Georgetown Students Celebrate Historic Case Competition Campaign

Case competitions are a core component of the experiential curriculum for real assets students at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business (MSB). These detail-oriented financial modeling cases give students the opportunity to build lived experience in the board room, crafting a pitch desk and presenting to experts.

The Steers Center has always seen the value these competitions offer students, sending different teams of undergraduates, M.S. in Global Real Assets, and MBA students to various competitions all over the country each year, where they have earned various honors.

This academic year, however, marks Georgetown’s most successful campaign in the history of the real assets program — with two different teams earning first place honors at the Impact Investing in Commercial Real Estate Case Competition hosted by the University of Miami Herbert Business School and the 2026 CASE Competition organized by The MIT Center for Real Estate.

Students Put Unique M.S. in GRA Curriculum Into Practice in Miami

The University of Miami Herbert Business School’s case competition is centered on impact investing, which they describe on their website as “investments made in commercial real estate projects with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside an appropriate financial return.”

Georgetown’s team of Master’s in Global Real Assets students, comprised of Dustin J. Stern (GRA’26), Jack Briskman (GRA’26), Daniel Leung (GRA’26), Jinwoo Lee (GRA’26), and Ben Lansbury (GRA’26), created a proposal to revitalize an underutilized site in the heart of Adams Morgan, Washington, D.C. 

The students’ vision was to transform this parcel of land into a vibrant, future‑ready mixed‑use community that integrates affordable and workforce housing, modern educational space, neighborhood‑serving retail, community facilities, and complementary uses. Their project aimed to create a dynamic, inclusive hub that strengthens the surrounding neighborhood while delivering long‑term social and economic impact.

The M.S. in Global Real Assets program curriculum helped prepare the team for this impact investing case, thanks to its rigorous curriculum focused on real estate business fundamentals, infrastructure investing, and hands-on experience with the District of Columbia market. Additionally, the program emphasizes ethical leadership and provides students with the ability to strategically analyze complex issues, giving students an advantage in identifying and executing true impact.

Graduate Students Showcase Real World Skills At MIT

MIT’s Center for Real Estate’s The CASE Competition has been a key national competition since its founding in 2009. As described on their website, “The CASE focuses on real estate acquisition and development underwriting at the asset level. The competition mimics the professional circumstances and assignments that students of real estate finance, construction, planning, and design will encounter in the formal development industry after graduation.”

After being selected as semi-finalists, Georgetown’s team, composed of Scott M. Cohen (MBA’26), Zach Nirenberg (MBA’27), Marco Mejia (MBA’27), and Ben Lansbury (GRA’26), competed in live semifinal and final rounds hosted at the BXP, Inc. Washington, DC. Office. 

The group presented a proposal focused on the redevelopment of the former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Headquarters, the J. Edgar Hoover Building, reimagining the site as a pedestrianized arrangement of Class A office, multifamily, hotel, and retail. They outlined a disciplined, phased redevelopment that balanced civic responsibility with financial realism, delivering certainty to the GSA and long-term value to investors while restoring Pennsylvania Avenue as a public-facing destination.

Through the Georgetown Real Estate Society, we had continuous access to technical sessions and site visits across different asset classes, which gave us the chance to learn directly from key players in the industry. Coursework like Real Estate Private Equity, the Multifamily Clinic, Private Debt, and Public Equity gave us the technical foundation to build a well-rounded proposal. But perhaps the most influential experience was our visit to Hines, where they walked us through their work on City Center. That visit was a major source of inspiration for our project.

Marco Mejia (MBA’27)

The Key To Case Competition Success: Practice

In addition to Miami and MIT, the Steers Center also sent teams to participate in competitions at the University of North Carolina, University of Texas, Villanova, Boston College, and Boston University this year. The center also hosts its own competition, the McDonough Real Assets Case Competition, which is open to any student from any program at McDonough’s School of Business. 

The Steers Center’s case competition teams are trained by David Sislen, adjunct professor and president at Bristol Capital Corporation, who helps students prepare for the board room by advising them on presentation format, public speaking skills, and providing insight into what judges (or future investment committees) are looking to see in a winning proposal.

Our group of students this year was so bright, I’m not surprised we managed to have so much success. Several of our teams at other competitions also put together very impressive proposals that I thought could have won. Ultimately the best way to succeed in case competitions is to practice and compete as much as possible, which is why we send so many students to different competitions around the country.

David Sislen

Looking Forward to Next Year

As the Steers Center continues to strive in differentiating its students, it plans to increase training and participation in case competitions next academic year, building on the impressive accomplishments of this year’s participants.