Learn from the leader in professional education with McKissock

Dr. Bob has been a real estate appraiser since 1996, and currently holds a certified general appraiser license in California. His teaching style helps answer students’ USPAP questions by considering, “if it is ethical and more work for the appraiser, most likely that is the way to proceed.” Dr. Bob specializes in assignments for estate and income tax reporting, historical real estate research, tax assessment appeals, eminent domain, litigation, and private party issues. He teaches real estate courses at UCLA Extension and is an associate faculty member at Saddleback and Irvine Valley Colleges in California.

With decades of experience in the appraisal industry, Mel Black is a Certified Residential Appraiser, Licensed real estate broker, and McKissock Learning’s Director of Appraisal Innovation.

Mel holds two graduate degrees in education, and has taught for 15 years at both high school and college levels. As an educator, Mel has earned multiple awards, including Educator of the Year and the Larry Outlaw Excellence in Education award.

Mel is also a practicing attorney who represents appraisal professionals before their state licensing boards. With more than 10 years as a director on North Carolina’s appraisal board and an officer with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, Mel provides regular counsel on compliance and other industry-related law for appraisers and brokerage services.

Previously, Mel served as president of the Association of Appraisal Regulatory Officials; as a board member for the Council for Licensure Enforcement and Regulation; and as a member of The Appraisal Foundation Advisory Council. Currently, Mel is vice chair of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

Prior to working with McKissock, Mel owned and operated BrightPath Education, an appraisal and real estate school specializing in qualifying and continuing education. He also co-authored a book about teaching real estate and was acknowledged as a contributor to the Real Estate Commission’s “North Carolina Real Estate Manual,” 2011-2012 Edition.

Dan has been a real estate appraiser since 1989, and currently holds a certified residential appraiser license in California. His teaching style is animated and fast-paced to keep students’ attention, while providing quality information and real world examples. Dan specializes in expert witness appraisals and is the former owner of the appraisal school in Los Angeles. He is also the Offensive Line Coach for the LA City Championship high school football team at Canoga Park High.

Dan has been a real estate appraiser since 1987, and currently holds a certified general appraiser credential in Pennsylvania. His teaching style is relaxed with clear explanations of the material complemented by broad experience. Dan specializes in USPAP, expert witness appraisal, appraisal review, and FHA appraisals. He holds an SRA designation from the Appraisal Institute and served two terms on Pennsylvania’s appraiser licensing board.

Wally has been a real estate appraiser since 1965, and currently holds a certified general appraiser license and a real estate broker license in Pennsyvania. He incorporates countless real life examples into his teaching style which he believes “keeps them awake so they learn something”. Wally specializes in residential, commercial, and review assignments. He likes to travel, especially in the western states and on cruises.

Chuck has been a real estate appraiser since 1985 and currently holds a certified general appraiser license in Oregon. His teaching style is engaging with lots of participant involvement. Chuck currently specializes in appraisal education and practice consulting, with experience in a broad range of appraisal assignment and property types. He has a BA in Urban Studies and an MBA.

Rob Frazier has been a real estate appraiser since 1973, and currently holds a certified general appraiser license in Maryland. His teaching style is all about making the information relevant for both the professional and business management responsibilities in an appraisal practice. Rob specializes in residential, commercial, and industrial property markets, analytics, FHA, and workflow processing. He retired from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2017 where he had served as acting director, deputy director, and housing policy advisor for Single Family Valuation Policy for FHA.

Alex has been a real estate appraiser since 1985 and currently holds a certified residential appraiser license in California. His teaching style is informal, but focused. Alex currently specializes in residential appraisal, review, and appraisal management for lenders. He has been teaching appraisal courses for over 15 years.

Alan Hummel, SRA has been a real estate appraiser since 1983, and currently holds a Certified General appraiser license in Iowa. His teaching style is interactive, drawing students into conversation to become more immersed in the topic of discussion. Alan specializes in the standards and principles of residential valuation for both lending and non-lending valuations and reviews, and was named by Inman News as one of the top 100 most influential people in real estate.

Chuck has been a real estate appraiser since 1978 and currently holds a certified residential appraiser license in Pennsylvania. His teaching style is participatory and personal, with the use of many real world examples. Chuck currently specializes in expert testimony, consulting, and VA appraising. He has a BS and MBA from Syracuse University, and is also a residential real estate broker in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Colorado.

Diana Jacob has been a real estate appraiser since 1987, and currently holds a Certified General appraiser license in NC and TX and a Certified Residential appraiser license in LA. Her teaching style is animated with humor, analogous storytelling, and interactive illustration. Diana specializes in USPAP, Narrative Writing, Disaster Valuation, and Litigation Support. She appeared on CNN “Your Money,” participated in the first ECAFS, and assisted ASB in the presentation of the first National USPAP Update course.

Howard Kanter has been a full-time real estate appraiser since 1987 and currently holds a Certified General appraiser license in Florida. While he teaches appraisal principles, he prides himself in teaching the more important application of those appraisal principles. Howard specializes in Conservation and Preservation easements and other less than fee valuation assignments. Howard actually did his first appraisal in 1964. Can you guess what the fee was?

Pat Kelly is a certified residential appraiser with over 20 years of appraisal experience and has been teaching appraisal courses for well over 18 years. Pat simply is a great teacher who sincerely cares about the success of his students. You can find Pat working with a student who needs a little extra help in a particular area. He can weave his broad experience, real world application of appraisal concepts, and a strong understanding of the academic side of appraisal theory into an effective, enjoyable method of learning appraisal methodology and application. He is a master of using just the right real-life example to give you that “Ah-ha” moment when the theory makes sense. Pat is well known for his ability to take a classroom of new students who have never taken an appraisal class and lead them through a successful trainee series to allow them to form the foundation for a successful career. Pat’s influence on the appraisal profession is immense and growing as he is now teaching a second generation of appraisers. So many trainee students have been recommended by former students. Pat has a wide following and a group of trainee students created a Facebook page titled Kelly’s Appraisal Scholars.

Philicia has been a real estate appraiser since 1988, and currently holds a certified general appraiser license and real estate broker license in New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Her teaching style is to keep things fun, moving, and interactive so students are never bored in class. Philicia specializes in both residential and commercial appraisals, as well as Florida law. She currently serves as an Appraisal Special Magistrate in Broward County, Florida.

Rob Luciani has been a real estate appraiser since 1980, and currently holds a certified residential appraiser license in Pennsylvania. His teaching style is informative, topical, and participatory. Rob specializes in tax assessment appeals. He is an adjunct real estate professor at Temple University & Community College of Philadelphia.

Tom Lundstedt is a recognized expert on the subjects of investment real estate and taxation with a unique and memorable “Laugh and Learn” style to his presentations.

He has enlightened and entertained thousands of audiences from sea-to-shining-sea, including conventions, education events, client seminars and customized coaching/training programs.

Tom is a former Major League baseball player with the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins who couldn’t hit a curveball, but as a presenter he bats 1000!

Steve has been appraising since 1991, and currently holds a certified residential appraiser license in North Carolina. His teaching style is not only focused on knowledge but action, to get the most for each appraiser. Steve specializes in home financing, estates, divorces, hard money, tax appeals, Real Estate brokers assistance, and expert witness. He has been teaching for over 20 years and runs an appraisal office in Charlotte.

Sam Martin has been a real estate appraiser since 1986 and currently holds a Certified Residential appraiser license in NC. His teaching style is empathetic and caring. Sam specializes in appraisal education and research. Sam loves his family and owls (of course).

Sam Martin PhD, DREI, ASA, CDEI, MOT is the owner of SamTheTutor.com, LLC. Dr. Sam has a PhD in Education and is one of 500+ Certified Uniform Standards of Professional Practice (USPAP) instructors worldwide. He is a Distinguished Real Estate Instructor (DREI), a prestigious designation granted by the Real Estate Educators Association (REEA). He holds North Carolina Certified Residential Real Estate Appraisal, Real Estate Broker, and real estate instructor licenses. Dr. Sam has been teaching appraisal and real estate classes since 1988. He has taught for a variety of institutions, most recently: Superior School of Real Estate; Real Estate Express; and The Chicago Association of Realtors.  Dr. Sam has written an advanced appraisal text book used in certification courses. Dr. Sam develops and teaches valuation courses for Realtor University, an online graduate-level institution where he is a Professor Emeritus.

Dr Sam has recently published the Little Book of Real Estate Math (2021).

Dr. Sam has taken advanced educational technology courses from the Illinois Online Network (ION), where he received the Master Online Teacher (MOT) certificate. Dr. Sam holds the Certified Distance Education Instructor (CDEI) designation from IDECC (www.idecc.org).

The Real Estate Education Foundation (REEF) has awarded Dr. Sam the Academic Scholarship three times. Dr. Sam has won three grants from the Association of Illinois Real Estate Educators (AIREE). Dr Sam was named the Educator of the Year in 2014 by AIREE. The Chicago Association of Realtors Educational Foundation has awarded Dr. Sam a Higher Education Scholarship three times.

Rob has been appraising since 1986, and currently holds a certified residential appraiser license in California. His teaching style incorporates a logical approach and practical application with a touch of humor to make classes highly informative and engaging for his students. Rob specializes in residential appraisals, review, REO and other valuation services. He is always working on advancing his knowledge through education and has degrees in Communication Studies, Real Estate, Accounting, and Cybersecurity/Computer Networking.

Larry has been a real estate appraiser since 1987, and currently holds a certified residential appraiser license in Kentucky. His teaching style is “to inform and assist”. Larry specializes in real estate consulting, teaching, and litigation support. He’s spent twenty years teaching professional appraisers nationwide, which he describes as “most gratifying”.

Julie has been a real estate appraiser since 1999, and currently holds a certified general appraiser license in Missouri and Kansas. Her teaching style is to share her knowledge with real life examples, elaborate on specific topics, and encourage lively discussion among participants. Julie specializes in risk management and valuation from her extensive experience managing a team at a mid-sized regional bank. She’s an active voice for the appraisal community and serves as the Vice-Chair of the Missouri Appraisers Commission.

Tony has been a real estate appraiser since 1986, and currently holds a certified residential appraiser license in Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, Texas, and Michigan. His teaching style is a fun and enjoyable, hands-on, practical approach that you can use every day doing your appraisals. Tony specializes in single family residential appraising and the regulatory and banking laws that govern appraisals at national banks and lenders. He had a previous life where he was an elected official and was appointed by the governor of Minnesota to a cabinet level position.

Greg Stephens has been a real estate appraiser since 1977, and currently holds a Certified General appraiser license in Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. His teaching style is high energy, engaging, and encouraging of class discussions and interaction, whether teaching in-person classes or livestreaming courses. Greg is a nationally recognized USPAP and valuation compliance subject matter expert and has been teaching USPAP since 1995. Greg serves as a mentor for the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board covering all aspects of USPAP with an emphasis on rules, real property appraisal development, and reporting.

Pam Teel has been a real estate appraiser since 1995, and currently holds a State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser License in Texas. Her teaching style is best described as coach style, or demonstrator, with a healthy balance between teacher-centered instruction and the student-centered approach. Pam has experience with commercial, industrial, and residential properties and currently specializes in instructing, mentoring, consulting, and course development. Pam spends her spare time with her ten grandkids.

Dan has been a real estate appraiser since 1974, and currently holds a certified general appraiser license in California. His teaching style encourages appraiser interactivity, with added humor to lighten up lackluster topics. Dan specializes in residential, VA/FHA, commercial/industrial with a focus on senior living facilities, single use facilities such as churches and marinas, and expert witness. He also teaches karate classes 3 times a week.

Jo Traut has been a real estate appraiser since 1997, and currently holds a certified residential appraiser licenses in Illinois and Wisconsin. Her teaching philosophy is to offer practical knowledge to simplify the complex. Jo specializes in appraising luxury homes, valuations for lending purposes, appraisal review, and appraisal compliance. Jo was Residential Chief Appraiser for the 5th largest Bank in the United States.

Josh has been a real estate appraiser since 2006, and currently holds a certified residential appraiser license in Colorado. His teaching style is conversational with illustrations and participation. Josh specializes in compliance, valuation, workflow/teamwork, and investigations. He is also an adjunct professor at his local university.

Nikki Zotto is a licensed managing broker in the state of Illinois, as well as a licensed real estate broker in Arizona and Nebraska.

With over twelve years of experience in teaching and curriculum development, Nikki strives to foster an energetic and engaging classroom experience. She was part of the Real Estate Educators Association’s first cohort of Gold Standard Instructors in 2018, and is approved to teach pre-licensing and continuing education courses in Arizona, Illinois and Nebraska. Her students describe her as awesome, energetic, fun and a truly gifted instructor!

Prior to her career in real estate consulting and education, Nikki worked at the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project and the University Nebraska’s College of Engineering. She has a Master of Science from Roosevelt University and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Nebraska.

In her free time, Nikki loves to travel, hike and host others at her Airbnb.