Chris Leng Smith is responsible for the overall execution and day-to-day management of The Peebles Corporation’s development activities in the Northeast region of the United States. Mr. Leng Smith oversees the redevelopment of 108 Leonard in New York City, a historic building being converted to luxury condominiums, and the conversion of 1801 Vine Street in Philadelphia from a municipal court building to a lifestyle hotel. He is also managing the development of Parcel 13 in the Back-Bay area of Boston into a multi-use building.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Leng Smith was Senior Vice President for the New York City Economic Development Corporation where he led the structuring and negotiation of public-private partnerships and transactions for more than 2.5 million square feet of developments including Flushing Commons, the Battery Maritime Building and Coney Island, among others. Previously, Mr. Leng Smith managed the financial analysis, project planning, market positioning, design, and preliminary leasing of more than $5 billion of world-class domestic and international real estate projects as Senior Director of Tishman Speyer and Vice President of AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp. 

Mr. Leng Smith began his career as a resident engineer and engineering project manager on large-scale renovation and construction projects in New York, Trinidad, Malaysia and London. He earned a BA in Engineering from Cambridge University in England and an MBA in Finance and International Business from Columbia University’s Business School. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and has served on an advisory panel to the Mayor of Portland, Oregon.

Donahue Peebles, III is Executive Vice President and handles new acquisitions and business development for The Peebles Corporation.

Mr. Peebles actively pursues public and private real estate transactions in for The Peebles Corporation’s various markets, including South Florida, Washington, D.C.-metropolitan area and New York tri-state area. In addition, he maintains substantial involvement in the pre-development phase, and is capable of advancing projects through the development process through strategic partnerships, management and community engagement.

In addition to his Executive Vice President role, Mr. Peebles is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the Peebles Emerging Developer Fund I – a $500 million investment fund for minority and women developers in markets that include New York, Los Angeles and South Florida.

Mr. Peebles is the Owner and CEO of Legacy Real Estate Development, LLC a Residential Real Estate Development firm that focuses on the development and acquisition of low-income housing projects in South Florida, Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area and New York tri-state area.

Mr. Peebles takes an active role in The Peebles Corporation’s public image, participating in business and entrepreneurial summits, as well as real estate panels and forums. He also serves both the Washington D.C. and New York City communities by engaging with multiple philanthropies that benefit and expose youth to various opportunities in entrepreneurship. He currently works with the New York City Mission Society, Best Buddies, Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E., and various other organizations to improve the quality of life of impoverished and special-needs individuals on a global scale. 

Mr. Peebles holds a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University.

Eladio Izquierdo is the General Manager of The Bath Club in Miami Beach, FL, a historic oceanfront event venue hosting noteworthy events for Gucci, Art Basel, Louis Vuitton, Blackrock Capital, Estee Lauder, Inter-Continental Hotels, Macallan, and many more. In this role, Mr. Izquierdo has turned around the performance of one of the company’s most important assets and made it a leader in its market. The Bath Club has received the Beautification Award from the City of Miami Beach twice. In addition to his position at The Bath Club, Mr. Izquierdo holds the position of Secretary of The Peebles Corporation and manages all of company’s litigation matters, oversees asset sales and purchases, and handles all of the corporation’s HR matters. 

As the longest tenured employee of The Peebles Corporation, Mr. Izquierdo has played a major role in the company's growth. Since joining over 18 years ago, his role has evolved from executive assistant to then corporate officer in which he managed the growth of the Peebles team. Prior to his role with Peebles, Mr. Izquierdo held the position of Accounting Administrator at a Miami-based cargo airline company that provides service to the Caribbean and South America. He held this role for 6 years and managed sales of over $200M per year.

Tara Valentin serves as the gatekeeper to The Peebles Corporations’ CEO and Chairman, Don Peebles, and serves as the direct liason to all other departments of the company. In addition to supporting Mr. Peebles with all day-to-day administrative duties, Ms. Valentin handles a broad scope of administrative responsibilities including extensive calendar management, preparing complex travel arrangements, coordinating internal and external meetings, compiling and preparing materials for meetings and special projects, managing sensitive and confidential information, and providing general support to the Peebles team. Ms. Valentin’s assistance ensures that both Mr. Peebles and the entire team executes the strategy and entrepreneurial initiatives of the company.  

Ms. Valentin’s administrative career began over 15 years ago at Moore Capital Management where she worked closely with the human resources department on projects including new hire training, the electronic database conversion of employee files, employee benefit coordination, firm intranet maintenance, and crisis management. She was subsequently promoted to Executive Assistant to the President and provided administrative support which included planning bi-annual international board of director meetings. Next, she held the position of Executive Assistant to the Founder of Level Global Investors, a long short equity hedge fund. Prior to joining The Peebles Corporation, she was the Executive Assistant to the Special Infrastructure Investment team at Oaktree Capital, where she provided administrative support to the Executive Committee and two Portfolio Managers. Her responsibilities included organizing client site visits at portfolio companies, scheduling weekly team meetings, coordinating the fundraising calendar for the partners, and assisting with the annual investor meeting.  

