Donna founded The Preiss Company in 1987. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MA Degree from the University of Maryland at College Park. She is actively involved in the Raleigh Board of Realtors, Triangle Commercial Association of Realtors (TCAR), Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women (TCREW), National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), Triangle Apartment Association (TAA), SPCA Board of Directors, Triangle Community Coalition Board of Directors and the Advisory Board for CREW, Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Executive Women's Task Force. Donna holds both a North Carolina and South Carolina Brokers License.
Donna is actively involved in and a frequent speaker for the National Multi-Housing Conference (NMHC), the Kenan Flagler School of Business, and the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. She was a speaker this year at the first Kenan Flagler/Fuqua School of Business Forum for Women.
Donna has been featured on MSNBC.com and was recently honored by the Triangle Business Journal as one of the Triangle's top businesswomen displaying leadership in business. She has owned, developed or participated in approximately $135 million in development in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and most recently Texas.
Kirk has been with The Preiss Company since its inception in 1987. Kirk has overseen the acquisition and development of a portfolio of real estate worth over $200 Million. Prior to joining The Preiss Company, Kirk held an executive position at IBM and was in charge of their networking standards mission. His list of corporate accomplishments are many and include his NASA white paper on Orbit Determination Algorithms which laid the foundation for today’s GPS, his Nuclear Reactor Mathematical Models for Nuclear Plant Construction in the ‘80s, Patents on Local Area Network Bridging in the early ‘90s, and the architecting and implementing of a high-speed Internet infrastructure for off-campus student housing in the late ‘90s.
Kirk received a BS in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, an MS in Mathematics from George Mason University, and an MBA from Duke University. In 2002, he was appointed by Governor Mike Easley to the North Carolina Science and Technology Board, where he continues to serve today.
Kirk has over 20 years’ real estate experience and holds a North Carolina and South Carolina Brokers License. He is an Accredited Residential Manager (ARM) through the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and holds a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation. Over the past 10 years, Kirk has managed the development and acquisition of over 7,760 multi-family beds and secured lending for over $175,000,000 in development and investment property.
Susan Folckemer has over 23 years’ experience in the commercial real estate development, brokerage, and management business. She joined The Preiss Company in January 2003 and is the Executive Vice President of Acquisition & Development. Her responsibilities include oversight of all acquisition, disposition, and development activities. Over the past four years, Susan has overseen the development and acquisition over 8,000 multi-family beds and secured lending for over $310,000,000 in development and investment property. She is also responsible for all joint venture and partnership relationships in addition to new business development for third-party property management, development, and sales listings.
Prior to joining The Preiss Company, Susan worked with CB Richard Ellis as their Senior Director of Asset Services, North Carolina and South Carolina. During her 11 years at CB Richard Ellis and subsidiary companies, Susan’s responsibilities included supervision of their marketing, leasing, management, and accounting for a portfolio averaging 5 million square feet of Office, Retail, and Industrial product. Additionally, Susan was responsible for maintaining current client relationships and new business development activities. In 2001 and 2002, Susan also became a Regional Senior Director, taking on the additional responsibility of the Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia markets, totaling over 22,000,000 million square feet and 60 staff.
Susan began her career at Davidson & Jones Development Company. During that time, Davidson & Jones was one of the largest construction companies in the Triangle region. As the Manager of Property Management, Susan was responsible for the physical management, financial reporting, and marketing of a 2.5 million square foot portfolio throughout the southeast. Susan also participated in development activities for several regional shopping centers and the Imperial Center Office Park, located in Research Triangle Park, NC.
Susan received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business at North Carolina Wesleyan and holds both a North Carolina and South Carolina Broker’s License. She served as President for both Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women (TCREW) and the Institute of Real Estate Management Greater Raleigh-Durham Chapter (IREM). She is also actively involved in the Triangle Commercial Association of Realtors (TCAR), National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC), Certified Commercial Investment Manager (CCIM), and National Apartment Association (NAA).
John Preiss joined The Preiss Company in 1998 and is the Vice President of Business Development. John is responsible for working with the New Business Development Group to continue to grow the company and to help us realize our corporate goal of becoming the 8th largest Student Housing Provider operating in the Nation. Prior to his VP role, John served as a Member of the Acquisitions and Development Team, where he assisted in the acquisition of almost $100M of student housing at Auburn University and the University of Texas.
In 2007, John was awarded the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation by the CCIM Institute. John was among 393 commercial real estate professionals who earned the designation by passing the Institute's Comprehensive Examination, the final element in the designation process.
John's career with The Preiss Company is marked by notable corporate achievements. He has sold just under $60,000,000 worth of student housing to and has consistently been one of The Preiss Company's top sales leaders. John also conducts investment seminars in both northern and southern California. His new VP role makes John the second Vice President for The Preiss Company.
John earned his bachelor’s degree in Business at College of Charleston and is a member of CCIM. He holds both a North Carolina Apartment Manager (CAM), a Certified Apartment Property Supervisor (CAPS), and is a Certified Property Manager (CPM). John also holds both a both a North Carolina and South Carolina Brokerage license.
Amy joined The Preiss Company in 1995 and is responsible for the development and successful execution of the marketing and communications strategy for our conventional and student housing projects. She manages, coordinates, and drives the activities and creation of supporting promotional materials, supports our corporate sales process, and handles our community public relations efforts. Amy and her staff provide marketing support for 14 communities-housing approximately 8,000 students-and coordinates advertising, public relations, and direct mailings for several universities including NC State University, University of Texas at Austin, Auburn University, UNC Charlotte, Peace College, Meredith College, and Clemson University.
Amy graduated from St. Mary's College in 1996 and attended NC State University and is a member of the Triangle Chapter of the American Marketing Association.
Lynn joined The Preiss Company in 2005 and is responsible for all finances and accounting at the corporate level, as well as for all partnerships and joint ventures. Before joining The Preiss Company, Lynn worked in public accounting for nine years and operated her own public accounting office for four years.
Lynn graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BS in Accounting. She is a member of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is a Licensed Certified Public Accountant in North Carolina, as well as a Licensed Real Estate Broker in North Carolina.
As asset manager, Erin is responsible for overseeing budgets from preparation to implementation. She directs many aspects of the due diligence process for new acquisitions. She is heavily involved with the analysis of occupancy and rental standards throughout the company’s portfolio.
Erin joined The Preiss Company in 2005. She brings with her ten years of experience in the property management field. Her management career includes the management of mixed use facilities, conventional apartment communities and student housing.
Erin received her Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University and her Master of Science degree from Troy State University. She also holds her North Carolina Real Estate Brokers License.
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