Frederick W. Pierce,
President and CEO

Fred Pierce is President and CEO of Pierce Education Properties (“PEP”), a leading national student housing investment and operating company listed amongst the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America (2018 & 2019).  Mr. Pierce was selected as one of 24 national “Student Housing Pioneers” by Real Estate Forum (2013), received Ernst & Young’s San Diego Region “Entrepreneur of the Year®” Award for the Real Estate & Construction Industry (2012), was named one of “50 Influential Leaders in San Diego” by the San Diego Daily Transcript (2017, 2018 & 2019), was included amongst the “San Diego 500 Influential Business Leaders” (2018, 2019 & 2020) by the San Diego Business Journal, was a finalist for the “Most Admired CEO” by the San Diego Business Journal (2018 & 2019) and received the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s “Moving San Diego Forward Award” (2019) on behalf of the Friends of SDSU for his work on the successful SDSU West ballot initiative (Nov. 2018).  Fred was twice awarded San Diego State University’s (“SDSU”) “Distinguished Alumni Award” from SDSU Alumni Association (2021) and Fowler College of Business (1999).

PEP operates a nationwide portfolio of approximately 8,300 beds.  PEP was ranked in 2020 by Student Housing Business Magazine as the 13th largest owner and 17th largest manager of student housing in the U.S. and has been listed by the magazine as an “Industry Titan” every year since 2016.  In 2020, PEP ranked #6 nationally amongst student housing companies in J. Turner’s “Online Reputation Assessment (ORA) Power Rankings”.  Since 2007, PEP has completed more than $1.1 billion in acquisitions representing approximately 27,000 beds, ranking it among the leading buyers of student apartments in the country during that period.  For 10+ years, the firm served as master developer of the award-winning, 131-acre, multi-billion-dollar College Community Redevelopment Project at SDSU together with SDSU Foundation.  PEP has earned numerous national and international awards for its projects including three “Gold Nugget Awards of Merit” from the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (“PCBC”) and the “Award of Excellence” as The Outstanding University Real Estate Project in the country from the Association of University Real Estate Officials.

Prior to founding PEP, Fred was a principal and chief financial officer of Los Angeles-based Platt Companies where he directed the acquisition and financing of $400 million in real estate assets.  Prior to that, Fred was Western Regional Director of Real Estate Consulting for Price Waterhouse, as well as Director of Real Estate Investment Consulting for KPMG Peat Marwick/Goodkin Group.  Mr. Pierce is a Trustee Emeritus of the 482,000-student, 23-campus California State University (CSU) System and is also Past President of the Board of Trustees of the City of San Diego’s Pension Fund (SDCERS, $8.4 Billion), where he also chaired its Real Estate Investment Committee.  Fred is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Franklin Pierce University and Chairman of NMHC Student Housing Research Fund Advisory Board.  Fred is a Board Member of The Campanile Foundation (SDSU’s Endowment), SDSU’s Fowler College of Business Board (former Chairman), SDSU’s Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate, SDSU Mission Valley Campus Residential Advisory Board, Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute, University of Georgia’s Residential Property Management Advisory Board and Beta Theta Pi Foundation.  Fred is a former Board Member of INVESCO’s $350 million Real Estate Fund I, and Past President of the CSU Alumni Council, SDSU Alumni Association and Poway Unified School District Foundation Board.   Fred completed real estate finance studies in the MBA program at SDSU, and earned a bachelor’s degree in finance, cum laude, from SDSU.

Clark Wardle,
Chief Financial Officer

A seasoned finance and accounting professional with decades of experience, Clark leads all aspects of financial reporting for the multiple partnerships and entities at PEP.  Prior to joining the firm, he served as CFO for the Pacific Scene Family of Companies, a real estate development and management company based in San Diego. In addition, Clark was executive vice president and chief operating officer for the Association Management Group, a firm providing professional services to non-profit associations.  In those roles, he managed the finance and accounting groups, as well as IT and human resources.  Clark’s career also includes positions such as controller, VP for planning and development, COO, CFO and principal with companies such as The Irvine Company, Koll Development Company, Birtcher Real Estate and Westinghouse.  He is also an alumnus of Arthur Andersen and Price Waterhouse.  Clark received his bachelor’s degree in accounting/economics from Brigham Young University.

