Our Team

Steven C. Friedmann, Partner

A native Californian, graduate of UC Berkeley and Southwestern School of Law, Mr. Friedmann is a licensed real estate attorney and broker specializing in the entitlement, development, construction, and management of apartment buildings. Prior to founding Topanga, mentored by American billionaire and philanthropist David H. Murdock to acquire, operate and grow real estate assets. He led a division of Castle & Cooke, Inc. for over a decade by acquiring land, winning RFP’s, constructing aviation facilities, and branding an FBO chain with offices in Los Angeles, Hawaii and Washington State. Prior to that he was corporate counsel for JP Morgan (Chase) where he managed the disposition and legal matters pertaining to real estate owned (REO) assets of the bank. His transactional work includes complex workouts, negotiated settlements, purchase and sales agreements, entitlement, and land use matters. Mr. Friedmann enjoys spending free time with family, traveling and golfing.

Mike Bernstein, CFO

Mr. Bernstein is a principal of Bernstein Financial Services, a firm which completes 2,000+ personal and business tax returns annually. His firm advises and counsels Topanga on all real estate acquisitions and funding matters. Mr. Bernstein helps Topanga through detailed underwriting and accurate financial analysis. Mr. Bernstein spends his leisure time snowboarding, wakeboarding and running (longest: 100 miles in 28 hours) and triathlons of all distance.

Brent Mandel, Director of Construction

Mr. Mandel joined Topanga in 2019 as Director of Construction. Mr. Mandel is a licensed general contractor with over twenty years of experience managing commercial construction projects for development group Evergreen Devco, Decron Properties and The Irvine Company. He has successfully completed over 300 projects, including multi-family, retail, office, and mixed-use developments. Mr. Mandel is responsible for developing the budgets, systems and personnel to manage the construction process from inception to completion. Mr. Mandel is a Southern California native a graduate of USC Marshall School of Business. Mr. Mandel spends his leisure time with his wife and three children or sparring at the gym.

David Terian, Advisor

Mr. Terian joined Topanga as an Advisor in 2019. With two decades of industry experience, Mr. Terian brings a significant investment, development, and capital markets expertise to the firm. Over the course of his career, Mr. Terian has completed over $4 billion in transactions across various property types and geographies. Additionally, he has been directly involved in the development of several billion dollars of residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects throughout the Western US.

Stuart Greene, Site Supervisor

Mr. Greene joined the Topanga Construction team in 2019. Previously, Mr. Greene oversaw the construction of residential houses for Tipping Development, LA Urban Homes and Shea Homes. Mr. Greene has supervised the construction for dozens of multi-family apartment buildings with Schlon and Tepler, a local Southern California developer. With over fifteen years of experience as a construction superintendent and more than 45 years of construction experience, Mr. Greene is a seasoned construction professional. At Topanga, Mr. Greene ensures all on-site operations run smoothly, including maintaining permits, coordinating with subcontractors, reviewing site plans, and scheduling construction projects. Outside of the office, Mr. Greene enjoys spending time with his wife at sunny SoCal beaches.

Anne-Marie Sullivan, Property Manager

Ms. Sullivan is Topanga’s Property Manager. Ms. Sullivan maintains the highest level of integrity for everyone involved in the rental process at Topanga’s properties, and her hands-on approach to property management helps ensure tenant satisfaction and loyalty. Prior to joining Topanga, Ms. Sullivan was the Creative Director at Fredrick’s of Hollywood for thirteen years. She is a graduate of California State University, Northridge.

Coleen L. Kirnan, Asset Manager

Ms. Kirnan is Topanga’s Asset Manager overseeing the portfolio of existing real estate assets. For 23 years she was the President and Owner of Kirnan Commercial Real Estate Inc., a Los Angeles-based commercial brokerage and construction company. Ms. Kirnan received her MBA from Pepperdine University.