Jeffrey Levine is the founding principal and chairman of The Douglaston Companies, consisting of Douglaston Development, Levine Builders, and Clinton Management. Since 1979, Mr. Levine has directed the new construction or rehabilitation of thousands of residential units, including both affordable and market rate housing, student housing, hotels, senior living, healthcare facilities, and millions of square feet of commercial retail, office, and institutional spaces.  

Mr. Levine’s most recent accomplishment is the development of 3Eleven, a 60-story tower adjacent to Hudson Yards, consisting of 938 mixed-income, multi-family units and over 60,000 square feet of amenity space. He is also participating in the rehabilitation of the Linden/Penn-Wortman Houses, a 1,922-unit NYCHA property in East New York, where he lived for a portion of his childhood.  

In recent years, Mr. Levine developed the Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn – more than two million square feet of mixed-use residential, spread across six distinct buildings. This includes The Edge condominiums, affordable housing in the Edge Community Apartments, and market rate rental housing at 1 North 4^th Place and Level BK. The property houses approximately 2,000 residential units, over 60,000 square feet of retail, structured parking, a water taxi pier, and a pedestrian esplanade.  

Mr. Levine is a member of REBNY’s Executive Committee and a founding member of both the NYS Association for Affordable Housing and the Kimmel Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating and promoting affordable housing and services for aged, handicapped, and other special-needs populations. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council, the New York Housing Conference, and the Chamber of Commerce of the Borough of Queens. Mr. Levine also sits on the Advisory Board of the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at the City University of New York and New York University’s Real Estate Institute.  

Among Mr. Levine’s many professional recognitions are REBNY’s Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award, which honors his lifetime of exceptional accomplishment in the industry and invaluable contributions to New York’s civic welfare. He has also been named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and the National Association of Home Builders Affordable Builder of the Year.  

Mr. Levine currently sits on the Board of Directors at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Jewish National Fund and is a member of its National Board, which recently honored him with its Tree of Life, a humanitarian award given in recognition of outstanding community involvement. 

Mr. Levine is a graduate of the City University of New York’s City College School of Architecture, from which he received the Townsend Harris Medal in 2020 for outstanding postgraduate achievement. 

Jed Resnick joined Douglaston Development as Chief Operating Officer in 2018 and assumed the role of CEO in 2020.  He brings 18 years of real estate finance and development experience to the company.  As CEO, Mr. Resnick oversees best-in-class execution across Douglaston’s various development projects, ensuring excellence in project planning, design, finance, and legal structuring.  He also leads site acquisition efforts to strengthen the company’s project pipeline, as well as critical asset management activities and other strategic business development initiatives. 

Prior to joining Douglaston Development, Mr. Resnick was a founding principal at Grafton Street Capital, a boutique real estate firm. He also spent ten years at LeFrak in New York City, serving in numerous roles including Senior Vice President for Real Estate Capital Markets and Acquisitions, and where he focused on project finance, ground-up development, and significant adaptive reuse projects.  

Mr. Resnick holds his B.A. from Harvard University and his M.B.A. from Columbia University. 

Steven Charno has served as President of Douglaston Development since joining the company in 2003. Mr. Charno oversees the company’s market rate residential development projects. During his tenure, he has facilitated the development of more than 2,000 units of residential housing in Manhattan and Brooklyn, including luxury condominium development projects, as well as market rate rental and affordable housing projects.

As a co-leader of the Executive Management team, Mr. Charno shares responsibility in the company’s investment strategy, retail leasing, asset management, personnel evaluation and compensation, and company policies.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Charno worked at the Related Companies and served as Vice President and General Counsel for the development of the AOL Time Warner Center Project at Columbus Circle. Mr. Charno began his career as a transactional real estate attorney and was a partner and Executive Committee member of the San Francisco-based real estate firm of Landels Ripley and Diamond, LLP. Mr. Charno currently serves on the Housing and Land Use Committees of the Real Estate Board of New York.

Mr. Charno holds his B.A. from Brandeis University and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Michael Kessler is President of The Douglaston Companies. He has been a member of the organization for over 30 years, overseeing and managing the three companies’ financial teams. Mr. Kessler is responsible for securing financing for projects and overseeing the finance and accounting aspects of each project’s full life cycle from inception through disposition. 

As a key advisor and member of the Executive Management team, he shares responsibility in supervising the organization’s insurance and risk management departments, as well as Human Resources and Information Technology departments. 

