Executive Team
Donna Preiss, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Donna Preiss is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Preiss Company. Founded in 1987, The Preiss Company specializes in the development, acquisition, and management of off-campus student housing and is currently the 11th largest student housing provider in the country. The company employs over 240 team members and is one of the largest and fastest growing student housing providers in the United States—currently owning and/or operating properties in six states.
Throughout her career, Donna has participated in the development, acquisition, and management of over 12,000 multi-family beds and secured lending for just under $420,000,000 in development and investment property. The Preiss Company is the leader in the development of new technologies, tools, and strategies for the student housing industry and also acts as a receiver for several national banks. The company has also been chosen by the Kenan School of Business as a business case for its architecture of partnering with institutional money.
Over the years, The Preiss Company has been a multi-year recipient of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce's coveted Pinnacle Business Award, winner of the Metro Bravo Award for Residential Real Estate, and winner of the Triangle Fast 50 Award for fastest growing company. The company has also been recognized by Triangle Business Journal as one of the Triangle’s Top Women-Owned Businesses (2005-2009), one of the Top Apartment Property Management Companies (2007-2009), and one of the Top Commercial Real Estate Brokers (2009). The company was also honored by Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network with their 2008 Impact Award—receiving Honorable Mention in the category of Industry Innovator—and awarded the Steady Growth and Profitability Master Award by the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce (2009).
The Preiss Company’s properties have had the distinction of being repeatedly voted as “Best Places to Live Off-Campus” by their respective campus newspapers, as well as showcased by the National Multi Housing Council for their capital improvements. In addition, both of the company’s two most recent acquisitions have been chronicled by CCIM as the year’s “Most Creative Deals”.
Donna has been personally recognized by Triangle Business Journal as one of the Triangle’s most successful professional women and was awarded their 2006 Women in Business Award. She has also been honored by Business Leader magazine and Triangle Real Estate magazine as an Impact Triangle Real Estate Broker for 2007/2008.
Donna 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 currently serves on the Board of Directors of the SPCA, the National Multi Housing Council, the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, and the Wake Tech Foundation. Donna also serves on the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Advisory Board and is a member of the NAA National Student Housing Committee, the NMHC National Student Housing Committee, and the Women President’s Organization.
Kirk Preiss, President
Kirk Preiss is Principal of The Preiss Company and has been with the company since its inception in 1987. He has overseen the acquisition and development of a portfolio of real estate worth over $400 Million over five states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Texas). Prior to joining The Preiss Company, Kirk held an executive position in technology at IBM and was in charge of their networking standards mission. Kirk was heavily involved in the LAN and Internet movement in the 80’s and 90’s—producing patents and leading international standards like IEEE 802 and ISO.
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 brought his technology background to The Preiss Company as they pioneered and developed high-speed Internet infrastructures for off-campus student housing in the 90’s. The Preiss Company has been an innovator in student housing apartment technologies including online resident portals and student housing management software integration.
Kirk has over 20 years’ real estate experience and holds a North Carolina and South Carolina Brokers License. Kirk is an Accredited Residential Manager (ARM) through the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and holds a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation. He 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.
John Preiss, Executive Vice President of New Business Development
John Preiss joined The Preiss Company in 1998 and serves as Executive Vice President of New Business Development. John is responsible for growing new business, identifying good debt and equity partners, and overseeing the company’s acquisitions, development, and third-party property management. John previously served as the company’s Vice President of Business Development and was in charge of sourcing capital and new product.
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. During his twelve years with the company, he was the top performing real estate broker for seven straight years and has sourced both the debt and equity for $95 million. He also led the acquisition for both University Village at the Coast in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and University Village at Southern in Statesboro, Georgia. In the past 18 months, John has increased The Preiss Company’s property management by 3,200 beds through acquisition, third-party property management, or by bank receiverships. He also has sourced $30 million in equity in debt and equity and currently has 1,100 beds under contract, as well as a 300-bed development project. Two of his last projects were selected by Commercial Investment Real Estate—the magazine of the CCIM Institute—as "Big Deals of the Year" for their creativity.
John graduated from the College of Charleston with a bachelor's degree in Business and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC). He is an active member in the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC).
John Manning, Chief Financial Officer
John Manning is the Chief Financial Officer for The Preiss Company and brings over 20 years’ of financial and administrative leadership experience and expertise. In his role, John is responsible for managing all accounting/financial reporting, treasury, risk management and administrative functions for the company, as well as overseeing all credit relationships with senior and subordinated lenders and institutional/private equity investors. For the past 15 years, John has been the senior financial executive for investor acquired business entities purchased through leveraged buyouts or recapitalizations with revenue ranges from $50 million to $150 million. Each entity a unique entrepreneurial environment, and each requiring a close working relationship with commercial and asset based lenders, mezzanine lenders, boards of directors and sophisticated financial investors. He has been responsible for sourcing working capital, interim and long term debt financing and providing strategic guidance in acquisition targeting and integration.
Prior to joining The Preiss Company, John worked in various financial and accounting positions throughout New York and New Jersey from 1982 – 1994. In 1994, he moved to North Carolina where he served for three years as Controller/CFO for Alpha Cellulose Corporation, a processor of specialty cellulose in Lumberton. While there, John developed energy-sourcing strategies for natural gas and electricity, saving over $300K per year. He also established volume rebate pricing guidelines and assisted sale executives with major account negotiations, resulting in over $3 million in new business.
