Leadership is Expertise with a Purpose

Jonathan F.P. Rose

Jonathan F.P. Rose’s business, public policy, teaching, research, writing and not-for-profit work focuses on creating more environmentally, socially and economically resilient cities. 

In 1989, Mr. Rose founded and is President of Jonathan Rose Companies LLC, a real estate development and investment firm, that address the challenges of the poor distribution of opportunity through the development of affordable and mixed-income housing. Jonathan has led the firm’s vision, strategy and growth, developing award winning new projects, investment funds and city plans that model solutions to address the issues of community development, opportunity, inequality and the environment. The firm is one of the largest acquirers of affordable and mixed income housing in the nation. 

Mr. Rose received the Enterprise Community Partners, James W. Rouse Civic Medal of Honor in 2012, and the 2021 ULI Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development (Click to View Video). In 2023, Mr. Rose was awarded The Order of the Beloved of the Thunder Dragon by His Majesty, The King of Bhutan.

Mr. Rose’s book on how to create resilient cities, The Well-Tempered City: What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations and Human Nature Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life, was published by Harper Wave in 2016, and won the 2017 PROSE Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work by a Trade Publisher.

Mr. Rose and his wife Diana Calthorpe Rose are the co-founders of the Garrison Institute. He serves as Chair on its Board and of the Bhutan Urban and Regional Planning Global Advisory Committee. He is a trustee of Enterprise Community Partners. 

Mr. Rose graduated from Yale University in 1974 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy, and received a Master’s in Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980. Jonathan was appointed an Executive in Residence at the Saïd Business School 2021-2022, focusing on his work on regenerative business and regenerative economies.

Christopher Edwards

As Managing Director of Design and Construction, Mr. Edwards is involved in all aspects of the design and construction processes at Jonathan Rose Companies. Mr. Edwards instills a collaborative team approach in each project to ensure the client’s needs are met, risks are identified and mitigated, and the project is completed on time, on budget and with the highest standard of quality.  He brings more than 18 years of experience in the fields of development and construction management and has overseen over $1 billion of work throughout his career.

Mr. Edwards is responsible for guiding the company’s design and construction process on all new developments, rehabilitation projects, and third party Owner’s representative work.  He has experience in a variety of project types including new construction and rehabilitations of mixed use multifamily, theatrical, commercial, and educational facilities.  

Prior to joining Jonathan Rose Companies, Mr. Edwards was a Project Manager for The Dermot Company, a private developer, where he managed new construction and renovation projects ranging from $1.5 million to $186 million. Earlier in his career, Mr. Edwards was a Project Management Cost Systems Engineer and an Assistant Project Manager at Turner Construction where he worked on core and shell commercial buildings, office renovations/office ft-outs, and educational facilities.  As a Project Management Cost Systems Engineer, Mr. Edwards performed internal project audits to analyze cash flows and projected profits, performed staff analysis to minimize the risk of general conditions overruns, and performed project cost variance analysis.

Mr. Edwards is a LEED Accredited Professional who received his Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. His unique qualifications of field experience and project cost analysis allow him to identify and mitigate risks early in the design and construction process, which results in project success.

Carolyn Au

Carolyn Au is the Chief Operating Officer at Jonathan Rose Companies, where she oversees the internal operations of the New York City-based company.

Her areas of oversight include the firm’s shared business services across marketing, talent, and culture, Rose Digital Services, and risk management, and the program areas of property management, social services, Rose Community Capital, and Mission Title.

Carolyn recently served as executive vice president and chief operations officer of the Community Preservation Corp. (CPC). During her 34 years at CPC, she led day-to-day corporate and loan servicing operations of the nation’s largest affordable housing lender, including direct oversight of a $4 billion permanent loan portfolio. She also was responsible for change management duties such as the integration and update of the organization’s IT Infrastructure.

A career employee of CPC, Carolyn became the Director of Portfolio Services in 2008. In this capacity, she was responsible for the operations of the Portfolio Services Division, including oversight of all loan closings and portfolio management, management of personnel, and interfacing with outside counsel, government agencies, and Field Offices. In this role, Carolyn successfully steered the Servicing team through a period of evolution for CPC, which included the adoption of new products and technology systems and the significant growth of CPC’s loan portfolio.

