Our Team
Pinnacle is led by a unique and diverse group of extraordinary professionals. The Pinnacle team consists of:
LOUIS WOLFSON, III, PARTNER - As a fourth generation Miamian, Louis Wolfson has devoted his professional life working toward the betterment of South Florida. He is highly regarded for his work as a trustee of Miami Dade Community College, where as Chairman of the MDCC Foundation he helped build over $20 million in endowments. After graduating from the Stetson School of Business, Mr. Wolfson was employed in the family business, Wometco, a diversified entertainment conglomerate which included radio, television, cable operations, movie theaters and the Miami Seaquarium.
Mr. Wolfson compiled years of experience and gained an immense passion for affordable housing development, finance, management and community relations before becoming one of the founders of Pinnacle Housing Group. In 1984 Mr. Wolfson became a Board member of Greater Miami Neighborhoods (GMN), which eventually grew into the largest non-profit developer of affordable housing in South Florida. Under Mr. Wolfson's leadership as Board Chairman from 1988 through 1996, over 4,000 units of housing valued at over $200,000,000 serving more than 10,000 residents were completed. Mr. Wolfson engages in public affairs aspects of Pinnacle's development programs, and oversees Pinnacle's landmark Art in Public Places program.
MICHAEL D. WOHL, PARTNER - Mr. Wohl's abilities are enhanced by his in-depth familiarity with real estate and law. He is a second-generation real estate developer, carrying on his family's successful tradition of quality development first started in New York and carried down to South Florida with Mr. Wohl's relocation to the area in 1975. Mr. Wohl had been active in real estate development and management while continuing to practice law until 1990, when he formed his own full-service real estate firm, which has owned and managed over one million square feet of commercial property and 700 apartment units in Florida.
Mr. Wohl has extensive experience in negotiating, documenting and closing acquisitions and sales of residential, industrial and commercial office space. Mr. Wohl is well versed in project financing and leasing and he heads Pinnacle's acquisition and disposition efforts. Mr. Wohl is a recognized industry leader in devising approaches to developing affordable housing in an urban environment. Mr. Wohl is chairman of the distinguished Urban Land Institute's Center for Workforce Housing, which continually works to solve the persistent affordable housing problems in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. He earned both his B.A. and J.D. Degrees at Syracuse University, and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Broker.
DAVID O. DEUTCH, PARTNER - With more than twenty-five years experience in business and finance, including banking, strategic planning and real estate development, Mr. Deutch brings to Pinnacle his expertise in finance, budgeting and marketing. Mr. Deutch is responsible for Pinnacle's project finance and oversight, lender relationships, planning, accounting and asset management. Pinnacle's success in procuring and merging public and private financing resources, and a budgeting and forecasting strategy that enjoys widespread industry acceptance is testimony to Mr. Deutch's skill and attention to detail.
Mr. Deutch began his career in the Corporate Banking Division at Southeast Bank, where he served as Vice President, responsible for a large portfolio of corporate loans as well as new business development. This experience makes him well qualified to structure the complex financial components for each new Pinnacle community. For four years Mr. Deutch was Manager of Business Planning at Costa Cruise Lines where he played a role in creating strategies in conjunction with developing the company's short and long term business plans. Mr. Deutch received his M.B.A. at the University of Miami Graduate School of Business and B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
MITCHELL M. FRIEDMAN, PARTNER - Mr. Friedman brings to Pinnacle Housing Group over twenty years of real estate financing and development experience in South Florida. Mr. Friedman's impressive career began in the public sector, and he tackled a series of increasingly progressive challenges, eventually becoming Assistant City Manager of Miami Beach and subsequently Director of Capital Financing and Development for Miami-Dade County. In 1986, Mr. Friedman transitioned into the private sector, and by 1990, Mr. Friedman had begun a successful consulting firm specializing in all areas for start-up and early growth stage companies in real estate development and property management. Affordable housing is a lifelong passion for Mr. Friedman, who founded the non-profit South Dade Redevelopment Corporation to spur creation of affordable housing and has served as a past Chairman of the state-wide Coalition of Affordable Housing Providers.
