2026 Southern California CRE Rising Stars

Southern California’s commercial real estate industry continues to showcase rising talent across multiple disciplines, with five professionals earning recognition for their outstanding contributions to brokerage excellence, capital markets innovation, property management leadership, and emerging sector expertise. These honorees represent the next generation of leaders shaping the region’s dynamic commercial real estate landscape.

 

Brokerage Star

Cody Lerner

Cody Lerner (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cody-lerner/), Principal with Avison Young in the Inland Empire, is one of the region’s most dynamic and trusted industrial real estate advisors. Recognized for exceptional market knowledge, Lerner has built a reputation defined by precision execution, complex deal structuring, and deeply consultative client service. His expertise spans industrial brokerage and strategic land acquisitions throughout the Inland Empire, an increasingly competitive and mission-critical market for supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics real estate.

Across his career, Lerner has completed more than three million square feet of sale and lease transactions, advised both institutional and private investors, and consistently delivered results that exceed expectations while fostering long-term client partnerships. His approach is rooted in an unwavering client-first philosophy, where success is measured not only by transaction value but also by process, strategy, and service quality.

Among Lerner’s most notable recent achievements, he represented the seller of 100 Walnut Avenue, successfully closing a $59.275 million disposition of a 205,000-square-foot industrial facility, followed by execution of a long-term sale-leaseback with the buyer. He also facilitated the 10220 San Sevaine Way transaction, representing both buyer and seller in a $19.79 million acquisition, demonstrating his ability to navigate dual-representation complexity while maintaining fiduciary excellence and client trust.

Since joining Avison Young, Lerner has earned consistent year-over-year promotions, culminating in his appointment to Principal in 2021. In 2023, he achieved the highly respected SIOR designation. His professional accolades include Circle of Excellence, Rising Star Award, Rookie of the Year, Top 3 Producer in Southern California (2022) with over $170 million in deal considerations, and consistent ranking among Top 10 Producers firmwide.

Beyond transactions, Lerner is deeply invested in shaping the next generation of real estate leadership. He has been an active member of NAIOP Developing Leaders, contributes to thought leadership through the Avison Young Industrial Affinity Group, and serves as a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of Southwest Riverside County, reinforcing his commitment to positive social impact and regional stewardship.

 

Gabe Munson

Gabe Munson, associate at Newmark, represents the new generation of commercial real estate—one that blends hustle, adaptability, and tech-forward execution. As a leader among his peers, Munson actively brings people together, from hosting industry networking events to mentoring younger professionals, understanding that brokerage is as much about relationships as it is about results.

When the market shifted, Munson didn’t wait—he pivoted. Recognizing a slowdown in institutional activity, he leaned into the private capital space and began driving results in areas with real liquidity. That instinct and adaptability helped him stay active and successful while many others sat on the sidelines.

Munson knows how to navigate complexity. Whether it’s mixed-use assets, layered entitlements, or unique development scenarios, he brings a level of calm execution that inspires confidence from institutional clients, family offices, and sellers alike. He’s also at the forefront of innovation, using AI tools daily and actively teaching others how to apply them in underwriting, marketing, and communication. He shows sellers how to use these tools to optimize property management and helps brokers streamline their workflow, making the entire ecosystem more efficient.

Munson has played a key role in several of Los Angeles’ most significant multifamily and land transactions over the past year, including the 60 million dollar sale of the 140-unit Pasadena Gateway Villas to Hines, and the 77 million dollar, 20-acre land sale between Disney and IEP—the largest land trade in Los Angeles in recent history. Munson embodies the operational alpha that defines modern brokerage excellence.

 

Emerging Leader

Ina Montejo

Ina Montejo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/inamontejo/), AVP of Originations at PACE Loan Group, has emerged as a leading voice in the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) finance lending space. After holding various CRE positions at MG Properties and Swift Real Estate, Montejo started in C-PACE originations in 2022 with Twain Financial, coordinating C-PACE loans alongside ground lease capital and historic tax credit opportunities. She joined PLG in 2023, where she has worked as an AVP of Originations for over two years.

At PLG, Montejo has orchestrated creative applications for C-PACE financing across diverse property types. Notable deals include a boutique hotel off the Gulf Coast in Galveston, Texas, that reimbursed the borrower for C-PACE eligible items already completed, with proceeds used to finance interest reserves and complete renovations. Another hospitality deal, a Hampton Inn ground-up development, paired C-PACE with USDA financing to blend down cost of capital.

For a creative Culver City office, Montejo was central to organizing the $22.4 million loan that retroactively freed capital to pay off maturing construction debt. She also worked on a multifamily development where C-PACE loans came in alongside a community bank to serve as a quasi-bank participant. To date, Montejo is overseeing over one billion dollars in opportunities spanning multifamily, self-storage, student housing, hospitality, and more.

PLG is working to be at the forefront of C-PACE education in the CRE community, and Montejo is a leading voice in that initiative. Beyond setting up numerous meetings with brokerage shops like JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, and Newmark, and banks and lenders, Montejo has been featured on several panels. This past summer, she spoke alongside SVPs and Managing Directors at Bisnow’s Southern California Capital Markets Conference, highlighting C-PACE as a flexible source of debt. She was also invited to speak on a ULI Sustainability & Urban Resilience Forum panel this fall.