Sylvain Ardiet

Sylvain has dedicated over two decades to technology transformation and service management, focusing on enhancing both customer experience and business operations. As the Chief Technology Officer at Rose Digital Services, a division of Jonathan Rose Companies which he joined in 2023, he is pivotal in setting strategic technological directions and ensuring operational excellence within the company's technology infrastructures. His responsibilities include crafting business operations platforms, developing data strategies, and fortifying cybersecurity measures.

Sylvain's entrepreneurial spirit is evidenced by his co-founding of two managed services businesses, leading them to successful exits through private equity and mergers & acquisitions. His extensive client experience spans Hedge Funds, Insurance and Private Equity firms, law firms, and publicly traded companies, providing him with a nuanced understanding of various stakeholder complexities.

Sylvain's career evolution from technical engineering roles to strategic executive positions such as Chief Architect, Chief Revenue Officer, and Chief Customer Officer highlights his ongoing role as both a partner and a key member of steering bodies. This trajectory showcases his ability to merge deep technical knowledge with strategic business insights, driving company direction and promoting sustainable growth.

His academic journey began with a two-year university degree in Sales and Marketing from France, followed by a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Information Systems Management from H.E.C. Montreal. Sylvain moved to North America in 1995 and established his professional base in the United States in 1998.

Kelly Boyer

Kelly Boyer joined the Rose Community Capital team in July, 2017 as Managing Director for the west coast.  In her new role, she is responsible for expanding the FHA origination and underwriting platform with a focus on west coast FHA lending.  Products include FHA insured financing for multifamily housing, nursing homes, hospitals, and skilled memory care facilities.  As a relationship banker, Kelly engages in lending activities throughout the United States; she goes where her clients go.  Prior to that, Kelly was the FHA Multifamily/MAP Director for Citibank, N.A. where she obtained the FHA license for the bank and integrated the FHA multifamily lending platform into the bank’s other services.  Prior to joining CCC, Kelly was the Owner and Manager of K2U, LLC an independent consulting services company specializing in HUD multifamily and public housing redevelopment, HUD rental assistance programs and FHA financing. Kelly has a particular focus upon affordable deals with FHA financing and layered secondary sources such as LIHTCs, Bonds, RD, HOME and CDBG as well as local sources of funding. Prior to starting her own company, Kelly was a partner in a California based development company that focused upon the acquisition, rehab and preservation of HUD rental assisted projects with LIHTCS and bonds.

Kelly is the former Director of HUD’s Los Angeles, California, Multifamily hub and left the office in mid-2012. During her tenure at HUD she assisted the Department with aligning FHA resources to work more closely with LIHTCs and other sources of financing; worked closely with state agencies to remove obstacles to FHA financing on affordable transactions; was a key member of the FHA Commissioner’s Risk Mitigation team revising FHA underwriting standards; was an original member of the FHA National Loan Committee; and assisted in the development of key preservation programs; such as the §236 prepayment process and preservation program; and, the FHA LIHTC Pilot Program.  

Jenny Wu

Jenny Wu is the Managing Director of Development for Jonathan Rose Companies who has been with the company since 2012.  She brings a broad base of design and construction, finance, and development experience, and is responsible for leading the firm’s pivotal green development projects in the East Coast. Ms. Wu has developed over 1,300 units within various affordable and mixed-income projects and has another 1,800 units in predevelopment.  

Prior to joining Jonathan Rose Companies, Ms. Wu was an architect for the New York-based architecture firm Rogers Marvel Architects where she designed and managed the construction of several adaptive reuse projects, including conversion
of a piano factory into a non-profit film school and a mattress warehouse into a community soup kitchen.

Ms. Wu received a Master of Science in Real Estate Development degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from University of Texas at Austin. She is a Registered Architect in the State of New York, LEED Accredited Professional, and actively serves on the Board of Women in Housing and Finance.

Kristin Koch

Ms. Koch joined Rose in 2015 as Director of Investor Relations. She manages the fundraising efforts for the Firm’s investment funds, as well as investor reporting and communication. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Koch worked in residential real estate sales with ElegranReal Estate and Development. She previously served as Vice President of Investor Relations at Solus Alternative Asset Management (formerly Stanfield Capital Partners), an SEC-registered investment adviser. Ms. Koch received a B.S. in Technical and Scientific Communication from James Madison University.

