Bay Area CRE Rising Stars: Emerging Leader

Strategic Vision and Operational Excellence Define Next Generation of Bay Area Real Estate Leaders

The Bay Area’s commercial real estate industry continues to be shaped by a new generation of leaders who combine strategic vision with operational excellence. Five professionals have earned recognition for their exceptional contributions across diverse sectors, from affordable housing asset management and legal advisory services to property management innovation and industrial brokerage.

Jamie Bonthius

Jamie Bonthius (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-b-122b5275/), Senior Asset Manager at Related California, oversees a large and diverse portfolio of 35 affordable housing properties, including 27 in the Bay Area and others in markets like South Lake Tahoe and Portland. These properties span different financing structures, regulatory requirements, and operating challenges, and Bonthius’ job is to keep them financially stable, compliant, and positioned for long-term success.

Bonthius has guided several of these properties through financial turnarounds by tightening practices, stepping in directly with housing authorities to resolve subsidy stoppages, improving forecasting and communication, and pushing for clearer coordination between asset management, operations, and lenders. In several cases, these efforts prevented even more serious financial deterioration and helped restore stability and confidence among partners.

Bonthius works closely with internal leadership and management companies, lenders, and public partners, bringing straightforward communication, calm problem-solving, and a willingness to take ownership—especially when situations are urgent. Bonthius has become someone executives rely on for honest assessments and practical, actionable solutions, taking that responsibility seriously.

Beyond solving immediate problems, Bonthius also works to improve how the department operates. When recurring issues appear around compliance handoffs, subsidy tracking, or reporting, Bonthius works with colleagues across teams to help create clearer processes so the same challenges don’t repeat. The goal is always to strengthen the long-term health of the entire portfolio, not just put out fires.

What motivates Bonthius most is the understanding that this work ultimately affects residents, not just financial statements. When a property stabilizes, it protects homes and ensures these communities remain strong and affordable. Bonthius is proud of the leadership shown early in career and the measurable impact across a large, complex group of properties. The work reflects what this award is meant to recognize: someone who steps up, takes responsibility, solves real problems, and strengthens the communities and teams they serve.

Matthew Keipper

Matthew Keipper (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkeipper/), Senior Vice President of Development at Related California, has over a decade of experience in Bay Area development, during which time he has distinguished himself as a thoughtful, forward-thinking professional. As a result of his skill and vision leading transformative projects, Keipper has grown professionally from Development Associate to Senior Vice President, managing the development process for market rate projects around the region.

Keipper combines technical expertise with collaboration, building strong partnerships with cities, agencies, design teams, and community stakeholders to move complex projects forward. He successfully balances creativity with financial feasibility and long-term community benefit, navigating the nuances of entitlements, financing, and design while maintaining a vision for high-quality development.

Most recently, Keipper led the development of Felix, a first-of-its-kind project in the heart of downtown Santa Rosa, developed in collaboration with the city. Felix offers a fresh take on Santa Rosa living with contemporary, elevated amenities, filling a gap in the market while also helping the city achieve its development goals following 2017 wildfires that destroyed five percent of its housing stock.

Additionally, Keipper contributed to The Clara District, which includes The Clara Residences and Ellore Senior Living, developed in partnership with the City of Santa Clara. The Clara District brings thousands of residential units, abundant public space including Santa Clara’s newest park, and opportunities for retail. Keipper’s other projects include Mason on Mariposa, a 299-unit mixed-income development in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.

In 2025, Keipper served as the 79th president of the Guardsmen, helping deliver hundreds of scholarships to at-risk youth and the opportunity for thousands more to attend outdoor programs. Prior to joining Related, Keipper held the role of Director of Financial Planning and Analysis for Pacific Medical Buildings, and Acquisitions Analyst for the Bascom Group. Keipper holds a Master in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in Finance from San Diego State University.

Nickolas Oar

Nickolas Oar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickolasoar/), Associate Director of Acquisitions at Hamilton Zanze Real Estate Investments, represents the next generation of commercial real estate leadership: an analytical thinker, a strategic dealmaker, and a mentor whose impact reaches beyond transaction volume. Oar has rapidly emerged as one of the most influential young professionals shaping multifamily investment activity both in the Bay Area and across the United States.

Oar has played a foundational role in one of the most significant Bay Area multifamily initiatives of the decade: the acquisition and development of Revere Housing’s San Francisco portfolio. As a key contributor and early architect of the strategy, Oar helped drive the acquisition of three portfolios comprising 171 apartment buildings, forming the basis of a newly created affiliate that will reshape long-term housing preservation opportunities in the city.

His work in San Francisco extends beyond transactions. Oar played a significant role in the development of the firm’s rent-control acquisition analysis process and underwriting model, enabling Hamilton Zanze and Revere Housing to pursue ownership of more than 3,700 units totaling over one billion dollars in value. This framework is now a core foundation of the company’s urban acquisition strategy.

