Team
Our team of talented, hardworking and flexible professionals has enabled SKS to consistently outperform the competition. We are large enough to make a significant impact on the Bay Area landscape, yet small enough to remain agile, seize opportunities as they arise, and adapt swiftly to complex and ever-changing circumstances.
Dan Kingsley
Co-Founder
Dan Kingsley is a co-founder of SKS Partners and has over 40 years of experience in commercial real estate, primarily in real estate development. Over the course of his career, Dan has played a major role in the planning, entitlement, design, and construction of over 14 million square feet of Class A office, hotel, and mixed-use building development. He has a 100% career success rate in the approval of entitlements for development projects.
From 1985 until founding SKS in 1992, Dan was a Vice President with Maguire Thomas Partners, one of the nation’s five largest investment builders during the 1980’s. Based at the firm’s headquarters in Los Angeles, he participated in the development of over 3 million square feet of office space. Dan received a Master of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Regional Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon.
Dan’s civic volunteer work includes serving as: Board Member of Schwab Charitable; Board of Trustees of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy; Board Member of Battery Powered, the philanthropic arm of The Battery social club; and Board Member of Advance SF, a non-profit business organization dedicated to addressing issues that impact the ability of San Francisco to become an affordable, thriving city with a good quality of life for all.
Dan and his co-founder, Paul, have decades of demonstrated success resulting from their technical and market expertise, track records as reliable business partners, and leadership in the community. Under Dan’s leadership, SKS has gained recognition in the industry through the firm’s commitment to environmental protection, collaborative community partnerships, and development innovation.
Paul Stein
Paul Stein
Co-Founder
Paul Stein is a co-founder of SKS Partners and has over 40 years of real estate experience in leasing, acquisition, asset management, and disposition of commercial properties. He has managed the negotiation and execution of over 10 million square feet of lease transactions and acquisitions.
Prior to founding SKS in 1992, Paul was Vice President and Director of Marketing for The Shorenstein Company, one of the nation’s largest privately held real estate development and asset management firms, which specializes in Class A office buildings. From 1980 until 1989, he was a Limited Partner and Director of Office Leasing for Damon Raike and Co., a full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm whose activities were primarily on the west coast. Paul received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
In addition to his work at SKS, Paul sits on the board of BRIDGE Housing and previously served as a board member of JVS. He is also on the advisory board of BREAA (Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association).
Paul and his co-founder, Dan, have decades of demonstrated success resulting from their technical and market expertise, exemplary track records, and leadership in the community. Under Paul’s leadership, SKS has gained recognition in the industry through the firm’s commitment to high quality spaces serving innovative tenants, strong capital partnerships, and well-executed transactions.
Pamela Izzo
Pamela Izzo
Managing Director
Pamela Izzo is Managing Director of SKS Partners and has over 38 years of experience in finance, leasing, acquisitions, asset management, and disposition of commercial property. Pamela joined SKS in 1998 as Director of Asset Management and later became Chief Operating Officer, and has been involved in some capacity with every SKS-owned property throughout the company’s history. Pam heads the Senior Leadership Team for implementing the company’s vision, mission and strategic goals.
Before joining SKS, Pamela worked as an Investment Manager at Aetna Life Insurance Company and was Vice President at First Interstate Bank. She has a broad experience with product types including office, hotel, retail, R&D/industrial, and multi-family buildings. Pamela studied at University of Southern California, where she received her BA in Public Relations and she holds a MSBA in Finance from California State University.
Pamela is proud of SKS’s gender equality, which she spearheaded during her years at the firm. Outside of work, she has served on a number of educational charitable boards, including in roles of Treasurer and President.
Dave Tech
Dave Tech
Vice President, Director of Design & Construction
David Tech is Vice President and Director of Design and Construction for SKS Partners. He has over 40 years of experience in project management and construction experience throughout the Greater Bay Area, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and the East Coast . Since joining SKS in 2005, he has focused on life science, retail, light industrial, and mixed-use projects. He has developed new project sites and existing properties for various owners, including Shorenstein, the University of California at San Francisco, and Mitsui Fudosan. Dave plays an active role as a member of the Senior Leadership Team to promote interdepartmental collaboration and communication, especially in the area of construction design, budget, and schedule management.
Prior to joining SKS in 2005, Dave served as Director of Design, Construction and Facilities at Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH, then a subsidiary of Sears). His responsibilities ranged from project management to construction of new and existing retail hardware stores in the greater Bay Area, Sacramento and Los Angeles. He managed the expansion of the OSH brand into the East Coast, served as a developer on various local retail shopping center developments, and was the Facility Manager for the existing sixty OSH stores in California.
He holds a degree in Construction Engineering from Iowa State University and is a licensed Civil Engineer in California.
