Team Varsity

Jerry Wojenski

Jerry joined Newman Development Group in 2012 to grow the company’s student housing portfolio. In 2015, he launched Varsity Campus, an independent student housing management firm and served as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer. Jerry was named the Chief Executive Officer in 2018 and directs all aspects of the Company’s operating and investment platforms. He has assisted his clients with the successful development, acquisition, and disposition of over $500MM in student housing assets. With over 18 years of experience in student housing, Jerry has held various progressive roles with industry leaders including EdR, ACC, and Campus Apartments. He began his career as a leasing agent while attending the University of Illinois. He is a member of the National Apartment Association and a frequent speaker at industry events. Jerry earned an MBA from East Carolina University and he is a licensed real estate broker.

Clayton Hayer

Clayton Hayer is Director of Property Operations for Varsity Campus and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received a BA in Industrial Relations. Clayton started his student housing career as a Resident Advisor at UNC-Chapel Hill and has 30 years of student housing operations experience with Allen & O’Hara, EdR, Greystar, and American Campus Communities.

James Guidi

James started with Varsity in 2018 as a community assistant at Lakeside Commons in Oswego while completing his undergrad in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Upon graduation, he took a role on the corporate team to assist with the IT infrastructure as an intern and is now overseeing the IT department as well as helping in various other areas. James enjoys sports and you will most likely find him on the golf course in his free time.

Lexi Abeska

Lexi Abeska joined Varsity Campus in 2021 as the HR Manager. Lexi graduated from the University of Missouri, where she received a BA in Psychology and a BA in Political Science. During her time at Mizzou, Lexi worked as a Community Assistant for a property management company in Columbia, sparking her interest in the industry. Following her time at Mizzou, Lexi spent a year attending law school prior to deciding to pursue a career in Human Resources. In 2020, Lexi received her SHRM-CP certification while working for a Proctor & Gamble joint venture company. In 2021, Lexi returned to the industry and assumed the role of HR Manager for Varsity Campus and oversees the Human Resources Department.

Kyle Conniff

Kyle Conniff is a Portfolio Manager for Varsity Campus, based out of Buffalo, NY. . Kyle is a graduate of the University of Buffalo, where he received a BS in Business Administration.

During school, Kyle started his career in Buffalo where he began as a Community Assistant at the University Village at Sweethome. That eventually led to a Leasing Coordinator position with the nation’s largest developer, owner and manager of student housing apartment communities. After graduation, Kyle was moved to Assistant General Manager at The Villas on Rensch in Buffalo, NY. It was in this position Kyle was able to grow and learn the responsibilities of a General Manager and allowed him to accept the position of General Manager at Twenty91 North. After a successful lease up and sustained performance Kyle joined NDG Student Living and assumed the role of Area Manager. As Area Manager Kyle oversees 3 properties in the NDG Student Living portfolio.

Steven Branch

Steven joined the Varsity Team in May 2022 as a Portfolio Manager. He is a graduate of East Carolina University where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Business. Steven began his career as a Community Assistant with Allen & O’Hara. Following this position, he journeyed upward to Leasing Professional, Leasing Manager, Property Manager, and later to Management Specialist with the Preiss Company. In this role, he contributed to the training and development of leasing and operational standards for more than 20k+ beds. With 11 years in the industry, he continues to strive for innovative ways to develop his skills and the authentic skills of the teams he builds. He believes that ” the best performance sprouts from individuals who are encouraged to understand how their individual contributions fit into the forward-moving progress of the mission”. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and traveling to new countries with his friends.

Billie Peterson

Billie recently returned to Varsity Campus to assume a role as Portfolio Manager. Billie is a graduate of Campbell University where she received her BBA in Business Administration and a BA in Communication Studies.

Billie has over twelve years of experience in Student Housing. She began as a community assistant and quickly worked her way up to General Manager with communities varying in letter designation, and bed counts as high as 2,500. Billie went on to hold several corporate-level positions such as a Regional Leasing and Marketing Specialist, before ultimately becoming an Asset Manager, specializing in leasing & marketing, for a portfolio worth nearly half a billion dollars. During her free time, you will likely find Billie on the beach with her family.

