Helping startups that are
destined to redefine the
commercial real estate space

Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the commercial real estate space.

Focused mentorship for validating strategic alignment through experiments and pilots.

A catalyst for founders and Berkadia to collaborate on long-term initiatives.

Current Startups

BeEngaged Lab™ Participants

BeEngaged™ Verified Participants

BeEngaged™ Network Participants

Exited

Best accelerator imaginable. This program has helped us in numerous ways – from design of investor decks, client introductions, strategic guidance on product developments, pricing, and strategy. The program is always looking for ways to help us and has a dedicated team working along with us through regular meetings and access to senior leadership. I cannot recommend BeEngaged enough, some of our biggest opportunities are because of this program.

Bryan Colin
Co-Founder & CEO

The BeEngaged Program has been an invaluable resource to us at Esusu over the past two years. The program has been designed with the utmost intentionality to ensure it meets founders where they are in their company building journey and provides the right resources. Through BeEngaged we formed marquee partnerships, learned the ins and outs of the commercial real estate industry, and built a strong network of like-minded founders. We could not be more grateful for our partnership with the BeEngaged team and the broader Berkadia ecosystem. We would not trade the opportunity to participate in BeEngaged for anything.

Abbey Wemimo &
Samir Goel
Co-Founders Esusu

BeEngaged has been tremendously impactful towards the growth of WhoseYourLandlord (WYL). Bryce and Rachel have run an efficient, insightful, and well-organized program that enables founders like myself to interface with industry titans and influencers who can provide real world feedback on the products and strategies we put together at our startups. From participating in client/partner investor discovery calls to pressure testing our technical assumptions, they’ve been able to provide us tremendous value. I’m excited to continue to be a part of this family for years to come.

Ofo Ezeugwu
Founder & CEO

Team

Bryce Nyberg is a Director of Berkadia Digital and the Head of BeEngaged. Bryce focuses on advancing innovation in our industry through BeEngaged, partnerships, investments, and acquisitions. His influence in and out of Berkadia, business acumen, and effective program leadership skills lead to remarkable outcomes for the organizations he works with.

Bryce Nyberg
Director, Berkadia Digital

Rachel Startzel is an Analyst on the Berkadia Digital team and works closely with the BeEngaged Director to execute initiatives to advance Berkadia's business operations and technology. She has experience working with early- and growth- stage startups to evaluate strategic fit and explore collaborative opportunities.

Rachel Startzel
Analyst, Berkadia Digital

Brandon Hellberg is a Senior Analyst in Corporate Development at Berkadia. As a part of BeEngaged, Brandon focuses on driving collaboration with early- and growth-stage startups, designing and conducting pilots of innovative technologies, and building relationships with founders and capital partners in the commercial real estate space. He has experience in finance, real estate, business strategy, and as an entrepreneur.

Brandon Hellberg
Senior Analyst, Corporate Development

Advisors

Dan is responsible for Berkadia’s GSE business lines. He has over thirty years of commercial real estate and capital markets experience in production and production management. Dan joined Berkadia in 2011 and is based in the Washington, DC area. He is current Chair of the Fannie Mae DUS Advisory Council, a Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) and past President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Metropolitan Washington.

Dan Brendes
Senior Vice President,
Head of GSE Lending

Andrei Chursov leads Berkadia’s transformation efforts across three key pillars: enterprise planning, targeted continuous improvement, and cultural transformation. Andrei’s role involves development of alliances across Berkadia, including close collaboration with BeEngaged accelerator, to build conviction, adopt new solutions and measure progress.

Andrei Chursov
Senior Vice President,
Transformation

Sloane Duhé is a Director in Freddie Mac’s Strategic Transformation organization and heads up the Multifamily Innovation Lab. Her work at Freddie Mac has been in new concept identification and development, digital transformation, tech scouting, and strategic design across both Single Family and Multifamily’s innovation programs.

Sloane Duhé
Director,
Freddie Mac Strategic Transformation

Olivia Miller joined Fannie Mae in January 2015 and works within the Multifamily Chief Operating Office. In her role Olivia collaborates with colleagues from across the business, product development, and technology teams focused on digital transformation efforts. Olivia enjoys listening to customers, partners, and exploring design strategies.

Olivia Miller
Project Manager,
Fannie Mae Multifamily Chief Operating Office

Eglae is the Senior Vice President, Chief Product Officer for Berkadia Commercial Mortgage. In her role, Recchia is responsible for driving the strategy, vision, and experience of our internal and external digital products. Eglae joins Berkadia from Goldman Sachs where she served as the Global Head of Digital Products for the Investment Banking Division.

Eglae Recchia
Senior Vice President,
Chief Product Officer

Emily is the Senior Vice President, Head of Fannie Mae Originations. She oversees the Fannie Mae Deal Management team and is responsible for driving Fannie Mae business. She has over twenty years of commercial real estate experience in both production and underwriting/credit. Prior to joining Berkadia in 2019, Emily was a Chief Underwriter and Head of Prescreens at Newmark.

Emily Schultz
Senior Vice President,
Head of Fannie Mae Originations

Contact Us

Interested in learning more or participating in the BeEngaged Program?
Let us know what interests you and we will get back to you shortly.

Our Values

Berkadia is an industry partner committed to the same goal and strong values.

Integrity is everything

We say what we mean and do what we say. We never fear doing the right thing.

We take the long view

Our objective is long-term value, not short-term gain.

People Matter

Our relationships with customers and colleagues are our most valuable assets.

We stand for excellence

We set the highest standards and hold ourselves to them.

We love our jobs

When you enjoy what you do, it rarely feels like work.

We innovate

A curious, empowered and diverse workforce challenges the status quo and drives change.