About Sixty West

Stephen Holden graduated from the University of Kansas with a J.D. in 1975 and began his career with an emphasis on commercial real estate, specializing in long-term health care properties and affordable housing developments. Serving as Developer and Lender’s counsel, Holden has closed more than $2 billion in affordable housing projects in dozens of syndicated developments throughout the Midwest. With his extensive background in affordable housing, Holden saw an opportunity when the Low-Income Housing (LIH) Tax Credit market cratered in 2008. Rather than replicating the approach of larger institutions, Holden developed a syndication model to pair profitable community and state banks as investors in local and regional LIH Tax Credit developments. In addition, Holden has applied his proven syndication model to the renewable energy field, resulting in the completion of numerous successful wind and solar projects.

Matt Mills graduated from The University of Mississippi in 2001 with a Business Administration degree. Early in his career, Mills served as a senior housing coordinator overseeing 9,800 units of affordable housing in 13 states. Mills has served as chief financial officer of the MACO Companies, specializing in LIH Tax Credit Developments, and as an owner of Legacy Real Estate Group, LLC, a single tenant, net-leased and multi-family focused real estate brokerage firm with a portfolio valued in excess of $100 million. In addition, Mills has personally developed a real estate portfolio exceeding $300 million under management. Assets in the portfolio include hotels, office complexes, single-tenant, net-leased assets and agricultural land, along with over 1,300 units of multi-family properties.

Natalie Riley graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a J.D. in 2001. She has extensive experience with commercial real estate, business organization and affordable housing development and financing. In 2003, Riley closed the first multi-asset mark-to-market transaction in Missouri consisting of 10 projects and has been the lead attorney in several individual and multi-project closings. Riley has represented numerous developers, project owners, investors and financial institutions in affordable housing projects throughout the United States. She has extensive experience working with various local, state and federal agencies including USDA Rural Development and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Currently, Riley oversees the day-to-day financial operations of Sixty West and focuses on the legal structure as it relates to the Sixty West principals’ acquisitions and investments in affordable housing and renewable projects. 

Mike Mills graduated from The University of Missouri in 1996 with a B.A. in Agricultural Economics. He served as deputy state director for Missouri senator Kit Bond, responsible for policy in agriculture, natural resources, transportation, and energy, and as deputy director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, leading efforts in technology and innovation, biofuel and biomass strategies and tax credit administration. In 2008, Mills became a partner at Spectrum Consulting focusing on energy and technology development.

Morgan Allen graduated from Regents University London in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in International Finance & Accounting. She has a decade of experience in public accounting, tax consultation and market analysis. Early in her career, Allen worked with high net worth family groups, developing value-added tax investments including low-income housing tax credits, historic rehabilitation tax credits, historic preservation investments and state credits. She served as a director for a tax credit consulting and syndication firm, pursuing complex transactions between tax asset investors and developers. Allen joined Sixty West in 2017 after co-founding Legacy Preservation, LLC with other Sixty West principals. Her focus is educating advisors, corporations, individuals and developers on government-supported programs primarily around renewable energy, and rehabilitation and preservation of historic buildings and land. As co-founder of Legacy Preservation, Allen provides expertise on all facets of historic preservation, from acquisition to investor relations.

Mr. Cordon is a founding partner of Kowan & Cordon, a boutique law firm specializing in federal, state and international tax, private equity and business planning. He works with both U.S. and foreign clients to advise them regarding the international, federal and state tax aspects of a variety of corporate and partnership transactions, including mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, dispositions, spin-offs, and restructurings. He also provides counsel regarding the formation of and investment in a variety of private equity and other investment funds including major corporate venture capital, tax credit and real estate transactions.

In addition, a significant portion of Mr. Cordon’s practice concentrates on the representation of investors, developers and syndicators nationwide in connection with tax-incentivized investments, including conservation motivated real estate funds, low income housing tax credits, renewable energy tax credits, historic rehabilitation tax credits, new markets tax credits, entertainment/film tax credits and other state specific credits.

Robert Lay graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and a Master's Degree in Finance. Lay joined Stonehenge Capital Company, LLC in 2007 where he was Vice President and focused on the sales and syndication of tax credit products to individual and corporate clients. In 2015, he founded Tempus Capital Partners, LLC (“Tempus”), a boutique tax credit syndicator and advisor that was acquired by the Online Incentives Exchange, LLC (“OIX”). Lay served as the Chief Operating Officer of OIX, a cloud based, online tax credit marketplace and enterprise software solution for managing tax credits and related incentives. Lay is a principal of Sixty West TCI, LLC and the director of tax credit investments. He is engaged in all aspects of the firm’s federal and state tax credit opportunities with a primary focus on developing and maintaining relationships with taxpayers and investors of various tax advantaged products, including Fortune 500 clients, public and privately held companies, family offices, accounting firms, investment advisors, and individual taxpayers. Lay also works closely with other Sixty West affiliates on tax advantaged real estate acquisition and development and structured tax credit products.

