BFTP is 30+ year public-private investment firm, focused on helping early-stage, technology-based firms with funding, business and technical expertise, and access to network of resources. BFTP makes direct investments in promising, technology-oriented companies throughout the Commonwealth to fund critical commercialization activities and growth needs. Thanks to the rigorous vetting process, a BFTP investment often serves as a key endorsement to other funding sources, enabling companies to attract the follow-on investment they need to move beyond start-up and into full-fledged commercialization.
Meet Our Team
A team of cross industry experts in strategy, real estate, retail, hospitality, and technology.
Leadership Team

John grew up in a family built on entrepreneurial spirit. His mother, Kathleen Cecilian, has helped to create powerful brands for some of the most respected master-planned community developers.
Before starting Cecilian Partners, John spent seventeen years in retail management and strategy, working for a variety of global lifestyle brands during a time of hypergrowth and emergence. He has been a leader and key contributor in the development and North American expansion of several iconic brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch, AllSaints, Michael Kors, Quiksilver, Under Armour, and Rapha. John’s had P&L oversight over $150MM working in major city centers and regions nationally for these brands. He is an expert in commerce strategy, customer experience, and the recruitment and training of teams and people.
For years, John gleaned insights into the broken nature of the customer journey for community developers and production home builders. He understands how to solve the opportunity in the marketplace and believes he has assembled and continues to build a team of outside industry experts to help overcome the customer obstacles plaguing this category of real estate.
John holds a Master of Business Administration in Systems Thinking and Global Finance from Villanova University, and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Psychology from Duquesne University. John is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and the Community Development Council (CDC) Gold.

Phil has over 15 years of client advisory and digital innovation / product experience. He started his career with Accenture, working with clients like Microsoft, Marriott, Facebook, Johnson Controls and many others building digital businesses and long-term innovation and growth strategies. That diverse experience across industries, sectors, and topics helps inform Cecilian Partners' uniquely effective approach to product and client service.
Phil holds degrees in Mathematical Economics and Management from Rice University and the London School of Economics. He is an active member of Urban Land Institute and serves on the CDC Blue Product Council.

Climbing the corporate ladder from Global Management Trainee to Sr. Program Manager, where she managed a $200M healthcare portfolio, Jennifer decided to shift gears and seek her entrepreneurial pursuits; ultimately joining her family's real estate brand consultancy Cecilian Worldwide as VP of Finance & Operations.
Jennifer officially joined Cecilian Partners in January of 2021 as CFO, bringing her much needed financial acumen and trust to help grow the business the right way for capital partners and clients alike.
Jennifer's passion for real estate runs deep, as she is also a licensed realtor with the prestigious Addison Wolfe brokerage out of New Hope Pennsylvania.
Her cross-functional financial expertise, and real estate knowledge continues to shape the growth of Cecilian Partners.
Customer Success & Innovation

Most recently, Kimberly was the COO of BrightDoor, an industry pioneer in real estate sales and marketing software. She served in multiple roles at BrightDoor, including managing both client services and business operations. Joining BrightDoor as one of the early start-up employees, she was able to build, train and manage a customer success management team recognized as one of the best in real estate software. Her contributions were instrumental in helping shape the evolution of the BrightDoor software system.
Kimberly holds a degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master’s degree in Adult Learning from North Carolina State University. When she’s not helping real estate professionals succeed, you can find her outside running, in her garden, or in the kitchen whipping up her next foodie creation.

Wendy holds a Bachelors of Arts from The University of California, Irvine and a teaching credential from California State University, Long Beach.

As Cecilian Partners' VP of Loyalty Strategy, Heidi is leading the Customer Blueprint team, developing a unique and world-class approach to engaging customers and residents of communities. A native Australian, Heidi resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and their 1.5 year old son.

Katie’s career started helping builders and developers at the city planning level before joining one of the nation’s largest homebuilders. Most recently, she was part of the development team at Daybreak, RCLCO’s #5 best-selling MPC in 2020. While at Daybreak she worked with builder teams on thousands of design review submittals, implemented several new pattern books, collaborated in multiple design charrettes, and project managed over $30 million of open space and park planning. She added HOA knowledge to the mix as a member of the Daybreak Master Association Board of Directors and as Chair of the Daybreak Architectural Design Review Committee.
Katie’s passion for real estate extends far beyond just MPCs. She has spent much of her career striving to help diversify the voices in our industry. Her dedication to the cause is underscored by her service in a variety of roles including President of the Board of Directors for CNU-Utah, Chair of ULI Utah’s DEI Committee, and on the Utah Housing Preservation Fund’s Advisory Board. Katie is thrilled to share her experience, multi-faceted perspective on new urban topics, and excitement for the future of development with Cecilian’s clients
Off-hours, her curiosity, and energy hit the road. Whether staying in a defunct research habitat turned underwater hotel, eating street food in Bangkok, or hiking in Zion National Park, traveling with her family is Katie’s favorite way to recharge.

Amy is a New Jersey native that recently moved to the eclectic town of New Hope, PA. She’s an active member of F45 Training and enjoys long walks down health food store aisles.

