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 Charlotte, North Carolina
Blake Okland
Prior to joining the ARA Mid-Atlantic office, Blake was with CB Richard Ellis for 5 years in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was a key member of CBRE's National Multi-Housing Investment Properties team. At CBRE, Blake was involved in more than $450 million in apartment brokerage. Prior to that, Blake was an Acquisitions/Dispositions Analyst with Archstone-Smith Communities Trust. At Archstone-Smith, Blake had direct involvement with transactions in various stages of the marketing process totaling more than $450M (Acquisitions - $245,520,000; Dispositions - $205,493,530), in addition to monitoring acquisition opportunities in specific Southeast markets (Raleigh, Charlotte, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta).
W. Dean Smith Charlotte, North Carolina 
Dean has been a North Carolina real estate broker since 1996 and was formerly with Highwoods Properties (a publicly traded REIT) from 1996 through 1999. Dean was responsible for the leasing and development of the Piedmont Triad portfolio consisting of more than 9 million square feet of office and industrial product. Dean is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a BA in Psychology. He was a two-time All-ACC player on the University of Virginia golf team. Dean is an active member of the National Multi-Housing Council and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
Sean Wood Broker Charlotte, North Carolina
Sean received his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University with an emphasis on International Business and Spanish. He also obtained a Masters Degree in International Management from Texas Christian University and The University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico.
John Heimburger Director of Research and Investment Analysis Charlotte, North Carolina
Cassandra Rusnak Marketing Director Charlotte, North Carolina
Vickey Goad Controller Charlotte, North Carolina
R. Pender Murphy Charlotte, North Carolina
Prior to his career in multifamily brokerage, Pender was Director of Asset Management for Lat Purser & Associates, a Charlotte real-estate developer. He also played professional tennis for four (4) years and was a three time All-American on the Clemson University tennis team. He received his BA in English literature from Clemson University in 1981. Pender was one of the three founding members of Apartment Realty Advisors. He is a member of the National Multi-Housing Council and is actively involved in the Charlotte Mecklenburg public school system tutoring program.
Darren Ash Chairman Emeritus Charlotte, North Carolina
Darren is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor Degree in Accounting and a Masters Degree of Accounting (tax law, Magna cum Laude). Darren worked as a CPA in the tax department for Price Waterhouse and then as an acquisitions manager in Atlanta for the Portman Companies. From 1988 to 1994, Darren served as Senior Vice President and Eastern Regional Acquisitions Director in Atlanta for Metric Institutional Realty Advisors (now SSR Realty Advisors). In this capacity as Acquisitions Director, Darren was personally responsible for over $300 million in apartment acquisitions/dispositions made on behalf of various public pension funds, primarily CALPERs and CALSTRs. In late 1994, Darren moved to Charlotte to specialize in the brokerage of Class A and B multifamily properties. Darren was one of the 3 'original' founders of Apartment Realty Advisors, one of the most dominant and active multifamily investment sales brokerage companies in the nation. Darren is an active member of National Multi-Housing Council and former founding Board Member of the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council (East Coast). He is an active board member for several not-for-profit agencies that deal with homelessness issues including the men's Uptown Shelter, the Charlotte Rescue Mission, the Emergency Winter Shelter, and Away Home.
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The Carolinas - Charlotte
Tel: 704-379-1987
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Blake is a Principal and Partner of ARA Mid-Atlantic and, along with partner Dean Smith, helps direct the group's business
development activity and day-to-day operations. Blake has led or been meaningfully involved in excess of $6 billion in multifamily
brokerage sales since 2000. Blake is the current president of ARA and currently serves on ARA's National Executive Committee,
and on the board of ARA Finance, a joint venture with CW Capital. In the time Blake has been a partner at ARA, he has led many
multi-market portfolios as well as several institutional grade "one-off" transactions.
Dean is a Principal and Partner of ARA Mid-Atlantic and, along with partner Blake Okland, helps direct the group’s business development activity and day-to-day operations. Dean has led or been meaningfully involved in more than $5.7 billion in multifamily brokerage sales since 2000. Dean’s comprehensive focus on every part of the deal cycle, from business development to managing negotiations and due diligence through closing, has contributed to a deep and wide range of transaction experience.
Since joining ARA Charlotte in 2007, Sean has gained vast experience in multifamily brokerage and advisory services. Sean brings depth and versatility to ARA Charlotte's brokerage team being integrally involved in the valuation, marketing, and business development of multifamily properties throughout the MidAtlantic. Prior to joining ARA Charlotte, Sean worked for Brookfield Properties as a financial analyst for the company's leasing, development, and acquisition of high-rise office properties throughout the southwest. Additionally, Sean has experience working in the Transfer Pricing Group of Ernst & Young's Houston office, as well as working as an Analyst in ARA Houston's office and having completed hotel management training at the JW Marriott Hotel in Mexico City.
Since joining ARA in January 2006, John has been responsible for all phases of underwriting, market and economic research, analysis, pricing strategies, and valuation of multifamily assets including land, pre-sale and stabilized properties. John was previously in Asset Management with Laureate Capital (now Grandbridge) where he was responsible for a portfolio of loans across product types with a focus on multifamily notes sourced through Freddie Mac. He graduated from Davidson College in 2004 with majors in Economics and Classical Civilization.
As Marketing Director her responsibilities include; the structuring and implementation of marketing strategies, in-house design and production of multimedia presentations, offering documents and brochures, manages the production, marketing timelines and schedules of various projects as well as acting as a liaison between the principals and their clients. Prior to joining ARA in 2005, Cassandra led a team in the Global Funds Transfer department at Wachovia Bank, where she gained valuable leadership skills while implementing international monies exchange. She graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh and has a North Carolina Real Estate License.
Vickey is responsible for maintaining the financial, personnel, administrative and general corporate responsibilities for ARA Charlotte. Her duties provide detailed support for the overall day-to-day business operations. She is also the Executive Administrator for the ARA-Charlotte Charitable Foundation. Vickey joined ARA in June 2005. For 15 years, she has owned her own consulting company assisting small businesses with their accounting and financial practices, personnel matters, as well as other general business practices. Vickey has a Bachelors Degree in Business Education, as well as a Masters Degree from Marshall University.
Pender Murphy has almost twenty (20) years experience in commercial real estate, specializing in multifamily brokerage for the last ten (10) years with an emphasis on Class B and C product and value-added opportunities. Pender has sold over $1 billion in multifamily properties during this time.
Currently serving in an advisory capacity as Chairman, Darren is the founding Principal and Partner of the ARA Mid-Atlantic office and has consistently by far been the top-producing apartment broker in the Carolinas. Since 1995, Darren has been personally and primarily involved in the brokerage of more than $4 billion in apartment sales. His previous experience as a CPA and acquisitions officer for a pension fund advisor allow him to bring a very detailed approach to the apartment brokerage industry.
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