Our Team

Mr. Adler oversees the Special Situations vertical for Civitas. In this role, Mr. Adler is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and closing strategic acquisitions, property-level financings, joint-venture opportunities, and platform investments that enable the firm to pilot an investment strategy with potential to grow into a new vertical.

During his time at Civitas, Mr. Adler has overseen investments in multifamily, net-leased office, high street retail, and healthcare real estate, among others.

Prior to Civitas, Mr. Adler served on the Capital Markets team for Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE: HHH), where he closed over $1.2 billion of transactions through a variety of structures for an array of asset types.

Mr. Adler holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Southern California.

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Eric Celeste is the Director of Communications & Public Policy for Civitas, leading all external and internal communications efforts for the firm. He ensures that the firm’s communication efforts align with its brand as a different kind of alternative asset management firm, one focused on niche, differentiated investment strategies in real estate, lodging, and alternative credit.

Mr. Celeste has been an editor, writer, and communications professional in Dallas for 35 years. He has worked at D Magazine, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Dallas Observer, and the in-flight magazines for American and Southwest Airlines.

For five years prior to joining Civitas, he was the education editor and city columnist for D Magazine, the city magazine of Dallas. (He remains a contributing editor to D Magazine.) As a communications consultant, Mr. Celeste has run successful political campaigns for Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins, Dallas City Councilwoman Angela Hunt, and Dallas-area judges. His communications clients have included the Dallas Housing Authority, the Coalition for a New Dallas Super PAC, Oncor, and others. Until recently, he was the Associate Director for Publications at Learning Forward, a national nonprofit that advocates for high-quality professional development for teachers that improves student outcomes. Mr. Celeste graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University.

Bill Dunne is General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at Civitas Capital Group. He is responsible for all legal and compliance matters, including joint ventures and partnerships, investment structuring, financings, and day-to-day legal matters impacting the firm’s investments and operations.

Prior to joining Civitas in 2015, Mr. Dunne was an attorney at Busch Ruotolo & Simpson, LLP, where he provided legal advice and representation to regional clients concerning securities offerings, regulatory matters, litigation, arbitration, and corporate matters. Prior to becoming a licensed attorney, Mr. Dunne began his career at Fifth Third Securities and worked as a financial advisor at Fidelity Investments. Mr. Dunne has previously held FINRA Series 7, 63, and 65 licenses.

Mr. Dunne received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Cincinnati School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Finance from Northern Kentucky University. Mr. Dunne is admitted to practice law in Texas.

Stephanie Fang is responsible for developing and managing global investor relations for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutions with a focus on East Asian markets. Since joining Civitas in 2013, Ms. Fang has helped hundreds of families and individuals invest in U.S. real estate through Civitas EB-5 and alternative investments.

Prior to joining Civitas, Stephanie had experience working at China Everbright Bank and Citibank in Shanghai and New York.

Ms. Fang holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Hefei Normal University and a master’s in Finance from the University of Denver. Ms. Fang completed the Certified Financial Planning Program from Texas A&M University in 2019.

Rishabh R. Gandhi is Regional Director, India and the Midde East, at Civitas Capital Group. Prior to Civitas, Rishabh has held key leadership roles with Regional Centers. Rishabh is a seasoned real estate professional with more than nine years of experience in structuring investments in assets for institutions and ultra-high net-worth individuals (UHNIs). He has been assisting domestic and international institutions and UHNIs in securing income generating assets across the country. Rishabh has international experience spanning the UK, Europe, and India. In his previous role, Rishabh was Senior Account Manager with Cushman and Wakefield, a leading global real estate services firm. Prior to Cushman and Wakefield worked with Knight Frank India. Rishabh started his international career with Gunn & Moore UK, then moving to Croatia to work with PLIVA (TEVA Pharma).

Rishabh holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship, Global Strategic Management and Theory of Constraints from Nottingham Business School.

Jeff Kiser joined Civitas after spending years specializing in EB-5 fundraising and investor relations. In the aggregate, he has helped raise over $1 billion in EB-5 capital across a range of projects. Kiser has worked closely with hundreds of families and individuals looking to pursue U.S. residency through EB-5 investment. Kiser’s clients have originated from all over the globe, including Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Kiser has particularly deep experience building relationship with investors and intermediaries in China and Taiwan. Prior to his EB-5 work, Kiser worked for the U.S. Department of State and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, China. Kiser holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Ohio University and a master’s degree in Politics from East China Normal University.

Mr. Kyser oversees the sourcing, underwriting, and evaluation of prospective multifamily investments, delivering in-depth analysis for the Civitas Investment Committee.

In his seven years at Civitas, Mr. Kyser has sourced and closed approximately $700MM in multifamily development and acquisition opportunities across the Sun Belt. He also led the conversion of Civitas’ conventional multifamily portfolio to an affordable housing strategy in partnership with local and state municipalities, leveraging public-private partnerships and government incentives to expand access to affordable housing.

Prior to joining Civitas, Mr. Kyser was an Acquisition Associate at Trimont Real Estate Advisors, an Asset Manager overseeing an AUM of $700B.

Mr. Kyser holds a Bachelor’s in Finance from Baylor University.

Mr. Lindig leads the Development Group for all asset classes, including Multifamily, Hotel, Retail, and Special Situations. As such, Mr. Lindig is responsible for all facets as it relates to development, construction, and loan monitoring. In so doing, Mr. Lindig creates the initial budgets, assembles the design and construction team, completes the entitlement and permitting process, and oversees the initial transitions to the operator. Mr. Lindig continues to source and promote real estate development opportunities and monitors Civitas’s lending efforts.