Mr. Friedman is responsible for the planning, development and construction for all Pinnacle's communities. Mr. Friedman directs the internal and external development team for each Pinnacle initiative from conception to completion and beyond. He is also the lead partner overseeing the operation of Pinnacle's construction affiliate, PHG Builders, Inc. Mr. Friedman uses his extensive experience to bring both quality and cost control to all Pinnacle developments. Mr. Friedman received both his Bachelor and Master's Degree from the University of Florida. He also holds a Florida Real Estate Commission License.
FELIX BRAVERMAN, P.E., VICE PRESIDENT OF CONSTRUCTION - With an extensive and diverse background in structural engineering, design, contract administration, land development and project management, Mr. Braverman brings to Pinnacle Housing Group the hands-on, on-site construction experience necessary to direct the many ongoing and new projects throughout the State of Florida. Mr. Braverman is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Florida, a Licensed General Contractor in Florida and is a registered Special Inspector of Threshold Type Buildings.
Mr. Braverman began his career in the New York/New Jersey area, where he participated in and directed several structural and forensic Engineering projects. After he moved to South Florida, where he founded his own consulting engineering and general contracting firm, Mr. Braverman eventually became Director of Construction for Landstar Development Corporation, one of the south's largest site development companies. For nine years he successfully planned, directed and constructed over 1,200 homes throughout South Florida. Mr. Braverman has a Masters of Science in Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Universidad Metropolitana Mexico City.
TIMOTHY P. WHEAT, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT - Mr. Wheat's 24 year professional career has almost entirely been dedicated to the development and preservation of affordable housing. Mr. Wheat began as a housing planner in Palm Beach County government, moved to the non-profit sector and then transitioned to private, for-profit development. Mr. Wheat has overseen the development, financing and management of nearly 4,000 multi-family affordable and market rate housing units in Florida and throughout the United States. Mr. Wheat joined Pinnacle Housing Group in 2002 and in his capacity he has overseen successful and trend-setting developments across the state, including Pinnacle's partnerships to redevelop obsolete Public Housing Authority and other similar sites into new, modern rental communities.
Mr. Wheat is a staunch industry advocate. He serves as Chairman of the Education Committee for the statewide Coalition of Affordable Housing Providers, as a Board member for the Broward Housing Partnership, Board member for the Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County, and was previously Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Community Land Trust of Palm Beach County, Inc. Mr. Wheat is a native Floridian and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Fordham University in the Bronx, New York.
LISA M. STEPHENS, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT - During Ms. Stephens tenure in the affordable housing industry, this fourth generation Floridian has secured and closed in excess of $125 million of federal, state and local competitive funds across the southeastern United States. She has structured creative financing strategies and negotiated transactions involving nearly 100 developments in multiple states. Ms. Stephens brought her 10+ years of progressive experience in multi-family real estate development and construction to Pinnacle in 2006, focusing on affordable housing development in northern and central Florida and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, in connection with post Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, leading Pinnacle's redevelopment efforts in Mississippi totaling in excess of $60 million.
Ms. Stephens is a 1996 graduate of the University of Florida's prestigious Fisher School of Accounting. In 2009, Ms. Stephens was named by Affordable Housing Finance as one of twelve 2009 "Young Leaders." This prestigious award annually honors individuals under the age of 40 who have been nominated by their peers and colleagues as the next generation of affordable housing and community development leaders.
PATRICIA L. HENDERSON, CPA, CONTROLLER - Before joining Pinnacle Housing Group in 2003, Ms. Henderson compiled six years of progressively responsible audit experience with two noted South Florida accounting firms. In these roles, Ms. Henderson supervised numerous engagements in the commercial real estate industry, including acquisition and disposition of properties, construction, financing, revenue recognition, and federal and state tax return filings. At Pinnacle, Ms. Henderson oversees all aspects of Pinnacle's multi-faceted accounting and financial management functions, including tax planning and preparation, individual property management budgeting and income/expense, construction accounting, draw processing, accounts payable, accounts receivable and Housing Tax Credit compliance functions. Ms. Henderson also directs Pinnacle's information management technologies.
Ms. Henderson is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, and has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Miami and a Master of Accounting from Florida International University.
