Our Firm
Sequoia Realty Group is a commercial real estate firm, founded in 1993, based in Lombard, Illinois, offering a full portfolio of commercial property services. The firm provides brokerage, property management, consulting, acquisitions and development services for office, industrial and retail properties. Sequoia Realty Group has over $250,000,000 in real estate assets under management. In addition the firm invests capital in select real estate assets for its own investment portfolio.
The principals of Sequoia bring an average of 26 years of experience to help companies execute solutions with superior results for their real estate requirement.
Meet our Team
Sequoia Realty Group Leadership
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Mark Levy
President & Managing Broker
| direct: (630) 424-8902 ext. 107email: mlevy@sequoiarg.comMark is the President and co-founder of Sequoia Realty Group. Since founding the company in 1993, Mark has led the company’s growth from the initial start-up to its current standing as a highly respected provider of commercial real estate services to its clients. Mark handles the management and oversight of all operations, including property management, brokerage, consulting, accounting, and business development. Sequoia currently manages over 85 commercial properties. The assets under Sequoia’s management are presently valued at over $250 million and encompass over 2.1 million square feet of industrial, office, and retail properties. Mark has brokered more than 800 commercial transactions with an aggregate value of over $250 million during his career. Before starting Sequoia Realty Group, Mark successfully operated Consolidated Traffic, Inc., a freight auditing and payment business located in Chicago, and managed several retail companies. Mark is currently the Chairman of the Board of the William and Evelyn Fuchs Foundation, a private non-profit philanthropic foundation supporting medical research and education in Chicago. Mark is also the past President of the Board of Directors for Child’s Voice, a listening and spoken language program for children with hearing loss in Wood Dale and Chicago, Illinois. Mark is an Illinois licensed real estate broker. He has a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Jay Marr
Principal Acquisitions & Development
| direct: (773) 680-8969email: jmarr@sequoiarg.comJay is a co-founder of Sequoia Realty Group. Jay remained as an investment partner, consultant, and board member of the company as he worked in the merchant real estate development business. From 1989 to 2003 Jay worked for Higgins Development Partners and rose to the rank of Vice President of Development. In 2003 Jay cofounded Verus Partners where he headed up development in Canada. While at both companies Jay was responsible for the development, acquisitions, entitlements, due diligence, and financial analysis/underwriting of thousands of acres of land and over 18 million s.f. of industrial, light manufacturing and office properties throughout the U.S. and Canada valued at over $1.2 billion USD. Jay has worked with numerous private and institutional investment partners including Walsh Investors, Sun Life Canada, Alberta Investment Management Company (AIMCO), Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec/SITQ, Pritzker Realty Group and Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. In 2014 Jay began to sell out and wind down his investments in Verus Partners. In 2017 Jay commenced acquisitions and development operations for Sequoia Realty Group for its own investment portfolio. Jay has an MBA from Northwestern University and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois. Jay is a licensed real estate broker in Illinois
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Devon Evans
Vice President of Property Management & Broker
| direct: (630) 424-8902 ext. 101email: devans@sequoiarg.comDevon joined Sequoia Realty Group in 2005 as an office and property administrator, where she assisted the property management, brokerage, and accounting departments. During the rapid growth and expansion of the company, she took on increased responsibilities while maintaining a strong focus on customer service. She obtained her real estate license, and was promoted to Senior Property Manager in 2008. Over the years Devon continued to further her experience and knowledge in all aspects of the company and was promoted to Vice President of Property Management in 2012. She continues to actively manage a significant property portfolio, including numerous office condominium and property owner associations while providing support, supervision, advice and guidance to the Sequoia Realty Group team. Devon is an Illinois licensed real estate broker. She has a B.A. from Carthage College where she studied Business and Marketing.
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Christy Cano
Director of Property Accounting
| direct: (630) 424-8902 ext. 102email: ccano@sequoiarg.comChristy joined Sequoia Realty Group early in 2013 as a part time Accounting Clerk where she handled Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Invoicing and basic Financial Reporting. During the rapid growth of Sequoia and the increase in Property Owner Associations and 3rd Party Management assignments, Christy’s responsibilities grew right in line, which over the years, has now become a full time Director of Property Accounting position. Christy now oversees the accounting department, all daily accounting activities and all financial aspects of the many property owners associations, 3rd party management assignments and Company owned properties within Sequoia’s management portfolio. Christy works side by side with Executive Management and supports the Property Managers in monitoring and reviewing the financial accuracy of the portfolio to ensure completeness, validity and accuracy. Christy holds a B.S.B.A from Roosevelt University where she studied Finance and Accounting.
