The people behind the work
We came to housing through our deep experience in civic leadership and real estate. Our founders spent decades leading institutions like the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, working at the intersection of public policy and private investment.
That experience shaped our belief that private enterprise can play a meaningful role in addressing urban challenges—delivering strong returns alongside lasting impact.
Our team is comprised of professionals with a depth of experience in real estate, capital markets, public service, nonprofit management, marketing, and community and government relations.
Ofer is Co-Founder and Principal of Ailanthus, where he leads the firm’s growth and oversees the strategic structuring of its development projects.
He plays a central role in acquisitions, joint ventures, and capital formation, guiding the complex transactions that underpin the firm’s projects.
For more than two decades, Ofer has been deeply engaged in Brooklyn’s real estate market and the civic institutions that shape it. In 2008, he founded TerraCRG, a leading investment sales and advisory firm. Drawing on extensive transactional experience and a broad network, he has advised major institutional clients and played a key role in the borough’s transformation.
Ofer currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. He recently completed his tenure as Board Chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.
For more than two decades, Ofer has been deeply engaged in Brooklyn’s real estate market and the civic institutions that shape it. In 2008, he founded TerraCRG, a leading investment sales and advisory firm. Drawing on extensive transactional experience and a broad network, he has advised major institutional clients and played a key role in the borough’s transformation.
Ofer currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. He recently completed his tenure as Board Chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.
Vivian Liao is Co-Founder and Principal of Ailanthus, where she focuses on partnerships, strategy, and community engagement across the firm’s development platform.
With a background spanning community development, public affairs, and journalism, she brings a civic lens to the work—leveraging private-sector solutions to advance housing access, economic opportunity, and neighborhood impact.
Prior to co-founding Ailanthus, Vivian served as Chief of Staff and Managing Director of Programs + Partnerships at the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, where she led initiatives that helped position Downtown Brooklyn as one of the most dynamic urban centers in the country. She began her career in public affairs, with roles at Edelman; the New York City Economic Development Corporation; and NY1 News, where she produced the political program Inside City Hall, as well as several national presidential conventions.
Vivian holds a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado. While in graduate school, she worked as a teacher and criminal defense investigator; and wrote a historical novel based on the life of her grandfather, a chef who worked for notable figures in China, Taiwan, Iran, and the American Southwest. She currently serves on the board of Brooklyn Org and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.
Prior to co-founding Ailanthus, Vivian served as Chief of Staff and Managing Director of Programs + Partnerships at the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, where she led initiatives that helped position Downtown Brooklyn as one of the most dynamic urban centers in the country. She began her career in public affairs, with roles at Edelman; the New York City Economic Development Corporation; and NY1 News, where she produced the political program Inside City Hall, as well as several national presidential conventions.
Vivian holds a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado. While in graduate school, she worked as a teacher and criminal defense investigator; and wrote a historical novel based on the life of her grandfather, a chef who worked for notable figures in China, Taiwan, Iran, and the American Southwest. She currently serves on the board of Brooklyn Org and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.
Tucker Reed is Co-Founder and Principal of Ailanthus, where he leads the firm’s public-private development strategy and entitlement efforts across its portfolio.
With more than two decades of experience at the intersection of government, urban policy, and real estate development, he brings deep expertise in structuring transformative public private partnerships and successfully navigating complex approvals processes. His creed of relentless incrementalism had led to lasting neighborhood transformation and value creation for partners.
Prior to co-founding Ailanthus, Tucker held leadership roles in both the public and private sectors, including at Two Trees Management—one of the City's premier private development companies—and in the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, where he worked on economic opportunity initiatives. He also served as President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the local development corporation that helped guide the neighborhood’s revitalization, which during Tucker’s tenure saw a period of more than $20 billion dollars of private investment in the area.
Tucker has advised on urban redevelopment projects in cities across the globe, and his diplomatic work with the US State Department put him in some of the world’s most challenging environments, where skilled consensus building was key to unlocking paths forward. He has been recognized among the Commercial Observer’s 100 Most Powerful People in New York City Real Estate and City & State’s Most Influential People in Brooklyn. He serves on the boards of BRIC and is on the faculty of New York University’s Shack Institute of Real Estate. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, baby daughter, and dog.
Prior to co-founding Ailanthus, Tucker held leadership roles in both the public and private sectors, including at Two Trees Management—one of the City's premier private development companies—and in the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, where he worked on economic opportunity initiatives. He also served as President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the local development corporation that helped guide the neighborhood’s revitalization, which during Tucker’s tenure saw a period of more than $20 billion dollars of private investment in the area.
Tucker has advised on urban redevelopment projects in cities across the globe, and his diplomatic work with the US State Department put him in some of the world’s most challenging environments, where skilled consensus building was key to unlocking paths forward. He has been recognized among the Commercial Observer’s 100 Most Powerful People in New York City Real Estate and City & State’s Most Influential People in Brooklyn. He serves on the boards of BRIC and is on the faculty of New York University’s Shack Institute of Real Estate. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, baby daughter, and dog.
Elizabeth Canela (Liz) is Director of Development at Ailanthus, where she oversees project management, as well as affordable leasing, local hiring, and M/WBE contracting.
From 2013 to 2018, Liz worked in the San Francisco and Brooklyn offices of Forest City, during which time she was named one of the 30 Commercial Real Estate Professionals Under 30 by the Commercial Observer. In San Francisco, she led the community engagement strategy for the successful public approval of Pier 70, a 28-acre mixed-use development project, which included the negotiation of the community benefits and workforce agreements that govern the project during construction and its operations, including local hiring goals by future tenants, contracting goals, and pre-apprenticeship programs. In Brooklyn, she served as the on-the-ground representative for many of Forest City's projects including East River Plaza in East Harlem, Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island, Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, and Pacific Park Brooklyn. She was the company’s liaison to the Pacific Park Brooklyn Community Benefits Agreement’s non-profit leaders; played a crucial role in the ramping up of operations at FC Modular; and managed community outreach, lease up, and stakeholder management with the City of New York for three affordable housing lotteries in Downtown Brooklyn.
