About Us
Margaret Emley | Executive Director of Real Estate
Margaret Emley is the Executive Director of Real Estate at Vanderbilt University (VURE). She’s been working at her alma mater since 2016, both in the Assistant Director and Director roles. VURE manages over 3 million gross square feet of commercial and multifamily facilities and oversees acquisitions, dispositions, off-campus leasing. As part of Vanderbilt’s FutureVU land-use plan completed in 2017, VURE is managing Vanderbilt’s first public-private partnership to develop graduate and professional student housing.
Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Margaret worked for RCLCO, a real estate advisory firm where she provided market-driven and analytically sound real estate solutions to private developers and public universities. Margaret is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in Human and Organizational Development and Psychology.
margaret.emley@vanderbilt.edu
Phone: 615-343-5160
Lisa Fiorentino | Assistant Director of Transactions
Lisa Fiorentino is the Assistant Director of Transactions at Vanderbilt University (VURE). Earning her Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College, Lisa has experience with commercial leasing, private and public higher education real estate, and asset management.
Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Lisa worked as the Senior Real Estate Manager at American University and as the Assistant Director of Real Estate at the University of Florida. As a key member of the VURE team, Lisa assists in managing over 3 million gross square feet of commercial and multifamily facilities, commercial leasing as landlord and tenant, and special real estate projects.
lisa.fiorentino@vanderbilt.edu
Phone: 615-343-2574
Laura Yankee | Assistant Director of Portfolio and Space Management
Laura Yankee is the Assistant Director of Portfolio and Space Management at Vanderbilt University Real Estate (VURE), utilizing her expertise in educational administration and experience in real estate and property management to serve the VU community through the built environment.
Prior to joining VURE as an Associate in 2022, Laura spent several years practicing residential real estate and property management as an affiliate broker and over a decade working in the field of education both in the classroom and on leadership teams. In her role, she oversees and collaborates with Vanderbilt’s multi-family and commercial property management teams to assist with internal space needs and VURE portfolio management.
Laura earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education with an instructional focus in English from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Master of Education degree in Educational Administration from Middle Tennessee State University.
Phone: 615-343-3146
Lisa Jones | Financial Unit Manager
Lisa Jones joined Vanderbilt University in 1992 as the accountant in the newly created Vanderbilt University Real Estate department.
Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Lisa spent four years working as a legal assistant at the prestigious local law firm of Sherrard & Roe, where she worked in the areas of estate and trust administration, tax return preparation and real estate management. Today Lisa is a Financial Unit Manager for Facilities Business Operations, dedicated to the Vanderbilt University Real Estate team. Lisa earned her bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee at Martin.
Phone: 615-343-1305
Beverly Phillips | Financial Analyst
Beverly Phillips joined Vanderbilt University in 2016 as a Financial Analyst in the Real Estate department.
Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, Beverly spent 8 years working in various positions, eventually landing in the accounting department, at Freeman Webb Company in Nashville. Today Beverly is a Financial Analyst for Facilities Business Operations, dedicated to the Vanderbilt University Real Estate team.
Beverly earned her bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Tennessee State University and an associate of science degree in business information systems from Nashville State Technical Community College.
beverly.phillips@vanderbilt.edu
Phone: 615-875-8172
Dan Silva | Real Estate Analyst
Dan Silva joined the Vanderbilt University Real Estate team as a Real Estate Analyst in early 2020. In his role he helps manage the finances for the University’s real estate holdings, as well as assists in the acquisition of new properties to grow the campus’s footprint in midtown Nashville.
Prior to joining Vanderbilt Dan held a wide variety of roles in disparate organizations, from interning at the US Capitol for his North Carolina Senator, to facilitating the adoption of solar energy in sub-Saharan Africa with a small startup, to managing large corporate healthcare facilities and a retail-focused commercial real estate portfolio here in Nashville, TN.
Dan studied international politics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies. His primary passions outside of work include Classical Music, Songwriting, and Politics.
Phone: 615-343-1442