Our Team

Interwest Capital Corporation founder and chairman Alex Roudi is a successful entrepreneur and investor, whose track record in real estate investments date back to the early 1980s. Mr. Roudi has led transactions of over $750 million since 2003. Prior to Interwest, Mr. Roudi was the founder of Coverall North America Inc. where he served as CEO until its sale in July 1998. From an initial investment of $8,000, Mr. Roudi guided Coverall to a $250 million global organization with 68 regional offices, 6,000 franchise units and over 25,000 corporate customers worldwide.

Mr. Roudi is a graduate of the Harvard Business School. He is also a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Purdue University, with M.S. and B.S. degrees in engineering, respectively. Mr. Roudi has been an active member of the Young Presidents Organization since 1992, serving in various officer and board positions. He and his wife are active members of their community and support a number of charitable organizations in the San Diego area.

Karl Coleman has nearly 20 years of experience in the acquisition of distressed assets in the secondary market and has been actively involved in the successful completion of over $3 billion in principal transactions. Throughout his career, his primary activities have included sourcing and directing the acquisition of sub-performing and non-performing commercial real estate-secured loans and loan portfolios, as well as the direct purchase of REO properties. At Interwest Capital Corporation, Mr. Coleman is responsible for the direction of business development, real estate and loan portfolio analysis, review and reporting, and the tracking and strategic analysis of secondary market activities.

Mr. Coleman received a B.A. in Philosophy, summa cum laude, from the University of San Diego. He is currently pursuing an M.S. in Architecture from the New School of Architecture and Design in San Diego. He is a licensed California Real Estate Broker, a CCIM candidate and a member of the Urban Land Institute and San Diego Architectural Foundation.

Victoria Gladden, CFA joined Interwest Capital in 2005, where she is responsible for asset and portfolio management, support analysis of potential acquisitions and transaction closings. She earned a B.A. in International Business, specializing in Finance and Spanish from San Diego State University. Ms. Gladden is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute as well as the CFA Society of San Diego.

Prior to joining Interwest Capital Corporation, Elliott Burrell-Crowe was Director of Acquisitions at Merlin Funding, an opportunity fund located in Chicago, IL. While at Merlin, he oversaw the investment of approximately $250 million in Chicago office and industrial properties. Mr. Burrell-Crowe has also worked in the Real Estate Investment Group of JP Morgan.

Mr. Burrell-Crowe received a B.A. in Political Science and Finance from Loyola University and an M.A. in Real Estate from Cornell University where he founded the Cornell Real Estate Journal.

Mr. Wittman is responsible for sourcing, structuring and capitalizing the firm’s real estate investments nationwide. His experience involves a wide array of direct, opportunistic and value-add investments in commercial real estate assets and large-scale residential developments. Well-versed in navigating the secondary loan market, he has also utilized distressed debt as a platform to secure an ownership interest in various properties through a successful Deed-in-Lieu, foreclosure action or negotiation effort. Prior to joining Interwest in 2007, Mr. Wittman facilitated more than $250mm of ground-up development activities in Southern California including the acquisition, budgeting and project-planning efforts of various mixed-use and residential communities.

A native San Diegan, Mr. Wittman is a graduate of the University of Southern California and received his M.B.A from the University of San Diego with a dual emphasis in real estate and finance. He is a licensed California Real Estate Broker, an active member of the San Diego chapter of the USC Alumni Association and a past member of the Downtown San Diego Parking & Urban Design Committee.

Ms. Stevens is responsible for assisting in escrow closings, asset management, accounting and all administrative duties. She is a graduate of Heald College in Monterey, CA with a degree in Business Administration.

Prior to joining Interwest Capital Corporation, Melissa was an acquisitions manager for a private opportunity fund where she oversaw or participated in the acquisition of close to $500mm in bulk and REO purchases across the US. Along with her experience in real estate acquisitions, she worked as an associate for Ohana Capital, a private equity firm exclusively focused on investing in search funds that, in turn, pursue acquisitions of profitable businesses with revenues of $5 to $50 million.

Melissa received her MBA as well as MS in Real Estate from the University of San Diego where she was a Dean’s Merit Scholar. She graduated from UC San Diego with a BA in Psychology and focus in Economics. In 2009, Melissa was published in the Journal of Sustainable Real Estate as a research assistant to Dr Norm Miller in his paper “Do Green Buildings Make Dollars and Sense?”

Monique Talamantez is responsible for overseeing all legal matters and managing outside counsel.  Her expertise is in real estate and corporate transactional work.  Throughout her career she has participated in numerous real estate, securities, corporate and financing transactions.   Ms. Talamantez also has significant experience in corporate formation and governance, tenant-in-common syndication and redevelopment law.  Ms. Talamantez plays an integral role in all matters and brings a broad range of legal knowledge and expertise.

Ms. Talamantez received a B.A. in History with a minor in Business Administration from the University of California Los Angeles, a MBA from St. Ambrose University and a JD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is licensed to practice law in California and Illinois.

Justin Shifrin’s experience spans the major real estate asset classes across the United States.  While at Fairfield Residential, a national apartment developer, Shifrin provided underwriting recommendations for over $350MM in ground-up construction and was brought into the asset management team to provide strategic guidance for underperforming apartment communities.  As a consultant, Shifrin initiated redevelopment efforts in an underutilized community of San Diego, California by working with community groups and acting as liaison to government agencies.

While at the University of San Diego Shifrin was recognized with the Woodruff Scholarship, an award that is given periodically to “the most outstanding student”.  In 2011, as co-project manager, Shifrin helped lead his team to a 1st place finish besting 22 other highly-regarded universities in a real estate development/investment competition.  Shifrin earned a MS in Real Estate (MSRE) in 2011 and a MBA in 2012 from the University of San Diego with a focus in new venture management.  Shifrin holds a BA in Psychology from Pitzer College and is an active volunteer with Paws’itive Teams (a service and therapy dog organization).

Melissa Frerichs has been actively involved in the Real Estate Industry for the past eight years in markets throughout Arizona and Southern California. Most notable, Melissa was with Equity Residential, a Chicago based Real Estate Investment Trust (NYSE: EQR), that owns and manages over 400 properties in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Melissa held a variety of roles over her long work history with Equity Residential, which included direct supervision and management of some of their core assets in key markets throughout the North Los Angeles area. Under Melissa’s leadership these properties consistently experienced positive year over year growth, award winning customer service, and benefited from her extreme attention to detail.

Melissa graduated at the top her class from Arizona State University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism.