Congratulations to the NAIOP Chicago 2025-26 Future Leaders Scholarship Recipients!
NAIOP Chicago is excited to introduce our 2025-26 Future Leaders University Scholarship recipients. These nine students from DePaul, Marquette, Northwestern & Roosevelt exemplify the commitment and innovation coming from the new generation of Chicago’s commercial real estate industry and we are honored to play a role in fostering their professional development.
Now in its 11th year, the University Scholarship Program has contributed more than $310,000 in tuition assistance and benefits to 48 scholars. We believe in making a difference in future leaders, and we believe that our scholarship program is helping pave the way for a stronger future in our industry.
In addition to tuition assistance, recipients of the Future Leaders Scholarship receive a one-year NAIOP membership, a mentor involved in a field related to their interests, as well as a variety of other local benefits. The NAIOP Chicago University Scholarship program is annual, with applications to the program accepted in Spring/early Summer of each year. Read more about our University Scholarship program.
Join us as we celebrate this year’s scholars at the 38th Annual Awards for Excellence on October 30th! Tickets and additional information are available here.
Paola Guzman | Roosevelt University
Paola Guzman is a first-generation master’s student at Roosevelt University, where she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Real Estate. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing Communications from Roosevelt University.
She currently serves as President of the Marshall Bennett Institute Real Estate Club, where she works to create opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students to connect, learn, and grow in the field of real estate. This year, Paola and her team proudly represented Roosevelt University in the Eisenberg Real Estate Challenge, earning second place in the graduate division. That experience strengthened her passion for commercial real estate and reinforced the importance of aligning development projects with the needs of the community.
Over the past summer, Paola began her internship with the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation (HHDC) as a Development Intern. In this role, she is gaining firsthand experience in the critical role that affordable housing plays in supporting and strengthening communities.
The support of the NAIOP Future Leaders scholarship will help Paola further her education, expand her opportunities in real estate development, and empower her to create a lasting impact in the communities she serves.
Timothy Hearld | Northwestern University
Tim Hearld is an MBA candidate at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, concentrating in real estate and finance. Raised in the construction industry, he has turned a lifelong passion into a career managing more than $150 million in ground-up industrial developments. At ARCO/Murray, he leads active projects and directs preconstruction efforts on more than $200 million of potential developments across the Chicago region, partnering with developers, end-users, and brokers to deliver large-scale distribution and manufacturing facilities that shape the city’s industrial landscape.
Outside of work, Tim honors his late father through the Timothy D. Hearld Memorial Scholarship, which has raised more than $50,000 to support high school students with financial need. He also enjoys traveling, backpacking, and spending time with his wife, Savannah, and their two cats.
Hayden Kleynhans | Marquette University
Hayden Kleynhans is a senior at Marquette University pursuing a double major in Commercial Real Estate and Finance. He is a member of the Real Estate Asset Program (REAP), the university’s selective real estate investment fund program. Beyond the classroom, Hayden is actively involved in the Commercial Real Estate Club, competes on the club tennis team, and is a member of the Delta Chi fraternity. He recently interned with Marcus & Millichap on the Investment Brokerage team in their Chicago Downtown office.
Looking forward to joining NAIOP’s future leaders’ scholarship program, Hayden plans to deepen his network of real estate professionals in Chicago where he will be working next year. He intends to use this membership to leverage the organization’s platform to stay current on market trends and expand his knowledge beyond the classroom.
Brian Marren | DePaul University
Brian Marren is a current MBA candidate at DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, concentrating in Real Estate Finance & Investment. He is a Facilities Manager at JLL and serves as President of the DePaul Real Estate Club. Before transitioning into real estate, Brian spent five years in supply chain management and strategy after graduating from Indiana University. His focus includes industrial investment and attainable residential property development. As a NAIOP Chicago Future Leaders Scholar, he looks forward to learning from mentors, broadening his market knowledge, and contributing to Chicago’s CRE community. A dual citizen of Ireland, he enjoys golfing and cheering for Notre Dame and the Chicago Bears.
Jared Otarola | Marquette University
Jared Otarola is a senior at Marquette University, majoring in Finance and Real Estate. He is a member of the Real Estate Asset Program, the Commercial Banking Program, and serves as Vice President of the Marquette Commercial Real Estate Club. As a junior, he interned as Real Estate Development Intern at Three Leaf partners where he supported the finance, investor, and marketing teams. Jared is interested in development, banking, and investor relations, and is excited to continue exploring these areas through the NAIOP Chicago Future Leaders program.
Nicole Pacasova | DePaul University
Nicole Pacasova is a full-time undergraduate student at DePaul University, double majoring in Honors Finance and Real Estate with a minor in Accounting. This past summer, she worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Raymond James and is currently a Real Estate Investment Intern at Harrington Brown.
On campus, Nicole serves as Vice President of DePaul’s Real Estate Club, President & Co-Founder of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Club, and is a Venture Capital Fellow at the Halperin Emerging Company Fund.
She is excited to join NAIOP to deepen her knowledge in the industry, connect with mentors, and expand her network within Chicago’s real estate community.
Jimena Perez | Marquette University
Jimena Perez is a sophomore at Marquette University, double majoring in Real Estate and Finance. Her passion for real estate began during her senior year of high school when she participated in the MKE CRE program—an initiative designed to introduce underrepresented Milwaukee students to careers in real estate. This past summer, she returned to the program as a counselor, where she found it incredibly rewarding to mentor students, share her journey, and help them explore their own interests in the field.
At Marquette, Jimena stays actively involved by attending real estate events and collaborating with student organizations. She currently serves on the boards of Women in Business (WIB) and the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), where she works to support and uplift underrepresented voices in business.
She is especially drawn to the development side of real estate because she loves seeing spaces grow and transform. Her long-term goal is to use real estate as a tool to create opportunities and improve communities, particularly those that are underserved. Jimena is eager to continue learning about the industry and building meaningful connections that support both her personal and professional growth. She is also incredibly grateful for this scholarship, which brings her one step closer to achieving her goals.
Phillip Royster | Northwestern University
Phillip Royster is currently pursuing his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in the dual-degree MMM program in Business and Engineering/Design Innovation, where he serves as Co-President of the Kellogg Golf Club and Vice President of the Kellogg Real Estate Club. His career has spanned architecture, real estate development, and now product management in construction technology. Prior to Kellogg, he was responsible for leading the development of more than half a billion dollars in commercial, residential, and industrial real estate, gaining experience aligning capital strategy with execution and seeing how design and operations drive long-term value creation. He is currently interning at Procore Technologies on the Financials product team, focusing on building tools that help investors and operators track capital, measure performance, and adapt to a rapidly evolving market. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California.
Jeremy Scheck | Northwestern University
Jeremy Scheck began as Director of Acquisitions at Dayton Street Partners in April 2025 and is responsible for sourcing and executing investment opportunities across industrial real estate, including traditional warehouses, logistics facilities, and industrial outdoor storage (IOS).
Jeremy brought nearly seven years of experience from Colliers International, where he most recently held the position of Senior Vice President in the Industrial Advisory Group. At Colliers, he represented several Fortune 500 companies on complex national site selection, lease and sale transaction structuring and negotiations, real estate capital markets strategies, and acquisitions, while working closely with developers, capital partners, and investors.
Jeremy is currently pursuing his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he is majoring in Finance with a concentration on Real Estate. Additionally, he holds a Real Estate Finance and Investments certification through the REFAI program led by Peter Linneman and Bruce Kirsch. Jeremy graduated from the University of Illinois, where he played Division I baseball, and is a licensed real estate broker in Illinois.