Our Team

Russell Benaroya has more than 25 years of experience as a Wall Street banker, private equity professional and entrepreneur. He started his career at Salomon Smith Barney in New York before moving to Los Angeles to begin investing in early-stage start-ups. Following business school, Russell took the entrepreneurial leap and for the next 15 years, built and exited two venture backed businesses in both services and technology.

Russell is a seasoned operator and a transaction professional. He is also regarded as both a guide and coach for senior leaders. In 2001, Russell published a book on the topic of leadership, One Life to Lead.

Russell is both an active community leader, serving as Chairperson for Plymouth Housing’s signature event, Seattle Dances, and was a past board member for the Jewish Community Center. When not working to build great organizations, you will find Russell in the mountains in search of his next ultramarathon adventure. Russell lives in Seattle with his wife, a school counselor. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and received his MBA at the Anderson School at UCLA.

Allen joined Timberlane Partners’ accounting team in 2023 as its Controller.

Prior to Timberlane, Allen served in accounting and finance roles at privately-held real estate investment funds where he was responsible for accounting, financial reporting, forecasting, tax, and operational support functions. Such funds’ strategies included value-add multi-family and opportunistic single family residential development, with structures ranging from third-party management to vertically-integrated services. Allen began his career in public accounting with experience in the areas of attestation, tax, and operational consulting.

Allen holds a B.A. degree in Accounting from California State University, Fullerton. He is a Certified Public Accountant in both California and Washington, and a Certified Management Accountant member of the Institute of Management Accountants.

Melissa moved to Seattle in 2006 and has decided to stay and make it her permanent home. She graduated from University of Washington and from then has built up her experience in accounting.

Melissa joined Timberlane in 2017 and has been growing alongside the company ever since. She handles the financial reporting for the multifamily and hospitality assets of the company. Because of her long tenure with the company, she has a rich knowledge of the history of Timberlane.

Outside of work, she can be seen traveling all over the world and getting to know and experience every culture. She can also be seen going to concerts and festivals and trying out different restaurants in Seattle.

Jake grew up in a small town in eastern Minnesota where they spent their childhood at the lake. After graduating from college in Chicago, they moved around the country, working as a stage manager with different opera companies. In January of 2021, they decided to step out of the performing arts industry and move to Seattle for the water and mountains. Jake enjoys supporting and managing collaborative teams, especially those working to carve out space for communities that are often ignored or silenced. When not working, Jake can be found advocating for non-binary inclusion in the sport of running.

Jon is responsible for sourcing acquisition opportunities and joint venture partners at Timberlane, as well as providing valuable executive counsel and leadership drawn from his extensive 35-year career in the industry.

As the former leader of CBRE’s Seattle multi-family investment sales office, Jon brings a wealth of experience to his new role, having closed more than 1,188 apartment and land transactions, comprising more than 160,000 units with an aggregate value exceeding $27.2 billion throughout his career.

He has received countless accolades over his career, including being named “Top Broker” (2020) by commercial real estate news group Connect Commercial Real Estate News and “Power Broker” by commercial real estate source CoStar (2006—2019).

As VP – Private Capital, Jeff is responsible for growing Timberlane’s fundraising platform in the private equity channel, with a focus on Registered Investment Advisors and family offices.  He is responsible for assisting with fundraising efforts for Timberlane’s acquisition and development funds.

Prior to joining the Timberlane Team, Jeff was a Partner and COO at Gelt Ventures, a Los Angeles-based multifamily syndicator.  During his ten-year career there, he was involved in the acquisition of 8,000 multifamily units in the Western US.  Jeff was intensively involved with acquisitions, asset management, and dispositions, in addition to corporate strategy and team management.

Jeff graduated from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, majoring in finance.  He resides in Los Angeles, and in his free time enjoys golfing, traveling, and reading.

Axel Heide, a Washington native, began his career at HomeStreet Bank in their commercial real estate asset management department. He earned a BS in Business Administration with a focus in finance from Chapman University. While in school, he was a varsity track and field athlete and took elective courses ranging from ceramics to Arab studies.

