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Jennifer Deason
Chief Executive Officer, Home Partners of America
Jen Deason is Chief Executive Officer of Home Partners of America, an owner and operator of high-quality, single-family rental properties. Through its innovative Lease Purchase and Choice Lease programs, Home Partners has provided access to single family housing and created paths to homeownership for thousands of households across the country. Jen is passionate about helping consumer-facing businesses to innovate and grow through tech enablement, operational excellence, and cultural transformation. Prior to joining Home Partners of America, Jen launched Belong Capital and Flowcode, where she focused on establishing strategic partnerships with other innovative businesses and enabling connections between companies and their consumers. She has held leadership positions at Sotheby’s, The Weather Company, Bain Capital, and McKinsey. Jen has an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. from Yale University.
Laura Craft
Global Head of Portfolio Sustainability Strategies, Heitman
With 18+ years of experience in investment management of real estate private equity, private debt, and listed securities, Laura Craft leads the global sustainable investment strategy and climate risk team. She started as a financial analyst performing DCF analysis and grew to build climate risk management and sustainable operational performance programs at two large investment managers with a combined AUM of over $100 billion. Her expertise lies in identifying innovative solutions to address forward-looking investment risks and opportunities, and in establishing and integrating systematic approaches to incorporate these factors into investment decision-making. Since 2018, Laura has partnered with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to produce and publish four public reports focused on Climate Risk Investment Decision-Making. From 2017 to 2023, she served as the co-chair of the Innovation Affinity Group for the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA).
Denise Olsen
Senior Managing Director and Investment Committee Member, GEM Realty Capital
Denise Olsen is a Senior Managing Director and Investment Committee Member of GEM Realty Capital, a real estate investment company founded in 1994 that invests in private market real estate assets and publicly traded real estate securities. GEM Realty Capital has $5 billion of assets under management on behalf of investors, including pension plans, endowments, foundations, financial institutions, and private clients. Ms. Olsen oversees business development and leads new business and capital raising activities. As a member of GEM's Investment Committee, Ms. Olsen is involved in setting investment strategy for the firm. Ms. Olsen has been active in the commercial real estate business since 1987. Prior to joining GEM, Ms. Olsen was a vice president at EVEREN Securities for two years in the Real Estate Corporate Finance group. Prior to EVEREN, Ms. Olsen spent seven years at JMB Realty Corporation in various capacities, including senior portfolio manager of corporate mixed-use developments and as an associate in JMB’s acquisition group. Ms. Olsen serves as an Executive Committee member of the Zell Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently a member of Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and co-chair of its Capital Markets Affinity Group. Ms. Olsen is on the Investment Advisory Committee of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation and a board member of First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR). Ms. Olsen received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1987.
Elyssa Westby
Asset Management Associate, Ropes & Gray LLP
Elyssa Westby is an associate in the asset management group of Ropes & Gray, representing private funds, hedge funds and investment advisers in transactional, regulatory and compliance matters. She provides guidance in the formation and operation of a broad range of investment products designed for institutional and high net worth investors, focusing on open- and closed-end funds in the real estate and credit classes. Elyssa serves on the Chicago leadership committee of 100 Women in Finance. Elyssa has a J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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