Joe McCarthy
Joe McCarthy
Vice President, Director of Acquisitions
Joe McCarthy is Vice President and Director of Acquisitions at SKS Partners and has over 25 years of experience in commercial and residential real estate development. Joe’s experience includes all aspects of the development process with extensive experience in acquisition, entitlements, and project management. Joe came to SKS Partners in 2016 to manage the approvals of SKS Partners’ Oyster Point project in South San Francisco and has since moved into his current role as Director of Acquisitions. Joe has played an active role in coordinating the company’s annual strategic direction and is a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Prior to joining SKS Partners, Joe worked for BRIDGE Housing Corporation for 16 years as a project manager, senior project manager, and director of development where he specialized in complex mixed-use and mixed income projects throughout the Bay Area. Over the course of his career at BRIDGE he was responsible for over 1,500 residential units in the Bay Area and managed the investment of over $70 million in urban infill projects.
Prior to working at BRIDGE, Joe worked for Forest City Ratner Companies in New York City. Joe has a master’s degree in urban planning from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of Lamda Alpha International, Golden Gate Chapter and a member of UC Berkeley’s Big C Society.
Yvonne Fisher
Yvonne Fisher
Vice President, Director of Asset Management
Yvonne Fisher joined SKS Partners in 2018 is currently Vice President and Director of Asset Management. She has over 25 years of experience in the management of commercial real estate including office, industrial, life sciences, historical, and PDR uses. She is responsible for the leasing, value creation, investment strategy, and investor communication for all operating assets. Yvonne is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and plays an active role in implementing the company’s strategy for operations and objectives.
Prior to joining SKS Partners, Yvonne served as a Director for CBRE working with private equity investors, family offices, and institutional investors including Clarion Partners, Prudential Real Estate, and Zurich. Her portfolio consisted of fourteen buildings totaling over 2 million square feet. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and holds the Real Property Administrator (RPA) designation and a California Real Estate License.
Yvonne is a member of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network and Building Owners and Managers Association. She has served on multiple non-profit boards primarily in the education sector and currently serves on the Board of Leaders for University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and Women’s Philanthropy Initiative.
Tim Smith
Tim Smith
Director of Development and Project Management
Tim joined SKS Partners in 2017 and is currently the Director of Development and Project Management. He has more than 25 years of experience in planning, entitlement, design, project management, and construction oversight. His varied experience in the full life cycle of development projects – from raw land to occupancy – and strong technical background provide him with a well-informed perspective on project delivery. Tim is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and has played an active role in facilitating project entitlements, sustainability initiatives, change management, and project management policy.
Tim began his career in transportation planning and civil engineering, and during that time developed his technical project approach and eye for detail. His assignments included projects across the country, from Washington, DC, New York, and Connecticut to Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California, and Guam. Prior to joining SKS, Tim worked as a consultant in high-tech corporate real estate offices, delivering workspaces and campus environments that embraced the most innovative and sustainable new concepts coming to the marketplace. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Brown University, and a Master of Science degree from North Carolina State University.
Tim’s professional experience is complemented by service on non-profit boards spanning more than two decades. He currently volunteers with the US Green Building Council, where he is the immediate past chair of the Location and Planning Technical Advisory Group, and as a Board Member of the San Francisco Bach Choir. Tim is a registered professional Civil Engineer in Washington and California, as well as a registered California Traffic Engineer and a LEED Accredited Professional.
Robert Kelly
Robert Kelly
Director of Finance
Robert is the Director of Finance at SKS Partners, overseeing investments, capital finance, and investor relations. Since joining SKS in 2019, he has been involved in all acquisition and disposition activity, including underwriting, structuring, and capitalization efforts. Robert is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and plays an important role in relationships with capital partners and in implementing the company’s strategy for financial performance monitoring and reporting.
With over a decade of professional experience in Bay Area real estate, Robert has worked with many product types including mixed-use, office, residential, R&D, and industrial ranging from small value-add to large multi-phased entitlement and development deals. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bucknell University, and a Master of Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Robert is involved with the local real estate community, including serving as a Board Member of Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association, and mentoring current students. As a grad student, Robert won both the NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area Real Estate Challenge (the “Golden Shovel”) and the University of Texas, Austin National Real Estate Finance Challenge. He is a member of Urban Land Institute and an alumnus of NAIOP’s Young Professionals Group program.
Blaze Syka
Blaze Syka
Investment Associate
Blaze Syka joined SKS Partners in 2022 as an Investment Associate. With extensive local experience in land use and real estate analysis, Blaze performs rigorous financial underwriting on potential acquisitions and supports project management staff in offering a clear fiscal picture of ongoing projects. His creative approach to finding clarity in shifting real estate markets has allowed him to make significant contributions to SKS’s acquisition and project management efforts.
Originally a land use planner, Blaze has experience working on a variety of projects throughout the Bay Area, providing him with a unique perspective on zoning and land use challenges and a strong understanding of entitlement and environmental risks. His contributions in land use planning, design and policy have resulted in the approval of projects in multiple cities and have received awards from the International Downtown Association (IDA).
Blaze holds a Masters of Real Estate Development + Design from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Science degree in City and Regional Planning from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and a member of the organization’s 2022-2023 Development 360 Program.
