OUR TEAM
BLUE SKY is comprised of a team of individuals with deep experience in healthcare and higher education facilities and real estate.
Together, we have played a critical role in several transformational real estate initiatives, including the creation of a new 6.8 million square foot campus in Manhattan for Columbia University, and the creation of a 1.3 million square foot clinical campus for Northwell Health. We have also custom tailored innovative real estate strategies for numerous other universities and social impact organizations, and have extensive private sector real estate development experience.
PHILIP SILVERMAN | President & CEO
Phil founded Blue Sky Real Estate to bring new ideas and create value for and on behalf of mission-driven organizations by changing the way they develop, lease, and own physical assets.
Prior to founding Blue Sky, Phil served as Senior Vice President and Chief Physical Assets Officer for Northwell Health, one of the 20 largest not-for-profit health systems in the United States and the largest private employer in New York State. At Northwell, Phil was responsible for over $500 million in real estate transactions to achieve below market rate occupancy costs and secure strategic sites for the system’s future. He also had oversight for 1 billion dollars of capital construction and the management of over 500 off-campus facilities.
Previously, Phil served as Vice President for Real Estate at Columbia University, where he was responsible for positioning the real estate portfolio to meet the educational, research, administrative and housing needs of the University and Medical Center. In this role, he created strategies, formulated budgets, identified opportunities, targeted acquisitions, oversaw consultants and stewarded negotiations to facilitate the acquisition, disposition, development, leasing and management of all real estate assets belonging to Columbia University. Over his 12 year tenure, Phil negotiated the business terms for real estate transactions valued in excess of $1 billion, including the assemblage of 60 separately owned properties comprising 17 acres (including the relocation and construction of new facilities for businesses, residential occupants, houses of worship, city agencies, and public utilities) necessary for the development of the new $7 billion, 6.8 million square foot campus in Manhattanville. Other accomplishments at Columbia include implementation of strategies resulting in development opportunities and improved institutional collaboration on the combined campus of Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital and repositioning of flagship Faculty Practice facilities in midtown Manhattan, and development of financial controls and systems for the management of Columbia’s owned and leased space within and outside New York City.
Phil is a member of the board of Breaking Ground, a not-for profit developer of supportive and affordable housing for vulnerable New Yorkers and is Co-Chair Emeritus of DOROT, an Upper West Side social service organization providing services to the frail elderly. Phil is also Assistant Chair Emeritus of Urban Land Institute’s Health Care and Life Sciences Council.
Phil has a BA in Accounting from Syracuse University and JD from Touro College and is a member of the New York State Bar.
JOEL PAPO | Chief Operating Officer
As Chief Operating Officer, Joel oversees all transactions and advisory engagements, and is responsible for managing the Blue Sky organization. Joel specializes in strategy, financing, and structuring, and has overseen the execution of over $1 billion in real estate initiatives.
Prior to co-founding Blue Sky, Joel was Vice President for Real Estate at Northwell Health and was responsible for real estate strategy, negotiation, and transaction execution. Joel led the acquisition and financing of 2.5 million square feet of real estate, including a new corporate headquarters and new ambulatory clinical campus. Prior to joining Northwell, Joel was a consultant with K. Backus & Associates (now U3 Advisors), a boutique real estate consultancy focused on not-for-profits and universities, where he worked with clients including Columbia University, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, and the YMCA of Greater New York. His work involved real estate strategy, transaction structuring, and developer partnerships. With Phil Silverman, Joel was responsible for assembling properties for Columbia University, clearing the way for development of the Manhattanville campus.
Joel has a BA in Government and Economics from Claremont McKenna College and MBA from Columbia University. Joel is a member of The Nature Conservancy’s New York State Leadership Council.
LORI MATSUKUMA | Senior Vice President
Lori is a founding partner and oversees advisory engagements. She has over two decades of experience working for and within not-for-profit and public institutions on real estate and financial analysis, strategy, and planning. As advisor and project manager, she partners with clients to understand and diagnose needs, identify and assess options, and develop and execute actionable plans.