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Theresa Palazzo
Senior Property Manager & Broker
| direct: (630) 424-8902 ext. 111email: tpalazzo@sequoiarg.comTheresa joined Sequoia Realty Group in 2015 as a property manager. Prior to joining the Sequoia team, she worked at CBRE in the property management field for ten years. She has experience in office, flex, industrial, business parks, medical office and retail properties. She manages owners’ associations as well as third-party properties. She is very dedicated to her properties and to her clients, striving to get the best value possible for her clients. Theresa enjoys training her assistants to allow them to grow and move up in the company. This allowed her to move up and she was promoted to a Senior Property Manager in 2021. In addition to her duties as a Senior Property Manager, Theresa also leases suites and is involved in property sales for some of her clients. Theresa has her real estate broker’s license as well as two certificates from Waterson Business College in Pasadena, California.
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Paris Arnold
Senior Property Manager & Broker
| direct: (630) 424-8902 ext. 105email: parnold@sequoiarg.comParis joined Sequoia Realty Group in 2015 as a property manager with the responsibility to manage a portfolio of office, retail and industrial properties. His portfolio is comprised of third-party management assignments and commercial owners associations. Paris has been working in real estate management since 2003 and has managed real estate for private real estate investment trusts, developers, financial institutions and private owners. His diverse property management background and years of experience offers Sequoia Realty Group clients exceptional real estate management and brokerage services. Paris was promoted to the level of Senior Property Manager in 2019. Paris is an Illinois licensed real estate broker. He has a B.B.A. from Temple University with a major in Real Estate. Paris is a member of the Institute of Real Estate management, holding the designation of Certified Property Manager (CPM®) since 2011.
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Emily Peck
Property Manager & Broker
| direct: (630) 424-8902 ext. 113email: epeck@sequoiarg.comEmily joined Sequoia Realty Group in 2014 as the administrative assistant. Within a year, she was promoted to Assistant Property Manager assisting two Property Managers both with significant portfolios. In this role, she was responsible in assisting both mangers with the day-to-day management and operations of industrial and office condominium associations. Emily obtained her Illinois Real Estate license in 2018 and was promoted to Property Manager. Emily continues to maintain a high level of customer service, strong administrative skills while managing a significant property portfolio including numerous property owners’ associations, office condominium associations as well as two 3rd party office buildings.
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Pam Chapman
Assistant Property Manager
| direct: (630) 424-8902 ext. 106email: pchapman@sequoiarg.comPrior to Sequoia Realty Group, Pam spent 30 years in residential property management concluding that career as the Property Manager of a 578-unit apartment complex maintaining a 90+ occupancy rate and overseeing over 15 employees and multiple contractors. Pam began her career in commercial property management with Sequoia Realty Group in 2007 as a part-time receptionist. A year later, she advanced to full time. Pam’s career with Sequoia evolved to Office Administrator while she completed her Associate Degree in Science. As her knowledge of the business continued to grow, she was promoted to Assistant Property Manager. Pam is proud to work for a company and with a team where work ethics, customer service, and client needs are successfully integrated and are always a priority.
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Jessica Skrine
Marketing Administrator
email: jskrine@sequoiarg.comJessica joined the Sequoia team as the Administrative Assistant in spring of 2019. In 2022, she transitioned into the Marketing Administrator. In her role, she spearheads the social media platforms and blogs to maintaining the Sequoia website. Jessica has brought her 5+ years of marketing experience to promote and grow the business.
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Sharon Willette
Insurance Administrator
| direct: (217) 369-8359email: swillette@sequoiarg.comSharon joined Sequoia Realty Group in May of 2015 working remotely to provide marketing and administrative support for the Team. Over the years, her responsibilities have grown to include her role as Insurance Administrator and Accounting Department Assistant.