At Cecilian Partners, Abby is passionate about enhancing the customer experience and understanding the customers needs.
Abby attended Salisbury University and has a dual Bachelor degree in Business Management and Information Systems. In her free time, she enjoys baking, scuba diving, and playing with her dog.

At Cecilian Partners, Allison is dedicated to helping clients get the most out of our technology. She trains builder and developer users, helps clean and transform data, and brainstorms new ideas to make sure our customers aren't just buying software, but getting a technology partner that works.


As a resident of New Jersey, Diana enjoys photography and spending time with her two beloved dogs, Benji and Finn.

Allison joined Cecilian Partners shortly after completing an M.S. in Applied Statistics from Southern Methodist University. She also has a B.S. in Mathematics and B.S. in Management Science from SMU.
Delivery & Implementation


During his time at Cecilian Partners, Todd has led the onboarding and deployment of The XO for each of Cecilian Partners’ large-scale master planned communities, including the discovery, training, and ongoing customer success for each project. He personally has trained over 250 users across 25 homebuilder teams around the country.
Todd has applied his curious nature to learn how to solve complex problems in the MPC industry. His experience at Republic Property Group allowed him the opportunity to deeply understand the challenges developers face when trying to shape the journey of would-be home buyers and how they can utilize technology to help solve the customer journey.
Todd holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from the University of Texas. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and is currently involved regionally through the ULI Chicago.

With a background in education, implementation, and support, Lori's eager to expand her skillset with Cecilian Partners.
Lori graduated from The College of New Jersey with a degree in History and a certification in Secondary Education. She is passionate about traveling to new places whenever the opportunity presents itself and enjoys spending quality time with her friends and dog.

Robert attended Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri. He has a bachelor's degrees in Applied Mathematics and Economics.
In his free time, Robert is an avid Ultimate Frisbee player, and enjoys traveling with his cat and girlfriend.

Jackson attended the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois. He has a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and certifications in Tableau, SQL, and Python from Codeacademy and Coursera. In his free time, Jackson enjoys exploring the Chicago vintage scene and trying new restaurants.

Growth & Partnerships

Matt's focus for Cecilian Partners will be growing opportunities between clients and prospects while maintaining an already strong strategic base of industry leaders for the firm.
An alum of the University of Pennsylvania, Matt has stayed close to the Philadelphia area where he has raised his three children and lives with his wife and four dogs. Matt enjoys working out as well as cooking and is an avid Philly sports fan.

Culture & People Ops


In August of 2018, Khari launched his personal passion, The 333. The 333 is a lifestyle brand with a modern approach to living a more conscious and mindful existence. The 333 creates unique immersive experiences and product ranges with the intention to raise the vibration of collective consciousness. Khari believes that by creating more opportunities for people to experience the world through the lens of love, unity, authenticity, and sustainability we can improve social impact and begin to evolve as a global community.

Finance


R&D & Technology

Prior to joining Cecilian, Tom led engineering at Kohl’s for in-store experiences such as Omni Channel Pickup, Point of Sale, Electronic Pricing, Associate Mobility, and more. He keeps his entrepreneurial spirit alive with passion projects which give him the opportunity to code and learn what’s new in the ever changing world of app development. His extensive tech career also includes time with Microsoft, Sur La Table, Penta Technologies, and Jefferson Wells.
Tom has a knack for seeing the big picture, finding solutions, getting stuff done, and keeping it fun. He earned a BBA with a double major in Management Computer Systems and Finance from the University of WI-Whitewater. When he’s not playing with tech, he can be found playing with his three kids, traveling, playing volleyball, mountain biking, talking about one day getting back into sailboat racing, or seeking out new experiences.


Kevin has a rich background in e-commerce, e-discovery, and immigration. After more than 25 years in software engineering, Kevin says this: ``I still love what I do, and I love to share that passion with others.``

Abid is a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) and continues to hone his skills through a collection of online learning systems. Most recently, Abid was a Senior Software Developer for BrightDoor, where he designed, developed and managed the BrightDoor software platform - comprising CRM, touchscreen software and mobile apps.
Abid holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics & Computer Engineering and a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He's a self-avowed sports fan and huge fan of the UNC Tarheels.

He served in the US Navy for more than 20 years as an aircraft maintainer and leader. Most recently, he served on board the USS Essex leading a team of over 100 Sailors. He has fought actual fires and flooding at sea, so he's no stranger to adapting quickly and thinking on his feet.
He joins us from Hillsboro, Oregon where he lives with his wife, two children, and a dog.

Daniel holds a degree in engineering and a master's degree from the Instituto Tecnologico de la Laguna graduate school.
Outside of work, Daniel enjoys playing video games and watching movies from all over the world.
Distinguished group of industry executives who help to guide our strategy and accomplish our mission

John grew up in a family built on entrepreneurial spirit. His mother, Kathleen Cecilian, has helped to create powerful brands for some of the most respected master-planned community developers.
Before starting Cecilian Partners, John spent seventeen years in retail management and strategy, working for a variety of global lifestyle brands during a time of hypergrowth and emergence. He has been a leader and key contributor in the development and North American expansion of several iconic brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch, AllSaints, Michael Kors, Quiksilver, Under Armour, and Rapha. John’s had P&L oversight over $150MM working in major city centers and regions nationally for these brands. He is an expert in commerce strategy, customer experience, and the recruitment and training of teams and people.
For years, John gleaned insights into the broken nature of the customer journey for community developers and production home builders. He understands how to solve the opportunity in the marketplace and believes he has assembled and continues to build a team of outside industry experts to help overcome the customer obstacles plaguing this category of real estate.
John holds a Master of Business Administration in Systems Thinking and Global Finance from Villanova University, and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Psychology from Duquesne University. John is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and the Community Development Council (CDC) Gold.

