Client Name: The Unity Council
Role: Project Management
Size: 22,425 square feet
Address: 3357 International Boulevard Oakland
Adaptive re-use of Historic Fruitvale Mason’s Hall and Public Market building to create community office and meeting space. Funded with New Market Tax Credits.
Debbie joined Ventura Partners in April 2024 as the Commercial Tenant Relations Manager. With over seven years of experience in commercial and residential property management, she is dedicated to providing a seamless property experience that empowers her clients to focus on managing their businesses and serving their customers.
Debbie moved to the Bay Area in 2023 from Fiji, where she began her career in property management. In Fiji, she managed the country’s pioneer and most successful shopping center comprising various retail shops, dining, and entertainment, and providing daily support to numerous businesses. She believes in hands-on, responsive management that resolves problems quickly.
Debbie grew up in a small village in Vanuabalavu, an outer island of Fiji. She then returned to the capital city, Suva, where she completed her elementary and high school education and a graduate program in Business Management from the University of the South Pacific
Outside of work, Debbie enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking, spending time with her friends and family, and traveling–preferably back home to Fiji.
Divi Katoure has a rich background in sales, leasing, and marketing, Her extensive experience in closing commercial real estate deals is complemented by her innovative approach to creating unique marketing opportunities, driven by her deep industry knowledge and creative thinking.
A lifelong learner, Divi is currently delving into the fascinating worlds of large language models and artificial intelligence, fields poised to revolutionize our interaction with data and technology in commercial real estate.
Outside of work. She is an avid book collector, values spending quality time with her family, and practices martial arts to maintain both physical and mental agility. She is currently mastering Mandarin. Her love for travel often leads her to explore new architectural wonders, further fueling her passion for buildings and community development.
Divi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Walsh University and is a licensed real estate salesperson. Her pursuit of knowledge is further evidenced by a host of educational certificates, underscoring her commitment to continuous professional growth.
Kim established Ventura Partners in San Francisco in 2003. Prior to this she had experience with commercial real estate development and syndication in Los Angeles, Boston and Florida. She grew up in the South Bay and after living in other areas throughout the country worked for an affordable housing developer in Santa Cruz prior to venturing out independently.
Kim has always had a desire to take traditional economic structures, customize certain features (and jettison others), and use them in creative ways to build community economic and cultural infrastructure. The communities in which she has worked have varied over the years, but her consistent focus has been on supporting those groups and individuals that have historically had limited access to “mainstream” resources. She looks to use bricks and mortar and creative financial structures as a tool for serving social goals. Most importantly, she invests her efforts to support community real estate ownership.
Kim attended UCLA’s concurrent degree program combining an MBA and MA in Urban Planning. Spending her time studying Economic Development in the urban planning school and Real Estate Development in the business school provided a stark contrast in how to approach development. She has worked to take the most important lessons from each to bring creative options to her work.
Kim’s other interests include Permaculture (in the garden and in social structures) and she actively engages her studies on her family farm in British Columbia. She enjoys swimming in the ocean and lake and making creative meals and preserves with the produce she grows and obtains from other locals.
Otgo joined Ventura Partners in 2017 as a Commercial Property Bookkeeper. Her role in the company has expanded as she took on the position of Commercial Property Accountant in 2022. Her background includes over 10 years of accounting and bookkeeping experience and 5 years’ experience specializing in the AppFolio finance and management platform.
Before joining Ventura Partners Otgo worked for over five years as a property accountant for BanCal Management Corporation. She worked for Street Level Health Project in the East Bay as a Mongolian Health Coordinator for another 5 years.
Otgo enjoys life in the East Bay with her son and partner. She is originally from Mongolia and is able to visit family when she returns periodically as part of her travels.
Caroline started working for Ventura Partners part-time while studying at San Francsico State University (SFSU). She performed Office Administration tasks to support the team. She has since taken on a larger role in the Property Management group, helping to manage a variety of activities related to the clients’ commercial portfolios as well as overseeing day-to-day office operations.
Prior to her work at Ventura Partners, Caroline worked as a Naturalist in a Science and Nature Outdoor Summer Camp where she led campers on adventures designed to bring science education alive in the parks of San Francisco. During this time, she also worked as a Field Research Assistant for SFSU, where she assisted in environmental data collection investigating the impacts of a variety of conservation methods used in the Sierra Nevada.
Caroline is a recent graduate of SFSU where she received degrees in Environmental Science and Geography. Her studies in these fields contributed greatly to her interest in environmental justice and demographics, sustainable development and environmental conservation. Caroline sometimes works on special projects including GIS mapping related to Ventura Partners’ operations and research.
Priscilla is a Commercial Real Estate Agent who looks at the marketplace with a unique perspective rooted in her understanding of economic and market forces combined with cultural and community connections.
Priscilla has a long history in marketing and sales. Prior to joining Ventura Partners in 2022 she had over a decade of experience representing complex and varied commercial real estate transactions in her sales/leasing role with a more traditional brokerage firm in the Bay Area.
Joining Ventura Partners has allowed Priscilla to merge her general market knowledge and transactional skills in support of Ventura Partners’ unique approach to commercial real estate and building relationships that support mission driven organizations with a neighborhood and community focus.
In her time outside work, Priscilla enjoys the magnificent variety of nature experiences in California as well as the Bay Area’s diverse cultural experiences.
Jorge joined the Ventura Partners team in August of 2022 as the Facilities Manager for various sites in the portfolio. Jorge oversees day-to-day work orders and planning for Ventura Partners’ clients and assists the Property Management group on various projects throughout the Bay Area.