Liz holds a B.A. from Duke University in History and African American Studies and an M.A. in American Studies from Purdue University. She serves on the board of the Brooklyn Book Festival and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter, Nellie. She's thrilled to be raising her daughter in the same place she was born and raised.
Liz holds a B.A. from Duke University in History and African American Studies and an M.A. in American Studies from Purdue University. She serves on the board of the Brooklyn Book Festival and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter, Nellie. She's thrilled to be raising her daughter in the same place she was born and raised.
Jake Ingrassia is Director of Capital Markets at Ailanthus, where he leads investor outreach.
Prior to joining the team, Jake founded Spring Hill Farm Capital, a private real estate investment firm focused on mixed-use commercial and housing developments. Through Spring Hill Farm Capital, Jake successfully raised and continues to manage a real estate investment fund that partners with Ailanthus on select investments, with a focus on structuring institutional-quality capital solutions and aligning long-term investor and sponsor interests.
Prior to founding Spring Hill Farm Capital, Jake served as a Vice President in the Real Estate Investment Banking group at Goldman Sachs, where he worked from 2019 to 2024. In that role, he advised public and private real estate companies, developers, and institutional investors on complex capital markets and strategic transactions, including equity and debt capital raises, public M&A transactions, joint venture formations, recapitalizations, asset sales, and portfolio-level financings across multiple asset classes.
Earlier in his career, Jake held various positions at Jones Day, Hines, and Joele Frank, where he developed a multidisciplinary foundation spanning legal structuring, real estate development, and strategic communications. Jake holds a J.D. from New York Law School and a B.A. from the University of Virginia. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Jake currently lives in DUMBO with his fiancé Jane and their dog Nellie.
Prior to founding Spring Hill Farm Capital, Jake served as a Vice President in the Real Estate Investment Banking group at Goldman Sachs, where he worked from 2019 to 2024. In that role, he advised public and private real estate companies, developers, and institutional investors on complex capital markets and strategic transactions, including equity and debt capital raises, public M&A transactions, joint venture formations, recapitalizations, asset sales, and portfolio-level financings across multiple asset classes.
Earlier in his career, Jake held various positions at Jones Day, Hines, and Joele Frank, where he developed a multidisciplinary foundation spanning legal structuring, real estate development, and strategic communications. Jake holds a J.D. from New York Law School and a B.A. from the University of Virginia. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Jake currently lives in DUMBO with his fiancé Jane and their dog Nellie.
Vicki Orena is Executive Assistant for Ailanthus, overseeing administration and scheduling.
She brings 12 plus years of experience with each of those years seeing her deeply involved in the ever-changing Brooklyn scene. Vicki’s expertise includes senior level correspondence, podcast and social media production, as well as experiential marketing, premier corporate event planning and project management.
A native of Long Island, NY, Vicki now calls Bay Ridge home. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, spending time with family, and hitting the local dog-run with her pup, Stella. Her attitude, and her drive are all New York City, and so is her B.I.G. business mantra: Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way.
A native of Long Island, NY, Vicki now calls Bay Ridge home. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, spending time with family, and hitting the local dog-run with her pup, Stella. Her attitude, and her drive are all New York City, and so is her B.I.G. business mantra: Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way.
Han Deng is Co-Founder and Co-Managing Director of DY Properties, Inc, a real estate investment firm focused on acquisitions and asset management.
At DY Properties, Han is responsible for sourcing and underwriting investment opportunities across New York City, and for asset management of the company’s real estate portfolio. Through DY Properties, Han provides his expertise in financial analysis to the Ailanthus team and assists them in the evaluation of development projects. In addition to his financial advisory role, Han and DY Properties also co-invest with the Ailanthus team on select opportunities.
Prior to founding DY Properties, Han worked in acquisitions at Legion Investment Group, where he underwrote over $2 billion of development opportunities across all asset classes and improved in-house underwriting models with additional functionalities. Han also worked as an Asset Manager at Time Equities, Inc, where he spearheaded the implementation of a property level information storage platform and facilitated the creation of quarterly and annual cash flow reports and property budgets.
Han holds a M.S. in Real Estate Development from Columbia University and a B.A. in Economics from NYU. Outside of work, Han can often be found trying out one of the many wonderful restaurants in the city with his fiancé Srishti.
Prior to founding DY Properties, Han worked in acquisitions at Legion Investment Group, where he underwrote over $2 billion of development opportunities across all asset classes and improved in-house underwriting models with additional functionalities. Han also worked as an Asset Manager at Time Equities, Inc, where he spearheaded the implementation of a property level information storage platform and facilitated the creation of quarterly and annual cash flow reports and property budgets.
Han holds a M.S. in Real Estate Development from Columbia University and a B.A. in Economics from NYU. Outside of work, Han can often be found trying out one of the many wonderful restaurants in the city with his fiancé Srishti.
We create housing from the ground up— identifying opportunity, structuring viable deals, securing entitlements, and developing complex projects led by our in-house team in collaboration with best-in-class partners.
— Careers
Help Us Build
We approach housing as civic work—grounded in public purpose and executed with private-sector rigor. If you’re motivated by the challenge of addressing the housing crisis and want to help create homes that are both financially sound and socially impactful, we’d like to hear from you.
We welcome you to share your resumé.
info@ailanthus.co
