OFFICERS
%20(1)_edited.jpg)
Aaron Newquist - American National Bank & Trust, Denton
President
Aaron is a 20+ year professional in commercial banking and lending. Currently serving as Senior Vice President at American National Bank & Trust, Aaron’s expertise is in all facets of commercial real estate lending. Aaron’s portfolio includes such notable projects as: Roanoke City Center, Sam Moon Center – The Woodlands, and a concentration on the City of Denton, most notably the Wells Fargo Tower.
Aaron is a graduate of the University North Texas, Texas Tech Rawls College of Business Banking School, and Southwest Graduate School of Banking at SMU. He currently serves on the City of Denton Public Utilities Board, represents AMNAT with the Denton Economic Development Partnership, Denton Chamber of Commerce Government Relations Committee and various local nonprofit organizations.
Aaron has one son, Brady, a freshman marketing major and member of Sigma Chi Fraternity at Texas Tech. Aaron's passions include concert going, solo travel, and golf.
CHRIS WONG - AUSTIN INDUSTRIES
Vice President - Membership
Chris has 8+ years of experience in commercial real estate acquisitions and asset management in addition to his finance and accounting background. He received his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation in 2014 while working with the Transaction and Integration Services group at Deloitte.
Chris joined Austin Industries in 2016 and currently serves as their Director of Asset Management - Real Estate and Tax Director. His main responsibilities involve the management of Austin’s national real estate portfolio, which consists of office investments and leasing, warehouse shops for equipment storage, as well as asphalt and recycled concrete plants. Additional duties include sourcing project needs in regards to office or warehouse space. In 2019, Chris hired a Property Manager and Property Engineer to bring property management in-house, the new business venture is Austin Property Management. As Austin’s Tax Director, Chris’ team is responsible for Austin’s federal, state, and local regulatory filings for income, property, and sales & use tax.
Prior to Austin, Chris was a Senior Tax Associate at Hillwood, where he worked on tax strategy and planning for REITs, and Hillwood’s real estate development projects.
​
Why REFEA Is important? As a younger working professional in real estate, REFEA offers great networking opportunities, and the chance to listen to influential speakers through their monthly lunches at the Dallas County Club.
JOE PETERSON - KENSINGTON VANGUARD
Vice President - Events & Golf Tournament Chair
Joe Peterson has 16+ years of experience in business development and relationship-based consulting within the financial services and real estate industries. He began his career in commercial banking, he has worked for a few of the most notable financial institutions and has brought his knowledge of the financial & credit markets to the real estate industry. He has worked in Chicago and Los Angeles from 2004 – 2016 within the banking & real estate sectors.
In 2016, Joe joined Stewart Title’s National Commercial Services Group in Los Angeles, within his first year, Stewart approached him to transfer to their DFW team to fill business development opportunity within their group. As of May 2021, Joe accepted a role with Kensington Vanguard, focusing on business development for commercial & residential real estate services. Kensington Vanguard is a privately held company, headquartered out of New York. KV is one of the strongest & largest title agencies in the U.S.
Joe works with commercial real estate developers, ownership groups, REITs, Real Estate Syndications, C&I Lenders, Bridge & Mezzanine Lenders, Bankers, Real Estate Attorneys, Brokers, Home Builders. My clients are instrumental in directing business to me on their owner-occupied & investment real estate dispositions, acquisitions & refinances in DFW, Texas and across the country where his clients’ transactions take place.
JULIANNA BROOKS - BRADFORD
Vice President - Communications
Julianna Brooks is the Director of Business Development and Strategic Relationships for Bradford Commercial Real Estate. She specializes in connecting clients, family offices, entrepreneurial ownerships, pension fund advisors and institutions with Property Management, Leasing and Construction Management solutions.
She began her CRE career on the construction front, where she was a Business Development and Operations analyst for one of the country’s largest builders. In her role, she was responsible for understanding and analyzing the trends, risks and opportunities that face building owners and developers throughout the lifecycle of the building.
Ms. Brooks moved into Commercial Real Estate Services arena with Bradford to further her expertise and work with prospective clients on property solutions to continuously maximize their assets values long after commissioning.
Outside of REFEA, She is an active member of several national business organizations, including the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), Building Owners and Managers Association Greater Dallas (BOMA Greater Dallas), and The Real Estate Council (TREC). She also served as a board member on the Association of Industry Analysts and Petrochem Works, a charity organization who supports education in low-income neighborhoods in Houston. Julianna earned her degree in Economics from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where she ran Track and Field and Cross Country.
JULIA MINNIS - BVWP, LLP
Vice President - Sponsorship
Julia is a licensed CPA with a background in tax compliance and financial accounting. She currently serves as a Senior Consultant for BVWD, a full service, registered Dallas CPA firm offering audit, tax, outsourced CFO, consulting and transaction advisory services.