Keegan Malone

Keegan joined Varsity Campus in August 2020 as General Manager of The Letterman Chicago. She has since been promoted to Area Manager. Keegan is a graduate of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ, where she received her BS in Business Management and AS in Construction Management. Prior to Keegan joining Varsity Campus, Keegan started her career in 2013 from the ground up in student housing. Keegan began as a Community Assistant at The Grove Flagstaff, progressed to Senior Leasing Consultant, and eventually Leasing & amp; Marketing Manager of the 776-bed property consisting of townhomes and garden-style apartments. In 2018, Keegan moved to West Lafayette, Indiana to oversee a new development lease-up and first year of operations at Rise on Chauncey at Purdue University for CA Ventures 2019 Flagship Property. Keegan is extremely passionate about creating the ideal lifestyle experience for all residents and helping others find their perfect home away from home. In her free time, Keegan enjoys cooking, trying new foods and spending quality time with her dog Luna.

Kenneth Fox

Kenny began his career with Varsity Campus in 2018 as a community assistant at Twin River Commons in Binghamton, NY. Upon graduating from SUNY Binghamton, Kenny joined the corporate team as a Marketing Coordinator before returning to his college home, taking over as the General Manager of Twin River Commons. After completing consecutive successful lease-ups on the property level, Kenny rejoined the corporate team in May 2022 as our Leasing and Operations Specialist where he will assist site teams throughout the portfolio with their leasing and operations efforts. In his free time, Kenny enjoys reading, hiking with his dog, Honey, and going to concerts.

Sophia Zhan

Sophia Zhan works as Corporate Accountant with Varsity Campus. She is responsible for monthly, quarterly, and annual accounting activities, including reconciliations, JE adjustments, and general account analysis. Sophia is working closely with properties’ accountants and AP team. She received both Master and Belcher’s degrees from University of North Carolina at Charlotte. With over 3 years at an accounting firm in North Carolina, she gains experience for establishing accounting systems, preparing business financial statement, filing tax returns for individual and business. Sophia is Enrolled Agent and preparing for CPA exams.

Sophia was born in Chongqing, China where the city is famous for Hot-pot. She enjoys spicy foods, playing tennis, and watching Netflix comedies.

Jeremy Bowker

Jeremy Bowker is the Accounts Payable Coordinator for Varsity Campus. His primary function is to verify and process payments for property invoices and memo credits.

Jeremy has a background in student housing building management, bookkeeping, and event planning. He is always striving to find ways to ‘work smarter, not harder’ by becoming more efficient in workplace processes.

Keshanna Ellison

Accounts Payable
Born and raised in New York City, Keshanna, recently relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina in March 2022 where she joined Varsity Campus as the Accounts Payable Assistant/Clerk under Jeremy Bowker.
She graduated from SUNY Purchase with her BA in Liberal Arts, while also studying New Media for 2 years.
After college, she worked as a Visual Merchandising Manager for Adidas, and a Brand Ambassador for Carhartt. Later, she was offered an opportunity to work for Nissan & Volkswagen in the Billing department handling multiple duties.
While working for those two companies, within 6 months, Keshanna was promoted to work in the accounting department under the controller. Taking on more responsibility, and learning the ins and outs of accounting was something that she was happy to do.
Keshanna’s ability to learn and work in various fields is what allowed her to be able to bring her work ethic, talent, and skills to Varsity Campus.
During her free time, she enjoys shopping, traveling, finding new museums/galleries and doing film photography.

Shuying Li

Shuying joined Varsity in late 2019 as a property accountant. She has three years of staff accounting experience from One Step Professional Services LLC. Shuying graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Audit and Advisory Services from DePaul University.

Leila Zhu

Leila joined Varsity Campus in March as a property accountant. Prior to joining Varsity Campus, she worked as a staff accountant in Raleigh. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Public Affair from Indiana University Bloomington.

Teddy Li

Teddy joined Varsity in late 2021 as a property accountant. He has been working in the international real estate industry in the field of strategy and marketing for five years. Teddy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in the dual major of society and business administration. He also got his Master of Accounting degree from North Carolina State University. He worked with both the accounting team and the property team at Varsity to clean all accounting books and to improve property management efficiency.

