Five graduate students awarded prestigious industry fellowship

NAREIM, the industry association dedicated to the business of real estate investment management, is pleased to announce its 2025-2026 class of Jeff Barclay Fellows.

Each year, NAREIM awards fellowships to five 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.

More than 65 students from 20 schools around the US applied for the Fellows program this year.

The five members of the 2025-2026 class of Jeff Barclay Fellows are:

• Nehal Gupta, Boston University Questrom School of Business

Nehal recently earned her MBA and MS in Digital Technology from Boston University. During graduate school, she worked at Boston Consulting Group on marketing and AI strategy. A Goldie Initiative Scholar and CREW Boston Scholarship recipient, she is passionate about using innovation and investment to drive long-term value in real estate and asset management. Nehal is a Product Manager at Suffolk Technologies.

• Trevor Hanson, Columbia Business School

Trevor is an MBA candidate at Columbia Business School, studying Real Estate and Finance. Prior to business school, he led Western US acquisitions for Triten Real Estate Partners, focusing on warehouse and industrial outdoor storage assets. Trevor graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point with a BS in Engineering Management and served as an Army infantry officer. He completed an internship at Pennybacker Capital in New York this summer.

• Nikoloz Kvirikadze, New York University Stern School of Business

Nikoloz recently earned his MBA from NYU Stern, where he specialized in Real Estate and Finance. During his time at Stern, he was a board member of the Stern Real Estate Club and he was also selected as a Chen Institute Real Estate Fellow, recognizing his commitment to the industry. Following graduation, Nikoloz launched RedRock Growth Partners, an investment firm focused on acquiring and operating multifamily real estate across Brooklyn.

• Brigid Sofen, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management

Brigid is pursuing an MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management while working as a Vice President at LaSalle Investment Management. She sources investment opportunities across markets in the Midwest, Southeast, and Mountain regions. Passionate about supporting women in the industry, Brigid serves as a founding member of the LaSalle Women’s Network and is both a Goldie Scholar and CREW Chicago Debbie Frank Scholar.

• Richard Xie, MIT Center for Real Estate

Richard is a graduate student at MIT’s Center for Real Estate, where he researches how artificial intelligence and econometric modeling can improve investment decisions. With a Computer Science degree from the University of Waterloo, Richard has held AI roles at Oracle, in financial institutions, and most recently at Link Logistics, a Blackstone portfolio company. He previously founded an AI-driven real estate start-up and has advised major developers and organizations.

Read more about the NAREIM Fellows program and the Class of 2025/26 here

The program is named after the late Jeff Barclay, former NAREIM Chairman, Managing Director and Head of Acquisitions for Clarion Partners, and Head of Goldman Sachs' Real Estate Group.

"Choosing the NAREIM Fellows was a deeply rewarding experience," said Kara Brown, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary of Cabot Properties, who served on the Fellows selection committee. "I am inspired by the high caliber of candidates this program attracts; these worthy Fellows will get unique access to senior leaders in the real estate investment management industry, serving to increase their value and career potential, as well as providing senior leaders with reverse mentorship."

"The Jeff Barclay Fellows program reflects NAREIM and our members’ deep commitment to cultivating the next generation of leaders in real estate investment management," said Reesa Fischer, CEO of NAREIM. "By connecting students with industry professionals and exposing them to real-world insights, we not only honor Jeff’s legacy but also invest in the future of our industry."

The 2025-2026 class of Jeff Barclay Fellows are invited to attend NAREIM’s Executive Officer meeting in Denver, CO from September 17-19 to network with C-suite leaders and join discussions on industry consolidation, surviving in a changing business environment, creating a true meritocracy and investor trends and expectations.

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.

Thanks go to the NAREIM Fellows judges including:

• Ravi Ragnauth, Berkshire Residential

• Kara Brown, Cabot Properties

• Bert Crouch, Invesco

• John Gochberg, TGM Associates

• Deborah Smith, The CenterCap Group

About NAREIM

NAREIM™ (the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers™) is the industry association dedicated to the business and organizational strategy of real estate investment management. Founded in 1990, NAREIM has been the home of real estate investment management benchmarking and best practice education in nine functional areas including Architecture, Engineering & Development; Asset Management; Capital Raising & Investor Relations; Data & Information Management; Executive Officer; Legal, Compliance & Risk; Portfolio Management; Sustainability; and Talent Management; as well as a Hispanic Real Estate Roundtable. NAREIM today represents real estate investment management firms with combined AUM of $3.3 trillion.

For more information, visit www.nareim.org