Lori currently leads several advisory engagements with Northwell Health, New York State’s largest healthcare system, including development of a major new healthcare facility and multiple system-wide real estate optimization initiatives. She has also overseen advisory engagements with Barnard College, Columbia University, and Marymount Manhattan College, related to critical housing and real estate objectives. Previously, Lori served as part of Northwell Health’s Real Estate Strategy team and was responsible for developing real estate strategic plans to support the system’s hospitals and portfolio-wide analysis and optimization. Prior to that, Lori was a consultant with K. Backus & Associates (now U3 Advisors), a boutique real estate consultancy focused on not-for-profits and universities and led multiple engagements with institutions including Brooklyn Public Library, New York University, and Princeton University. Lori began her career as a City Planner for the City of San Mateo, California.
Lori has a BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley and an MBA from New York University.
ELOISE PAUL | Senior Vice President
Eloise is a founding partner and oversees client engagement. Eloise works with institutions to understand and diagnose challenges, and to identify opportunities and solutions.
Eloise was instrumental in delivering results for Marymount Manhattan College, Main Line Health, and Dignity Health. Prior to joining Blue Sky, Eloise was part of the real estate team at Columbia University, where she oversaw the portfolio of real estate connected with the university’s medical center. In this role, Eloise secured new space to facilitate the expansion of clinical departments and worked to reposition the portfolio of existing space to achieve improved efficiencies and lower costs. Additionally, she evaluated development sites for university expansion, managed acquisitions and dispositions of key university assets, and worked closely with departmental leaders to plan and achieve strategic initiatives. Previously, Eloise was Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Cityfeet.com, helping grow the start-up business into a nationally recognized commercial real estate marketing platform. Eloise is also a licensed real estate broker with a focus on non-profit representation and has worked on behalf of numerous education and healthcare clients to achieve advantageous leasing and acquisition terms.
Eloise has a BA in Art History from Emory University and MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University.
IRWIN SILVERMAN | Senior Vice President
Irwin oversees design, construction, and management of physical assets, interfacing with clients and their design professionals on all phases of project development.
Prior to joining Blue Sky Real Estate, Irwin worked in construction administration and development for Array Architects, a healthcare architectural firm with seven offices in North America and 140 employees. In his role, Irwin managed clients in the healthcare sector including NYU Langone Health and Mount Sinai Health System.
Previously, Irwin served as Senior Director of Construction and Facilities for The Carlyle Group – Nature’s Bounty, a vitamin and nutritional supplement company. For twelve years, he led the budget, planning, design, and construction for over 3 million square feet of corporate office, manufacturing, and warehousing facilities across North America. During his tenure, Nature's Bounty received the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP) award, which recognizes business leaders for energy efficiency.
Irwin is a registered architect in New York, has a BA in Architecture from New York Institute of Technology and a Certificate in Architecture from Milano Polytechnico in Milan, Italy.
SUSAN KLEIN | Senior Vice President, General Counsel
As General Counsel, Susan oversees all legal and regulatory matters related to Blue Sky and advisory engagements. Susan has expertise across a range of transactional real estate work including purchase, sale, lease, finance, management, and operations.
Susan directly led successful closings for Dignity Health, Marymount Manhattan College, Main Line Health, and Columbia University.
Prior to joining Blue Sky, Susan was part of the acquisitions and leasing team at Columbia University. With Phil Silverman and Joel Papo, Susan was instrumental in assembling properties that enabled the development of the Manhattanville campus. Prior to that, Susan practiced at Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel LLP and at Rosenman and Colin LLP (subsequently merged into Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP). At both firms, Susan specialized in acquisition, disposition, and leasing of commercial, medical, residential, and retail property; condominium formation; and development of property interests including zoning lot easements and development rights. She successfully represented numerous major not-for-profit institutions and nationally recognized development firms on numerous high-profile New York City projects including Columbia University’s campus, St. Luke’s Hospital, The Plaza, and The Time Warner Center.
Susan has a BS in Economics, magna cum laude, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and JD from The University of Pennsylvania Law School. Susan is a member of the New York State Bar. Susan serves as Vice President of JKHA/RKYHS, a not-for-profit community N-12 school in Livingston, New Jersey.