Matthew D. Maruccia,
Chief Investment Officer

Matt leads efforts related to PEP’s national core and value-added student housing acquisition programs.  In his time with PEP, he has completed more than $940 million in acquisitions, adding 22,000 beds to our portfolio. He has been a featured speaker on student housing acquisitions at RealShare’s Student Housing Conference, RealShare’s Apartments Conference, and Interface Student Housing Conference. He is a licensed real estate professional with expertise in multi-family and commercial properties, including negotiations, acquisitions, entitlement, finance, underwriting, sales and marketing, and property management. Matt is the designated broker for PEP’s property management affiliates and all PEP real estate activities.  Prior to joining PEP, Matt was director of acquisitions at Premier Coastal Development (PCD) where he acquired more than 1,100 multifamily & commercial units with a combined purchase amount of more than $240 million.  At PCD, he managed an acquisition team targeting opportunities in five Western states.  Before joining PCD, Matt was operations manager at Premier Communities where he managed multiple condominium conversion projects. In 2011, he was recognized as one of Real Estate Forum’s 40 Under 40 in commercial real estate.  Matt holds the Certified Commercial Investment Member designation (CCIM), and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Neal Singer
Senior Vice President | Asset Management & Development

Neal is responsible for the management of Pierce’s student housing asset portfolio and directs our development activities. Before joining Pierce in 2018, Neal spent 28 years as the President of his real estate consulting firm, Portfolio Realty Advisors, Inc (“PRA”). In his role Neal performed real estate development and brokerage, asset and property management, feasibility analyses, entitlement processing, project construction management, and expert witness services for his clients. PRA directed the design, renovation, and program implementation of historic buildings at Liberty Station in San Diego, CA, and acted as the owner’s representative related to the development of the Liberty Public Market. Neal received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

Tina Patel
Senior Vice President  |  Corporate Controller

Tina is responsible for leading Pierce's rapidly expanding accounting team and overseeing corporate day-to-day activities. Prior to joining the firm, she was the Audit & Assurance Senior Manager at Deloitte & Touche, LLP, where she specialized in performing external financial statement audits for both public and private companies in the real estate industry. During her time at Deloitte, she served real estate owners, land developers, home-builders, and multi-family owner/operators, and has dealt with a variety of industry-specific GAAP matters. Tina received her Bachelors from University of Southern California, and her Masters in Accounting from San Diego State University. She is licensed as a CPA in the state of California, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

KrisAnn Kizer
Vice President | Property Leasing and Marketing

KrisAnn Kizer joined Pierce Education Properties in 2007, and began her career working as a Community Assistant at The Village at Bluegrass Apartments while Double Majoring at Central Michigan University. She found her passion in marketing and was promoted quickly to Leasing and Marketing Director. Since then, she has left her mark across a growing portfolio with multiple promotions at seven different locations across the United States, including being named the first Regional Marketing Director for PEP. Kizer touts more than 15 years of Leasing and marketing experience specific to the Student Housing industry.

 Now, as Vice President of Leasing & Marketing and a forefront member of Pierce Education Properties’ Executive Team, Kizer oversees all aspects of the Leasing Journey. Brand Development, Marketing and Leasing strategy, creative messaging, and onsite Leasing and Marketing procedure name only a few of her many areas of expertise.  Kizer also has significant hands-on knowledge of rebranding and repositioning of struggling assets, market analysis for potential acquisition and due diligence, and setting companywide SOP.

Kory Wilcoxson
Director | Property Operations

Kory brings 23-years’ experience in the student housing and multifamily sectors to his role as Director of Property Operations at PEP, where he oversees property operations for the PEP portfolio.  Kory joined PEP in 2014, when he was hired as the Executive Director at The Reserve on West 31st, a 720-bed student housing community serving Kansas University in Lawrence, Kansas.  During his tenure at PEP, Kory has demonstrated strong leadership in team recruitment and retention, training and property operations.  Prior to serving as Director of Property Operations, Kory headed up training nationwide for the PEP portfolio, in addition to his operational responsibilities.  His responsibilities as Director of Property Operations encompass a wide range of key areas, including supervising and directing property community managers with annual turnover, lease-up strategies, budgeting, capital projects and day-to-day operations.  Kory’s warm and approachable personality, coupled with his unwavering dedication to the world of student housing, has solidified his reputation in the industry.  Kory has previously worked in property operations for Greystar and Education Realty Trust, Inc.