U3 Ventures People
Omar Blaik is the President and CEO of U3Ventures, LLC a real estate and advisory firm solely focused on developing the university market. Mr. Blaik founded U3 Ventures in 2006 with the belief that anchor institutions hold the key to sustainable community and economic development in many cities across the country. Early in 2007 U3 Ventures, LLC secured a $15 million Fund to invest in its development strategy. Since then, the Fund was deployed in Center City area of Philadelphia in close proximity to many university campuses and hospitals. Mr. Blaik has also led the advisory efforts of U3 Ventures over the past three years working with University leaders, Cities and Municipalities, State governments and Foundations. The advisory work focused on institutional strategy, campus edge planning, deploying economic activity for local benefits, real estate strategy and economic feasibility. Prior to forming U3 Ventures, Mr. Blaik was the Senior Vice President at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the University in January 1997, and served as the Chief Planning and Real Estate Officer, with responsibility for Planning, Design and Construction, Facilities Operations and Maintenance, Utilities management, and Real Estate Development. His responsibility spanned the management of 14 million square feet of space, $400 million of operating and capital budget and 1,000 employees.
Lisa Prasad, Principal of U3Ventures, has over 20 years experience working with higher education institutions. She is a noted expert both in the fields of University real estate and retail development and in the financial management of colleges and universities.
At U3 Ventures, Ms. Prasad is responsible for leading advisory client interactions and project delivery, and guiding the development of real estate assets. Her advisory focus is on creating strategies for economic development and real estate investment in communities surrounding colleges and universities. She is responsible for interacting with executive level university clients to define projects, ensuring the delivery of high quality analytical and strategic services, and defining financial and organizational implications of recommended approaches. Her projects have included real estate and economic development strategies for major anchor institutions including The Ohio Higher Education System, University of Chicago, Temple University, and the University of Colorado-Denver.
George Smith is an Associate of U3 Ventures. His professional experience working with universities and cities began at Collegia Inc., where he assisted the Boston-based organization in leveraging collaborative partnerships between higher education and civic entities to attract and retain college students. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Trinity College, and a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Alex Feldman is an Associate at U3 Ventures. His professional design and planning experience includes working for Kohn Pederson Fox and Associates in New York and London where he assisted with large-scale masterplanning and design projects in Moscow, Abu Dhabi, Boston, and Hong Kong. He has a Bachelors of Arts and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania as well as a MSc. in City Design and Social Science from the London School of Economics.
Denise previously worked at the University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services for over 20 years with the last 11 years as Executive Assistant/Office Manager. In this role, she was primarily responsible for managing the schedule and activities of the Sr./Vice President of the Division. Denise was also responsible for leading team members in coordinating events held within the office space, organizing employee functions and managing employee participation in charitable contributions.
Denise is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree in the field of Sociology.
photography by www.kellyturso.com