Oar’s national impact is equally impressive. In just 24 months, he sourced and closed nearly 250 million dollars in acquisitions across the Kansas City metro, placing Hamilton Zanze first in overall acquisition volume in one of the most competitive and institutionally active markets in the Midwest. In 2024, he sourced, led, and closed the largest multifamily acquisition in the state of Kansas at 82 million dollars, reinforcing his ability to identify and execute on high-conviction opportunities with speed and precision.

Oar’s career trajectory reflects his exceptional capability. He was promoted two levels in a single year—from Associate to Senior Associate to Associate Director—an uncommon achievement that demonstrates the breadth of trust placed in him by firm leadership. Beyond transactions, Oar is helping modernize Hamilton Zanze’s investment platform by leading the integration of artificial intelligence into the firm’s acquisitions processes, enhancing underwriting efficiency, market identification, and competitive positioning through advanced data tools and technology layering.

A natural mentor, Oar has also strengthened the next generation of talent entering the industry. He leads each of Hamilton Zanze’s summer intern classes, training them to fully underwrite prospective acquisitions within one month of joining the team. He continues to mentor them beyond their internship, preparing them for interview processes at major private equity and credit firms where many have gone on to launch their careers.

Michael Price

Michael Price (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-price-8a9365121/), Director of Property Management at 2B Living, embodies what it means to be an emerging leader: strategic, values-driven, collaborative, and relentlessly focused on building a stronger, smarter company. Price’s career trajectory at 2B Living—moving from Director of Leasing, to Director of Process & Innovation, to now Director of Property Management—demonstrates both his versatility and his extraordinary capacity for growth.

Price began at 2B Living as Director of Leasing, where he immediately improved team dynamics, operational discipline, and the overall resident experience. He rebuilt leasing processes, strengthened training, and created a more unified, accountable team environment. His success in this role revealed a natural talent for systems thinking and leadership, which led to his next chapter.

As Director of Process & Innovation, Price transformed the backbone of the company. He developed the Core Process Package, led critical technology and PropTech implementations, modernized workflows, and built scalable infrastructure across vacancies, move-ins, move-outs, turnovers, rent collection, reporting, and task management. His work established a culture of standardization, accountability, and continuous improvement—setting the stage for the company’s next phase of growth.

Now, as Director of Property Management, Price leads a large and diverse team of Regional Managers, Portfolio Managers, and the Onboarding team. He brings structure, empathy, and forward-thinking strategy to a complex operational department responsible for delivering high-quality service to thousands of residents and owners.

In this role, Price excels in the core pillars of leadership: process implementation and compliance, team training and development, performance management, owner relations, budgeting and reporting, and vendor, resident, and risk management. He partners closely with Process & Innovation to deploy standardized workflows across leasing, resident relations, maintenance, and financial reporting. He ensures compliance with regulations and best practices while inspiring team members to adopt processes with ownership and accountability.

Price mentors emerging leaders, reinforces core values, and builds training programs that strengthen technical skills and leadership capability. He fosters a culture grounded in growth, high performance, and continuous improvement. He sets clear KPIs, holds teams accountable, and recognizes achievements that exemplify the company’s values. Price enhances owner communication, strengthens budgeting discipline, improves financial performance, and supports accurate, transparent reporting alongside the accounting team.

Price is a leader who listens, coaches, innovates, and brings out the best in his teams. He is growing right alongside the company—helping shape what 2B Living can become.

Tara Shabahang

Tara Shabahang (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-shabahang-84820817/), Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, is a skilled real estate advisor with deep experience in borrower-side finance, representing clients in mortgage and mezzanine debt, construction financing, secured and unsecured lines of credit, and commercial mortgage-backed securities loan servicing.

Shabahang leads Manatt’s representation of Jay Paul Company, a leading and prolific real estate developer, as go-to counsel for all commercial real estate transactions. Notable matters she has led include 200 Park, where after negotiating the acquisition of the site for development in 2019, Shabahang has continued to assist in various development activities, including closing and extending a multimillion-dollar construction loan with JPMorgan, negotiating with the ownership of the adjacent Museum Place project and the City of San Jose, and documenting a series of construction and access easements. Most recently, Shabahang negotiated and closed a 220 million dollar c-PACE financing—the second largest PACE financing on record in the history of the PACE program at the time of closing—in order to refinance the existing construction loan.

For Springdale Green, following the 62 million dollar purchase of 30 acres of undeveloped land in Austin, Texas, in 2020, Shabahang completed extensive entitlement work to prepare the site for development. Thereafter, she negotiated a 310 million dollar construction loan. The approximately one million square foot office project was recently completed, which included the restoration of native meadows, woodlands, and an urban creek tributary.

