S. Elise Batsel is a Partner at Phelps Dunbar, LLP, in Hillsborough County where she practices in the areas of land use, zoning and commercial real estate. She represents developers and lenders in all areas including real estate acquisitions, dispositions, financings, and leasing transactions. Ms. Batsel has represented national and local developers before various governmental bodies and helped them obtain entitlements in more than 40 counties and municipalities throughout the state of Florida. Ms. Batsel's land use practice includes assisting clients with issues related to zoning, permitting and governmental affairs. She has successfully obtained entitlements for the owners and developers of multi-family commercial, industrial, hotel and mixeduse projects. Her practice includes assisting clients with the environmental aspects of real estate and business transactions, including the redevelopment of environmentally impacted sites and environmental and wetland permitting issues. In the lending arena, Ms. Batsel’s experience involves the representation of banks, finance companies and other institutional lenders in a variety of transactional specialties, including commercial/syndicated loans and construction and permanent financings. Notably, Ms. Batsel has represented institutional lenders with Shari’ah-compliant finance and investment transactions. Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar, Ms. Batsel served as general counsel for Richmond Baking Company and Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs for FrankCrum.

Joe Probasco is a shareholder with the law firm of Bush Ross, P.A. in Tampa, FL, practicing in the firm’s commercial lending and real property group. His practice includes representation of purchasers, sellers, lenders, landlords and tenants in a variety of real estate transactions, including the purchase, sale, construction, financing, refinancing, and leasing of office buildings, multifamily projects, restaurants, industrial properties, manufacturing facilities and raw land. He also has experience in restructuring troubled real estate loans, including complex, multi-tiered loan restructurings, discounted payoffs, bankruptcy, and deficiency notes. Mr. Probasco was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and lives with his wife and three children in Tampa. He is heavily involved in the Tampa Bay community and currently serves as President of the Tampa Jewish Community Centers & Federation.

Robert D’Amore is a Fund Senior Commercial Services Underwriting Counsel. He earned his J.D. from Rutgers University and his B.A., with honors, from Montclair State University in New Jersey. He is currently licensed to practice law in New Jersey and Florida. Prior to joining The Fund, Mr. D’Amore served as in-house counsel to commercial real estate developers and institutional investors. In between inhouse positions, he was a senior attorney with regional law firms representing commercial real estate clients locally and nationally. Mr. D’Amore has more than 30 years’ experience in the commercial real estate industry, including development, asset management, and finance for malls and shopping centers, office and industrial centers, condominiums and hotel/ condominiums, multi-family, and mixed-use projects. He is a member of The Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section; the International Council of Shopping Centers; NAIOP; the Urban Land Institute; and the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Tina Fischer is a founding member of Fletcher & Fischer, P.L., located in Saint Petersburg, Florida, and has been practicing commercial real estate, land use, and environmental law in Florida since 2005. Ms. Fischer represents clients throughout the entire process of purchase and development of commercial real estate - from due diligence, financing, land acquisition, title services, and closings - to permitting and land use approvals, development, and lease negotiations. Her commercial real estate clients include multi-family and marina developers and owners, office, retail and industrial developers, real estate investment trusts and property management companies. Ms. Fischer served in the United States Air Force during the Gulf War as a C-141B Instructor Aircrew Member, on both active and reserve duty. During her time in service, she was involved in providing military support to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield, as well as providing airlift support for Presidential, State Department, aero medical missions and tactical missions. Ms. Fischer is a member of The Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and is an active member of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Tampa Bay, serving on the Board of Directors from 2017-2018. She is a member of the Advisory Board for Mission United Tampa Bay, and served as the 2017 and 2018 Chair of the Florida Bar Military Affairs Committee.