Co-Founders

Lindsay Ornstein & Stephen Powers

Lindsay and Stephen founded OPEN Impact Real Estate to provide organizations with a choice in who they partner with for their real estate strategy and implementation. When working with OPEN, clients benefit from the in-depth expertise that Lindsay and Stephen garnered through their many years as real estate advisors engaged in their local New York City marketplace and advising companies nationally. Recognized industry leaders in serving mission-driven, socially-minded organizations, Lindsay and Stephen are both intimately involved in each client engagement and supported by a team of real estate professionals through OPEN’s partnership with Transwestern Real Estate Services.

OPEN Skyline

Lindsay Ornstein

Co-Founder

During her 20-year career, Lindsay has completed nearly 10 million square feet of transactions, serving many of the country’s leading Education, Financial Services and New Economy organizations, across multiple disciplines including tenant advisory, agency leasing, portfolio strategy, branding and consulting advisory work. Prior to launching OPEN, Lindsay was a partner in Transwestern’s New York office, which she co-founded in 2011, and served on the firm’s board of directors and executive committee. She began her career in real estate at The Staubach Company, initially as the director of marketing and subsequently as a broker.

Lindsay has received numerous awards and recognitions during her career, including Bisnow’s “PowerWomen” distinction, the “Young Real Estate Professionals of the Year” award from the Real Estate Board of New York, Commercial Property Executive’s “Female Leader of the Year,” and Transwestern’s “Tenant Advisory” award, among others. Committed to giving back to the real estate industry and to the community, Lindsay is involved in numerous organizations. She serves on the New York Advisory Council of the Dream Foundation, the Bisnow Diversity Board, and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association.

Lindsay graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where she founded the Women’s Varsity Golf Team.

Stephen Powers

Co-Founder

Stephen is an experienced real estate professional who has spent the past 15 years of his career exclusively working on behalf on nonprofit organizations, providing consulting and transaction services to leading institutions in New York City and across the country. He has successfully completed more than 8 million square feet of transactions for nonprofits, always with a keen eye towards ensuring that the organization’s real estate strategy is in complete support of its critical mission. Stephen has particular expertise in securing off-market real estate solutions for the Social Service and Education nonprofit sectors requiring ground-up construction and adaptive reuse. Additionally, he is an expert at implementing holistic dispositions and acquisitions processes.

Prior to founding OPEN, Stephen was a partner in Transwestern’s New York office and the national leader of the firm’s Nonprofit Advisory Group, which gained national recognition for helping nonprofits of all sizes minimize occupancy costs and capitalize on the tremendous savings uniquely available to tax-exempt organizations. He also served on Transwestern’s board of directors. Previously, he was a senior manager for Denham Wolf Real Estate Services. 

Stephen is a frequent public speaker at thought leadership conferences for the nonprofit sector, including the Rooftops Conference, Teach For America, Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York and Lawyers Alliance for New York. In 2020, he was honored by Crain’s New York Business with inclusion on its “Notable in Real Estate” list. 

Stephen earned his bachelor’s degree from Washington University’s Olin School of Business and his master’s degree in Real Estate Development from New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate.

Team

Through a strategic alliance, OPEN can leverage the considerable resources of Transwestern, with its team of more than 2,100 people nationally and its global reach through alliance partners, BNP Paribas Real Estate and Encor Advisors.

OPEN Team
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Join us

At OPEN, we’re building an intentionally diverse team of topflight, mission-driven individuals with a broad spectrum of real estate and advisory backgrounds.

If you’re interested in joining our team, please submit your resume for consideration.