Shabahang continues to advise Jay Paul Company with the development of the Harbor View commercial office project on a 26-acre site in Redwood City, California. Most recently, this has included the refinancing of a land loan and managing completion of entitlement requirements pursuant to the Development Agreement with the City of Redwood City. To satisfy the Development Agreement requirements, Shabahang negotiated and closed the transfer of several Jay Paul-owned multi-family buildings, comprised in the aggregate of 65 units, to a local non-profit organization, St. Francis Center, for affordable housing.

For Tech Corners, Shabahang negotiated and documented a 250 million dollar permanent mortgage loan for the project comprised of four Class A office buildings totaling one million square feet of rentable space and a fitness center in Sunnyvale, California.

Shabahang leads Manatt’s representation of Urban Catalyst in projects in downtown San Jose including acquiring a 6.7-acre site in Los Gatos for the development of a 140-unit residential town home project, negotiating multimillion-dollar construction financings for Aquino’s and Keystone’s multistory projects, negotiating a refinancing for Icon and Echo, and documenting the sale of two parcels to the City to facilitate its High-Speed Rail and Diridon construction projects.

In recognition of her impressive client work, Shabahang was named to Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s Rising Stars list in 2025, the Legal 500’s US Guide as a Next Generation Partner for Real Estate in 2025, and the Best Lawyers in America’s “Ones to Watch” list in the Real Estate Law category from 2022 through 2024. She was recently recognized as a 2025 Northern California Commercial Real Estate Power Women Honoree and was also recognized as an honoree at Bisnow’s 2025 Northern California Commercial Real Estate Power Women event.

Shabahang commits significant time to pro bono representation, recently representing pro bono clients in connection with securing and documenting financing to renovate the programming and studio spaces for a Los Angeles-based non-profit facilitating poetry and songwriting workshops for formally incarcerated youth, effecting a complex property transfer for an environmental non-profit incubator that houses eleven organizations developing local solutions for a healthy and sustainable planet, and participating in virtual conservatorship clinics serving family members anxious to ensure uninterrupted care for their adult children with severe developmental disabilities preventing appropriate self-care.

Active in the Urban Land Institute, Shabahang serves as the Vice Chair of the ULI San Francisco-Silicon Valley Planning Committee and was recently appointed to the ULI San Francisco Innovation Product Council. The Innovation Council within ULI is the premier forum for real estate and tech executives to gather and discuss how technology and innovation are changing the world of real estate.

Chris Stauber

Chris Stauber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisstauber/), Senior Associate at Colliers, has steadily sharpened his skills and deepened his understanding of both the market and the broader commercial real estate landscape since 2022. This growth has strengthened his perspective as a consultant and advisor, helping him recognize how each piece of information fits into the larger picture.

Stauber has developed a strong ability to identify the needs of different clients, whether they arrive with a clear vision and simply need execution support, or they require more strategic problem-solving to uncover their goals and determine the best path forward. With the industry continuing to evolve, primarily through advancements in AI, Stauber remains committed to adapting and learning how technology can enhance his work and elevate client service.

As the junior broker on his team, Stauber brings a fresh, resourceful, and forward-thinking approach. He is determined and willing to take calculated risks in situations where more senior brokers, supported by decades-long networks, may not need to. Still, his choices are never impulsive. He backs every decision with thorough research, market knowledge, and strategic reasoning.

In one notable example, Stauber advocated for his team to pursue a client based on his early-stage analysis, despite projections suggesting the opportunity would not materialize for two years. The client ultimately outperformed expectations, far ahead of schedule, validating Stauber’s instincts and demonstrating his ability to recognize potential before it becomes evident to others.

Stauber has also played a key role in modernizing the team’s branding and presence. He spearheaded the development of cohesive visual branding and a professional website, recognizing their long-term value and pushing the team to embrace a more contemporary strategy. These efforts have strengthened the team’s identity and expanded their visibility and reach within the industry.

In his day-to-day work, Stauber consistently demonstrates leadership by providing proactive support to both clients and colleagues. He anticipates team needs, facilitates smooth deal execution, and maintains a high standard of professionalism. His ability to navigate complex transactions with composure has earned the trust of senior brokers and clients alike.

One example of this problem-solving ability occurred when a client expanded into a larger facility but soon struggled to utilize the space entirely. Instead of treating the issue as a setback, Stauber approached it strategically, proposing a sublease for part of the facility, relocating product to a more cost-effective location, and actively searching for a suitable subtenant. His quick thinking transformed a potentially costly challenge into a sensible, value-preserving solution.

Stauber’s early accomplishments reflect both strong performance and high potential. He earned a title promotion ahead of the standard timeline based on his production and completed the Colliers Acceleration Program, a competitive 10-month initiative for new brokers. In 2023, Colliers recognized Stauber as a Rookie of the Year. He also participates in Colliers Emerging Industrial Leaders, a national group that collaborates on innovative strategies and industry best practices, further demonstrating his leadership and commitment to shaping the future of industrial brokerage.