NAREIM, the industry association dedicated to the business of real estate investment management, is pleased to announce its 2026-2027 class of Jeff Barclay Fellows.
Each year, NAREIM awards fellowships to outstanding graduate students in real estate programs across the United States. The fellowships aim to identify and nurture the next generation of real estate investment management business leaders through a unique learning and networking opportunity with senior industry executives.
Nearly 50 students from 16 schools around the US applied for the Fellows program this year.
The four members of the 2026-2027 class of Jeff Barclay Fellows are:
Ebubechukwu Iwenjora, DePaul University
Ebubechukwu is a graduate student in Real Estate at DePaul University with interests in acquisitions, asset management, and property management. Before pursuing his master's degree, he worked for three years as a site engineer and in the Quality Assurance/Quality Control department at Cappa & D'Alberto, a construction firm in Nigeria. At DePaul, he has served as a student ambassador, earned multiple scholarships, and actively participated in industry and community initiatives.
Ellen Lai, Fordham University
Ellen graduated with an MBA from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University, where she was a Goldie Scholar. She previously worked in real estate audit at Deloitte Hong Kong and later drove sales growth at Mandarin Oriental. Ellen holds a BBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Hong Kong and has lived and worked across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing, Chile, and the U.S. Active in the Goldie Initiative, Girlgang, and LiRE, she is passionate about expanding access and opportunity for women in commercial real estate.
Michael Khamis, MIT Center for Real Estate
Michael is a Master of Science in Real Estate Development candidate at the MIT Center for Real Estate and recently completed a summer internship in acquisitions at TA Realty in Boston. Prior to MIT, he spent five years as a general contractor in Washington, DC, before co-founding a boutique construction management firm in 2022. Alongside his civilian career, Michael served over eight years as an Infantry Officer in the Maryland Army National Guard and is a 2019 graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger School.
Claudio Lopez, NYU Stern School of Business
Claudio is an MBA candidate at NYU Stern concentrating in Finance and Real Estate and is an Acquisitions & Development Associate at Diversified Properties, LLC, a vertically integrated real estate investment and development firm in Northern New Jersey. His responsibilities include underwriting acquisition and development opportunities across multifamily, industrial, self-storage, and senior housing throughout the Northeast. Claudio earned his BS in Finance and Real Estate, cum laude, from Monmouth University.
Read more about the NAREIM Fellows program and the Class of 2026/27 here.
The program is named after the late Jeff Barclay, former NAREIM Chairman, Managing Director & Head of Acquisitions for Clarion Partners, and Head of Goldman Sachs' real estate group.
The 2026-2027 class of Jeff Barclay Fellows are invited to attend NAREIM’s Executive Officer meeting in Fort Worth, Texas from September 23-25 to network with C-suite leaders and join discussions on how technology is reshaping industries and business models, its implications for real estate investment firms, and preparing organizations for long-term transformation.
Fellows introduce themselves to industry leaders and share their perspectives on what the younger generation want real estate investment managers to know. Fellows are also given the opportunity to participate in a year’s worth of other NAREIM meetings based on functional group interest.
This year’s panel of NAREIM Jeff Barclay Fellows judges included:
- James Strezewski, Blue Vista Capital Management
- Haley Gallagher, Continental Realty Corporation
- Paul Nasser, Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation
- Maggie Coleman, Manulife Investment Management
- Bob Geiger, Partner, Engineering & Science.