Published: Oct. 8, 2024

Excitement is building around the appointment of sixhighly regarded leaders.


Koelbel Building

“These new board members bring a diverse voice and perspective that aligns with the future vision for the board,” said Julie Gibson, executive director of the Klump Center for Real Estate. “Our board members positively contribute to the center’s role as an educational leader in the Rocky Mountain region as well as help create holistic experiences for our students through mentorship, networking opportunities, hosting treks and sharing knowledge.”

The board plays a crucial role in shaping the center's direction and ensuring its relevance to the evolving real estate landscape. Adding new board members from leading real estate firms helps to ensure our education and co-curricular opportunities are meeting and anticipating the needs of the real estate industry. Additionally, five of the new members are alums from CU Boulder.

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“With new board members we have the opportunity to bring new thought and perspectives to our real estate program such as data analytics and sustainability, shedding light on the jobs of the future in commercial real estate,”

said Gibson.

With the addition of these talented individuals, the Klump Center for Real Estate is well positioned to continue its legacy of excellence in real estate education and research.

Shannon CoxShannon Cox Baker | Regional Vice President of the Mountain Region, Pennrose

Shannon Cox Baker has more than fifteen years of real estate development experience in both the public and private sector in Colorado. As Regional Vice President of the Mountain Region for Pennrose, Shannon is responsible for the execution and continued growth of Pennrose’s development pipeline in Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, including all aspects of the real estate development process from initial conception through construction, to lease-up and stabilized occupancy or sale. Prior to joining Pennrose in 2022, Shannon ran her own consultancy and development company for over a decade where she provided owner’s representation and project management services to for-profit, nonprofit, and housing authority LIHTC developers throughout Colorado. In partnership with Pennrose and TGTHR, a Colorado-based nonprofit, Shannon is developing 2700 Wewatta, a supportive housing development for homeless youth in Denver. Her passion for supportive housing originated in 2009 while working as a development associate for Boulder Housing Partners, the Housing Authority for the City of Boulder, and she has since become a leading advocate for the development of homeless housing. Shannon received her Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Environmental Studies from University of South Carolina Honors College and a Master of Business Administration in Real Estate and Entrepreneurship from University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. She’s an active member of the CU Real Estate Center and Housing Colorado.

Molly BerdanoMolly Bordonaro | Managing Partner, The Green Cities Company

Molly Bordonaro, Managing Partner, oversees investment management, capital raising, compliance, and research at The Green Cities Company. With more than 20 years of commercial real estate experience including transactions, financing, management, leasing, and operations, she also serves on the firm’s Investment Committee. In 2009, Molly joined The Green Cities Company to help build out the firm’s investment management practice. In 2011, Molly became a partner of the firm. Previously, Molly was a principal at The Gallatin Group and a co-founding director of an investment fund specializing in the financing of real estate development in low and moderate-income areas. From 2005 to 2009, she served as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Malta, becoming the first American diplomat to receive Malta’s highest medal of honor. Prior to that, she was a commercial broker with NAI Norris, Beggs and Simpson. Molly holds a BA from the University of Colorado. Molly was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. In her spare time, Molly enjoys spending time with her husband Matt, and her three kids, Brooke, Colt and Skylar. As a family, they enjoy skiing, tennis, golf, and travel. Molly also serves on the Board of Moda Health.

Calandra Cruickshank | CEO and founder, StateBook InternationalCalandra Cruickshank | CEO and Founder, StateBook International

