About

RELA currently has eight Chapters in New York City, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, Philadelphia, RELA West and South Florida.RELA’s focus is on education, networking and opportunity. Through a rich and varied program of breakfast meetings, luncheons, seminars and networking events, we bring together professionals from the commercial real estate finance industry who share knowledge, connections, ideas and information. Our goal is to support, enhance and encourage the professional growth of our members through the opportunity to meet and learn from other talented and committed professionals.

The Real Estate Lenders Association, Inc., is a national not-for-profit corporation formed in 1991 to provide a forum for real estate lenders. Our members represent a variety of institutions involved in commercial real estate debt including domestic commercial and savings banks, foreign banks, investment banks, merchant banks, credit companies, insurance companies, pension funds, opportunity funds and REITS.

National Board Of Directors

Doug Marron

Chairman, Raymond James Bank

Mauricio Duran

Vice Chair, Webster Bank

Richard Grani

Treasurer, National Valley Bank

Kip Sanford

Secretary, Fifth Third Bank

Board Members

Helga Blum

Bayern LB

Bill Booth

OceanFirst Bank

C.J. Csontos

TD Bank

Nicholas Eng

Capital One

Ben Flanders

Santander Bank

Andrew Fleming

Pfandbriefbank AG

Colleen Foy

M&T Bank

John Gunther-Mohr

Santander Bank

Andrew Huggett

First Citizens Bank

Carina Kalaw

BankUnited, N.A.

Paul Kinyon

Bank of America

Mark Lanspa

Wells Fargo Bank

Kate Marchi

CIBC

Juliana Matson

JP Morgan

Karen Ramos

Credit Agricole CIB

Emily Rush

First Citizens Bank

James Whelan

J.P. Morgan

Advisory Board

Andrew DiMiero

Fortress

Matthew Downs

Greystone

Benjamin Stacks

Bank United

Our Mission

RELA is committed to advancing education, networking, and industry expertise within thecommercial real estate finance industry, with a focus on professional growth. Throughpanel discussions, sponsor presentations, site visits, mentoring, and networking events,we connect industry professionals to exchange knowledge, build valuable relationships,and share innovative ideas. Our mission is to support and cultivate our members byproviding opportunities for learning and collaboration among talented and dedicated professionals.

DEI Statement

RELA is committed to incorporating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) principles in our Mission and that includes reflecting the diversity of our communities in our leadership and events. By providing equitable opportunity for networking, education and support, we believe we will attract, develop and maintain a more diverse workforce to our profession. RELA pledges to continue to expand access to our events and to elevate all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, cultural background, sexual orientation, disability, or religion in the real estate lending community.