About Us

Michael Levin oversees all aspects of Spoke and serves as primary contact for all the firm’s investment opportunities. He has held senior roles in real estate and investment banking for more than 25 years.

Prior to founding Spoke in 2016, he was a Partner at Core Real Estate Capital, where he analyzed, negotiated, structured, and executed transactions. His leadership played a key role in growing the firm and increasing assets under management. His commitment to due diligence and ethical business practice is rooted in his experience as a Chief Compliance Officer. He has executed over $1 billion of real estate transactions, including multifamily, medical office, hotels, student housing, and retail.

Prior to his experience in real estate, Mr. Levin worked as an investment banker in the Mergers and Acquisitions group at both Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, where he analyzed and structured transactions for Fortune 500 clients as well as noted private equity firms. Mr. Levin holds an MBA (Finance) from Duke University and a BSBA (Business Administration) from Boston University where he received the Capstone Award.

Check the background of this investment professional on FINRA’s Broker Check.

Justin McCarthy joined Spoke Real Estate Capital in 2020 and is responsible for assisting in the underwriting and execution of all Spoke investments. He is also responsible for coordinating the firm’s capital raising efforts and overseeing investor relations activities.

Prior to joining Spoke, he was the Vice President at MSF Real Estate Capital. At MSF, Justin specialized in real estate debt origination and equity placement while supporting the firm’s asset management functions. His role had an emphasis on facilitating acquisitions, development and the recapitalization of existing assets. In his career, Justin has worked on over $500 million of real estate acquisition and development projects including multifamily, student housing, office and hospitality.

Prior to joining MSF Justin worked as an analyst at a boutique investment firm where he assisted in the analysis and structuring of both acquisition and development opportunities. Justin is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Justin’s interest in real estate, particularly real estate finance, took shape during his time with the Cleveland Research Company, a sell-side equity research firm, where he was focused on the hospitality industry.

Elijah Kim rejoined Spoke Real Estate Capital in 2023 and is responsible for the underwriting and execution of Spoke investments. He is also responsible for the firm's asset management and investor relations activities.

Prior to rejoining Spoke, Elijah was an investment professional at Nationwide Insurance where he was responsible for joint-venture equity, mezzanine loan, preferred equity, and senior construction loan investments in real estate projects across the US. Prior to Nationwide, Elijah worked as a Vice President of Acquisitions for Interwest Capital and Acquisitions Associate for Fairfield Residential in San Diego, California.

Prior to his experience in San Diego, Elijah was with Spoke Real Estate Capital. In his career, Elijah has worked on over $1.8 billion of real estate acquisition and development projects including multifamily, student housing, senior housing, mixed-use, and industrial. Elijah is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance.

Melissa Garland joined Spoke Real Estate Capital in 2020. As Director of Operations, Ms. Garland is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the firm including the development of efficient and effective business processes. Ms. Garland also assists with regulatory matters, investor relations, and portfolio monitoring.

Ms. Garland comes to Spoke with over 20 years of multifamily experience including assignments with Gables Residential, Casto Communities, Edwards Communities, and Grace Hill, LLC.  She holds a BA from the Ohio State University.

Jim Baich, Founder

MAD Capital brings a wealth of corporate leadership, strategy and capital markets expertise to the Spoke partnership. MAD Capital is a private investment company with positions in more than 35 private commercial real estate assets, in over a dozen geographic markets. MAD also owns significant equity positions in several operating businesses. As an active investor in a broad range deals, the firm has developed a sophisticated approach to identify and mitigate risk and help ensure capital is preserved.

Jeff Morris, President & CEO

Founded in 1984, MSF has grown into a proven, diversified and well-respected mortgage banking firm. MSF has financed nearly $10 billion of commercial real estate in almost every state in the continental U.S. The Firm has diversified business lines that now provide financing for all types of commercial real estate and has 35 years of experience to anticipate and address challenges within the real estate markets.