PCSD

Who did you meet with today? 

On our final blog day, we met with 3 people from the City National Bank. These include Dena Harte (SVP, Commercial Banking), Simon Wu (VP & Credit Solutions), and Skylar Tsimmerman (Credit Analyst II). All these people and their teams work together to approve loans for commercial lending. These people play pivotal roles in the real estate industry. They analyze if a property is going to be profitable and is going to be able to pay back their loans.

Where do they work? What does the company do? 

Dena Harte, Simon Wu, and Skylar Tsimmerman work for City National Bank. City National Bank provides financial services to personal, private, or commercial clients.  They offer a variety of services such as Wealth Management or Treasury Management. Today we had an emphasis on Loans & Credit, especially for Commercial and Real Estate.

What did you learn today? What were some highlights? 

Today we learned about the bank’s perspective of when a business asks for a loan for a property. The method of analysis is different for each business. For example, if the business is industrial, then the bank looks at if the property is already situated in an industrial part of a city and if it is near areas with transportation infrastructure such as an airport, or nearby freeways. A highlight is the bank’s consideration of whether a building can be repurposed after the business tenant leaves. An example of this would be gas stations, because gas stations have gas tanks underground. That means that the plot of land would be a lot harder to repurpose into another building later on.

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?  

The insights I’ve gained about this field of real estate development is that it is the key to everything. When you don’t have sufficient funds, you can’t build. It is important to be able to sell your idea to the bank and be able to answer the bank’s questions about your business. “Is this business profitable?”, or “Does this property have other tenants that compete with your business?”.  Ultimately, banks want your business to succeed. If you are successful, that means your bank is getting the money on your loan.

What did you find the most interesting about the field in the field after today? 

The most interesting thing about the field is the consideration of ethics. You don’t want to be that one bank who closes schools. It gives the bank a bad reputation, and banks must consider that while lending. If public goodwill is lost, then clients might retaliate against the bank and it would be huge issue.

Who did you meet with today? 

We met with the owner Richard Berliner, as well as the other architects like Lautaro Galvez, Jules Renaud, Tannaz Mohtasebi, Scott Nusinow, Kai Telles, and Patty Canjura, and Sara Vadgama.

Where do they work? What does the company do? 

They work in Culver City in an office. This company is filled with architects that help make models for schools and houses. They also help build them and design the layout for whatever the company that hires them wants.

What did you learn today? What are some highlights? 

I learned about the long process of being an architect as well as when building a project, how many things you must account for. Like one of the things, you must account for the project is the soil, the layout, and the interior design as well. One of the highlights is the amount of projects Berliner has helped bring to life. The number of schools and even right now they are working on rebuilding a house.  So, it was cool to see the original drawings of that and the layouts on the computer.

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?  

Some insights I gained into this field are that real estate development has so many steps before actually following through with the actual building. From checking out the site, building the layout, to making sure the soil is good to build on, and there’s no gas tanks or anything potentially dangerous underground. I also found out that building something is a long project and not an easy task at all. There are so many factors that you have to take into account, especially when it comes to the team you decide to have around when building something.

What did you find the most interesting about the field in the field after today? 

What I found the most interesting is that not only do you have to be licensed as an architect, but you also have to renew that license every few years. I thought once you become licensed, that’s all you would have to do, and you can continue with your career.

Photos: Adrian Destura, Summer Intern 2026

 

Who did you meet with today? 

Today I met with two people: Mera Baker Ramos, General Counsel at Blueprint, and Robert Nickell, an investment banker at HJ Sims, and Tina Lin, VP, Finance at Blueprint. It was a great chance to see very different backgrounds in one day.

Where do they work? What does the company do? 

Mera works at Blueprint, where she serves as General counsel, handling legal compliance and contract negotiations for the company. Robert works at HJ Sims, an investment bank that helps charter schools raise capital through municipal bonds to fund construction and expansion projects. And Tina works at Blueprint, helping schools find financing solutions for their charter school facility projects.

What did you learn today? What were some highlights? 

One of the biggest highlights was learning how varied a legal career can actually be. Mera explained that her path wasn’t linear at all. She started out as a 9th grade Algebra 1 teacher before eventually moving into criminal law and then real estate law, which showed me that people don’t need to have their whole career figured out from day one. She also broke down the process of becoming a lawyer: four years of college in any major, then take the LSAT, law school, and finally the bar exam, which she described as an intense two-month process of studying several hours per day, five to six days a week. With Robert, I learned about how municipal bonds work to finance charter schools. How a school leader comes to HJ Sims, HJ Sims finds investors and structures a deal, a public authority issues the bonds, a bond trustee manages the funds, and eventually the school gets built. He also mentioned two licenses, the SIE and the CFA, that students can actually start working toward while still in college, before eventually moving into entering the workforce.