Montejo serves as Chair for CREW San Diego’s Emerging Leaders committee, dedicated to fostering the growth of commercial real estate professionals with zero to five years of industry experience. CREW nominated her for the 2026 San Diego Business Journal Power 20 award, recognizing influential business leaders in their twenties. She is a member of the San Diego chapters of both ULI and NAIOP.

Montejo has been a guest on several reputable podcasts, including the CREXI Women of Influence Podcast Series, where she was featured on the first episode of their Insights from Multifamily Leaders segment. The company Adventures in Commercial Real Estate (A.CRE) hosts a well-followed podcast with over 20,000 LinkedIn followers, where they interviewed Montejo in their episode “The Hidden Gem of CRE Finance: Ina Montejo on Why More Developers are Turning to CPACE.”

 

Finance & Capital Markets Innovator

Hunter Penrose

Hunter Penrose (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunter-penrose-047038147/), associate with Priority Capital Advisory, is early in his career having been in the industry for just over three years, yet in that time has separated himself from his peer set through his work ethic, thoughtfulness, punctuality, and analytical capabilities. He proficiently oversees the completion of sophisticated offering memorandums and complex excel models, demonstrating a never-say-die attitude that positions him for continued success.

Priority Capital Advisory is a premier boutique debt and equity capital advisor for middle market and institutional commercial real estate sponsors and investors, arranging highly structured and innovative finance solutions up and down the capital stack, with a focus on transactions with total capitalization of $20 million to $200 million.

Since joining Priority Capital Advisory in May 2024, Penrose has been part of closing 23 deals totaling over $550 million in financing. Notable transactions include a $22.8 million cash-out bridge loan for a newly developed 63-unit residential condominium project in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood, and a $21 million land and predevelopment loan for the recapitalization of a 2.1-acre site on behalf of Grubb Properties for Link Apartments Kora, a planned 241-unit mixed-use multifamily project.

In 2024, Penrose joined Priority Capital Advisory at its inception, which came with an array of added responsibilities beyond normal day-to-day deal-related duties. Navigating strong deal flow with the inevitable growing pains and complications that all new companies go through was a challenge, but working through this at an early point in his career provided a rewarding experience. He helped with anything needed by founder Zack Streit to get the firm’s day-to-day operations running on a relatively short timeline.

Since then, Penrose has continued to help with numerous initiatives aimed at furthering the firm’s efficiency and capabilities, most recently helping train the firm’s new analyst. Previously, he was an Analyst at WAY Capital, a boutique debt and equity finance company based in Los Angeles, and interned with CBRE over two separate summers, gaining invaluable knowledge in office leasing and the commercial real estate industry.

Penrose first began working in the debt and equity advisory business in July 2022, but quickly saw the rise in interest rates unfold and had a front-row seat to the effects on the industry. Regardless of the negative effect the economic environment had on the industry, Penrose has been able to use it as a learning process, seeing firsthand how deals can get done in a difficult market.

 

Property Management Excellence

Cory Morris

Cory Morris (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmorris3/), general manager at JLL, stands as a transformative leader in Southern California’s industrial property management sector, embodying the innovation, excellence, and collaborative spirit that defines the next generation of CRE professionals. With over a decade of industry experience, Morris has distinguished himself through exceptional portfolio expansion, groundbreaking operational improvements, and an unwavering commitment to developing emerging talent.

Morris demonstrated remarkable capabilities by expanding his industrial portfolio by 119 percent—from 2,991,954 square feet across 11 properties to an impressive 6,540,894 square feet spanning 19 premier properties managed for national JLL institutional clients. His financial expertise yielded measurable results, including the strategic resolution of complex accounts receivable challenges. Through proactive management and innovative collection strategies, Morris reduced outstanding AR balances by 54 percent—from $218,132 to $99,624—within nine months.

His tenant-centric approach has generated substantial unplanned construction management fees for JLL through strategic relationship building and project oversight excellence. Morris’s influence extends beyond his direct portfolio, serving as a strategic resource for JLL operations nationwide. His expertise in budgets, financial reporting, and operational optimization supports teams across multiple markets, positioning him as a go-to mentor within the organization.

His exceptional performance has earned prestigious industry accolades: 2024 Industrial Real Estate Professional of the Year from the Inland Empire IREM Chapter, IREM Commercial Property of the Year Awards for properties under his management in both 2024 and 2025, and JLL 2024 Rising Star Award Finalist recognition. These honors reflect not only individual achievement but also the elevated standards Morris brings to every property and client relationship.

As leader of four team members—two Property Managers and two Property Associates—Morris has created a culture of continuous improvement and professional development. His mentorship philosophy extends organization-wide, as he regularly provides technical guidance and best practice development to colleagues across markets. His leadership of weekly team collaboration calls has become a model for other departments, featuring innovative presentation formats and comprehensive team recognition programs. Industry guest speakers have specifically praised and adopted his methodologies for their own teams.

Morris’s commitment to industry advancement includes active participation in professional organizations. As a member of the IREM Inland Empire Young Professionals Committee, he contributes through promotional material development and volunteer coordination for multiple industry events. His ongoing pursuit of additional certifications reflects his dedication to continuous learning and professional excellence.

Morris represents the pinnacle of property management innovation and leadership in Southern California’s competitive CRE landscape. His exceptional combination of technical expertise, strategic vision, client-focused service delivery, and commitment to developing the next generation of industry professionals makes him an exemplary Rising Stars Award candidate with a proven track record of transformational growth and collaborative leadership.