Michael Williams graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in Finance and Economics. Williams started his career in sales consulting with a major manufacturing company before transitioning into operations management, doubling revenue at a regional service provider. At Sixty West, Williams started in asset management where he provided diligence on projects prior to development and monitored performance throughout the length of the projects. He then moved into Investor Relations before eventually becoming Director. Williams educates clients, ranging from high-earning individuals to Fortune 500 corporations and financial institutions, on the benefits of tax credits and provides continued support through the life of the partnership. He is also responsible for leading the Investor Relations team as they continue to see exponential growth.

Don Deans received his MBA from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1974. Deans has supported individual and corporate clients as a CPA for more than 40 years. Deans is a former Deloitte partner and is a member of The Georgia Society of CPAs (GSCPA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the North Carolina Association of CPAs (NCACPA). Deans is a nationally recognized and much sought after thought leader, speaker, and author on tax mitigation and alternative investments, especially regarding investment partnerships for conservation.

Michael O’Boyle graduated from Belmont Abbey College with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. He began his career being requited from Belmont Abbey to the management training program with E.F. Hutton in New York. O’Boyle then became head of Investment Banking of the SouthEast for Sterne Agee and Leach. He joined Sixty West from the Private Equity Fund Bayview Asset Management where he was a Director of the Financial Institutions Group for 10 years. O’Boyle has extensive management experience with positions with E.F. Hutton, Carolina Securities, Interstate Securities, Morgan Keegan, Equitable and FTN Financial and offers valuable knowledge in the institutional sales, trading and banking of investment products.

Daniel Jermak graduated from Saint Louis University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance. He has a decade of experience in investment research and asset management consulting. Early in his career, Jermak worked with ultra-high net worth family groups at a leading multi-family office providing investment research across all asset classes in addition to writing investment manager commentary for clients. For much of his career, Jermak has worked with large asset management firms as a consultant raising capital for public and private funds from RIA, Family Office, and Institutional clients. Jermak joined Sixty West in 2017. His focus is educating CIOs, Research Analysts, Advisors, CPAs as well as UHNW individuals on government-supported programs around renewable energy and preservation of historic buildings and land.

Jeffrey “Duke” Mowrer graduated from Franklin University in 1993 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance and Marketing. Mowrer has had over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. As an Independent Financial Advisor, he has seen every product or solution that has been offered to the public and always focused on educating the client. Early in his career, Mowrer primarily specialized on retirement planning solutions for early retirees. In 2005, Mowrer was the first C.F.E. Certified Financial Educator in the State of Georgia. Mowrer joined Sixty West in 2017 after selling his business. He continues to educate clients on the various investment opportunities and benefits offered by Sixty West.

Nathan Noble graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor’s degree in Managerial Finance in 2016 while also being a four-year letter winner in the sport of football. Noble then went on to complete his Masters of Business Administration also from the University of Mississippi in the Spring of 2017. Upon graduation he began working for Sixty West in August of 2017 where he manages information regarding Sixty West’s mining operations, as well as investor relations.

Dylan R. Acevedo earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Actuary Science Westminster College in 2010. Acevedo started his career in Poplar Bluff, MO as an accountant and investment advisor representative. While in Poplar Bluff, he earned numerous certifications in financial and accounting to provide more professional services to his clients. Currently, he is pursing the Certified Financial Analyst designation. Acevedo joined Sixty West in 2017. He developed and administered an investor compliance tracking system and was the point of contact for all investors and their advisors during the subscription process. He also communicated with the internal sales team to provide fund availably and information. Acevedo aided with the review of offering memorandums while identifying and researching new opportunities for the companies to pursue.

Megan Stuever graduated from Missouri State University in 2009 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in 2010. Upon graduation, she returned to her hometown of Dexter, MO to pursue a banking career. Stuever was in banking for nearly eight years learning the daily operations from the ground up. Stuever join Sixty West in 2018. She assists clients including public corporations, financial institutions and high net worth individuals through the investment process. She also aides in compliance and asset management.

As CFO for Legacy Companies, Shawn assisted in analyzing acquisitions and dispositions, as well as determining tax ramifications, on multi-family real estate assets. He compiled financial statements for multiple, complex entities and provided these documents for lender requirements. In addition to providing these documents, Guethle also further developed relationships with these lenders and acquired approximately $50MM of financing on various purchases and refinances. Shawn was also actively involved in ongoing financial review of the multi-family assets through Legacy Properties Management Company, as well as reviewing performance on other single tenant, triple net leases and hotel holdings.

In 2018, Shawn was asked to take over duties as CFO for Sixty West, where many of the same responsibilities have continued for the larger family of companies. Overseeing development timelines and budgets, as well as managing cash flow on various historic and land projects are a primary goal. Guethle works directly with the principals of Sixty West to insure funds are available for proposed projects or financing is available as needed. 

