Prior to co-founding Alta West Partners, LLC, Steve Elson was a Partner at Montana Avenue Capital Partners, LLC, where he joined six months after inception. During his 10-year tenure at the firm, Steve was jointly responsible, with Brad Pennington, for the acquisition, leasing, asset management, and disposition of projects across the U.S. He also served on the investment committee of Arsenale Real Estate SGR, a European AIFMD compliant closed-end real estate fund regulated by the Bank of Italy (Banca D’Italia). Steve’s geographic focus was on Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Silicon Valley, and Seattle.

Before joining Montana, Steve was the Director of Asset Management at The Luzzatto Company, Inc. / Welk Real Estate, where he identified and underwrote potential value-add and opportunistic investments for the firm and advanced development deals, including the entitlement of a 400-unit, transit-oriented mixed-use project in Santa Monica, CA. He also oversaw an approximately one million square foot creative office, film and television studio, retail, residential, and industrial portfolio which included tenants in the entertainment, technology, music, advertising, gaming, fashion, and consumer products industries.

Steve earned his B.A. degree in Government, with a Leadership Sequence, from Claremont McKenna College and also holds a California Real Estate Broker’s License. He resides in Pacific Palisades, CA with his wife and two children.

Prior to co-founding Alta West Partners, LLC, Brad Pennington was a Partner and Chief Compliance Officer at Montana Avenue Capital Partners, LLC. During his 8-year tenure at the firm, he was jointly responsible, with Steve Elson, for the acquisition, leasing, asset management, and disposition of projects across the U.S. He also served on the investment committee of Arsenale Real Estate SGR, a European AIFMD compliant closed-end real estate fund regulated by the Bank of Italy (Banca D’Italia). Brad’s geographic focus was on San Diego, Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington D.C.

Before joining Montana, Brad was a member of the acquisition team at MetLife Real Estate Investors, the real estate arm of the largest US life insurer with more than $100 billion AUM. While there, Brad covered all asset types across California, Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada but was primarily responsible for sourcing and closing industrial and office acquisitions in Southern California. Prior to MetLife, Brad spent time in both acquisitions and capital markets roles.

Brad received a B.A. degree from San Diego State University and an M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management where he was named a Peter Bren Distinguished Fellow. He also holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation. Brad resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and two children.

Lauren has over nine years of experience in acquisitions, asset management, and operations within the multifamily and hospitality sectors. Throughout her career, she has been responsible for overseeing property operations, financial performance, capital planning, and investor reporting for large, geographically diverse real estate portfolios.

Most recently, Lauren served in senior asset and operations management roles overseeing a national multifamily portfolio totaling more than 6,000 units and approximately $1.5 billion in assets across seven states. Her primary responsibilities included executing business plans, driving value creation initiatives, and partnering closely with property management, construction, and acquisitions teams to align asset-level strategies with broader investment objectives. She regularly analyzed financial performance, identified revenue and expense optimization opportunities, and prepared comprehensive reporting packages for institutional investors and equity partners.

On the acquisitions side, Lauren underwrote multifamily investment opportunities, supported transaction execution, and managed due diligence processes. She also prepared investor memoranda and lender packages to support acquisition and financing activities.

Lauren began her career in hospitality, providing operational and financial analysis for a national hotel portfolio and supporting budgeting, forecasting, and capital expenditure initiatives.

Lauren holds a Master of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, a Master of Business Administration from China Europe International Business School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Emory University.