Calandra Cruickshank serves as CEO and founder of StateBook International, a tech company dedicated to simplifying complex data to deliver actionable analytics for strategic decision-making in the real estate, climate, and health sectors. Calandra also serves as a part-time lecturer at the MIT Center for Real Estate, focused on how data science informs innovation in the built environment. Calandra chairs the CoreNet NYC PropTech Committee, driving the adoption of groundbreaking technologies in the real estate sector. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the International Sustainable Resilience Center (ISRC), a global leader in developing sustainable, resilient communities. Together with ISRC, Calandra developed the Economic Resilience Scorecard™, which provides a baseline economic resilience score to communities and a step-by-step framework to improve community resilience. Her company, StateBook, provides a patented, digital, location intelligence platform that informs the optimal locations for real estate investment. StateBook customers can also embed the company’s sophisticated data APIs in their websites to gain a competitive advantage by delivering valuable insights and enhanced user experience to their customers. Calandra also works with economic development organizations (EDOs) across the U.S., providing data-driven, digital solutions to help attract new businesses, jobs, funding, and resources to communities. She also developed Digital CEDS, an application that digitizes PDF reports and brings them to life with interactive, always-updated data and analytics, featuring geospatial mapping and customizable data visualizations. Calandra previously served on the Board of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and maintains active involvement with various industry organizations. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Carl Koelbel | President and CEO, Koelbel & CompanyCarl Koelbel | President and CEO, Koelbel & Company

Carl Koelbel is President and CEO of Koelbel & Company where he carries on a three-generation tradition of real estate development. He is currently focused on growing the company’s scope and reach both in terms of product type and geographically while continuing to pursue excellence on the company’s legacy developments. Since joining Koelbel and Company over 12 years ago, he founded Koelbel Communities, the front range home building division; grew the affordable housing development platform; developed Catalyst RiNo; developing The Point at Nine Mile, including Tempo, the site’s market rate rental property; and, he oversaw the company’s first foray into other states through acquisitions in Dallas and Atlanta, as well as the development of Catalyst UNMC in Omaha. He’s remained focused on driving the company values and strengthening the company’s culture. Carl has a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from the University of Southern California and received his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Real Estate and Finance from the University of Colorado in Boulder. He is currently sitting on the board of the Denver Metro Chamber Commerce and is an appointed member of Colorado’s Middle Income Housing Authority board. He is an avid skier and golfer. He is always thankful of the support of his wife Fallon and three children; Harper, Reagan and Presley.

Darren Powderly | Founder and Board member, CrowdStreetDarren Powderly | Founder and Board member, CrowdStreet

​​As the Founder and a board member of CrowdStreet, Darren Powderly is recognized nationally as a visionary leader and innovator in online real estate investing. Since launching in 2014, CrowdStreet has established itself as the leading technology platform that connects individual investors with institutional-quality commercial real estate (CRE) opportunities across the U.S., with more than $4.3 billion invested by over 20,000 investors into 790 deals from 344 sponsors across, 198 of which have sold, resulting in a 15.0% IRR for our investors (as of 4/15/24). Darren's passion for democratizing access to CRE through technology stems from his previous roles as the President at Compass Commercial, a full-service CRE services company, and a sales team leader at ATG (acquired by Oracle), a company specializing in CRM and e-commerce software applications. Darren is a full member of the Urban Land Institute, a CCIM designee, and holds the FINRA Series 79 and 63 investment banking licenses, demonstrating his expertise and credibility in investment real estate. Darren was graduated from the Leeds Business School at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Darren actively gives back through volunteerism and charitable donations.

Kate Reilly | Owner and Founder, Guide ManagementKate Reilly | Owner and Founder, Guide Management

Kate is a motivated, organized, detail oriented and personable professional with undergraduate and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering and over 23 years of experience in the construction industry working as a General Contractor, Contracts Manager and Owner’s Representative. Kate began her career in construction working as an on-site project manager with a national general contractor in Chicago. This “in the field” experience provides the foundation for a solid understanding of how to build, plan and manage construction projects. In addition, she worked as a Contracts Manager for the general contractor negotiating a variety of contract agreements on projects ranging from $20K to $1.2B. For the last 12 years, she has worked as an Owner’s Representative in a variety of market sectors completing projects within the owner’s budget and schedules. Kate has worked on more than 75 projects including healthcare, multifamily residential, restaurant, sports/recreational, and tenant improvement with multiple repeat clients across the country.