Industrious Thinking.
Value Focused.

Patrick Fisher is a Founder and Managing Partner at Lift Partners. Prior to forming Lift, Patrick served as a Managing Partner of MHF Real Estate, a receivership, asset management, and investment firm where he managed 2 million square feet of distressed commercial assets on behalf of GE Capital, CIII Realty, CW Capital, and Wells Fargo while also acquiring, foreclosing, and repositioning distressed loans. Prior to forming MHF, Patrick served as Vice President of Real Estate Capital Investments for Wells Fargo Bank, a $500 million joint venture equity platform, where he sourced and managed joint venture equity investments on the West Coast. Earlier in his tenure at Wells Fargo, Patrick served as a Vice President of REO responsible for managing a $200 million portfolio of distressed commercial real estate assets throughout the United States. Patrick began his career in real estate as an Analyst for Equity One (NYSE: EQY, now Regency Centers).

Patrick holds a B.A. in American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Patrick served as captain of the men’s soccer team and post graduation went on to a brief stint in Major League Soccer. He is an Advisory Board Member for the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Patrick is a Bay Area native and spends most of his free time chasing his three kids under the age of 8.

Michael Murray is a Managing Partner at Lift Partners. Prior to joining Lift, Mike was Vice President at Terreno Realty Corporation focused on both acquisitions and asset management. During his tenure, Mike was responsible for both acquisitions and asset management in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York regions, managing a portfolio of 4.4 million square feet.  Mike began his career on the loan syndications desk at Wells Fargo Bank and continued at the bank during the 2008 financial crisis, managing distressed real estate debt backed by industrial and retail projects across the country.

Mike holds a B.A. in Economics from Princeton University where he was captain of the water polo team. Mike is a Bay Area native and spends his time watching Warriors basketball and hiking.

Heather Bui is a Controller at Lift Partners.  Prior to joining Lift, Heather served as Vice President Controller of Blum Capital Partners, where she oversaw all accounting functions for the firm’s private equity and real estate funds.  She played a key role in the launch of the firm’s first real estate private equity fund with equity commitments of $100 million.  Prior to Blum Capital Partners, she worked at Stockbridge Real Estate Funds where she managed several real estate private equity funds with aggregate equity commitments of over $2 billion.  Heather began her career in public accounting at KPMG, primarily working with construction, real estate, and private equity clients.

Heather holds a B.A. in Business/Economics with an Emphasis in Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara.  She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed by the California Board of Accountancy.  Originally from Southern California, she enjoys spending time with her husband cooking, eating out, and keeping up with their three active boys.

Vernon Pitts joined Lift Partners in November 2023 as Director of Construction and oversees all construction projects. Previously, Vern worked as a General Contractor at C&J Contracting, working on Lift Partners portfolio in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past seven years and as a commercial tenant improvement Carpenter, Superintendent, and Project Manager in the Bay Area for the last 40 years.

Colby Schaefer is a Vice President at Lift Partners. Prior to joining Lift, Colby was a Senior Associate at Shorenstein Properties focusing on both acquisitions and asset management. Colby was responsible for covering the Silicon Valley, Portland, and Mountain West markets for Shorenstein. During his tenure at Shorenstein, Colby participated in over $1.2 billion of real estate transactions and the management of a 5.7 million square foot portfolio. Prior to joining Shorenstein in 2015, Colby worked at UBS Realty Investors in the acquisition and portfolio management departments.

Colby holds a B.S. in Real Estate and Urban Economics from the University of Connecticut. Colby is originally from Connecticut and enjoys making pizza and hiking with his wife and dog.

Jake Keller is a Director at Lift Partners. Prior to joining Lift, Jake was an associate on WeWork’s Real Estate team, focusing on expanding WeWork’s presence in the Western United States and Canada. Jake was involved in sourcing 20 new leases and underwrote 133 prospective leases totaling 8.5 million square feet. He also piloted market research standards for new and existing markets and established underwriting principles for the Underwriting and Analytics team. Prior to WeWork, Jake worked at PNC Realty Investors as an acquisition and development analyst underwriting office, industrial, retail, and multifamily acquisitions and developments ranging from $30 million to $560 million.

Jake holds a B.S. in Business from Drexel University where he was the founder of the Drexel University Real Estate Club. Originally from New York, he enjoys playing basketball and is an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan.

Austen is a Director at Lift Partners. Prior to joining Lift, Austen was an Analyst with Cushman & Wakefield, initially in New York City before relocating to San Francisco to join the Institutional Capital Markets team. While at Cushman & Wakefield, Austen was involved in underwriting, marketing, and due diligence efforts of industrial, life science and office sales ranging from $20 million to $300 million. She also served as Philanthropy Chair for Cushman & Wakefield Future Leaders, supporting a 14-year partnership with the Trust for Public Land.

Austen holds a B.A. in Urban Studies and Architecture from Trinity College (Connecticut). Originally from Southern California, Austen enjoys long beach days with family and friends.

Riley Weller joined Lift Partners in July 2023 as an Analyst. Riley holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was an active member of the universities’ Real Estate Club. Originally from San Francisco, Riley enjoys attending Giants games, playing soccer and visiting Tahoe and Yosemite.

Mary Mazurek joined Lift Partners in November of 2023 as a Senior Accountant and directly assists with the accounting and financial reporting for the firm. Prior to joining Lift, Mary worked as a Senior Tax Associate at KPMG in Chicago, where she specialized in tax planning and compliance for several real estate investment companies.

Mary attended Indiana University Bloomington earning B.S. in Accounting and Finance and is a Certified Public Accountant.  As a Chicago native, Mary likes to enjoy the San Francisco weather by running, swimming, and taking weekend trips to explore California.