It All Starts
With Our People

Elliot J Tamir is Co Founder and Co Chairman of Campus Life and Style and Vesper Holdings, one of the country’s leading student housing firms with over 30,000 beds under management. Mr. Tamir is known for his superb investment, redevelopment and management strategies, spearheading the enhancement and transformation of property values throughout the CLS/Vesper owned and managed portfolio. His vision to create an unparalleled five star resident experience, a best in class workplace environment, an unrivaled company culture and groundbreaking style and design has been a primary contributor to the overwhelming success the portfolio has enjoyed to date.

Mr. Tamir served on the board of various charitable organizations including The Grammy Museum, Propel Network, The Amtrak FOP and Apex Care Foundation.

Mr. Sitt co-­founded Campus Life & Style. He oversees all property acquisitions and focuses on private equity real estate investments in both commercial and residential properties. He directs all debt and equity placements for the company. Throughout his career, Mr. Sitt has invested in, developed and managed retail and residential real estate. He utilizes an in-depth understanding of the industry to lead the company in acquiring its rapidly expanding portfolio of student housing assets located throughout the country.

Mr. Sitt is a graduate of the NYU Stern School of Business and sits on the boards of several charitable institutions.

Mr. Sholders brings 35 years of student housing property management experience to his role as CEO at Campus Life & Style. Before CLS, Mr. Sholders started his career with 12 years of site­ level student property management experience and ultimately became Senior Vice President of Management Services for American Campus Communities in 2005.

As SVP, Mr. Sholders was responsible for the overall fiscal operations, asset management, leasing and personnel supervision for a 170 property portfolio of owned properties.

Mr. Shoepe brings more than 25 years of student housing property management experience to his role as COO. Prior to his current role as COO, he was the SVP, Operations at CLS. He started his career by holding various on­ site positions as Leasing Manager, General Manager and Area Manager. Before joining CLS, Mr. Shoepe served as a Regional Manager and then for seven years as Regional Vice President for American Campus Communities, where he was responsible for overall fiscal operations, physical asset management, leasing of assets and personnel administration for a 35-property portfolio of owned properties.

Mr. Hughes brings more than a decade of student housing experience to his role as Chief Financial Officer at Campus Life & Style. He comes to CLS from American Campus Communities, where he began his career as a financial analyst and progressed to the Head of FP&A responsible for public reporting metrics and analysis as well as all budgeting and forecasting for over 200 owned and managed communities. In addition to his FP&A role he also brings site ­level experience having served as a Regional Manager with ACC.

Mrs. Nix brings more than 20 years of student housing experience to her role as CMO at Campus Life & Style. Before joining the CLS team, Mrs. Nix launched her own business, JNix Consulting, where she provided executive strategies for marketing, community positioning, market analysis and student ­centric lease ­up plans for all property types. Mrs. Nix began her career as a community advisor and climbed the ranks to VP of Marketing at Peak Campus Management, the second largest third­ party student housing management company in the country.

Santiago Quiroz, Jr. serves as SVP of Facilities and Construction for Campus Life & Style. Mr. Quiroz has over 20 years of experience in maintenance operations, asset preservation, capital planning and project management since starting his career as a maintenance technician in 1992. Before joining the CLS team, Mr. Quiroz served as District Maintenance Director for Holiday Retirement, a position he held from 2003 to 2015. Mr. Quiroz managed Holiday’s multi state portfolio where his vast responsibilities included oversight and management of all corporate maintenance programs, initiatives and protocols for the properties including asset preservation, regulatory compliance in relation to state surveys, and safety.

Geary Dancy brings over 20 years of experience to his role as SVP of Operations at Campus Life & Style.  Mr. Dancy has held various positions throughout his tenure including General Manager, Regional Director and, most recently, Vice President of Operations. Mr. Dancy is responsible for all aspects of portfolio operations and puts a strong focus on training his teams to ensure development and promotion from within.

Mr. Ledet brings more than 14 years of student housing accounting experience to his role as Vice President of Property Accounting at Campus Life & Style. He comes to CLS from American Campus Communities, where he began his career as a Property Accountant progressing to Director of Property Accounting. He led a team of four Accountants that oversaw all aspects of financial reporting for a portfolio of owned and managed assets. In addition to his Accounting role he collaborated with a team to test, implement and write procedures for reporting tools and software which increased efficiency within the company.

Robert Ferrara serves as the Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis for Campus Life & Style. His career covers over fifteen years of financial and asset management activities including over ten years with national student housing management and development companies.

Mr. Ferrara he has been involved in the acquisition and asset management of over 60,000 student housing beds and a total of $4 billion in value of real estate assets. Prior to CLS, he was Director of Asset Management for Campus Realty Advisors in Atlanta, GA. He has also been in asset management and FP&A positions overseeing student housing portfolios with American Campus Communities, Capstone Real Estate Investments and Capstone On-Campus Management.

Mr. Ferrara received his Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Alabama-Birmingham and his Masters of Real Estate Development from Auburn University.

Heather Tobey brings more than 20 years of accounting and systems experience to her role as Vice President of Operational Systems & Support at Campus Life & Style.

Before joining the CLS team, Ms. Tobey was an Accounts Payable Supervisor at American Campus Communities. At CLS, Ms. Tobey leads several teams to include in-house Utility Billing Services and the in-house Support System. She also manages the transition process for all for new assets and dispositions undertaken by CLS by acting as liaison between all relevant parties

Travis W. Downing serves as Vice President, Controller for Campus Life & Style and specializes in tax & financial strategy, financial reporting, and treasury management.

After completing his graduate degree from St. Edward’s University, Mr. Downing began his professional career working in taxation – specializing in tax return preparation, strategy, and consulting. With the explosive growth of the real estate market in Austin, Texas, he soon found himself working within the private equity real estate investment and management arena. He began working in commercial real estate and eventually moved on to multifamily assets.

After gaining invaluable accounting experience in commercial and multifamily niches, Mr. Downing was hired to work for a real estate developer, where he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the businesses’ financial operations.

Mr. Downing has a proven track record of success in executive leadership roles with over ten years of finance & accounting experience in real estate-related businesses. As a creative problem-solver, he is adept in strategic management and proactive and collaborative as a leader. Ensuring top-quality results in situations requiring adaptability and decisiveness to succeed. Mr. Downing is a licensed tax professional specializing in real estate partnerships, holds a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree in accounting from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.

Erin Mahone serves as The Vice President of Training and Hospitality and brings more than 15 years of industry experience to Campus Life & Style.

Prior to working at CLS, Mrs. Mahone held a vast array of positions from on-site Leasing Professional to Assistant Manager to Regional and National Training Support. Mrs. Mahone’s focus and passion lie in all things Training along with creating/enhancing the customer experience.

In addition to her Leasing and Operations Training expertise, Mrs. Mahone is extensively trained by Forbes Travel Guide, and subsequently created, developed, and implemented a 5-Star Service Training platform intended to bridge the gap between luxury hotel hospitality standards and the student housing experience.