Outside of work, Axel enjoys spending time in the great outdoors, scuba diving, traveling, and spending time with his family.

As Senior Vice President, Acquisitions, Tad is responsible for all acquisition functions for Timberlane’s Fund vehicles that target existing multifamily assets. This includes deal sourcing, capital structuring, and relationship management.

Tad has worked in institutional real estate investment management since 2011, having closed more than $7B in transactions including acquisitions, dispositions, and equity commitments for development joint-ventures. He has extensive transactions experience in all real estate product types but specializes in multifamily investments. Prior to Joining Timberlane, Tad spent six years at Security Properties where he was responsible for deal sourcing in new territories for the Seattle-based apartment operator. Tad played a meaningful role in the company’s growth in Denver, Nashville and Austin markets having overseen the acquisition of more than 4,000 units. Prior to Security Properties, Tad spent six years at BentallGreenOak (formerly Bentall Kennedy) and sat in the company’s Chicago office where he acquired assets on behalf of the firm’s primary NCREIF-core fund, as well as its separate account institutional clients. In this role, he was responsible for transactions of all real estate product types, with a primary focus on acquisitions in Texas and Midwest markets.

Tad holds an BA in Business Administration from University of Puget Sound, through the school’s selective Business Leadership Program. Tad lives in Seattle’s Greenlake neighborhood and enjoys frequent walks around the lake. Tad and his wife, Liz, are avid road trippers and enjoy exploring the Cascadia, Mexico, and everywhere in between.

Jake Leibsohn joined Timberlane in 2023 as a Partner to help grow its multi-family portfolio. Jake’s primary responsibility is to oversee all aspects of Timberlane’s Fund vehicles, raise private and institutional equity, and lead financing efforts.

Prior to joining Timberlane Partners, Jake Leibsohn served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Northmarq’s Seattle based regional office. While at Northmarq Jake was one of the firm’s top performing mortgage bankers, consistently finishing within the top 10 nationally. Throughout his time at Northmarq Jake originated more than $1.6 Billion worth of debt and equity, including over $375 Million for Timberlane Partners alone. In 2021 Jake was recognized by Connect Commercial Real Estate magazine as one of the Top Mortgage Bankers in Seattle.

Jake holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Oregon’s Charles H. Lundquist College of Business where he studied Finance and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

As part of the asset management team, Richie is involved in the company’s financings, dispositions, capital improvements and investor relations, while assisting in acquisitions of value-add investments. Richie joined the team at Timberlane Partners after relocating from Chicago during the pandemic. He has previously held several acquisitions and financing positions, notably scaling an operating company to over 10,000 units at a private multifamily REIT in Chicago.

Richie earned a BS from Indiana University with concentrations in Finance and Accounting, as well as an MBA from the University of North Carolina with a concentration in Real Estate.

As Development Manager at Timberlane, Jorden oversees every phase of Timberlane’s ground-up multifamily development projects. From site selection and due diligence to entitlements, construction, and lease-up, Jorden ensures that each project progresses smoothly and successfully. With over a decade of experience in development and construction management, Jorden has a proven track record of delivering projects on time and within budget.

Since 2015, Jorden has worked as a Project Manager designing and constructing best-in-class spaces for Fortune 500 clients to operate their businesses. Before joining Timberlane, Jorden worked for Amazon, leading the development team for last-mile facilities across Texas. Jorden was instrumental in negotiating and building some of the largest last-mile facilities in the country, along with prototyping cutting-edge manufactured industrial facilities to increase speed to market in demand-constrained municipalities.

Jorden is a graduate of Washington State University where he studied Economics. Jorden resides in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, where he enjoys the proximity to Puget Sound. Outside of work, Jorden is an avid guitar player, audiophile, and motorcycle enthusiast.

Catherine Michael is part of the Asset Management team at Timberlane, where she focuses on optimizing property performance and enhancing investor relations. She collaborates closely with property management to execute business plans and leasing strategies, while overseeing capital expenditures and renovations.