While working for Civitas, Mr. Lindig has developed over $200MM worth of properties, acting as both the investor and lender representative for Civitas investments.

Prior to joining Civitas, Mr. Lindig developed four Conde Nast Travel-winning resorts in Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. Additionally, Mr. Lindig was a part of the development of the Four Seasons Hotel Nashville. Mr. Lindig has also developed or repositioned over 3000 keys of hospitality projects and developed more than 4000 acres of land for various real estate ventures.
Mr. Lindig holds a bachelor’s degree in the College of Architecture from Texas A&M University.

In this role, Lizak focuses on managing the credit strategy of and expanding the firm’s equity and debt investor base across the Civitas lodging platform, as well as growing Civitas’ credit business across the firm’s other target asset classes, including multifamily and niche opportunistic investments.

Lizak takes an active role in the capital raising process for the firm’s lodging-focused investment vehicles, including engagement with institutional LPs, consultants, and other counterparties. She plays a large part in overseeing deal underwriting and structuring, portfolio performance, and credit risk management in addition to assisting in the execution of capital markets initiatives.

Lizak joined Civitas with a professional background that spans more than two decades in which she has led the investment strategy, underwriting, structuring, fundraising, investor relations, and portfolio/asset management of highly complex, transitional CRE assets, across all asset types (with a focus on hospitality), geographic markets, and positions within the capital stack, and through various points in the real estate cycle.

On the lending side, Lizak has underwritten, structured, and closed more than $10B of debt‐related transactions for leading financial institutions, most notably as SVP & Head of Underwriting at Starwood Property Trust. Having worked with both balance sheet and CMBS lenders, her experience covers the full debt stack of senior, mezzanine, and preferred equity on a floating and fixed rate basis for bridge, construction, and permanent financing.

Lizak most recently held leadership positions as COO of Global Hospitality Investment Group, an early-stage private equity real estate firm focused on hotel assets located in major cities worldwide, and as CIO of Axle Companies, a Korean Family Office, where Lizak oversaw an investment portfolio with primary assets in hotel real estate and focused on optimizing existing and sourcing new investment opportunities.

Prior to joining Axle, Lizak was Director of Capital Markets & Investment Management at Ethika Investments, LLC, where she implemented strategic thought leadership for debt and equity capital markets activities as well as executed capital raising, IR, and investment strategy initiatives related to the company’s private equity real estate funds (value-add/opportunistic and credit).

Lizak holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Sonja Milton is responsible for human resources at Civitas. In this role, Ms. Milton is responsible for all day-to-day HR operations at the firm, as well as for continuously improving the employee experience. She supports all firm growth and leadership initiatives, including mentorship, coaching, recruitment, performance management, compensation and rewards, employee relations, and people development.

In addition, Ms. Milton serves as a strategic partner to executive leadership, ensuring the firm maintains a people-oriented environment by recruiting, developing, and retaining talent; leading team-building initiatives; and overseeing employee engagement. She is the “culture keeper” of Civitas.

Ms. Milton is an integral part of living the firm’s purpose: “creating opportunities that enrich our investors, employees, and communities alike.” She aligns and refines how the Civitas team reflects the firm’s core values in our work and our actions. She previously served as the Manager of Culture and Administration at Civitas.

Ms. Milton holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences, both from Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Mr. Patel is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and evaluating prospective investments and providing detailed analysis for consideration by the Civitas Investment Committee. He has originated, underwritten, or closed more than $500 million in debt and equity investments at Civitas, utilizing relationships with numerous best-in-class development, capital, and operating partners to access quality deals in U.S. gateway and other top markets. Prior to joining Civitas, Mr. Patel was an Investment Manager with Headington Companies, where he managed over $300 million in real estate assets in hospitality, multifamily, and healthcare. Mr. Patel holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

Ms. Pugmire executes hospitality investment opportunities. In this role, Ms. Pugmire identifies, underwrites, negotiates, and closes new hospitality investments for the firm. Once closed, Ms. Pugmire works closely with third-party operators and asset managers to ensure optimal ongoing performance with our investments. Ms. Pugmire also works closely with the Investor Relations team to ensure our investors receive accurate and timely information about potential investment opportunities and existing investments.

Prior to joining Civitas, Ms. Pugmire was a Senior Associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers, as well as an Analyst with Colliers International. Ms. Pugmire is a graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, with a concentration in real estate finance.

Mr. Temple leads Multifamily Asset Management for Civitas. In this role, Mr. Temple is responsible for the operational and strategic success of Civitas’ Multifamily portfolio; management and supervision of multiple property management relationships and third parties; timely asset and portfolio level reporting; building and implementing institutional processes; and strategic dispositions of portfolio assets. In addition to his Asset Management leadership responsibilities, Mr. Temple continues to source, underwrite, negotiate, and close new equity and debt investments for the firm.

Prior to joining Civitas, Mr. Temple held the positions of Assistant Vice President with CIT’s Real Estate Group, as well as Analyst on GE Capital’s Commercial Real Estate team.

Mr. Temple holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics-Finance from Bentley University.

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Ms. Xing primarily works on lodging investments and asset management at Civitas. In this role, Ms. Xing is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, due diligence, closing, asset management and disposition of both equity and debt investment opportunities in lodging assets.

Prior to joining Civitas, Ms. Xing worked at Sethi Financial Group, as well as at a financial website in Beijing, China.

Ms. Xing holds a Master of Science in Finance degree from the University of Texas at Dallas and a Bachelor’s in Finance degree from University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.