Mark Barer Appointed Vice President of Real Estate, Facilities, and Planning

Mark joined the Berklee community on July 8.

July 17, 2025

Dear Berklee community,

I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Barer as vice president of real estate, facilities, and planning, effective July 8. Working in close partnership with the senior leadership team and reporting to Executive Vice President and CFO Paul Dworkis, Mark will lead the planning, development, and execution of real estate initiatives, facilities management and building-related capital projects, and sustainability efforts to enhance Berklee's environment in support of our mission and strategic goals. Mark brings 25 years of deep expertise in real estate acquisitions, design, construction, permitting, marketing, and financing.

Mark is an experienced executive with proven success developing a broad range of complex mixed-use urban and suburban projects exceeding $2 billion in value across multiple asset classes, including life science, multifamily, office, and retail. He comes to Berklee from Lendlease, Australia’s leading real estate business, where he served for four years in the company’s Boston office as SVP and director of development. At Lendlease, he oversaw all development and operations activities, strategic planning integration, project execution, and operational efficiency. His projects included development and asset management for Forum, a best-in-class life science facility in Boston.

Prior to Lendlease, Mark served as director of development for several established Boston development companies, including Nan Fung, Twining Properties, Berkeley Investments, and Cathartes Investments. In his role at Twining Properties, he directed the development of a transformational urban mixed-use project at Market Central that provided more than 308 housing units and 17,000 square feet of retail space across three buildings. At Berkeley Investments, he was responsible for master planning uses and development of a significant Fort Point Channel portfolio of office, retail, and residential space. Prior to working in the development industry, Mark worked as an architect for five years. Mark is a member of the Brookline Economic Development Advisory Board and the Brookline Music School Ensemble, and served on the US Building Green Council and Brookline’s Retail Advisory Board.

Mark holds a master’s degree in real estate finance and development from Columbia University in New York and a Master of Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. He received a bachelor’s degree in international economics and urban planning from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

This appointment is the result of a comprehensive search conducted by an internal committee. I’d like to thank the members of the committee for dedicating their time to this process:

  • Eileen Alviti, Senior Vice President, Human Resources

  • Krystal Banfield, Vice President, Education Outreach and Social Entrepreneurship 

  • Robert Lagueux, Vice Provost

  • Allie Mitropoulos, Deputy General Counsel

  • Kaitlin Passafaro, Chief of Staff

Please join me in congratulating Mark on his appointment and welcoming him to the Berklee community.

Thanks,

Jim Lucchese
President