Prior to joining Timberlane, Catherine worked on the Asset Management team for Bridge33 Capital, where she was responsible for developing and implementing a business strategy for 6 properties within the portfolio, totaling over 1.96 Million SF of retail. Catherine’s background also includes contributions in investment analysis, brokerage, property management, and leasing at leading firms in the real estate sector.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Catherine maintains an active lifestyle. She enjoys running, discovering new culinary experiences, traveling, and engaging in outdoor activities such as boating, snowboarding, and hiking.

I am a Washington native, who grew up in a small agriculture town in Central Washington and working in apple and cherry fields since 13 years old. I moved to Seattle in 2013 to attend college and obtained my bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Washington. While attending UW I got my first accounting position as a bookkeeper for a Property Development company (Rainier Valley Partners), then later worked at NorthStar Energy as an Accounts Payable Specialist.

Outside of work, I enjoy being in the outdoors hiking and walking through local parks, going to sporting events and cooking.

Michael joined Timberlane Partners’ accounting team in 2023 as a staff accountant.

Prior to Timberlane, Michael worked as a staff accountant in various industries including education, manufacturing, and real estate. Originally from Southern California, Michael now lives in Seattle with their cat Greyson where they love going on walks through the local parks. Outside of work, Michael enjoys traveling, powerlifting, and playing rugby with their local IGR team.

Michael holds a B.A. and master’s degree in accounting from Biola University.

PJ joined Timberlane in 2024 as Senior Managing Director of Development to lead the development team and vision. From an early age, He loved the creativity of buying land and building houses with his father in his hometown of Chico, California. PJ completed his BA in Design and Masters of Architecture at UCLA, satisfying the artist in him, then later received his MBA from the University of Washington – fulfilling his finance and leadership passion.

PJ has created a diverse portfolio of successful developments in Puget Sound over the last 25 years that include multifamily, resort residential, office and retail shopping centers as well as complex, large scaled, public-private civic and mixed-use developments. These include Federal Way Crossings retail center, Stadium Place in Seattle, Bremerton Harborside and Park Place projects, Shoreline City Hall, the Cabins at Tumble Creek, and most recently the 31-story Skyglass Apartments in downtown Seattle.
Outside of work, PJ enjoys master’s swimming, yoga, jogging, golfing, and spending time with his wife, two daughters, and his mini-golden retriever, Rocky.

As Senior Investment Associate, Vince is involved in all facets of Timberlane’s business. From ground up development and value add acquisitions, to fundraising ventures and investor communication, Vince aids the team’s efforts wherever possible.

Vince earned a BA from University of San Diego with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate. He has previously held positions in acquisitions, development, and capital markets, bolstering a well-rounded knowledge of the real estate investment process.

Vince resides in Los Angeles and enjoys playing golf, attending sporting events, live music, and travel.

Ryne joined Timberlane in 2021. As the leader of the Asset Management team, he takes pride digging into the details and collaborating with partners to ensure all Timberlane properties reach their fullest potential. Prior to joining Timberlane, Ryne worked at Apple in a variety of roles including with the Retail Real Estate Finance team. He holds a BA in History with a Minor in Economics from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Outside of work, Ryne enjoys travelling internationally, reading, and going on long walks in the park. Ryne lives with his wife, son, and adorable corgi, Albus, in beautiful West Seattle.

Kaylee left the Heartland when she moved to Seattle for school and, while she misses the architecture and perfectly gridded fields, she thinks really big old trees are nice. She is a thorough communicator and expert problem solver, and she is most in her element when deadlines are looming. Kaylee prefers to be outside and with her dog (and if she can only have one, she’s going with the dog).

With over 5 years of experience in real estate and finance, Lingjun has built distinguished track records of creating financial models, overseeing acquisition processes, and cultivating relationships with professionals of all career levels. Lingjun received her master’s degree in Real Estate Development from the University of Washington in 2020.

Lingjun lives with her family in Edmonds, Washington. Aside from work, she enjoys a variety of indoor/outdoor activities including hiking, kayaking, bouldering, and cooking international cuisine.