Lydia Wallace

Lydia serves as the Regional Leasing Manager for our northern region properties. She began her career as a Community Assistant while in college and progressed to the Leasing Professional role. Lydia then joined Varsity Campus in October 2020 as a Leasing & Marketing Manager for The Letterman Chicago. She has now been promoted to Regional Leasing Manager.
Prior to joining Varsity Campus, Lydia worked in the West Lafayette market at Rise on Chauncey and further within the Chicago market. Lydia is from Kokomo, Indiana, and graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Public Relations. Lydia is passionate about making genuine connections with others, encourages personal and team development, and is focused on bringing out the best side of each person she meets. In her free time, she loves exploring all the city of Chicago has to offer.

Kayla Humston

Kayla joined Varsity Campus in November 2021 as a Regional Leasing Manager, overseeing our Southern Portfolio composed of 2,500+ beds.Prior to joining Varsity Campus, Kayla worked with Cardinal Group Management for four years. She began as a Community Intern before graduating from Western Carolina University with her BS in Psychology. Since then, Kayla held positions as Leasing and Marketing Manager, Traveling Leasing Manager, and General Manager. Kayla is passionate about team development and leadership. She is excited to bring her multi-market experience in leasing, marketing, and operations to our on-site teams as they work together to provide the best product and service to our residents.

Hannah Whitesell

Hannah recently joined Varsity Campus as our new Marketing Coordinator. She graduated from the University of Central Florida, where she received her Marketing Degree and minor in Hospitality Management. After college, Hannah worked as a Marketing Manager and helped build online social media presences for several start-up businesses. Hannah recently relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina and is excited to bring her background in social media marketing, website design, and advertising to the team.

Andrien White

Andrien White joined Varsity Campus in June of 2020. He attended Wake Forest University where he received a bachelors degree in communication studies. Andrien has served Varsity Campus in former positions as Maintenance Technician and Resident Service Manager. He is currently the General Manager at The Villages at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, NC where he is directly responsible for leasing and marketing, financials, and operations of the 294 unit asset.

Sumin Hoque

Sumin joined the Varsity Campus team in July 2018 as a Community Assistant for Block20 Buffalo. Upon graduation from the University at Buffalo in 2020 with a BS in Business Administration, Sumin joined the corporate team in Chicago for a summer internship, working alongside the company directors and managers. He then traveled to North Carolina to assist in the Lease Launch of the Lighthouse in Wilmington and was then transferred back to Buffalo in November 2020 to begin as a Leasing Manager. Sumin is currently the General Manager at Block20 located in Amherst, NY where he oversees 636 beds. He loves working alongside his on-site team and takes pride in helping his staff grow inside and outside of the company.

Erin Telfair

Erin joined Varsity Campus in November 2021 as General Manager of Lakeside Commons in Oswego, New York. Prior to Erin joining Varsity Campus, Erin started her career in 2015 working for a Nonprofit Agency in Affordable Housing. Erin began as an Assistant Property Manager at a Senior Residential Center, progressed to a HUD Certified Assisted Housing Property Manager of a separate 75-unit Senior Housing building, and eventually Property Manager of an Affordable Multifamily 142-unit Project. Erin is passionate about learning how to establish and contribute to the ideal living experience, a home away from home for all residents. Erin enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and dog Archie.

Alyssa Post

Alyssa joined the Varsity Team in October 2021 as General Manager of Stonebridge Campus Living in Binghamton, NY. Alyssa is a graduate of Mansfield University of Pennsylvania where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications and Marketing. Alyssa has been in the student housing industry for just about 2 years with Stonebridge Campus Living located in Binghamton, NY. Alyssa wants to make sure all residents feel like Stonebridge is their home away from home. In her free time, Alyssa enjoys spending time with her family and 2 rescue pups as well as going shopping!

Katherine Brown

Katherine Brown is the General Manager for Block 43 Cottages starting in September 2021. Katherine graduated from Georgia Southern University majoring in Business Management, emphasis on Hospitality Management. After graduating, Katherine became a Leasing Consultant for a 300-bed Student Housing property in Statesboro, GA. After spending 3 years and 4 turns at that property and getting promoted to Leasing Manager and then Assistant Manager, Katherine moved on to another property in the area. This property she was the Property Manager for a 1,100-bed Student Housing property. After reaching goals of 100% occupancy and with a great opportunity to grow in her career she has made the move to Greensboro, NC to manage Block 43 Cottages and is excited to help exceed expectations at this property. In her free time, she likes to play with her three dogs and spend time with her husband and daughter.