Advancing Real Estate Education Award
This award recognizes faculty who have made exceptional contributions to advancing real estate and appraisal education through the California Community Colleges Real Estate Education Center.
2024 - Alana Gates
As full-time professor and department chair, Alana Gates oversees the real estate program at Santiago Canyon College (SCC). A native of Australia, she immigrated to California in 1999, where she embarked on her academic journey as a first-generation college student in the California Community College system, culminating her educational pursuits at CSUF in Business Administration with an Emphasis in HR. Since 2006, Alana has been an active figure in the California real estate landscape, holding an active realtor license while concurrently serving as an educator. In 2015, she set aside her real estate sales work to dedicate herself fully to her passion as an educator.
Alana is deeply engaged in the real estate industry, serving on various committees within the Association of Realtors, including the Young Professional Network, Education, and as Vice Chair of the Professional Standards Committee, specializing in Arbitration and Mediation. Her comprehensive understanding of the real estate sector extends beyond mere licensure, encompassing roles as a Sales Associate, Compliance Manager, and Transaction Coordinator for a prominent brokerage firm.
With over four decades of dedicated service, Alana's commitment to professional development remains unwavering. She has demonstrated a keen penchant for fostering growth, having designed, and delivered specialized courses on Legal Compliance, Transaction Coordination, Tenant/Landlord Rights & Responsibilities, and Buyers and Sellers information seminars.
Alana's dedication to staying abreast of the dynamic real estate landscape is evident through her proactive approach to continuous learning. Regular participation in relevant courses underscores her commitment to providing her students with the latest industry insights and knowledge.
Currently, Alana is actively engaged in collaborative initiatives aimed at enhancing the real estate education landscape. Her involvement with CCCREEC focuses on refining the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers practicum/apprenticeship requirements, while her collaboration on an Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook underscores her commitment to accessible and inclusive learning materials. Alana also developed two other OER courses at SCC, Employability Skills and Real Estate the Ethical Way.
Recognizing the diverse student demographics at SCC, Alana spearheads initiatives to support Hispanic students, including the development of an English/Spanish dictionary and offering select courses in Spanish. Her dedication to inclusivity extends to the establishment of a noncredit real estate program, ensuring accessibility for all aspiring learners.
Looking ahead, Alana remains steadfast in her mission to elevate the real estate program's standards locally and statewide, with a singular focus on enhancing the educational experience for all students and the faculty who teach them.
Professor Gates was nominated by her fellow real estate faculty, and we are proud to recognize her collaborative leadership among California Community Colleges real estate programs, and her ongoing support of the CCC Real Estate Education Center.
2023 - John Yeressian, MBA
John Yeressian is a full-time professor of Real Estate at El Camino college and adjunct faculty at Compton College, a business owner, a California Real Estate Broker since 2008, and a champion for student success.
John is a proud first-generation college student who took classes at Pasadena City College, then transferred to graduate with a degree in Business Finance from California State University Northridge. After graduation, he worked on Wall Street for Merrill Lynch before becoming CFO of a growing credit union. He transitioned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which included with an assignment in the asset management and real estate division. His interest in real estate brought him back to college where he took real estate courses at both Compton College and El Camino College and met his mentor, Professor Robert Rooks.
He then transitioned to the Department of Defense, in the asset management division, purchasing commercial space and land for U.S. defense purposes. He went on to earn his MBA, where he found his passion for entrepreneurship. He, along with three MBA classmates, created a company called “My Watch Post” which was later purchased by Facebook.
Mr. Rooks invited John to guest lecture in real estate courses and encouraged him to give back to his community by teaching. While serving as an adjunct, John picked as many success tips as possible from Mr. Rooks' teaching strategy. Mr. Rooks passed away unexpectedly in 2018, and John continues his commitment to student success in his mentor’s honor. John firmly believes that an instructor's duty is to ensure that we do everything possible to help every student achieve their goals.
At El Camino College, John created a first of its kind real estate research center where students work on critical real estate research for publication and press-releases. Most recently, he has been putting together a 6-week summer study aboard program in Italy to study international real estate with both real estate and architecture students. He hopes to continue the program with a trip to a different country every summer.
John was nominated by his fellow real estate faculty, and we are delighted to honor his commitment to innovative student success with our 2023 award.
2022 - DeAnna Gossett, MBA
The California Community Colleges Real Estate Education Center is delighted to present the 2022 Advancing Real Estate Education award to DeAnna Gossett.
DeAnna Gossett is a Business and Real Estate Assistant Professor and the Interim Distance Education Coordinator at West Los Angeles College. She has been teaching for the Los Angeles Community College District for over 13 years. Professor Gossett holds a Master’s in Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in math and economics from Columbia University. She has been a California real estate broker since 2004 and has owned her own real estate and mortgage brokerage firm.
Ms. Gossett has worked with West Los Angeles College to create five new Real Estate Certificates of Achievement that align with the licensing requirements to become a real estate salesperson, broker, and trainee, residential, certified, and general appraiser. She has also created courses and certificates to train the Los Angeles County Tax Assessor’s office’s new appraisal hires.