A large part of Jorge’s passion and knowledge of property and facilities management comes from his father who has worked in the industry for over 20 years. During his time with Ventura Partners Jorge’s knowledge and experience in property management have grown substantially, propelling his career forward.
Prior to Ventura Partners, Jorge worked as a Property Management Lead with Target and has an extensive background as a Security Manager, managing multiple locations throughout San Francisco and the East Bay. When he is not working, Jorge spends time with his family and friends. His hobbies include martial arts, hiking trails throughout the Bay Area, playing basketball with friends and cooking for his loved ones.
Amisha joined the Ventura Partners’ team as a Project Manager in March 2023.
She is an enthusiastic and results-oriented professional with experience working in award winning architectural firms, real estate development companies and city government agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Amisha has successfully managed high-end custom residential, lot sub-division, multi-family housing and tenant improvement projects coordinating all phases from acquisition, design development to procuring land use entitlements, building permits and construction administration. She is experienced in site analysis, zoning research, project scope and design development, construction documentation, managing budgets and all aspects of construction administration.
Amisha has a Bachelor’s Degree in architecture from J.J. College of Architecture in India and a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from San Jose State University. In her free time she enjoys cooking, traveling, gardening, watching TV, and spending time with her family.
Ian Powell joined the Ventura Partners team in Fall of 2019 as a Commercial Property Manager and transitioned to Director of Property Management in 2020. Prior to coming to Ventura Partners Ian worked as an independent consultant in project management and property management, helping small “Mom-and-Pop” property owners resolve building violations and plan for capital improvements to preserve and sustain rent controlled assets in San Francisco.
Having relocated to the Bay Area in 2010, Ian has over 10 years of experience in residential and commercial property management in San Francisco and the East Bay. He has a depth of knowledge, experience and understanding of unique idiosyncrasies of both managing property and being a small business owner.
Ian grew up in the mountains of Colorado with a father who was a custom home builder and general contractor. He moved to Boston to get his degree at Emmanuel College and then lived overseas in Japan for four years.
Outside of the office Ian enjoys spending his free time doing anything outdoors from camping and hiking to snowboarding and archery. He also enjoys working on projects ranging from home improvements to auto mechanics.
Danny Frentz is the Director of Operations. In addition to this role, and others in leadership, Danny has worked as a Project Manager and Property Manager with Ventura Partners since he started in 2014. Danny understands how to manage development teams and is able to anticipate and meet the requirements for commercial users for their long-term operations.
Danny grew up in Santa Cruz, California before moving to Seattle to obtain his degree at the University of Washington and begin an 8-years stint working in commercial facilities management. Working for a national firm he gained experiences in janitorial, security, parking, commercial lease administration and a myriad of other skills. He grew to the level of District Manager overseeing a sizeable portfolio of Class A properties in and around Seattle.
Since joining Ventura Partners, Danny has worked with a varied and diverse tenant base, supporting property management and consulting clients with retail, office space and parking facilities. Through his boots on the ground and personal work style, Danny has gained insight into what commercial tenants need to effectively operate their businesses, collaborate with their landlords and how to garner successful relationships with their neighbors and customers. In his Project Management role he has collaborated on the development of performance, gallery and arts education space along with office and childcare facilities.
Outside of the office and off the job site, Danny is an avid outdoorsman spending his free time fishing on the coast, hunting in the valley and gardening, grilling, and catching up with neighbors in his shared community backyard in San Francisco. Danny also spends free time listening to and playing music, creating, building and tinkering in his “shop” (kitchen table), and volunteering for the San Francsico Department of Elections and at Alemany Farm.
Liz joined Ventura Partners in early 2023, supporting internal data management and people operations to the benefit of the wider team and Ventura Partner’s clients. Working for several years at the intersection of finance and operations, Liz has supported small business development in the Bay Area across multiple industries including education tech, music, brick-and-mortar entertainment venues, community centers, climate tech, and ranching.
Liz completed graduate programs at Cornell University and the London School of Economics in the areas of organizational development and international development policy, respectively. Upon completion, she turned to working directly with small businesses and startups who were committed to the mission of restructuring operations to achieve more holistic outcomes for staff, customers/clients, and the world in which they operate.
Outside of Ventura Partners, Liz enjoys martial arts, traveling, reading, and writing. She is also committed to being in a constant state of learning, and enjoys being taught new things by friends, family, neighbors, and others within our extended community.
Kathy Brown began as a Facilities Manager at Ventura Partners in 2017 and quickly grew into a Project Manager role. She embraces diversity and fully engages with nonprofit clients to deliver high benefit solutions while coordinating with a variety of development professionals and city agencies. With experience in renovations, facility management and industrial arts she prioritizes quality and budget management, which consistently results in successful projects.
Kathy studied Project Management at UC Berkeley and recently earned a PMP certification. She has formal degrees in both science and art. Kathy enjoys cycling, gardening, art and learning.
Jerry Jai joined the staff of Ventura Partners as a Senior Project Manager in 2022. Jerry previously worked as an independent consultant and as a project manager for several non-profit community developers. He has managed the development of over 850 units of mixed-use affordable housing and over 55,000 sf of community-serving commercial property utilizing a variety of financing sources including New Market Tax Credits and Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Jerry has also worked for the City of Oakland’s Department of Housing and Community Development where he managed affordable housing finance programs.
Jerry attended the University of California, Berkeley for undergraduate and graduate studies in architecture, and worked in architectural practice prior to transitioning to a career in community development in 2001. Away from work, Jerry enjoys exploring urban environments with his wife and their dog, and working with his hands on projects ranging from home renovations to restoring vintage motorcycles.