Phil has over 15 years of client advisory and digital innovation / product experience. He started his career with Accenture, working with clients like Microsoft, Marriott, Facebook, Johnson Controls and many others building digital businesses and long-term innovation and growth strategies. That diverse experience across industries, sectors, and topics helps inform Cecilian Partners' uniquely effective approach to product and client service.
Phil holds degrees in Mathematical Economics and Management from Rice University and the London School of Economics. He is an active member of Urban Land Institute and serves on the CDC Blue Product Council.

His representative experience includes Appriss, Axonify, Compusearch, Intelex, Seismic Software, SiriusDecisions, and Undertone. Prior to JMI, Chris was an investment banker at UBS in the Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) group. Chris lives in the Baltimore area with his wife Natasha and son Cooper. He is on the board of the Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School. Chris received a BA in Political Science, cum laude, from Yale University.
Chris’ interests include reading, hiking, and tennis.

His representative experience includes AlertMedia, Axonify, Rsam and Unanet. Prior to JMI, Rocco was an investment banker at RBC Capital Markets in the Mergers & Acquisitions group. Rocco lives in New Jersey with his wife Erica and son Rocco IV. Rocco received a BBA in Finance and Economics, cum laude, from Loyola University Maryland.
Rocco’s interests include spending time with his son, cheering on the New York Giants & Mets, and all things NBA and college hoops.

Currently, Ned is the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Clutch, which provides a mobile platform that unifies gifting, loyalty and shopping in a single experience. Prior to Clutch, he was the co-founder, Chairman and CEO at Portico Systems providing enterprise software solutions into the healthcare payer market experiencing tremendous growth and ultimately being sold to McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK).
Ned works with companies to apply the appropriate strategy, vision, and operational execution to enable these companies to achieve their high growth goals as they produce tangible value to the customers and markets they serve. Along with being very active with other entrepreneurs as an advisor and an angel investor, he serves on the boards of FinPay and Empactful Capital. Ned is also a member of the Advisory Boards for Coral Homes and SocialLadder.
Ned graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Villanova University. He serves as an Advisory Council Member to Villanova’s Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship, (“ICE” Center), which helps instill the entrepreneurial spirit in students across all the colleges at Villanova and is part of the Villanova School of Business. Ned also was the past Chairman of the Board of the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale where he still serves as a member of the Board and the Chairman of the Robert Hamilton Endowment Fund.

Ms. McCarty joined the organization in 2015 as the Vice President of Corporate Communications and has led communications functions for the University of Phoenix, Insight, ON Semiconductor and McMurry, Inc. She has been named a ‘Top Women in PR’ by PRNews (2019), a ‘Top Women in Communications’ by Ragan Communications and PR Daily (2020), and a Top Marketing Leader by HousingWire (2022). Ms. McCarty graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and currently sits on the Advisory Board for Zillow Group, Inc.
Backed by a generation of deep expertise in real estate and technology.
RCLCO Real Estate Advisors
RCLCO is a 50+ year real estate strategy and consulting firm, advising on $5B of real estate annually and a major strategic player across all classes and types of real estate. They are an investor in and strategic partner in the market with Cecilian Partners, seeing an opportunity to use technology and data to meet major developer and builder needs. RCLCO CEO Gadi Kaufmann states, “We always want to bring more to our clients. The world of real estate technology, “prop tech” is changing the industry and as always we want to play a strategic role in that change. We believe community developers and home builders will both gain efficiencies and improve the overall consumer experience by implementing this software product.”
Land Advisors Organization
Land Advisors is a team of respected, connected and talented land professionals that provide brokerage and advisory services to those that need a rock-solid, data-driven roadmap for acquiring, selling, financing or developing land and land-related assets. Established in 1987, LAO’s reputation in the real estate industry requires no introduction. Generational relationships with professionals at every point in the real estate cycle, state-of-the-art technology, and trust built on excellence and bankable expertise is why LAO is the best known name in land.
LJA Engineering
LJA is an Engineering News-Record Top 500 National Firm offering full-service engineering and consulting services to public and private sector clients. Their depth of services is comprehensive, their breadth of knowledge leads the industry, and their regional influence continues to positively impact our personal and professional communities. With over 1300 employees in 45 offices across Texas and the Southeastern US, LJA has won many national and regional awards over the years include Top Work Place, Best Places to Work, Hot Firm, Fast 100, Top Design Firm, and Top Civil/Structural Firm. LJA was recently named the Design Firm of the Year by ENR Texas & Louisiana.