
Find a Product
Real Estate Investment Group Team
- Herbert A. Kolben
- Daniel P. Cunningham
- Donita M. Johnson
- Kevin M. Justh
- Jonathan McKetney
- George Weisz, CFA
- John E. Maxim
- Jerome Clark
- Alan Robertson
- Robert A. Ship
- Denise A. Gubich
- Jose B. Austria
- Michael A. Stockert
- Nyya H. Wellington
- Stewart O. Thrower
- Yaxin Mao
Herbert Kolben
Senior Vice President, Real Estate Investment Group
Herbert Kolben is Senior Vice President of the Real Estate Investment Group and is responsible for the management of all mortgage and real estate investments including Separate Account J and various privately offered funds concentrating on real estate debt and equity opportunities. Mr. Kolben has over 30 years of real estate experience including 15 with Union Labor Life and over 14 with Citibank N.A. where he was a Senior Credit Officer and Regional Vice President. At Citibank, his responsibilities included all real estate functions throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states as well as Director of Equities/East with responsibility for equity originations and capital markets interfacing for the eastern U.S. and Europe. Prior to joining ULLICO, Mr. Kolben was a Senior Vice President at MNC Financial responsible for the administration, restructuring and disposition of a $1.9 billion portfolio. Mr. Kolben started his career with First Mortgage Investors REIT based in Miami, FL. He holds an MBA as well as a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.
Daniel P. Cunningham
Vice President, Real Estate Investment Group
Daniel Cunningham serves as the Vice President for the Real Estate Investment Group. In that capacity, Daniel oversees construction and permanent debt for the pooled mortgage Separate Account J. He joined ULLICO in 2008 after 4 years as the Head of Affordable Housing for Wachovia. In that capacity, Daniel oversaw all affordable housing debt products, including forwards, LIHTC debt, bond credit enhancement, preservation, and seniors housing. Prior to Wachovia, Daniel was the National Director of Multifamily Affordable Housing for Fannie Mae for 7 years. Previously, he worked at national banks, and also spent the period 1995 – 1997 at Union Labor Life. He began his career in the public and not-for-profit sectors, working for the City of Baltimore and a local economic development program, respectively. Daniel is a graduate of Harvard University with an A.B. cum laude in Social Studies and holds an M.S. in Management from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He serves on a number of advisory boards and is a regular speaker at industry events.
Donita M. Johnson
Vice President, Portfolio Administration
In 1996, Donita Johnson began her employment with Union Labor Life as a Construction Loan Administrator. Currently she is Vice President, Portfolio Administration, managing the loan servicing and administration department for the Real Estate Investment Group. Donita Johnson started her career in 1972 at The Bank of Maryland (now Bank of America) where she was an Assistant Treasurer and Manager of Loan Administration. In 1985, Donita Johnson joined First American Bank of Maryland (now Wachovia Bank) and was promoted to the position of Vice President in Loan Administration. In 1992, she was employed by The First National Bank of Maryland (now M&T Bank) as an Assistant Vice President in the Commercial Real Estate Division. Donita Johnson has 30 years of real estate experience, is a graduate of the Maryland Banking School and has an AA degree in Accounting.
Kevin M. Justh
Assistant Vice President, Real Estate Investment Group
Kevin Justh is Assistant Vice President for Union Labor Life. He joined ULLICO in 1999, and headed the group's real estate debt origination and relationship management operations for the Northeast United States for five years. In 2008, Mr. Justh was appointed to run the group's real estate equity investment operations and is responsible for all investment and portfolio management decisions. Mr. Justh has 12 years of real estate investment experience, the last 10 in various capacities with ULLICO. In his role overseeing debt origination and relationship management, he originated in excess of $4 billion in financing and ovesaw a portfolio valued at over $1.7 billion. He also oversaw 26 syndicated transactions involving over twenty other banks and financial institutions. Prior to joining ULLICO, Mr. Justh was responsible for compliance and asset management for an affordable housing developer in the Washington-Baltimore corridor. He was also Chief Financial Officer for a developer in D.C. and is a recognized expert on the use of tax increment financing in public-private real estate partnerships. Mr. Justh has a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.S. in Real Estate (ABD) from Johns Hopkins University.
