachusetts and is an Advisory Board Member for The Boston College Real Estate Council. Guest Moderator: Noreen Short is currently an Executive Vice President and the Chief Credit Officer at Boston Financial, a national tax credit syndicator. Noreen has 25 years of real estate experience including 20+ years directly in the affordable housing and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit industry. As Chief Credit Officer, she manages the credit and underwriting function at Boston Financial and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Prior to Boston Financial, Noreen spent more than 13 years at Capital One as they established and grew their tax credit platform. She served in a variety of leadership roles including as Head of Portfolio Management where she led a team responsible for asset management of a $6 billion debt & equity portfolio. Prior to that she was the Head of the Equity Underwriting team that underwrote and closed over $2 billion in LIHTC multi-fund investments during her tenure. She managed thirteen syndicator client relationships and was active with the Affordable Housing Investor Council. Noreen previously worked for five years at MMA Financial LLC, the predecessor to Boston Financial and she started her career in real estate as a Boston-based commercial real estate appraiser. Noreen holds a BS from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Ms. Short currently sits on the ORIX USA Corporate Social Responsibility Board which helps manage philanthropic awards on behalf of the company. She is also a Board member at the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition. Noreen has served as the Executive Sponsor for the ORIX USA/Boston Financial partnership with Project Destined the past two years and has also participated as both a judge and presenter with the Boston College Corcoran Case Competition. Open to all students, faculty, and staff. No registration required.