RICHARD PEISER, AMDP Academic Leader, was appointed the first Michael D. Spear Professor of Real Estate Development at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) in 1998. Professor Peiser is also director of the university-wide Real Estate Academic Initiative created in 2003. His primary research has focused on developing an understanding of the response of real estate developers to the marketplace and to the institutional environment in which they operate, particularly in the areas of urban redevelopment, affordable housing, and suburban sprawl. Peiser is the academic leader for the GSD’s Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate. He is the author of Professional Real Estate Development: The ULI Guide to the Business and Reducing Crime through Real Estate Development and Management, and has written numerous articles on real estate finance, urban sprawl, low-income housing, and the management of development firms. Through his development company and various partnerships, Peiser has been active in apartment and housing development and in repositioning industrial properties. He is a former trustee of the Urban Land Institute. Peiser holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BA from Yale University.