Q4 2023: Team Spotlight
"A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other."
We're putting the spotlight on each of our employees for this Newsletter issue. Some names you’ll recognize from having worked with them in the past. Some are new to our team. From veteran to new, these are the members of the SPI Team who “move the needle” every day.
Steven Brown
The first person to join Michael Becker & Sean Mabarak on the SPI team, Steven’s positive attitude & “can do” approach to work (usually accompanied by a mini-shoulder dance) consistently lifts the team up. He regularly juggles multiple red-hot Transactions for SPI, guiding them to successful closings. I knew Steven & I would get along when, on the way back from our first work lunch together, I said something to him that caused him to choke-laugh the Coke he was drinking.
Steven doesn’t just look for the finish line, he enjoys the journey along the way. This is backed up by his 2-year trip to distant countries around the world in his 20s, which included camping on a beach where a number of dangerous critters could have ended his young life at any moment. Recently married, Steven’s settled down & enjoys spending time with his new wife & family, including a soon-to-be-teenage son.
Nicole Taylor
SPI Investors who’ve called in for help have likely spoken with Nicole at some point or another. And, it’s not uncommon for us to receive emails from Investors who’ve worked with her expressing their gratitude. A go-getter who effortlessly juggles multiple, disparate tasks & deadlines, Nicole’s done everything from project managing the beautiful build out of the current Dallas office several years ago to providing detailed assistance to our Investors during equity raises…all tackled with a passion to “do the right thing.”
This ability to manage various tasks or projects simultaneously translates well to her busy home life as well, where she’s raising a sophomore in high school & rambunctious twins that she welcomed into the world early this year. I can personally attest to the quality of her work at home from having spent time with said sophomore, who, for a young woman traversing those hard teenage years, is just a great human being.
Josh Tucker
Josh is passionate about Asset Management & enjoys the individuality of each property & the unique challenges each can raise during ownership. If you ever have a conversation with him about Asset Management, he’ll talk about the work he does to identify the appropriate “levers” at each property to increase income & reduce expenses. While some levers are common across the properties, others require individualized analysis & problem-solving, & Josh thrives on finding those solutions. His success in finding these solutions is partially due to his frequent visits to the properties. Josh loves being onsite, working with the people at the property, observing what’s working & challenges to be addressed, & seeing CAPEX visions come to life.
In the past couple of years in his personal time, Josh has also managed a major renovation of his home north of Dallas where he & his wife raise horses, a donkey, & chickens. He also built a chicken coop with unique roosting branches that their hens enjoy, as evidenced by the cartons of fresh eggs he frequently brings into the office. Josh & his wife both love live music & tell captivating stories about the festivals & events they’ve attended, the music they experienced, & the people they enjoyed spending time with there.
Sean Callaway
Sincere & serious, yet fun-loving & easy to talk to...deeply analytical, yet always seeing the bigger picture, “Callaway” (as I call him to distinguish from Sean Mabarak) shows great balance across multiple facets. His years of hedge fund experience, macroeconomic research, & natural ability to communicate effectively with all types of investors & brokers alike provides him with an excellent foundation for the work he does at SPI.
An intriguing & creative component of his resume was being a part-time, professional online poker player to earn money while at university, using strategies based on probability & game theory to turn a profit. It’s this unique ability to apply a combination of his various skillsets to the task at hand that makes Callaway a strong team player. This balanced approach to enterprise also applies to his personal life; although he’s a deep thinker & sincere, he’s also outgoing & easy to talk with. This translates to strong bonds he forms with others in both his work & personal life. Sean has many long-lasting friendships & is happily married.
Kara Perez
In this issue’s Foreword, I mentioned that the former Head Coach of Duke Basketball, Coach K, taught every player that any loose ball “has your name on it.” Kara inherently possesses this same mindset. From the first week she started, Kara was already pitching in to help in areas that had nothing to do with her job description. I’ve seen her perform many a “save,” as we call it in basketball. Although she’s helped the Operations team with equity raises & other projects, her main role is acting as the bridge between Property Management Accounting & our CPA for tax purposes, among other Accounting related responsibilities.
But, don’t let the “Accounting” side of Kara fool you…she’s also passionate about the arts (painting, music, dance, theater…you name it). Beyond that, she’s an empathic person of great kindness & love, both at work & at home. Kara has a loving marriage, three grown, beautiful daughters, & a close-knit family.
Lily Turner
Naturally creative, Lily spends her after-hours relaxing by painting; however, she frequently bemoans the fact that none of her paintings are finished (at least in her eyes). For me, that’s the perfect analogy for her approach to the Marketing work she does, which I always find beautiful, but to her, is never quite good enough. She always strives to make her work product better. In fact, Lily constantly works to improve in all aspects of her life, which included a stint of powerlifting this past calendar year. Although she took an indefinite pause from powerlifting in the past couple of months, this petite woman has certainly retained the strength she gained, as evidenced by the speed at which she could send a bowling ball down the alley at a recent team event.