Prior to her current role, Julia worked at Tolleson Wealth Management, providing tax compliance for ultra-high-net-worth families, and at Deloitte, where she focused on Federal tax compliance engagements for private equity and hedge fund clients in the Business Tax Services – Investment Management group.
Julia holds a Master of Science in Accounting and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, with a Real Estate Finance Concentration, from Southern Methodist University, where she was recognized as a BBA and New Century Scholar and participated in a study abroad program in London.
In addition to her professional work and involvement with REFEA, Julia is an avid animal lover who enjoys spending time with her two golden retrievers and elderly cat. She is also a dedicated volunteer at Equest, where she contributes to the organization’s mission of providing therapeutic riding and equine-assisted programs.
BRITTANY PAUL - SS&C Technologies Inc.
Treasurer
Brittany is currently supporting the financial aspects of REFEA, where she has been an active member since 2020. She is a licensed CPA and serves as an Associate Tax Director at SS&C Technologies in Dallas. SS&C Technologies is a global administrative services company that partners with organizations of all sizes, offering a wide range of services, including fund administration, outsourcing, regulatory and compliance support, and loan administration.
With seven years of specialized experience, she concentrates on private equity, real estate, and REIT tax compliance, with a strong emphasis on Federal, State, and International tax matters. Her deep expertise in managing complex organizational structures has given her advanced knowledge of tax strategy.
​
A graduate of Texas Tech University, Brittany has been based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 2017. Outside of her career and involvement in REFEA, she's often off exploring new destinations.
ELIZABETH GOERTZ
REFEA Administrator
Elizabeth joined Real Estate Financial Executives Association with the vision and drive to improve upon our Non-Profit, and focused on developing the organization with experience and integrity.
​
Why REFEA Is important? REFEA has connected, grown and educated industry professions for the last 51 years. REFEA builds not only relationships, but memories and has a legacy unmatched in the city of Dallas.
NICK SAPP - DELOITTE
Immediate Past President
Nick is a leader within the Deloitte’s Tax Investment Management Practice. He is based in Dallas, Texas and has over 17 years of public accounting experience. Nick serves some of the largest clients within Deloitte’s investment management practice and is well versed in pass-through taxation.
He has extensive experience in real estate, private equity funds, cross-border financing, and various aspects of inbound and outbound international tax issues. Nick is experienced with REITS, real estate funds, private equity funds, credit funds, entity classification rationalization projects, buy-side and sell-side diligence, and other issues applicable to investment management clients.
Nick is the current Immediate Past President of the Real Estate Financial Executives Association (REFEA). In addition, he is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of the AICPA and Texas Society of CPAs. He holds a Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) degree and a Bachelor of Business Administration – Accounting degree from Texas Tech University.
E. Glenn Silva, CRE - KLM Realty Advisors/Lone Star PACE
Past President
Mr. Silva is the COO of Lone Star PACE in charge of day-to-day operations. Lone Star PACE serves as
a Program Administrator for city and county Property Assessed Clean Energy (“PACE”) programs in
Texas. PACE provides financing for commercial, industrial and multi-family projects that support
economic development and conservation in Texas communities. PACE is designed to overcome the
barrier of significant upfront costs for energy efficiency projects by offering attractive financing to
commercial property owners in Texas.
Mr. Silva is also President and Owner of KLM Realty Advisors, LLC and specializes in real estate due
diligence, underwriting and consulting. Since 2004, Mr. Silva has been engaged by B-Piece Investors
of Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities and the KLM team has underwritten over $18.5B in loans.
Mr. Silva holds the CRE, Counselor of Real Estate, designation. Within this organization he served as
the 2006 and 2013 chair for the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter and was the local chair for the 2014
National Mid-Year meetings held in Austin, TX. Mr. Silva is an MAI Member of the Appraisal Institute
and a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser in Texas. He serves on the board of directors of the
Real Estate Financial Executives Association in Dallas.
Mr. Silva received a Master’s Degree in Land Economics and Real Estate and a Bachelor’s Degree in
Agricultural Economics, both from Texas A&M University. Mr. Silva resides in Plano with his wife (an
Aggie) and they have two daughters.
Carson Braun
REFEA Intern
Carson is currently a Junior at the University of North Texas, pursuing a degree in Finance through the G. Brint Ryan College of Business. Before attending UNT, Carson spent two years playing collegiate baseball at Hardin Simmons University. Carson's time as a student-athlete taught him invaluable lessons in teamwork, communication, and collaboration—skills he's carried into both academic and professional settings. Carson believes in the power of collective effort and pride himself on his ability to contribute effectively within team environments to achieve common goals.
Along with Carson's academic and athletic background, he gained hands-on experience during his internship with Modern Woodmen of America as an Associate Financial Representative. This role, based in Dallas, Texas, provided him with practical knowledge in financial planning and client relations, further solidifying his passion for finance.
Carson is enthusiastic about his internship with REFEA and looks forward to further expanding his knowledge in the real estate and finance industries.