Team

Our team consists of over 150 experienced people from various backgrounds and disciplines all of whom contribute significantly to our efforts and all of whom make Wentwood one of the most effective and unique firms in the affordable housing sector of the real estate capital markets. It is our distinct pleasure as an executive management team to work with our associates as we manage our investors’ portfolios and our assets and pursue new opportunities.

Robert Turner

Founder and Principal, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Turner founded the Wentwood Companies and its predecessors in 1992 and oversees all of the Wentwood operations and strategic vision. Wentwood originally provided underwriting and advisory services to Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and other New York based real estate conduit lenders in their commercial mortgage backed securities and special servicing areas. Mr. Turner participated in the securitization of over $1.325 billion of commercial real estate mortgages. Leveraging his knowledge of underwriting and financing, Mr. Turner began to acquire multifamily assets in 1994 and by 2000 had acquired over 14,000 affordable multifamily units in 11 states. In 2001, Mr. Turner made his first LIHTC property acquisition. In 2005, Mr. Turner began to manage a $1.0 billion national LIHTC portfolio for a large LIHTC investor with a number of distressed investments and in 2007, he acquired his first portfolio of institutional LIHTC funds. Wentwood has gone on to acquire 50 institutional LIHTC funds and owns or operates 34 LIHTC assets directly. Wentwood currently manages 46 institutional LIHTC funds with over $7 billion of capitalization. Wentwood owns and manages over 4,000 affordable multifamily units directly. Mr. Turner sits on numerous boards and is involved in a number of charitable pursuits in the greater Austin area. Mr. Turner earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and his MBA from Southern Methodist University.

Dave Sebastian

Principal, President

Mr. Sebastian joined Wentwood as a principal in 2012. Mr. Sebastian is responsible for the operations of the Wentwood Companies platform. Prior to joining Wentwood, Mr. Sebastian was a member of the senior management team at Capmark Financial Group and was the President of Capmark Affordable Equity, the holding entity for all of Capmark’s LIHTC operations. Mr. Sebastian managed the disposition of approximately 1,000 LIHTC properties and over $2 billion of long term guarantees on institutional LIHTC funds. Prior to joining Capmark in 2005, he was the President of PNC Multifamily Capital, where he was responsible for the Bank’s LIHTC syndication and investment platform. Mr. Sebastian began his LIHTC career with Columbia Housing in 1994 as its CFO and COO and oversaw the sale of that business to PNC in 1998. Mr. Sebastian began his career in San Francisco with Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co. and worked subsequently for a real estate syndication and investment firm prior to joining Columbia. Mr. Sebastian is a certified public accountant, has sat on a number of LIHTC industry related boards and was the President of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition from 2005 – 2007. He is a frequent speaker on industry topics. Mr. Sebastian earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of California – Berkeley.

Jeff Morgan

Principal, Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Morgan joined Wentwood in 2000. Mr. Morgan is a principal and is responsible for the Funds Management platform where he manages all institutional fund reporting and investor relations. Mr. Morgan also oversees Asset Management operations. During his tenure at Wentwood, he has been responsible for the property management operations and also created and managed the LIHTC compliance group which has been responsible both for the properties that Wentwood owns directly as well as its managed funds. He is a Housing Credit Certified Professional and also a COS. Mr. Morgan earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Texas A & M University and holds an MBA from the American Graduate School of International Management at Thunderbird University.

James Puckett

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Puckett joined Wentwood in 2012 as its Chief Financial Officer.  Mr. Puckett is responsible for all of the financial operations of Wentwood including cash and balance sheet management, financial reporting, tax planning and tax compliance.  Prior to joining Wentwood, Mr. Puckett was a founder and the CEO of Quarter Circle Capital, LLC, an investment manager of two private equity funds that specialized in investments in distressed or defaulted commercial real estate debt.  Prior to Quarter Circle, Mr. Puckett was a founding member, CFO and head of acquisitions at SpinCycle, Inc. a national multi-unit rollout and consolidation.  Mr. Puckett spent 11 years working in investment banking in New York at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, PaineWebber Incorporated and Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc., concentrating on public equity underwriting, fixed income offerings and debt securitization primarily within the real estate and consolidation industry.  Mr. Puckett earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico.