Lily’s a natural giver and, therefore, an amazing friend. I know this both from observation & being the recipient of her loving nature. She enjoys spending time with friends, seeing live music & traveling in the US & overseas, especially to France, where she leverages her fluency in French to comfortably converse with the native speakers there.
Ashley Peacock
Ashley is voracious for challenges, which is why I’m grateful she was on the journey with me to complete the long-term project of building SPI’s new Investor database. During this project there were a lot of moving parts both of us tackled in addition to performing the responsibility of our day jobs. Ashley dug into areas I had no time to research, which helped take the final result further than would have been possible otherwise, thus making the overall vision of many years come to fruition. She’s also known for stepping in to support the team in multiple areas, helping others complete their own projects, & training others to take over processes she helped to create.
Always looking to challenge herself, Ashley recently completed a half-marathon (not the first she’s done & won’t be the last). On a recent business trip to Boston, she sent a photo of herself standing behind the bronze marker embedded in the sidewalk that represents the end of the Boston Marathon, likely another Marathon in her future. But, Ashley’s dedication is not just to challenges; she’s devoted to her family & close friends whose lives are much richer for knowing her.
Katrina Keys
The way I describe Katrina to others who’ve not yet met her is to say, “when she visits the office, it’s like sunlight & fresh air come in.” I know others feel the same way, as I’ve observed the instant shift in energy level in others upon her arrival. Katrina’s favorite emoji to use is a salsa dancer whose skirt is in mid-flair from a dance move, what I consider to be a fitting representation of her energy & passion for life. It’s this passion for life & people that makes her an invaluable addition to the team in her Human Resources role.
One of Katrina’s rare gifts is her incredibly collaborative nature that takes multiple perspectives into account in all she does, making her contributions balanced & highly effective. Katrina’s unlimited energy is not just devoted to work, she also has two grown children & volunteers on a regular basis in addition to serving on the Board of several organizations.
New to our team – October & November
Isabelle Thompson
Isabelle graduated from Johns Hopkins University where she was recruited to play NCAA Field Hockey & was on the team that were National Runners Up in 2021. Because Johns Hopkins doesn’t have a business degree option, Isabelle obtained a BA in Cognitive Science with a focus in Neuropsychology & Linguistics & a double minor in Marketing/Communications & Entrepreneurship/Management. This translates to not just a deep understanding of effective communication but the practical application of this knowledge. Her background & skill in communications will make her highly effective in her role in working with our Investors on a regular basis.
Martika Tiggs-McDougal
A Virginia native with over 10 years of experience, has joined SPI’s Austin office to provide much-needed assistance to Steven & Callaway in coordinating Transactions. Her “can do” attitude & the work she has done has already eased the load the Austin team was carrying. And, her positive energy & personality have brought the Austin team out of their individualized “work bubbles” (as Steven describes it). Outside of work she enjoys traveling abroad with her wife & playing with her mini dachshund, Olivia.
Tamia Ballet
A highly skilled communicator, Tamia learned quickly in her former roles how to balance the defined needs of two sides of a situation, a skillset that brings value to any organization & one that she brings to both her work & personal life. Naturally an organizer & go-getter, Tamia has brought much needed help to Josh Tucker in Asset Management. We look forward to seeing her thrive here.
Sean Mabarak & Michael Becker
"Teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability." – Patrick Lencioni
I’ve worked in multiple industries, largely due to the IT consulting work I did for 15 years of my career. So, I’ve had a real variety of work experiences & work relationships. In all of these experiences, there has been one constant…the absolute core of the people I work with has to be honesty & integrity, or I walk away really quickly. Actually, let’s be honest, I sprint.
What’s the core of Mike & Sean? They’re both just good human beings. Honesty & integrity? Absolutely. Are any of us here perfect? No, we’re all seeking to grow & improve every day. But, that’s what makes it so special here for me.
And, what do I appreciate most about both of these men? It’s the interactions I’ve observed time & time again of them with their families, but, especially with their wives. These guys genuinely love & are devoted to their families.
When my Dad passed away in 2017, I did something I would not normally feel comfortable doing…I asked people from the team to come to his funeral. It’s not like I didn’t have a large extended family of my own traveling to Dallas; I did. But, somehow, I needed this work family with me there that day. Sean & Steven traveled from Austin with their families, & Mike, who had a prior speaking engagement, took time out to come with his wife. Others who worked for SPI at the time in addition to our extended work family attended as well. I still remember Mike coming back to the family room prior to the funeral service to talk with us, meet my family, & make sure I was OK. After the funeral, at a family gathering, Sean & Steven came with their families to spend time with us there, & they all had me laughing, as usual. It eased the ache of the loss. It still does.
Although the faces (& voices) here may change a bit from time to time, the constant is our shared core values, which underpin our team.
From the SPI Team to your family...
Happy Holidays.