Ben Ressel graduated from Columbia College in 2000 with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. Upon graduation he immediately went into the commercial banking world with both corporate and privately owned lending institutions. In 2012 Ben graduated from the graduate school of banking at Louisiana State University. Ben joined Sixty West in 2016 bringing 16 years of banking and finance experience. Having worked both for and with the Sixty West group Ben has assisted with funding for over $500 million in transactions in 30 plus states. At Sixty-West, Ben works with multiple lenders, and capital groups to help manage the company’s entire debt portfolio.  

Brett Larkowski is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) that studied Accounting and Business at Southeast Missouri State University receiving his Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Early in his career, Larkowski worked in the private sector of accounting and financially oversaw 40+ million in annual construction revenues with responsibilities consisting of audit, tax, financial reporting and business management.

Larkowski joined Sixty West in 2017 as the Chief Financial Officer of Renewable Energy Alternatives, LLC (REA). He oversees and prepares financial information for REA while maintaining investor relations in all aspects of accounting, including GAAP financial presentation. 

Thomas graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in Accounting in 2009. He started his career in public accounting and brings 8 years of experience with him. His experience includes tax preparation and accounting services. As a CPA for Sixty West, he specializes in Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Developments and the various accounting duties related to these projects.

Eric Williams attended Missouri State University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, as well as a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration. Prior to joining Sixty West, Eric served as an assistant Hospital-Administrator for a regional healthcare provider. Eric was also responsible for managing rural health clinics before moving into a financial analyst position at the corporate level. With Sixty West Eric serves the Investor Relations division focusing on financial analysis, reporting and compliance.

Mitch Mertens attended Missouri State University before returning to the family owned business, Mertens Construction Company, Inc. in 1986.

Before the parent company and it’s subsidiaries were sold to a multi-state mining company in 2018, Mertens Construction Co., Inc. and it’s subsidiaries, Mid-Missouri Limestone, Inc and Osage Quarries, Inc., owned and operated eleven limestone quarries in the state of Missouri, producing high grade roadway products, agricultural lime, specification asphalt, concrete, and precast aggregates for both commercial and government projects. The company operated a fireclay mining company and trucking division to serve the needs of three brick refractories in the areas surrounding Audrain and Callaway counties. Mertens Construction was also a large general contractor for many MoDot construction projects and commercial projects until the 1990’s.

After the sale of Mertens Construction and it’s subsidiaries, Mitch joined the Ozark Southern Stone team as a logistics/production specialist for the Legacy Mining division. 

Bio coming soon.

Amy Michaelson Kelly graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and graduated magna cum laude from the university’s College of Law. Prior to joining Sixty West, Ms. Kelly practiced law for 10 years in Atlanta, Georgia, and spent most of her career at Greenberg Traurig, LLP, an international Am Law 15 law firm. In private practice, Ms. Kelly represented large companies and government entities in complex litigation involving real estate development and other business ventures. As Chief Operating Officer of Sixty West Funds, Ms. Kelly has been instrumental in launching Sixty West’s Opportunity Zone program, participating in the identification of targeted investments and the design of one of the nation’s first Opportunity Zone funds. Ms. Kelly is a frequent speaker on Opportunity Zone investment topics and educates participants in all areas of real estate development on the Opportunity Zone legislation.

Daniel C. Willingham graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law with a J.D. in 2011 and earned his LL.M. in Taxation from the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law in 2012.

Willingham began practicing law at an Am Law 100 law firm in St. Louis where he closed deals for and advised several of the nation’s largest Community Development Entities in the federal New Markets Tax Credit program. In addition, Willingham has experience at a worldwide top 10 accounting firm where he handled compliance, research, and federal and state tax audits for a wide variety of issues including Renewable Energy Tax Credits.

At Sixty West, Willingham structures transactions, conducts due diligence, and negotiates agreements for Renewable Energy Alternatives. He also advises all affiliated companies on tax matters and closely follows developments in the ever-changing area of tax policy for new programs and opportunities that can maximize value for Sixty West investors while helping to spur economic growth in underserved communities.

Marc Natividad has worked with the Sixty-West group of companies since 2014. He is the Director of Acquisitions and Due Diligence for Renewable Energy Alternatives (REA). He is on the Advisory Board of the Community Development Entity (CDE) for Sixty-West’s Rural Growth Fund. He is also the Managing Partner of New Power Capital Group (NPCG) a boutique equipment finance lender specializing in renewable energy equipment leasing. NPCG provides consulting and advisory services to REA. Marc has a BS degree in Finance from Arizona State University where he graduated Suma Cum Laude, and an MBA from Brigham Young University. He spent the last 20 years in the finance industry specializing in equipment and project financing and has worked for The CIT Group, Zions Bank, and Pacific Western Bank.