Innovative Living and Working
10:15AM - 11:15AM
Innovative ways of living, working and serving a neighborhood are coming to LIC. What are the needs
of today’s innovative companies and workforce? With the rise of co-living and co-working spaces, the
entrepreneur and employer relationship with the community is changing at a rapid pace. Added to the
equation are expectations of new and better services to accommodate a 24/7 workforce. This panel
will explore those spaces and services coming to LIC.
Ryan Murphy
Ollie Co-Living
Ryan manages Corporate Partnerships at Ollie, a leading
co-living operator based in New York City. Partnering
with institutional real estate investors and developers,
Ollie humanizes housing through an “all-inclusive” model
that combines thoughtfully furnished micro-studios and
shared suites with hotel-style services, amenities, and
events. Ryan joined Ollie in July 2017 to launch their
events platform: Ollie Social. With its success, she
transitioned to helping Ollie’s expansion team manage
deal flow and contract execution. Her main focus is rolling
out Ollie Labs, Ollie’s suite of separable services that
help developers bring all-inclusive living to conventional
residential builds. Ryan holds a Bachelor’s Degree from
Duke University (‘13).
Frank Puglia
Spaces LIC
Frank Puglia is a commercial real estate professional at
flexible and shared office space provider International
Workplace Group, whose largest brands are Regus
and Spaces. As Area Vice President for the New York
portfolio, Puglia leads sales and operations teams across
60 locations, comprising 150 employees. Puglia is also
responsible for growing the IWG portfolio in New York and
establishing IWG’s brands in the marketplace. Previously,
Puglia was with Cintas Corporation where he led the East
Coast sales, operations, and acquisition teams.
David Brause (Moderator)
Brause Realty, Inc.
David Brause has worked in real estate for over twentyfive
years handling acquisitions, development and
management of office, retail and residential property in
Long Island City, Manhattan and the tri-state area. As
President of Brause Realty Inc., one of the premier family
real estate firms in New York City, he has been active in
the ownership and development of approximately three
million square feet of space. Significant developments
in LIC include a 700,000 square foot LEED Gold
redevelopment of a 1911 manufacturing building at
27-01 Queens Plaza North into class A office space
for MetLife Insurance and the headquarters of JetBlue
Airways, and the development of The Forge, a 38-story,
272-unit luxury LEED Silver apartment building on
Purves Street in Court Square.
David proudly serves as the founding Chairman of the LIC
Business Improvement District. He is a member of the
Long Island City Partnership Board.
Thais Galli
Studio
Ms. Galli joined Tishman Speyer in 2016 and currently
oversees Studio globally, the firm’s global coworking
and flexible leasing platform. She previously was a part
of the Strategy team, where she focused on corporate
initiatives. Prior to Tishman Speyer, Ms. Galli was
a consultant for McKinsey & Company, where she
worked on restructurings, turnarounds, mergers, and
acquisitions for large global corporations. She holds her
BA in Business and Economics from Fundação Getulio
Vargas and her MBA from Harvard Business School.
Samantha Garfield
The Collective Co-Living
Samantha Garfield is an innovation strategist and a
passionate creator of culture-led public spaces. As VP
of Brand and Strategic Communications, U.S. for The
Collective, Garfield leads an extended team responsible
for placemaking, partnerships and programs for the
pioneering co-living company’s growing portfolio of
projects across New York, Chicago and Miami. Previously,
Garfield led the global repositioning effort for cult brand
MINI, spearheading the dual launch of A/D/O and venture
accelerator URBAN-X in Brooklyn. She has consulted
on community and corporate strategy at Foursquare,
Mercedes-Benz, Richemont, The New York Times, and
many more.
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