Ivy Ta
Ivy Ta
Financial Analyst
Ivy Ta joined SKS Partners in 2024 as a Financial Analyst, supporting all acquisition research and underwriting efforts.
With internships at Sperry Equities, Project Destined’s Commercial Real Estate Team, and Prime Residential’s Transactions Team, Ivy has garnered practical experience that enriches her perspective. Ivy holds a degree in Urban Studies with a minor in Sustainable Design from UC Berkeley, solidifying her commitment to integrating environmental sustainability with financial strategy.
In recognition of her achievements during her undergraduate career, Ivy was selected as the Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association Undergraduate Fellow for 2023. Beyond her professional pursuits, Ivy is an active member of the Urban Land Institute. Additionally, she leverages her network in contributing to the Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association.”
Jordan Doane
Jordan Doane
Investor Relations Associate
Jordan Doane joined SKS Partners in 2024 as an Investor Relations Associate. In his role, Jordan supports the firm’s senior leadership in capital raising efforts and manages key relationships with prospective and existing Limited Partners.
Over the past decade, Jordan has led strategy and business development for the New York office of Bjarke Ingels Group and the Americas Consulting group at CBRE. He has managed client relations and raised capital for real estate development deals for a range of product types and markets across the U.S. and Europe. Originally trained as an architect, he leverages an extensive technical knowledge of buildings to effectively articulate the narrative and strategy of potential real estate investment offerings to future partners.
Jordan received a Master of Real Estate Development and Design degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a graduate of the German Language School at Middlebury College in Vermont. As a graduate student, Jordan won the NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area Golden Shovel Real Estate Challenge. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute at the local and national level, NAIOP, and the Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association.
Vianca Wong
Vianca Wong
Project Manager
Vianca Wong is a Project Manager at SKS Partners and has over ten years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. Since joining SKS in 2018, her projects have included the UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building and 1 De Haro, San Francisco’s first mass timber building. Vianca is also a significant contributor to SKS Partners’ process of continuous improvement of the firm’s operating procedures, leveraging her recent experience to guide updates in project management practices.
Prior to joining SKS Partners, Vianca worked as a Property Manager for the Shorenstein Company. Her previous roles included supervising day-to-day building operations and the oversight of construction projects in several Class A office buildings in San Francisco.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Davis and has received her LEED Green Associate and Real Property Administrator (RPA) designation through the Building Owners and Managers Institute.
Kristina Covall
Kristina Covall
Project Manager
Kristina Covall is a Project Manager at SKS Partners with 15 years of experience in the design and construction industry. She joined SKS in 2021 and currently leads the redevelopment of a 36-acre site at Moffett Field, where she is overseeing all site and building master planning and design aspects of the project, including strategic planning, budgeting, and coordination with stakeholders. Her expertise in managing public and private projects, ranging from master plans to high-rise towers, has enabled her to navigate projects through entitlements, design, and construction.
Prior to joining SKS, Kristina was instrumental in piloting the re-entitlement for a 264-unit prefabricated multifamily project at Katerra. In addition, she oversaw the design of a 500+ unit residential development and pre-construction activities for the redevelopment of an 82-acre site at Oyster Point for Greenland USA, where she first collaborated with SKS.
Kristina holds a Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and is a licensed Architect in the State of California. She is passionate about civic engagement and volunteers her time with the Urban Land Institute’s Urban Plan program, which educates youth on the real estate development process and its various stakeholders.
Abby Oyle
Abby Oyle
Operations Manager
Abby Oyle is the Operations Manager for SKS Partners and has over 20 years of experience in commercial construction accounting and administration. Abby joined SKS in 2016 and is responsible for policies and procedures, including successful implementation of new software and systems to streamline operational functions for all divisions. She also plays a key role in supporting the review and implementation of contracts and insurance requirements for the firm and its projects.
Before joining SKS, Abby worked as an office administrator for a multi-trade specialty subcontractor in the Bay Area. She was responsible for overseeing all aspects of project administration from the initial bidding phase to project closeout for new construction and tenant improvements. Abby completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at San Francisco State University and her Master’s Degree in Public Administration at California State University, East Bay.
Abby holds an international business certificate from Danish International Studies in conjunction with San Francisco State University and has volunteered for Berkeley Reads, an adult literacy program.
Tamara Flores
Tamara Flores
Manager of Administration
Tamara Flores joined SKS Partners In 2007 and is currently the Manager of Administration. She has over 20 years of experience in optimizing office operations and internal procedures. She is an integral part of office management and leads the charge on coordinating and supervising all aspects of administrative workflow to provide seamless collaboration and timely execution of tasks.
Previously, Tamara was at La Familia Counseling Service for seven years, working as an Office Manager and Personnel & Finance Assistant. She also served as a Youth Mentor at Hijos Del Sol and as an Administrative Assistant for Abbot Laboratories. She attended Chabot College in Hayward, California.
Over the course of her career, Tamara has held a variety of clerical positions in the Bay Area, working with many different cultures. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and speaks Portuguese.