CoR Advisors

CoR Leadership Team

CoR Advisors specializes in providing unparalleled services in researching, analyzing, and recommending telecommunications and technology applications for owners of commercial office buildings. Our CoR Team is made up of industry thought leaders who bring over sixty years of direct experience in leveraging technology for strategic value.

Darlene Pope
Principal - Education and Business Development

Darlene Pope is Co-Founder and Principal of CoR Advisors. She is an independent consultant with 16 years experience in intelligent building technologies for commercial and corporate properties. Most recently, Ms. Pope served as Managing Partner at Realcomm, overseeing the company's Seminars and Media divisions. She developed and served as the lead instructor for Realcomm’s technology seminars and webinars, served as editor of the Realcomm Advisory newsletter, and was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The RealcommEDGE magazine. Ms. Pope is a nationally recognized author and speaker on such topics as intelligent buildings, in-building wireless, real estate technology, energy efficient buildings, and automated business solutions for real estate.

Ms. Pope began her commercial real estate career as a property manager in Washington DC in 1992. Ms. Pope was Founder and President of CRE Partners, a real estate technology consulting company, Vice President of Real Estate for On-Site Access, a building-centric internet service provider, Director of Real Estate for Broadband Office, and National Director for the Kivex/Allegiance Telecom internet building program. She is an active member of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), and is the President of the In-Building Wireless Alliance (IBWA).

Brandon Knicely
Principal - Strategy, Advisory Services

Brandon Knicely is Co-Founder and Principal at CoR Advisors, providing technology strategy and decision support to the real estate industry through research, modeling, and option analysis. Mr. Knicely provides CoR leadership in telecommunications, information technology and energy management services.

Mr. Knicely brings over twenty years experience in the technology industry as a thought leader from corporate and technical strategy to development of innovative product and service platforms. He has a strong background in real estate technology development, having served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for a real estate based telecommunications company, developing the first multi-tenant, multi-service, TCP/IP based network for commercial office buildings in 1997. Mr. Knicely also served as a strategist at IBM and as the VP of Global Engineering & Technology for Caprock Communications, the leader in telecommunications services to the offshore Oil & Gas industry. His operational experience includes research & development, engineering, operations, product development, service management, program management, sales, marketing, and consulting. Mr. Knicely's technical experience spans building global communications networks, automated network and systems operations, hosted application service frameworks, advanced information security models, and next generation wireless and wireline infrastructure. Mr. Knicely holds a BSME degree in Engineering with Honors from West Virginia University.

Thomas A Russo
Strategic Advisor

Tommy Russo serves as Chief Technology Office for Akridge, the leading commercial real estate owner and property management company in Washington, DC. Mr. Russo’s experience in residential and commercial development and construction, coupled with his extensive background in information technology (IT), provides Akridge with innovative services for both their internal and external Client base. Some of his most notable accomplishments include research and deployment of energy conservation methods to reduce the utility costs up to 40% across the Akridge portfolio, the installation and deployment of the first neutral host, multi-client, in-building wireless system in the U.S. -- earning the building a 7½% discount on the building’s property insurance, and a wireless web-based camera network, which when linked to project websites for construction monitoring, allowing investors and project managers to observe their asset under construction.

Mr. Russo is a LEED AP and is in charge of CoR Advisors “green” initiatives to promote energy efficiency across an entire real estate portfolio. Mr. Russo is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of intelligent building technologies and was recognized as one of the “Top 100 CIOs” by CIO Magazine in 2008. He serves on the Advisory Council for Realcomm, the nation’s leading resource for education and research on technology for real estate and is on the Board of Directors of the In-Building Wireless Alliance (IBWA). Mr. Russo has won numerous awards recognizing his achievements in technology in the real estate industry, including the Realcomm Digie Award for greatest personal impact on the advancement of technology in real estate.

Dan Burns
Director, Program Management

Dan Burns is Director of Program Management for CoR Advisors. Prior to joining CoR, Dan served as the Director, Systems Technology & Architecture for Johnson Controls Inc., where he was responsible for locating, integrating, and enabling technologies in Johnson Controls products and offerings. Dan played a major role in the overall strategic development and deployment of Johnson Controls Integrated Solutions approach to the delivery of products and services. Dan's focus on Enterprise Energy Management software solutions has enabled customers to significantly manage and lower energy costs through effective data integration and management of that integrated data. He has proven that a strategic approach can deliver a better end product to customers at a lower cost than traditional construction. His knowledge from the IT industry of hardware, wired and wireless networking technologies, and software applications allows him to expand the scope and realm of integrated building solutions.

Prior to joining Johnson Controls, Dan owned an information technology consulting firm in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, worked as Chief Technology Officer for a software integration company based in Singapore, and directed an information technology organization at the University of Maryland. Dan previously was on the Board of Directors of the In-Building Wireless Alliance (IBWA). He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland.

Nancy Cleveland
Strategic Advisor

Nancy Cleveland serves as Strategic Advisor and project manager for broad-based sustainability solutions for CoR Advisors. Ms. Cleveland has extensive business experience in transitioning commercial buildings to sustainable operating practices, as well as providing training for property and facilities management. As a real estate attorney and LEED AP, Ms. Cleveland is knowledgeable in a wide range of sustainability issues facing property owners and developers.

Ms. Cleveland founded Rubicon Crossings, LLC, after serving as Senior Vice President and Director of Sustainability for BPG Properties, Ltd. At BPG, she managed energy conservation projects, reviewed governmental and utility company incentive programs, supervised filings for LEED certifications of new and existing buildings, conducted staff training programs for energy management and other key sustainability practices, and developed and implemented sustainability policies and contract provisions for operating and managing office buildings pursuant to LEED standards. In her most recent legal work in the law firm, Saul Ewing, LLP, Ms. Cleveland’s practice areas included commercial real estate, planned community, and telecommunications law. Her 26-year legal background and hands-on sustainability work give Ms. Cleveland one of the most well-rounded perspectives available to the real estate industry.

Ms. Cleveland is a member of her local USGBC chapter, the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, and serves on the Metro Advocacy and Outreach Committee. She is currently an active participant in developing an ASTM energy performance standard for commercial real estate due diligence.