Our Team

Phil Owens joined Carmel Partners in 2023 and is a Managing Partner and the Chief Financial Officer. He oversees all financial operations and is responsible for the Accounting, Capital Finance, IT and Fund Management teams. He is Vice Chair of the Portfolio Management Committee and is a member of the Executive, Management and Investment Committees.

Prior to Carmel, Mr. Owens was CFO of Veritas Investments, the largest owner of multifamily properties in San Francisco. While at Veritas, he was responsible for financial operations, corporate and investment strategy and select operational functions (IT and HR). Prior to Veritas, Mr. Owens spent 12 years at Green Street where he was a Managing Director. While at Green Street, he helped grow the Advisory Group into one of the company’s leading business lines serving many of the world’s largest, most influential real estate and financial services firms.

Mr. Owens received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Southern California and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

He is a CFA Charterholder.

Brian Smith joined Carmel Partners in 1998 and is a Partner and the Head of Accounting. Mr. Smith is responsible for the direction and oversight of the firm’s accounting, audit and tax functions, including budgeting, insurance and treasury services.

Prior to Carmel, Mr. Smith worked as an accountant at Seiler LLP for four years, primarily doing tax work for real estate investments and high-net-worth individuals. He also performed audits for real estate and nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Smith received both a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and a Master of Accounting degree from Brigham Young University.

He is a CPA and California Real Estate Broker.

Since joining Carmel Partners in 1999, Deanna Johnson has held various positions and has been instrumental in building and developing the Job Cost Department. As Senior Vice President, Job Cost Accounting Ms. Johnson is responsible for leading and providing strategic direction to the Construction Accounting Team to ensure accurate and timely delivery of draws and financial reports.

Prior to joining Carmel, Ms. Johnson worked at a full-service commercial real estate firm in Boulder, Colorado, for four years, bringing with her a depth of experience of our industry.

As Senior Vice President, Corporate Accounting Jenny Zhang oversees the accounting, financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting for multiple Carmel Partners’ businesses. She also manages the Corporate Accounting Team in the corporate office located in San Francisco.

Before joining Carmel in 2013, Ms. Zhang was Assistant Controller at Northern California Presbyterian Homes and Services (‘NCPHS’), a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization providing homes and services for healthy living to seniors. Prior to NCPHS, she worked over seven years in public accounting, primarily performing audits on clients in a variety of industries such as investment, real estate, health care and nonprofit.

A Certified Public Accountant from Massachusetts, Ms. Zhang graduated from Suffolk University with a Master of Science degree in accounting.

As Vice President, Tax Nicole Paulina addresses tax matters for Carmel Partners, including tax compliance, interfacing with outside tax advisers on new tax issues, tax planning and developing tax strategies and procedures in alignment with the company’s goals and policies.

Prior to joining Carmel in 2019, Ms. Paulina spent 20 years specializing in tax within the real estate and private equity financial sectors. She served as Tax Senior Manager with KPMG, where her focus was on real estate, private equity and venture capital clients. Ms. Paulina was the designated group expert in REITs, providing various compliance and consulting services, including quarterly and annual REIT testing, due diligence on potential acquisitions and developing best practices for the office’s real estate clients.

A Certified Public Accountant, Ms. Paulina received her undergraduate degree in business administration, accounting, and graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a Master of Science degree in accountancy.

Shirley Shen joined Carmel Partners in 2012 and manages the Portfolio Accounting Team in the corporate office located in San Francisco. Working closely with the Construction Accounting Team and third-party property managers, Ms. Shen’s team consolidates and prepares the portfolio financials for investor reporting.

Prior to joining Carmel, Ms. Shen worked at PwC for five years servicing private industry clients. Ms. Shen managed all aspects of the audit process and helped companies apply technical accounting guidance within their quarterly and year-end financial statements.

Ms. Shen is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and a minor in accounting.

Meredith Stinson joined Carmel Partners in 2018 and is Vice President of Fund Management. She brings over 15 years of experience in finance, the last eight of which have been in the real estate sector.

Prior to Carmel, Ms. Stinson was a Director at PGIM Real Estate Finance (PGIM REF), where she was responsible for reporting and marketing to third-party institutional investors. Prior to PGIM REF, she was responsible for forecasting, planning and managing third-party reporting at Prudential Asset Resources. Ms. Stinson also spent six years with KPMG in the Transaction Services and Audit practices.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in accounting and Master of Science in finance from Texas A&M University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas.