We’ve rounded up some of the best knowledge in the local real estate community to deliver the goods. They are all expert in their given fields.
Judy Grundstrom An Architect by profession, Judy Grundstrom considers herself simply a highly educated “problem solver” who is able find creative solutions to meet people’s needs. The first step in that process means listening to the clients and stakeholders for a project and facilitating the creation of priorities and goals that will direct the design process from beginning to end. Her specialized background in corporate and community branding strategies assist clients in arriving at a powerful and cohesive place making strategy that impacts signage, graphics, public art, and the broad range of elements, materials, and fixtures that constitute the built environment.
Using her branding and communication experience Judy has diversified her professional life to include work in both traditional and new media. A weekly contributor to the television show “The Weekend Buzz with Jason Matheson” on Fox 9, she is also the powerhouse behind the popular blog JustJudyJudyJudy.com.
Nobu Hata is a veteran of the Real Estate industry since 1996, starting in the marketing and design facet of the business for a major independent brokerage. Refined. Simple. Straight from the hip. With a skosh of humor and a hellacious music selection in the car. You’ll get from Nobu all the ammunition available to help make your best Real Estate decision, even if you don’t want to hear it.
His communications, new media and marketing expertise – in and outside the industry – coupled with his knack of translating the overly technical into laymen’s terms, has let Nobu add “Instructor”, “Curriculum Developer”, “Subject Matter Expert”, “Communications Chair”, and “Consultant to local and national Real Estate and new media organizations” to his resume.
A Twin Cities Realtor working the Minneapolis Metro and its western suburbs, hit him up at your fav social network, lament Real Estate and Cubs baseball on Twitter @nobuhata, read his YPN musings for the National Associations of Realtors, or go old school at 612.925.7732.
Gene Johnson comes from a long line of unruly Swedes. Before his rise to celebrity, Mr Johnson considered himself one, first trying to be an artist, then an actor but definitely not an accountant. In reality, he purported to be a landlord, renting out rooms to people and taking their money before disappearing into the night. A string of jobs followed doing property management for firms that, for good reason, no longer exist.
He next appeared as an independent contractor for the federal government, lurking in the shadows, keeping tabs on homes previously owned by people who had better things to do with their money. Unfortunately, a government contractor’s life is unpredictable and one day Gene was back on the streets seeking legitimate employment.
By this time he possessed what some call, “a license to print money”, i.e., a Minnesota Real Estate Broker’s license. Being an inept money-printer and intent on avoiding prosecution for counterfeiting, he now represents buyers in a world dominated by sharks claiming to be agents for sellers. These experiences form the basis for his reoccurring rants about ethics.
Steven Ladin is just a guy with a passion for business development, real estate, marketing, brand management, social media, innovation and the mind of the entrepreneur… He also has a really cool haircut.
He is the Co-Founder of The Vanilla Shell and also blogs over at The Real Estate Schmoozer and is a contributing writer/blogger at Minnesota Business Magazine
Connect with him on LinkedIn.
If you really feel like getting a daily injection of his insights, follow him via Twitter.
Jeffrey O’Brien is a partner with Mansfield Tanick & Cohen, P.A. practicing in the areas of business and corporate law, real estate law, and estate and business succession planning. He has significant experience with the formation of new businesses and oversees the Mansfield Tanick & Cohen Business INCubation Center®, a unique program designed to assist new and developing businesses in their formative years.
Jeff is a Minnesota State Bar Association Board Certified Real Property Specialist and appears as a featured guest on the WCCO Real Estate Radio Hour to present the “Legal Minute” each week. He is also a part of “The Advisors” a business radio show on the Next Stage Business Radio Network, is the author of the blog “The Business Man’s Lawyer” and has been named a Minnesota Super Lawyer “Rising Star” in each of 2008, 2009 and 2010, a designation reserved for only 2.5 percent of all attorneys in Minnesota.
Dan Peterson is a real estate broker in Minnesota and the owner of Adam Commercial Real Estate Services.
Dan has 10 years in CRE and 20+ years of ‘figuring it out’ in other industries. Dan writes on his observations of trends and gives guidance on navigating the commercial real estate ecosystem. His goal is to help support new business, old buildings and sustainable purposes. His other goal is to go surfing and actually stand up on the board this time.
To see pictures of Dan’s kids, go to his Facebook page or to know more about his bus stops in life or find out who you both know, go to his LinkedIn profile. To get his rants more on the mainline, follow him on Twitter.
Jason Sandquist is the co-founder of Vanilla Shell. He is also a commercial real estate advisor with Adam Commercial in the Twin Cities area. An all around do-gooder, dreams of undercooked chocolate chip cookies and likes his beer with color and flavor.
He also blogs over at Twin Cities real estate and contributes to Minnesota Business Magazine talking about commercial real estate. You can find him hanging out on social networks like Twitter @JasonSandquist and Facebook.
If you still use the phone, he can always be reached at 651-503-732 or by email jason |at| adamcommercial |dot| com
Alex Stenback
Brooke Wolford is a real estate agent with Edina Realty. Prior to getting licensed, Brooke spent over 6 years in the closing side of the industry.
Brooke is a teacher in spirit and enjoys sharing with others. She blogs about her experiences in real estate on her blog Adventures In Rookie Real Estate and also contributes for the Realtor’s Magazine’s YPN Lounge .
She also enjoys being actiely involved in her industry by volunteering on several commitee’s for her local association.
You can find her on Twitter daily where she tweets about real estate trends, her favorite football team and random things she goes through as a wife/mother. You can also find her on on Facebook or she can be reached directly at 952-380-6387.




