Core Spaces Leadership

Don is the Chief People Officer of Core Spaces, and although he has had a previous stint in Real Estate Development, most of his career has been in upper-upscale and luxury hospitality. Don oversees all facets of Human Resources and the strategic direction of the function for the company. This is not his first rodeo, as he was previously the Chief People Officer for the acclaimed lifestyle hotel group Aparium. His career has taken him around the world, having worked in over 30 countries and living in a dozen of them. Don brings forth 20+ years of experience to our People Operations team with certifications in several AI tools and behavioral assessments. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in Hotel Administration - an operator at heart.

Mitch Dalton is a Senior Managing Director & Chief Innovation Officer at Core Spaces.

As Chief Acquisitions Officer of Core Spaces, Andrew Wiedner is responsible for identifying and evaluating new development and acquisition opportunities for the company. His role includes site selection, due diligence, analyzing the company’s investment strategy, and managing debt and equity relationships.

Mr. Wiedner graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and a minor in Italian. He is a former President of the Illini Real Estate Forum (www.illnirealestate.org) and sits on the committee for the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Rock event.

Brendan Miller is the Chief Investment Officer, Student Housing at Core Spaces. He attended Cornell University.

Since joining Core in 2013, Chad has been involved in the orchestration, design, development and construction of over 8 million square feet of student housing totaling $1.7 Billion in project value. As COO of Core, Chad is responsible for the operational leadership of the organization, ensuring efficient and productive operations of the company’s development and operating platforms while also guiding strategic planning, corporate culture and talent management. Chad works with Executive Team and Vertical Presidents to help define Core’s vision and strategy, developing results to execute against and overseeing operations required to achieve those objectives.

Chad graduated from the University of Illinois with a Masters of Architecture with a concentration in Construction Management & Real Estate Finance starting his career in real estate in 2004. Chad has spent time over the past years serving on the Urban Land Institute - Young Leaders Board, the Young Real Estate Professionals Board, the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation Associate Board, and the Illinois Real Estate Alumni Forum.

As Senior Managing Director - Chief Investment Officer, Build-To-Rent, Cliff is responsible for guiding Core’s investment strategy and coverage of capital partner relationships within single family rental.

Prior to joining Core Spaces, Cliff spent approximately thirteen years at Equity International focused on investing in private real estate companies globally. Responsibilities included oversight of the team’s investment origination and execution in certain geographies, and portfolio management of EI portfolio companies. Previously, he worked in New York in Merrill Lynch’s real estate investment banking group where he focused on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and other advisory engagements.

Cliff graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. He currently serves on the board of directors of Homie, a residential real estate technology company based in Mexico, and is an active volunteer for Best Buddies Illinois and participant in their Citizens Program.

Damien Quarles is a Chief Engineer Facility Maintenance at Core Spaces and Security Supervisor at Macys logistics and operations and is based in Portland, Oregon. He has worked as Security Supervisor at Macy’s Inc., Maintenance Custodian at Beaverton School District, and Supplemental Instructor at Delaware County Community College. Damien studied at Delaware County Community College between 2010 and 2011, City College of San Francisco between 2011 and 2012, and George Washington High School.

Eric is a partner and Chief Development Officer of Core Spaces. As the CDO, Eric is responsible for implementing the company’s strategic vision of new development assets and value-add acquisitions by providing leadership and expertise to the Development Team. Eric is involved in the development feasibility, financial analysis, due diligence, project design, entitlements, permitting and general contractor procurement of each new development. In addition, Eric serves alongside the company’s COO as the chief liaison between the Development and Management teams. In that role, he is responsible for the seamless transition of each project from the development phase to operations and management.

Eric has been with Core since the company’s inception and has developed over 1.5 million square feet of ground-up, mixed-use developments. Most notably, he was responsible for the development of two of Core’s award-winning communities, including the Hub on Campus located in Tempe, Arizona, as well as the Hub at Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. These two projects are widely considered the most acclaimed and desirable student housing assets in the country.

Eric has a diverse background in the building industry with over a decade of experience in architecture, construction, and development. He has managed all phases of work, from site acquisition through project turnover on over $1 billion dollars in projects. Eric is a University of Illinois graduate with a Master's Degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering.

As Chief Investment Officer, John oversees Core Spaces’ capital relationships and capital raising efforts. His role includes developing the firm’s investments strategy and managing and developing various investor relationships.

Prior to joining Core Spaces, John spent over 15 years as a real estate investment banker at Merrill Lynch, Citi and, most recently, Macquarie Capital. In these roles, he has been involved in over $100 billion of real estate transactions across a variety of real estate sectors, including public and private capital raises and advisory assignments.

John has an MBA from Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

As Chief Financial Officer, Lucero is responsible for direct oversight of the accounting and finance functions, including fund accounting and financial reporting, development and property operational accounting, budget and forecasting, tax and treasury.

Prior to joining Core Spaces, Lucero spent 12 years working in fast-paced environments for a mix of private and public real estate companies such as Jones Lang LaSalle, Equity LifeStyle Properties and more recently, at Global Logistics Properties (leading the finance team through the largest private real estate transaction globally, $19 billion industrial real estate portfolio sold to Blackstone). She was responsible for SEC reporting and compliance, corporate finance and financial reporting and analysis and was the finance lead through various strategic transactions. Prior to that Lucero spent 8 years in the real estate audit practice at Deloitte, focused on public and private REITs. Lucero holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from UVM (Mexico City).