Virginia Plithides

Ms. Plithides joined Jonathan Rose Companies in 2010. She serves as Director of Finance for the Rose Investments practice, and Chief Compliance Officer to the firm’s Investment Manager. Ms.Plithides is responsible for fund budgeting, accounting, reporting, risk management, and compliance.

She brings over 25 years of real estate investment experience and has been a Certified Public Accountant in New York since 1986. Prior to joining Jonathan Rose Companies, Ms.Plithides was the Controller of Red Stone Partners LLC, a private real estate finance company with a core focus on the multifamily industry. Ms.Plithides previously held several positions of increasing responsibility with Centerline Capital Group and its predecessor, Related Capital Partners. Her most recent role was Senior Vice President of the tax department.

Ms.Plithides began her career at the accounting firms Blonder Seymour & Shapss and Bernstein & Berger. Ms.Plithides graduated with distinction from the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. in Accounting.

Max Jawer

Max Jawer joined Jonathan Rose Companies in 2016 as a member of the Investments Team. He is responsible for sourcing and leading new property and portfolio investment opportunities on behalf of the firm’s equity funds. Prior to joining Rose, Max spent several years at The JBG Companies (now JBG SMITH), overseeing mixed use, multifamily, and office developments in the greater Washington, DC metro area. 

Max is a Trustee of the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, a nearly 150-year-old non-profit that provides an array of health and human services to tens of thousands of New Yorkers. Max is also a Member of the Jewish Board’s Real Estate Committee and is Co-Chair of its Junior Board. Max sits on the Urban Land Institute’s New York Housing Council. He is also an Associate Advisory Board Member of Georgetown University’s Steers Center for Global Real Estate. 

Max received a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a master’s degree from New York University. He currently resides in New York City with his wife.

Jonathan Lee

Jonathan Lee joined Jonathan Rose Companies in 2023 as a Director of Asset Management and oversees the mid-Atlantic portfolio consisting of 5 states and Washington, D.C. He works collaboratively with 7 property management firms to optimize operational performance and profitability and is responsible for implementation of environmental and social impact initiatives, risk mitigation, regulatory and lender compliance, and execution of business plans, including refinancing and disposition, to maximize asset value.

Prior to joining Jonathan Rose Companies, Mr. Lee worked for Urban Atlantic Development as their Managing Director of Asset Management and oversaw a diverse portfolio of market rate and affordable multifamily, commercial retail, and office assets. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lee worked as a project architect responsible for designing Class A multifamily and mixed-use assets in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

Mr. Lee has a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland.

Eric J. Fauerbach

Mr. Fauerbach joined Jonathan Rose Companies in 2015 as a Senior Construction Project Manager.  He has since been elevated to the level of Director where he provides design and construction oversight to our new construction and rehabilitation projects.  He also works in collaboration with the Culture, Health and Education Practice group to provide ongoing construction support for our non-profit clients. Mr. Fauerbach has over 25 years’ experience in Architecture and Construction Management, with projects ranging in scale up to 2.1 million square feet and with a total value of more than $1.4 billion.

Prior to joining Jonathan Rose Companies, Mr. Fauerbach served as VP for Development at Jones Lang LaSalle and managed a charter school in the Bronx along with 22 story office tower.  His experience as an architect on such projects as the New York Hall of Science and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory for Columbia University are key factors in Mr. Fauerbach’s success on projects requiring Owner’s Representation.   Prior positions include work at Tishman Construction, AAI Architects, Bovis Lend Lease and Polshek Partnership and participation at Goldman Sachs’ Headquarters, WTC Tower 2, and the Van Andel Institute for Education and Medical Research. The design of the New York Hall of Science was awarded with the NYC Art Commission’s Award for Excellence in 2001.  

Mr. Fauerbach holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, has completed an Executive Education Program course in Avoiding Building Envelope Problems at Harvard University and has lectured at ECObuild America on the topic: Key Concepts to Sustainable Building Enclosures and their Interior Environment.