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?  

Today really gave a clear picture of how many moving pieces have to come together behind the scenes before a single building gets constructed. On the legal side, Mera’s work shows that real estate development isn’t just about buying land and building. It requires constant attention to compliance, contracts, and potential legal risks, and lawyers like her need to act by catching problems before they happen to prevent them. On the financial side, Robert’s work showed me that big projects like schools are built with serious groundwork in financing. Someone has to present the proposal convincingly, identify risks early, and match the right investors to the right opportunity. I also learned about the importance of location financially; for example, California schools tend to have more funding per student and stronger government-backed financial support compared to other states, which directly affects these deals gets structured. 

What did you find the most interesting about the field in the field after today? 

What stood out to me was how much trust and storytelling ability required in a field that seems on the outside could be pure numbers and contracts. Robert explained that as an investment banker, part of his job is convincing school leaders to trust him, not just through pricing or results, but by establishing himself as a credible, trusted leader in the industry. Similarly, Mera emphasized how important networking is for building a legal career, since many opportunities come from relationships built at events rather than just applications. It was interesting to see that even in a field built on legal documents and financial structures, human relationships and personal reputation end up being just as important as technical expertise.

Photos: Naomi Deres, Summer Intern 2026

Who did you meet with today?

Today I met with Gary Blackwell, the owner of EPI Construction, Blackwell Construction, and BDI (Blackwell Development Inc.)s well as Eric Lieu and Rudolpho. Eric Lieu is a project manager and oversees multiple projects at EPI. Rudolpho is a superintendent at EPI and oversees the work site. We got to visit two active sites at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School (Renovation Project) and KIPP Endeavor (Seismic Compliance Project)

Where do they work? What does the company do?

The people I met today work for EPI Construction. The company serves as a general contractor to ensure that projects (such as a new school) get completed on time and within budget. They ensure the safety of people on site and ensure that a construction project meets safety guidelines and the final vision that the owner and architect have.

What did you learn today? What were some highlights?

Today I learned about how a construction project gets completed from start to finish and how each project can be different. The project at Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School ran into issues when an Alta survey was not performed. This caused delays and more money that had to be spent on the project. A big challenge in the industry is trying to keep the people on-site hydrated. I also learned that general contractors have to bid on projects. Their biggest difficulties can be working with utilities such as water, gas, and electricity. A highlight was definitely the importance of safety in construction. The superintendent serves as a head of safety and at EPI they have weekly safety meetings.

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?

Some insights I gained into this field is that General Contractors coordinate with other people and companies to work on a single project, and this can be a difficult process. Some people will disagree and it is up to the General Contractor to be able to resolve conflicts and to keep their promise of delivering a project on time. If a General Contractor can’t resolve issues in time, the project may face delays or go overbudget. They are an extremely essential part of turning a blueprint into the real deal.

What did you find the most interesting about the field in the field after today?

The most interesting thing about the field is that it ties in with the insurance field that was covered in Day 1 (Read that article here!).  Gary Blackwell shared how Bond Insurance guarantees that a project will be completed by a certain time and an amount of cash is set aside. He shared that this means that if he fails to meet time and cash demands, his house, car, and other assets are at risk. It is so interesting how many different industries work together during a construction project when from the outside it is foreman and machinery working.  It was truly eye-opening to be able to piece the puzzle pieces together and see how everything connects.

Photos: Adrian Destura, Summer Intern 2026

Who did you meet with today? 

​​We met April Komolmis, Marce Garcia, Victoria Valle, and Robert Arredondo. ​

Where do they work? What does the company do? 

​​April and Marce work with Ednovate and they are a charter management organization that manages 8 schools throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. Victoria and Robert both work at CLA , where they are auditors who look at organizations’ financial records.​

What did you learn today? What were some highlights? 

​​I learned that Auditors must take a test like the bar exam, if they want to get a higher position. My highlights throughout the day were taking a tour through a school and how they function and speak with auditors and getting their point of view of their job.​ 

What are you looking forward to most during the internship? 

​​I’m looking forward to learning more about project management and how that career really holds up, and if it can be a stressful job where you’re always busy. ​

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?  

​​I gain that the real estate development field can be a very competitive field and stressful one. ​

What did you find the most interesting about the field in the field after today? 

​​What I found interesting in the field is that auditors in a way can create a better circumstance for themselves if they really grind and work hard to get to a better position. ​ 

Photos: Steve Cornejo, Summer Intern 2026