PTK spotlight: Real estate professional services people to know in 2024

Mike DiFabbio

Co-owner

Encore Landscape Management

Alongside his two partners Juan Hernandez and John Garigen, DiFabbio helps lead the team at Encore Landscape Management. In addition to his leadership responsibilities, DiFabbio has served on several boards and committees over the years, most recently serving on the Board of Directors for BOMA Nevada. Professional achievements include winning BOMA Associate Member of the Year, President’s Award and Board Member of the Year.

Biggest career accomplishment: “Encore is one of the fastest-growing commercial landscape companies in the country, going from a start-up in 2019, to 150-plus employees and more than $16 million in revenue in 2023. All growth has been selective and organic and is a result of relentless networking efforts year after year.”

Cristina Fernbach

Construction consultant

ZELUS

Beginning at CBRE in 2014 as the receptionist for the Tucson office, Fernbach has since moved into various roles throughout the commercial real estate industry, eventually starting her own business development consulting firm, Niles Consultants, in 2019. Now, Fernbach works at ZELUS as a construction consultant and sits on several local boards including the Saint Vincent de Paul Advisory Board, ULI’s Membership Committee, Women’s Leadership Committee and Young Leader Group (YLG) Committee.

Surprising fact: “I have been fostering infant kittens for eight years through the Arizona Animal Welfare League, who usually need some type of medical attention.”

No. 1 on the commercial real estate bucket list: “Promoting and uplifting young leaders, women and DEI in the industry.”

Austin Kirkpatrick

Structural business unit leader

Suntec Concrete

At 28, Kirkpatrick is the youngest member of the shareholder group at Suntec Concrete. He has project management and leadership experience on many major projects in the Phoenix market. Kirkpatrick heads up Suntec’s internship program, helping to develop the next generation of industry professionals, and serves on the company’s 401K committee, ensuring the financial security of the company’s employees.

Biggest career accomplishment: “I was the project manager the Northrup Gruman Project in Gilbert, AZ where our Suntec team successfully lifted the heaviest tilt panel in the nation at over 500,000 pounds and just over 87 feet tall.”

Jessica Sarkissian

Owner

Upfront Planning & Entitlements, LLC

Sarkissian has worked in land planning and the entitlement side of development for more than 20 years in Arizona. Throughout her tenure, she has worked on projects throughout Arizona and is proud to have had great experiences in each of them and being elected to serve as president of the Arizona Planning Association enabled her to strengthen those ties and open lines of communication in those communities. 

Surprising fact: “I have become a bit of a plant hoarder. I started figuring out ways to not kill plants with humidifiers and grow lights and then quickly started acquiring them and trying to grow a forest in the office.”   

Cassie Wells

CEO

Modern Business Development

Wells has more than 10 years of audio-visual sales and project management experience with CCS Presentation Systems. She leads a team of six in the ongoing account management of some of the largest corporate, higher education, government, house of worship and healthcare clients in the nation. Wells was instrumental in developing the “Facility Manager’s Guide to Audio Visual Technology.” 

No. 1 on the commercial real estate bucket list: “To be able to work with a development team on a large, notable project in the Arizona market. While we have worked on several large projects across Arizona, something notable with an end user would be very exciting to work on that involves a project team and that changes the landscape of the economy.”