Ms. Valentin holds a BA in International Relations from Boston University.

Vanassa is responsible for the development and construction for the SLS Hotel and Residences in Washington, DC. 

Prior to joining The Peebles Corporation, Vanassa was a Project Manager at the D.C. Department of General Services, Capital Construction Division where she managed the construction of numerous projects on the St. Elizabeths East Campus to include the Phase I Stage I infrastructure- which consisted of the construction of approximately 7,000 LF of new wet utilities, 14,000 LF of new dry utilities and approximately 1.4 miles of new streets and streetscape,  new build out of the Gateway Pavilion Teaching Kitchen, and the total build- out of the RISE Demonstration Building.

Prior to D.C. Department of General Services, Capital Construction Division, Vanassa worked for James G. Davis Construction where she managed construction of a variety of projects including the Progression Place Project which is a mixed use facility to include the home of the United Negro College Fund,  the Senate Square Towers and City Vista Towers in Washington, D.C.

She started her career in construction at ONCORE Construction and prior to that worked in the Telecommunications Industry for 11 years. 

Vanassa holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Delaware State University, a Post-Baccalaureate in Accounting from Philadelphia University, and an Associates in Construction Management from Montgomery College. She is a recipient of the DC Women in Construction Award and Historic Preservation Review Board Chair Award for her work on the RISE Demonstration Center.

Ron Cook has 15 years of experience in accounting and financial leadership roles include cash flow management, data migration and systems implementation, capital budgeting, asset management, financial reporting and financial modeling. Ron has significant experience with both public and private within real estate, hospitality and financial professional services. Prior to joining the Peebles Corporation Cook was a senior manager at Riveron Consulting.

Some of his career highlights include providing financial due diligence for private equity sponsors targeting middle market transactions, leading three IPO transaction initiatives and serving as a financial project manager for a $32M multi-family real estate development portfolio.

Mr. Cook is holds a B.A. of Business Administration in Finance from James Madison University, a MS In Management from the University of Maryland: University College and is currently a MBA candidate at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Emil Dominique manages the back office and accounting for The Peebles Corporation current assets and developments. Mr. Dominique has more than 10 years of experience in public and commercial accounting. His vast knowledge and skills contribute to management dashboarding, financial reporting, project accounting, maintaining banking relationships, assessing internal controls, project onboarding and maintaining accounting information management systems.  

Additionally, Mr. Dominique serves as The Peebles Corporation Network Administrator with 13 years of experience in information technology. He administers The Peebles Corporation network environment, architect and integrity. Which consist of defining network policies, procedures, assuring hardware and networking infrastructure bound to Peebles data network are effectively maintained. Since joining The Peebles Corporation his roles have evolved from clerk to his current positions he holds. Mr. Dominique studied Computer Engineering.

Erika Avila serves as the gatekeeper to The Peebles Corporation’s CEO and Chairman, Don Peebles and serves as the direct liaison to all other departments of The Peebles Corporation.  In addition to her administrative duties, Ms. Avila is actively engaged in the Peebles Emerging Developer Fund as Fund Administrator tracking the day-to-day activities of the fund and due diligence.

Ms. Avila has previously worked as Administrative Assistant in Washington, D.C. where she supported the D.C. office and staff, including direct due diligence work for Washington, D.C projects.

Prior to her position in the Washington D.C. office, Ms. Avila served as accounts payable associate for The Peebles Corporation in Miami, where she handled various accounting duties for Mr. Peebles, The Peebles Corporation and project-specific payables, as well as minor administrative duties for the Miami office and staff.

Ms. Avila holds an AA in Biology from Miami Dade College and a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Florida International University.

Kayla Bloom is an integral part of the accounting team and oversees operational accounting functions for the Peebles Corporation. She assists with the monthly management budget-to-actual analysis, financial analysis, cash flow forecasts. In addition to that, Mrs. Bloom prepares monthly construction draw packages.

Prior to joining the Peebles Corporation, she previously managed operational functions for a portfolio of 10 unique properties, which encompassed Charter Schools, Medical Office Buildings and Multi-Family Residential Investments for a firm in South Florida.

Mrs. Bloom is originally from New York, NY and now calls Miami her home.

Mrs. Bloom holds a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance from Florida Atlantic University and is currently pursuing her Masters of Professional Accounting from the University of Miami.

Interdisciplinary Studies from Florida International University.