Mr. Kessler was an officer of the Queens Bronx Builders Association for many years and more recently served as a director on the New York/New Jersey Commercial Client Advisory Board for Capital One Banking group representing tristate real estate construction companies. Mr. Kessler currently serves in many community roles, including National Vice President of the Jewish National Fund’s Education Centurium, member of the JNF’s Go North and Israel Heritage Task Forces, and a member of the New York Board of the UJA Federation as well as the Executive Committee of UJA Long Island.

Mr. Kessler graduated Cum Laude from SUNY-Albany’s Business School with a B.S. in Accounting. He is a member of the NYS Society of Certified Public Accounts, and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Benjamin Levine is Senior Vice President, Finance & Acquisitions at Douglaston Development. Mr. Levine joined the company in 2008 as a Project Manager, where he oversaw developments throughout the boroughs. He is responsible for all acquisition and development underwriting and feasibility and has secured over $2 billion in project underwriting to date. Most recently, Mr. Levine was part of the team that syndicated the debt and equity capital for 601 West 29^th Street, an over $600 million, 931-unit luxury mixed-use residential development located in the Hudson Yards area. 

Mr. Levine is a sitting board member for Haymakers of Hope as well as a member and former chair of the Jewish National Fund Future in New York. 

Prior to joining Douglaston Development, Mr. Levine worked as an analyst at Credit Suisse in both New York City and London for their real estate finance and securitization group.

Mr. Levine holds his B.A. in Urban Studies with a minor in Urban Real Estate and Development from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Jessica Sherman is Senior Vice President, Affordable Development at Douglaston Development. Ms. Sherman joined the company in 2016 as a Project Manager and brings over 5 years of project management experience. 

Prior to joining Douglaston Development, Ms. Sherman worked as a Leadership Fellow at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, focusing on regional infrastructure management and development. She was also previously a Senior Product Manager at Amazon. Ms. Sherman is a member of the Advisory Council for the Fund for Public Housing and serves on the Junior Board of Reclaim Childhood. 

Ms. Sherman holds her M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, an M.Sc. in Social Policy from the University of Oxford, and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Russell Lang is Senior Vice President, Affordable Development at Douglaston Development. Mr. Lang leads, oversees, and manages all affordable housing developments, from initial RFP applications and project inception through construction and stabilization. He joined the company as a Project Manager in 2014 and was promoted to his current position after one year. Since joining the company, Mr. Lang manages over 1,340 units of affordable housing, of which he has developed 868 affordable units for senior, low-income, and moderate-income tenants. In addition, he has successfully leased over 72,000 square feet of retail space in New York City.

Before joining Douglaston Development, Mr. Lang was a Senior Project Manager at CPC Resources Inc.

Mr. Lang holds his B.A. from Amherst College and M.A. in Urban Planning from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.

Adam Ditchfield is the Director of Finance at Douglaston Development. Mr. Ditchfield joined the company as an intern in 2008 and throughout his tenure has seen many projects through their full life cycle, including market rate and affordable projects with various financing scenarios.

In his current role, Mr. Ditchfield is responsible for overseeing financial operations of all development projects from acquisition through stabilization and refinancing. His duties include implementing and maintaining company accounting systems and processes, financial planning, forecasting, and modeling, as well as managing development accounting staff, ensuring audit, tax and reporting compliance with lenders, investors, and agencies.

Mr. Ditchfield holds a B.A. in Accounting & Economics with a minor in mathematics from Queens College.

Hank Minskoff is Vice President, Preservation at Douglaston Development. He joined the company in 2020 as a Project Manager after spending 2 years as an Associate Developer at Pennrose, LLC, an affordable housing development company headquartered in Pennsylvania. While at Pennrose, he focused on a large scale 1,300 unit RAD/Section 18 project in the Bushwick Neighborhood in Brooklyn, as well as working on Section 18 projects in Albany and Troy, NY. Mr. Minskoff also worked as a Senior Project Manager in New Construction Finance with the City of New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). While at HPD, he closed 10 projects and over 2,000 affordable units, as well as serving in the Storm Recovery Division. 

Mr. Minskoff holds a B.A. in History from Lehigh University and a Masters in Urban Planning, Housing and Economic Development from New York University.