In 1997, John served as the Division Controller for Tecstar Inc., Electro Systems Division in Durham. In 1999, John moved to Georgia where he served as Chief Financial Officer for US Supply Company in Augusta for seven years. During his stay, he negotiated $5.3 million revolving credit and term loan facility, replacing mezzanine financing, as well as negotiated $2.2 million capital lease financing for e-coat/powder coat system. In 2006, John moved back to North Carolina and served as CFO for Cam Fabrication Holdings, Inc. in Smithfield. In 2009, John worked as an independent financial consultant and worked with such clients as a global earth station satellite systems manufacturer, a waste management services provider, and a building supplies distributor.
John graduated from Iona College with a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Business Administration, Finance.
Susan Folckemer, Executive Vice President
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. Susan has overseen the development and acquisition of over 8,000 multi-family beds and secured lending for over $350,000,000 in development and investment property. In her role, she oversees all acquisition, disposition, development and operations for the company. Susan is responsible for all joint venture and partnership relationships, as well as new business development activities.
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). Susan currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC), serves on the Student Housing Committee for both the NMHC and National Apartment Association (NAA), and is actively involved in the Triangle Commercial Association of Realtors (TCAR) and Certified Commercial Investment Manager (CCIM).
DeWana Falks, Vice President of Student Housing Operations
DeWana Falks is the Vice President of Property Management for The Preiss Company and brings over 22 years of experience in supervising and managing all aspects of property management throughout the United States. In her role, DeWana is responsible for managing The Preiss Company’s portfolio of student properties, which includes overseeing the day-to-day student housing operations. Since joining the company, she has helped to develop a scalable platform, which has enabled the company to grow by over 25%. Her ability to understand the unique components of student housing procedures, as well as her talent for identifying operational issues are just a few of the many strengths that DeWana brings to our executive team.
Prior to her appointment as Vice President of Property Management, DeWana served as the company’s Director of Student Housing Operations where she was managed the site Property Managers and Assistant Managers, developed property Standard Operating Procedures to increase rent postings and improve invoice reviews, and reduced maintenance, utilities, and transition costs through improved quality-control and inventory standards.
Prior to joining The Preiss Company, DeWana was the Regional Manager for Stokes-McCaleb from 1984 to 1991 and was responsible for overseeing five multi-family communities. She then joined Fort Development and served as the company’s Property Manager responsible for the lease up of 300 luxury homes in Phase 1 and an additional 300 luxury homes in Phase 2. In 1993, DeWana moved from Florida to Texas and joined ConAm to serve as the company’s Regional Trainer and Auditor. During her six years, DeWana was responsible for policy and Rent Roll training of all employees within the 28 fee-managed property territory. After six years, she relocated to Florida and was appointed Property Manager for Place Properties. After four years, DeWana was promoted to Regional Manager responsible for overseeing a portfolio of six off-campus student communities comprised of 4,303 beds. In 2006, she became the Regional Manager for Campus Advantage, where she managed a portfolio of seven on/off-campus student-housing communities comprised of 6,000 beds.
DeWana received her Florida Real Estate License in 1991.
Amy Barger, Director of Marketing
Amy Barger is the Director of Student Housing Marketing for The Preiss Company. She joined the company in 1995 and is responsible for the development and successful execution of the marketing and communications strategy for the company’s conventional and student housing projects. Amy manages, coordinates, and drives the activities and creation of supporting promotional materials, supports the corporate sales process, and handles all community public relations efforts. She also manages The Preiss Company’s nine property and corporate websites and has used pay-per-clicks, social media marketing, and Google analytics in order to boost campaign reach and maximize effectiveness.
Amy and her staff provide marketing support to off-campus student communities that house approximately 11,000 students and coordinate all advertising, public relations, direct mailings, and sports marketing 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. She is currently a member of the Triangle Chapter of the American Marketing Association.
Kyle Barger, Director of Construction Management
Kyle Barger joined The Preiss Company in 2007 and is the Director of Construction Management responsible for managing capital improvement projects and overseeing TPCO’s “Green Initiative”, which focuses on making properties more environmentally friendly while helping to reduce costs. Kyle has also overseen three renovations in the last three years—most recently, a $1,000,000 renovation at the University Village of Statesboro. Before his appointment, Kyle was a member of the company’s Acquisition and Development (A&D) Team. His first deal with the A&D Team was University Estates at Austin, a 1,548-bed apartment property located with three miles of the University of Texas.
Kyle brings over ten year’s sales experience to The Preiss Company. Prior to joining our team, he was the Sales Manager for Resolve Rehabilitation/NHR from 1998 to 2002, where he sold case management and bill review services to insurance companies and employers. He then joined Integrated Care Management (ICM) where he was named New Salesperson of the Year in 2003 and Salesperson of the Year in 2004. In 2006, Kyle became a Regional Sales Manager for Cypress Care, where he sold cost containment pharmacy programs to insurance companies and employers.
Kyle is a graduate of North Carolina State University with a BA in Business Management. He holds a North Carolina Brokerage license and is currently a member of Triangle MLS, the NC Association of Realtors (NCAR), and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In April 2010, he was awarded the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Green Designation, the only green real estate professional designation recognized by NAR.
1700 Hillsborough Street | Raleigh , North Carolina 27605 | (919) 870-5080