Ms. Gossett prepares students to launch their careers once they complete her classes. Towards this end, she teaches them how to complete CAR forms, create property marketing plans, and develop prospecting plans before they are even licensed. Her goal is to ensure that students are prepared to become successful real estate agents.
Professor Gossett was nominated by her fellow California community college real estate faculty, and we are delighted to recognize her efforts to improve real estate education and support students through pathways to great real estate and appraisal careers.
2021 - K. Lee Steidel
The California Community Colleges Real Estate Education Center is delighted to present the 2021 Advancing Real Estate Education award to K. Lee Steidel.
With over fifteen years of community college teaching experience, Lee has served as an adjunct faculty member at Mesa College, Fullerton College and San Diego City College.
Lee has played an instrumental role as an adjunct faculty in advancing program development initiatives typically reserved for contract faculty. These projects include implementing, evaluating and achieving departmental goals as Program Review Lead Writer; chairing Real Estate Advisory Committees; expanding curriculum by initiating and developing new course outlines of record; and presenting innovative educational technology workshops for faculty.
Her contributions to student and career success include launching Real Estate Career Expos for students, featuring local real estate employers, keynote speakers and panels of real estate experts as well as curating and publishing real estate Job Boards by industry specialty to connect students with the most relevant internships and employers.
A graduate of UCLA, Lee has over 25 years of experience in residential and commercial real estate valuation, property management and investment. She has been a speaker at the USD Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate and a featured guest on the Los Angeles KNX 1070 Money 101 Show.
Lee was nominated by fellow real estate faculty, and we are proud to recognize her efforts in building successful real estate career education programs for students at three California community colleges.
2020 - Robert Abelson, Ph.D.
The California Community Colleges Real Estate Education Center is delighted to present the 2020 Advancing Real Estate Education award to Robert Abelson, Ph.D.
Dr. Bob, as he is commonly known to students and colleagues, is a part-time faculty member who has taught since 1999 at El Camino College, Saddleback College, Irvine Valley College and Mt. San Antonio College. He also has an extensive teaching history at a number of private real estate schools including Kaplan, McKissock, Acheson Appraisal, Complete Appraisal School, Dynasty School, The Columbia Institute, and the UCLA Extension Real Estate Program. He is an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor, Certified Distance Education Instructor (IDEC), and maintains a Certified General Appraiser practice in Redondo Beach, California.
Dr. Bob earned a bachelor’s in physics from State University of New York at Stony Brook, a master’s in physics from University of California Santa Barbara, and a doctorate in geophysics from University of California Los Angeles. After facing layoffs in the defense and aerospace industries during more than a decade of work, and with the encouragement of his wife Susan and friends, Bob started taking real estate classes at El Camino college in 1992. He earned his California certified general real estate appraisal license in 1996, and started working as a commercial real estate appraiser while helping raise his family with Susan, who worked full-time during his career transition and beyond.
Dr. Bob Abelson describes his proudest accomplishments as supporting students in his classes, and mentoring four former students through the appraisal license process and building their own appraisal practices. Additionally, he enjoys a great network of relationships with real estate instructors and real estate professionals (brokers, appraisers, title reps, property managers, lenders and attorneys), friends, a loving family and a fantastic wife, Susan, as a partner who inspired and helped make his career change a great success.
Dr. Bob was nominated by fellow California Community College real estate faculty, and we are delighted to recognize his work in expanding appraisal education, improving online instruction, modeling lifelong learning as an instructor seeking new technologies, advocating for students seeking appraisal careers, and student success in the classroom.
2019 - Gjenaii Z. Enciso Givhan, MBA
We are delighted to present the 2019 Advancing Real Estate Education award to Gjenaii Z. Enciso Givhan, of Los Angeles Valley College. Professor Enciso Givhan has been teaching for 15 years and is a full-time, tenure track Business and Real Estate professor at Los Angeles Valley College.
Professor Enciso Givhan holds a Masters in Business Administration with a specialization in organization leadership from Mount St. Mary’s University and a California Real Estate Broker License.
Professor Enciso Givhan’s efforts to promote student success in the classroom and community include revising the real estate program at LAVC and the addition of a real estate certificate of achievement, starting a real estate student career mentoring program, advising a real estate club with monthly professional guest speakers, and helping students build thriving careers in all areas of real estate practice.
2018 - Leonel “LEO” Bello
The 2018 Advancing Real Estate Education Award was presented to Leonel “Leo” Bello, MBA, a full time professor of real estate at City College of San Francisco. Professor Bello is the Real Estate Program Coordinator at City College of San Francisco, where he has been teaching in the Business Department since 2000.
Professor Bello was a consulting and contributing member to the financial literacy program for the California Department of Real Estate He helped launch a statewide financial literacy program during the 2008 financial crisis for the California community colleges to help consumers make informed financial decisions. He is also a a Review Editor for Dearborn Kaplan Publications, and a California licensed Real Estate Broker, Mortgage Broker, and Insurance Broker.
Professor Bello is committed to student success at City College of San Francisco, and has developed a widely attended Real Estate Student Career Night to assist students with resume and interviews with local real estate employers. He also serves on the advisory committee for the California Community Colleges Real Estate Education Advancement Committee.