Joel Kolkmann is Vice President, Land Use & Affordable Development at Douglaston Development. He joined the company in 2017 as a Project Manager on the Affordable Housing team and brings over a decade of real estate, urban planning, public policy, and project management experience. At Douglaston, Mr. Kolkmann manages all phases of development for the company’s affordable housing new construction portfolio. Among these projects are a 161-unit affordable senior housing building in Staten Island, an approximately 160-unit mixed-income, mixed use building in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, and a two-phase, approximately 450-unit development in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Kolkmann worked as a Team Leader at the New York City Department of City Planning, where he managed a team of City Planners responsible for neighborhood planning and rezoning initiatives and the review of housing, commercial, and infrastructure projects on the East Side of Manhattan. He also previously served as a Project Manager at the Municipal Art Society of New York, focusing on community-based planning. 

Mr. Kolkmann serves as a Director of Public-Private Real Estate Professionals (P/PREP) and is a member of the Young Leadership Council of the New York Housing Conference.

Mr. Kolkmann holds his B.A. and M.P.A from Clark University. He is currently pursuing an M.B.A from the New York University Stern School of Business, with specializations in Finance and Real Estate. 

Graham Christensen is Vice President, Market Rate Development at Douglaston Development. Mr. Christensen is responsible for assisting in all aspects of development projects, including initial underwriting and performance of due diligence for acquisitions, managing ongoing project schedules and financial pro-formas, and assisting in the development of leasing and asset operating strategies. 

Prior to joining Douglaston Development, he worked as a Project Manager at Bavier Design, an architectural and interior design firm specializing in commercial, retail, and corporate interior architecture and design. 

Mr. Christensen holds his M.S. in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, and his B.A. in Economics and Architectural Studies from Connecticut College.

Reia Tong works as a Project Manager with Douglaston Development for its Webster Phase II, 110 East 138th Street, and Kingsboro Psychiatric Center projects.  Ms. Tong is responsible for all aspects of project development including initial underwriting and ongoing financial analysis, project due diligence, and architectural development.   

 Ms. Tong joined Douglaston Development in 2019 as an Analyst, where she evaluated new acquisitions and developed RFP submissions for the company, including the team’s submission for the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center. 

Prior to joining Douglaston Development, Ms. Tong spent two years working with the team at CetraRuddy Architecture and she also completed an internship with L+M Development Partners. Ms. Tong is a volunteer with Big Brothers and Sisters of America as well as a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Advisory Council for the Fund for Public Housing.  

Ms. Tong holds a master’s in real estate development from Columbia University and a B.A. in Architectural Studies from Brown University. 

Maggie Cherry is a Project Manager at Douglaston Development. Ms. Cherry joined the company in 2021 and is responsible for assisting in all aspects of affordable development projects, including RFP submissions, initial underwriting and performance due diligence, as well as managing ongoing project schedules and financial pro-formas.  

Prior to joining Douglaston Development, Ms. Cherry worked on the Year 15 LIHTC Preservation Program at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development. She also worked on Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing at the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development.  

Ms. Cherry holds a Bachelor of Urban and Environmental Planning and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Virginia. 

Rizo Ramusevic is Vice President of Risk Management at The Douglaston Companies. Mr. Ramusevic joined The Douglaston Companies in 2006 and brings over 30 years of experience to the organization. Mr. Ramusevic is responsible for developing, overseeing, and implementing the company’s Environmental, Health and Safety programs, and is also responsible for the design, delivery and oversight of the company’s various insurance, surety, and risk management programs by establishing industry best practices. 

Prior to joining the organization, Mr. Ramusevic was a risk management and insurance consultant at Ernst & Young servicing various fortune 1000 companies and also served as the Risk Manager for AMEC Construction Management, Inc. (f/k/a Morse Diesel International). Mr. Ramusevic is an OSHA 500 Authorized Outreach Instructor & Facilitator, and holds various licenses with NYC agencies including General Contractor, Site Safety Manager, and Construction Site Fire Safety Manager and has served in advisory roles on the topic of NYC construction industry safety to both the Real Estate Board Of New York and to the Office of the Manhattan Borough President. 

Mr. Ramusevic holds a Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designation and his B.A. in Accounting with a minor in Economics from Queens College.

Olivia Kelly is Chief Administrative Officer at The Douglaston Companies. Ms. Kelly joined The Douglaston Companies in 2018 and brings over 12 years of experience in human resources. She directs the day-to-day operations of the human resources department including human capital management, policy review and implementation, benefits and compensation management, compliance, and professional development. 

Prior to joining The Douglaston Companies, Ms. Kelly oversaw the human resources department of an international law firm. She is a certified HR professional and holds both the SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications.

Ms. Kelly holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Long Island University and is currently completing her Master’s degree in Human Resources Management and Organizational Effectiveness from Manhattanville College.