Jonathan McKetney
Senior Real Estate Credit Manager
Jonathan McKetney is the Senior Real Estate Credit Manager for Union Labor Life's Real Estate Investment Group, responsible for managing credit risk and compliance issues. Mr. McKetney has over 12 years of commercial real estate finance experience and originally began his real estate career with ULLICO from 1993 until 2000, with responsibilities that included loan origination, portfolio management and transaction due diligence. Prior to re-joining ULLICO in September 2007, Mr. McKetney was Principal of TLJM, LLC, a real estate development and management company. He has also worked with National Cooperative Bank, National Electrical Benefit Fund Investments (NEBF) and Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA). Mr. McKetney graduated from Cornell University School with a BS in Finance.
George Weisz, CFA
Senior Regional Manager
George Weisz is Senior Regional Manager responsible for mortgage loan originations throughout the Midwest region. Prior to joining ULLICO in January 2004, he was Director and business manager in Banc One’s Real Estate Capital Markets Group, where he advised corporate clients about monetizing their real estate holdings. Prior to Banc One, George was Vice President with various Citigroup entities. From 1995 – 2000, he was Midwest head of real estate investment property and whole loan sales. From 1992 -1994, he was lead agent on large syndicated debt restructurings. Mr. Weisz started with Citigroup in 1988 as team leader with P&L responsibility for commercial real estate loan origination, credit underwriting and portfolio management. Prior to his assignments with Citigroup, George co-led the start-up of Bank of Montreal’s commercial real estate lending operations in the U.S. He started his real estate finance career with Bank of Montreal in Toronto. He holds BA and MBA degrees from The University of Regina and The University of Western Ontario respectively. He is a CFA charter holder and a licensed Illinois real estate broker.
John E. Maxim
Senior Regional Manager
John Maxim is a Senior Regional Manager responsible for mortgage loan originations within the northwestern region of the country (including Northern California, Northern Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska). Prior to joining ULLICO in April 2005, Mr. Maxim was Vice President and Senior Loan Officer with McMorgan & Company, a Vice President of Commercial Real Estate with First California Mortgage Company, and AVP Loan Production and Senior Investment Loan Analyst for BA Mortgage and International Realty Corporation (Bank of America). He has over 25 years of experience and has been involved with developments located throughout the country. However, his geographic concentration has been primarily to developments located in the northwest. Mr. Maxim graduated from the The Catholic University of America with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and has an MBA from The University of San Francisco with an emphasis in Finance.
Jerome Clark
Senior Regional Manager
Jerome Clark is the Senior Regional Manager responsible for mortgage loan origination and portfolio management for the Mid-Atlantic region. Jerome Clark has an extensive background in real estate including the full array of investment vehicles and structure alternatives. Prior to joining ULLICO in August 2005, he provided consulting services for emerging managers and a publicly traded real estate company. This entailed assisting them in structuring and launching investment funds targeted at pension funds. From 1992 to 2002, he served as a Real Estate Portfolio Manager for the Public School Employees’ Retirement System of Pennsylvania (“PSERS”) where he was instrumental in expanding the fund’s real estate investment program, including increasing its equity real estate portfolio by $600 million and launching and managing their REIT investment program. Prior to PSERS, from 1989 to 1992, Jerome Clark was Director of Asset Management for MacFarlane Realty Advisors, a Philadelphia based pension fund advisory firm. From 1984 to 1989 he worked in the banking industry in Florida with Carteret Savings Bank, Meritor Mortgage Corp, and American Diversified. As a Vice President and Regional Manager for Carteret and Meritor, he was responsible for originating and underwriting commercial real estate loans. As the Public Finance Officer for American Diversified, he coordinated tax exempt bond financing activities. From 1978 to 1984, Jerome Clark worked with the Equitable Life Real Estate Department in various capacities. This included Assistant Chief Appraiser, Investment Manager, and Director of Retail and Hotels. From 1976 to 1978, Jerome managed a distressed real estate portfolio for Chemical Bank of New York. Jerome Clark started his real estate career in 1972 with the Prudential Insurance Company in Newark, New Jersey. Jerome has a bachelor degree from Seton Hall University and an MBA from Fordham University.
Alan Robertson
Senior Regional Manager
Alan Robertson is a Senior Regional Manager responsible for loan originations within the Southwestern region of the country. His markets include Southern California, Southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Hawaii. Prior to joining ULLICO in December 2007, Alan Robertson was a Senior Director of Johnson Capital, a national commercial mortgage banking firm based in Southern California. Prior to Johnson Capital he had the same position at ULLICO for a period of 3 ½ years. Alan Robertson has also worked as a construction lender for several domestic and international commercial banks in their Los Angeles offices throughout his career. The commercial banks were Security Pacific National Bank, Bank of Montreal, Mitsui Trust and Key Bank. He has over 25 years of experience and has played key roles in financing several developments located throughout the country. Alan Robertson’s geographic concentration has been primarily with developments located in the Southwestern United States. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Real Estate. He is a licensed real estate sales person with the California Department of Real Estate.
Robert A. Ship
Regional Manager
Robert Ship is the Midwest Regional Manager for the Real Estate Investment Group. He focuses on the Midwest outside of Chicago and Minnesota. During 2007, Robert Ship worked for Industrial Developer, International Airport Centers, where he aided in the $151 million refinance of a 2.3 million square foot, eight (8) property portfolio and completed the quarterly and annual cash flows. From 2004 through January of 2007, Robert Ship was an analyst with ULLICO and in his position he analyzed the Midwest markets and aided in the underwriting of over $300 million in loan. Prior to joining ULLICO in 2004, he graduated from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas with an MBA focused in finance. Robert Ship holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois and utilized the engineering degree with the design and sales of HVAC systems for The Trane Company and air pollution testing and monitoring for Clean Air Engineering.
Denise A. Gubich
Senior Portfolio and Compliance Analyst
Denise A. Gubich is a Senior Portfolio and Compliance Analyst for the Real Estate Investment Group. Her responsibilities include: maintaining portfolio and investment data; producing monthly and quarterly reports that track appraisals, loan reviews and other key data points; performing financial analyses of current and potential investments; assisting with the due diligence, approval, closing, and monitoring of House accounts; assisting in preparing the annual budget and quarterly budget forecast; and ensuring compliance with corporate and department policies and procedures. Prior to joining ULLICO in June 2007, she worked with Navigant Consulting in its Disputes, Investigations and Regulatory Affairs division. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from The Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Science in finance and marketing from Drexel University.
Jose B. Austria
Senior Portfolio Analyst
Jose Austria is a Senior Portfolio Analyst for the Real Estate Investment Group. He is responsible for maintaining portfolio-wide and investment-specific data for Separate Account J; creating and distributing periodic reports; performing various financial analysis; working with Regional Managers to provide assistance in underwriting of current and potential investments; and generally assisting the Senior Vice President and other senior staff relative to the analytical area of the department. He is also responsible for preparing potential deal summaries and underwriting. Prior to joining ULLICO in March 2008, Jose Austria was a Commercial Credit Analyst with PNC Bank. Jose has an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University.
Michael A. Stockert
Senior Portfolio Analyst
Michael Stockert is a Senior Portfolio Analyst for the Real Estate Investment Group. Michael Stockert is responsible for the monthly and quarterly portfolio valuation of Separate Account J. He is also responsible for preparing potential deal summaries, underwriting and negotiating potential or existing deals, loan syndications, and preparing presentations for account investors. Prior to joining ULLICO in 2008, he was a Senior Real Estate Analyst / Underwriter with Capmark Finance, Inc. Michael Stockert graduated with an MBA in Finance from The Johns Hopkins University in 1998.
Nyya H. Wellington
Senior Portfolio Analyst
Nyya Wellington is a Senior Portfolio Analyst for the Real Estate Investment Group. She is responsible for preparing and analyzing financial projections for existing loans and investments within the real estate portfolio; assisting in the research and underwriting of real estate investments; developing and maintaining portfolio statistics, including financial performance, cash flow projections, and comparative performance analysis based on industry norms; and performing market research on both macro and micro levels. Nyya Wellington graduated with a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1999.
Stewart O. Thrower
Senior Portfolio Analyst
Stewart Thrower is a Senior Portfolio Analyst for the Midwestern Region’s Real Estate Investment Group. He is responsible for conducting financial and market analysis for mortgage originations and portfolio management. Prior to joining ULLICO in 2007, he was a Financial Associate with Cushman & Wakefield. He also has experience with Grubb & Ellis and Insignia/ESG. Stewart graduated from the University of Miami with a Master of Business Administration (International Business) in 2004. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Real Estate from Georgia State University.
Yaxin Mao
Senior Portfolio Analyst
Yaxin Mao is the Senior Portfolio Analyst for Real Estate Investment Group. His responsibilities include underwriting and managing commercial mortgage facilities in the Western region. Prior to joining ULLICO in 2004, he was an analyst with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Company, where his primary duties consisted of preparing proposal and marketing reports. Yaxin graduated from the University of Southern California with a Master Degree in Real Estate Development in 2003.