Alliance Global Advisors established an Independent Advisory Board comprised of recognized industry leaders. The Board consists of Strategic Advisors who contribute valuable guidance and provide the Alliance team with additional diversity of thought. The carefully chosen members have esteemed careers spanning multiple disciplines.
Paul has over forty years of real estate experience acting as an advisor and fiduciary to institutional investors. Paul spent thirty-two years with Equitable Real Estate and was an integral part of its growth to approximately $40 billon of AUM for major pension funds and global investors. He was a founding partner of GMAC/Capmark Real Estate Advisors with $5 billion in assets under management for thirty-five institutional clients.
Paul has held past board positions with JP Morgan Income and Growth Fund as Chairman, Pension Real Estate Association Board & Executive Committee and various other Boards and Advisory Groups. He was Chairman of the Emerging Trends in Real Estate publication from 1990 to 1998. Since 2000, Paul has served on the New York State Teachers’ Real Estate Advisory Committee.
Member of New York State Teachers’ Real Estate Advisory Committee
John McClelland recently concluded a 37-year career in institutional real estate investing. He spent 21 of those years directing real estate investment activity of the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association. With LACERA, John managed the real estate allocation of approximately $5.5 billion in separate accounts and commingled funds, investing in all major property types in the United States and globally. He also introduced a real estate debt investing program at the plan. In addition to his tenure with LACERA, John worked with the investment management company, FIA Associates, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and Chadwick, Saylor and Company.
John holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Sacramento and a Bachelor of Science Degree from UCLA. He remains an honorary member of PREA, where he served as chairman of the plan sponsor counsel and a member of the Board.
Retired Principal Real Estate Investment Officer at LACERA and Board Member, Institutional Real Estate, Inc.
Gloria was a Senior Managing Director of Real Estate for the Regents of the University of California, where she was responsible for conducting due diligence, selecting, hiring and providing ongoing review and oversight of external investment managers. She also provided detailed evaluations and selection criteria of specific external investment strategies for UC Regents, a $95 billion total fund comprised of the Pension, Endowment and Working Capital. Gloria implemented and monitored the real estate program she built from $100 million in 2006, valued at over $5.2 billion of equity in 2020 with a total allocation of $7+ billion globally.
Before joining the Office of the Chief Investment Officer in 2006, Gloria worked as a Senior Investment Officer for the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association in charge of acquisitions and management of the separate account program, which grew from $1 billion to $3 billion+ portfolio in 10 years; a Portfolio Manager with Insignia Commercial Group; and served as Vice President of TCW Realty Advisors. Gloria joined Alpine Grove Partners in 2021 where she was responsible for developing new business in North America. In 2023, Gloria joined the Oregon State Treasury as Senior Investment Officer.
Senior Investment Officer, Oregon State Treasury
Steve Spook retired from the Florida State Board of Administration (SBA), where he served as Senior Investment Officer, Real Estate since 2011, overseeing the $20 billion real estate portfolio. Steve was responsible for all real estate activities including the portfolio construction process and the allocation of capital across asset class investment strategies. The portfolio is invested in separate accounts, commingled funds, co-investments and REITs.
Before serving as Senior Investment Officer, Steve was Senior Acquisitions Manager, Real Estate at the SBA since 1998. Prior to the SBA, Steve served as a commercial loan officer at John Alden Life Insurance in Miami, FL. Steve received his BS from the University of Florida in 1981 and an MBA from the University of Florida in 1983.
Retired Senior Investment Officer, Real Estate,
Florida State Board of Administration
Christina Scarlato is a Principal Portfolio Manager for real asset investments at the World Bank Pension Fund. She is responsible for strategic planning, monitoring existing managers and evaluating prospective managers across real assets both domestically and abroad. She has worked with the World Bank Pension Fund since 2007, and previously worked for several years in various departments across the Treasury Department of the World Bank.
Christina was past Chairman of the Pension Real Association Board, where she still serves on the Board. Christina received a BA in mathematics and Spanish from Seton Hall University and an MBA from George Washington University.
Principal Portfolio Manager, The World Bank Pension Fund
— Senior Investment Officer, Oregon State Treasury
“I am very honored to have been invited as an Advisory Board member for Alliance Global Advisors. I accepted the position because I feel there is a definite need for this firm’s mission to promote best practices between LPs and GPs, which would eventually lead to better investment decision-making skills and performance results. I am also very excited about supporting a woman-owned start-up business led by very accomplished and strong women in the industry.”
— Retired Partner, The Townsend Group
“Having worked directly with the Founders, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to watch them take the industry to the next level of performance. This type of service and knowledge is a necessary move forward to further legitimize the industry.”
— Principal Portfolio Manager, World Bank Pension Fund
“I was excited to join the Alliance Advisory Board to be able to support two amazing women who created a business that is truly needed across our industry.”
— Member of New York State Teachers’ Real Estate Advisory Committee
“Alliance provides essential and targeted real estate services that are unique in our industry. Focused on best practices, Heather and Jen bring years of relevant and current experience to their clients. Some of these services are available as a part of multi-service platforms but few if any are exclusively engaged in one specific suite of services. It’s also nice to be part of an organization that is committed to diversity.”
— Retired Principal Real Estate Investment Officer at LACERA
“I am delighted to join the Advisory Board of Alliance Global Advisors. I have worked for many years with both of the founding partners and have always been impressed with their knowledge and professionalism. The need for the services offered by the firm is great and helping a woman-owned enterprise excel in this space is compelling to me.”