Robert McGehee, Jr.

General Counsel

Mr. McGehee joined Wentwood as General Counsel in 2005. As General Counsel, Mr. McGehee oversees outside counsel on pending claims and litigation, negotiates and assists with the preparation of transactional documents, oversees all corporate records and prepares internal policies and procedures for all Wentwood operations. Prior to joining Wentwood, he was a partner in the law firm of Gwinn & Roby, LLP in Ft. Worth, TX. Mr. McGehee is licensed to practice law in Texas. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas – Austin, and his law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law.

Tom Mangum

Principal and President, Westlake Housing, LP

Mr. Mangum joined Wentwood in 2008. He is responsible for all of Westlake Housing’s operations including the ownership and operations of 42 LIHTC assets and the property management platform. Mr. Mangum is also responsible for the diligence, underwriting and acquisition of all LIHTC properties within the Westlake platform. Mr. Mangum has over 19 years of commercial and multifamily real estate experience including 13 years in the LIHTC sector. He has significant expertise in asset restructurings, debt financing and asset management and he has closed over 150 transactions involving LIHTC property acquisitions, financings or dispositions. Prior to joining Wentwood, Mr. Mangum co-founded the National Tax Credit Group at CB Richard Ellis in Columbus, OH, which specializes in the sale of LIHTC properties nationally. He also served as a Vice President at Capmark Affordable Equity where he was responsible for LIHTC property restructurings and dispositions. He was also a Vice President in a commercial real estate lending group at a regional bank. Mr. Mangum is a licensed real estate broker in four states and is a Housing Credit Certified Professional. Mr. Mangum earned his Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Hillsdale College and his MBA from the University of Toledo’s Executive MBA program.

Senior Management

Jessica Armel

Director, Human Resources

Ms. Armel joined Wentwood in 2010 as Human Resources Generalist and was promoted to Director in 2013. Ms. Armel manages all human resource activities across both Wentwood and Westlake Housing including recruiting, benefits, payroll, retention, wellness and training programs.  Prior to Wentwood, Ms. Armel managed benefits and payroll for a computer software start-up for 2 years.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education from University of California, Riverside in 2006, her Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources Management from Concordia University and has been designated as a Certified Professional by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Brian Brandstetter

Assistant General Counsel

Mr. Brandstetter joined Wentwood in 2007 as Assistant General Counsel for Wentwood, Westlake Housing, and their affiliates. He advises the companies on a variety of legal matters, monitors outside legal counsel, and directly represents the companies in legal and administrative proceedings. Before joining Wentwood, he was in private practice for over 20 years handling primarily litigation matters, and was Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Brandstetter earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Baylor University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Baylor University School of Law, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Baylor Law Review. Mr. Brandstetter is AV rated (Preeminent) by the Martindale-Hubbell peer reviewed ratings.

Asset Managers

Brian Yates

Vice President - Senior Asset Manager

Mr. Yates joined Wentwood in 2012 as an asset manager within Westlake Housing and was promoted to Senior Asset Manager in 2015. Mr. Yates performs the responsibilities of the general partner on a portfolio of assets owned and operated by Westlake. Prior to joining Wentwood, Mr. Yates spent ten years at Capmark Affordable Equity and held several positions including most recently Vice President – Senior Asset Manager where he was responsible for the asset management of various multifamily assets within institutional LIHTC funds. Mr. Yates has over 20 years of real estate experience including over 14 years in the LIHTC sector. Mr. Yates is a Housing Credit Certified Professional and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate from Kent State University.

