John Luipold, Vice President for Business Affairs, Auxiliary Services and Real Estate
John oversees all aspects of the University’s real estate operations and provide leadership for the acquisition, development, disposal and management of Brown’s real estate holdings. He collaborates with other senior staff and appropriate committees to lead real estate plans in support of Brown’s mission and institutional master plan. John also works with senior and departmental leaders across the University to develop and implement strategies to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the University’s operations and to improve alignment within and across departments. After experience with several Fortune 500 companies, John came to Brown as a Director of Real Estate in 2007 to specifically be part of a mission driven institution. He was promoted to Assistant Vice President in 2013 before assuming an interim leadership role in 2017 during the recent VP FM transition. John holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Economics from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. John also earned a Master of Business Administration degree, graduating Summa Cum Laude, from IE Business School as part of the IE-Brown Executive MBA program.
Lidia Pierce, Director, Finance & Auxiliary Services
Lidia oversees the lease administration and property management activities related to Brown’s commercial real estate portfolio, Auxiliary Housing and the Haffenreffer Estate, located in Bristol, Rhode Island. She remains responsible for the financial management for all Real Estate's operations, as well as directing the technology and systems that are employed and deployed in the Real Estate Department. Lidia has been at been Brown since 2016. She holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Connecticut School of Business. Prior to joining Brown, Lidia served as Controller at two manufacturing firms in RI and was also previously employed by Hasbro, Inc. in various accounting and budgeting related roles.
Luis Gonzalez, Building/Project Manager
Luis is responsible for the operations of over 200,000 square feet of Brown’s occupied area, which accommodates eleven internal departments. He oversees other Brown-owned and leased buildings, working closely with their respective management teams to ensure that the operational standards of Brown are met. He also cultivates and supports all third-party vendor relationships. Luis has worked at Brown for 13+ years, most recently as the Assistant Store Manager of Operations at the Bookstore. Luis joined the Real Estate Department as Building/Project Manager in April 2024.
Megan Szwyd, Associate Director, Real Estate
Megan oversees the property management activities for Brown's commercial real estate portfolio. Additionally, she manages the relationship with the third-party firm, Cardinal Group, who is responsible for the daily leasing and student activities at River House (graduate student housing). Megan also oversees the parking operations within the commercial real estate portfolio. She has been working for Brown since 2018. Prior to property management operations being brought in-house, Megan worked for Cushman & Wakefield as the Property Manager who oversaw the daily activities of the commercial portfolio on behalf of Brown Real Estate.
Tina Thompson, Assistant Director, Auxiliary Housing
Tina oversees the property management activities for Auxiliary Housing’s residential real estate portfolio which includes faculty, staff, visiting scholar, graduate, and undergraduate housing. She also provides relocation support for new Brown faculty and staff members. Tina began her career at Brown in the Auxiliary Housing department in 2005. She came to Brown after a successful career working as a legal assistant/office manager in a law firm specializing in real estate transactions.