Jeff Cuddeback

Vice President – Asset Manager

Mr. Cuddeback joined Wentwood in 2012 and managed a portfolio of LIHTC assets in institutional tax credit funds, primarily in the Upper Midwest and South. Mr. Cuddeback recently moved to Westlake Housing where he performs the responsibilities of the general partner on a portfolio of assets owned and operated by Westlake. Prior to joining Wentwood, he worked at Northmarq Capital and more recently, Aegon USA Realty Advisors. While at Aegon, Mr. Cuddeback worked in the Special Servicing area, focusing on foreclosures within the Company’s $10 billion commercial loan portfolio and restructurings within the LIHTC portfolio. Additionally, he spent time in the originations and underwriting group for real estate equity investments. Mr. Cuddeback in a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate Finance.

Cari Garcia

Vice President – Asset Manager

Ms. Garcia joined Wentwood in 2014 as an asset manager within Westlake Housing. Ms. Garcia performs the responsibilities of the general partner on a portfolio of assets owned and operated by Westlake. She has over 17 years of experience working in the LIHTC industry. Prior to joining Wentwood, she worked as a consultant to LIHTC developers, as the Multifamily Finance Director for a bond issuer and as the Compliance Director for a national property management firm. Most recently she was the Manager of the Asset Management Division of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the state tax credit agency. Ms. Garcia received her Bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University and an MBA from St. Edward’s University

Sarah Hamm

Vice President – Asset Manager

Ms. Hamm joined Wentwood in 2008 as a financial analyst and was promoted to Asset Manager in 2009. Ms. Hamm currently manages a portfolio of LIHTC assets in institutional tax credit funds, primarily in the West and South. Prior to joining Wentwood, Ms. Hamm worked as a staff appraiser at C.L. McDade & Co., a Dallas based regional commercial appraisal firm. She performed appraisals, market studies and construction draw reviews on a variety of commercial property types. Ms. Hamm is a Housing Credit Certified Professional. Ms. Hamm holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Mathematics from Southwestern University.

Tami Holtz

Vice President – Asset Manager

Ms. Holtz joined Wentwood in 2008 and currently manages a portfolio of LIHTC assets in institutional tax credit funds, primarily located in the Upper Midwest. She has over 16 years of experience working in the LIHTC industry. Ms. Holtz previously spent 10 years with Aegon USA Realty Advisors, beginning as a paralegal, where she was responsible for commercial real estate loan closings and later as an Asset Manager in the Special Servicing and LIHTC areas. Prior to joining Aegon, she spent 20 years in the legal field. Ms. Holtz is a Housing Credit Certified Professional and also a Certified Commercial Investment Member. She attended Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Sean Thompson

Vice President – Asset Manager

Mr. Thompson joined Wentwood in 2011and currently manages a portfolio of LIHTC assets in institutional tax credit funds, primarily located in the East and Southwest. Mr. Thompson was previously a housing consultant, assisting owners of LIHTC assets with underwriting, operations and restructurings. He has also consulted on a number of HUD preservation deals. He also ran a development and construction firm that specialized in multifamily and retail development. Mr. Thompson has over 24 years of experience in affordable housing asset management, development, construction and related issues.

Hector Zuniga

Vice President – Asset Manager

Mr. Zuniga joined Wentwood in 2011 and manages a portfolio of LIHTC assets in institutional tax credit funds, primarily located in the South and East. Prior to joining Wentwood, Mr. Zuniga worked in the commercial real estate industry for over 18 years in various capacities including asset management, construction, development, underwriting, acquisitions and dispositions for all commercial property types. Mr. Zuniga earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Texas A & M University – Kingsville and received an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

Kara Usner

Assistant Asset Manager

Ms. Usner joined Wentwood in 2009 as a financial analyst where she worked for 4 years. She returned to Wentwood in 2014 as a Senior Financial Analyst and was promoted to Assistant Asset Manager in 2016. She currently manages a portfolio of LIHTC assets in institutional tax credit funds, primarily in the Upper Midwest. In 2013, she went to work for Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP where she assisted clients with project underwriting, sourcing equity, and securing financing for LIHTC properties. Ms. Usner earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance with an Emphasis in Real Estate from Texas Tech University.