Our Story & Biography
Beverly's Legacy
Brothers David S. Searles, Jr. and Richard D. Searles formed the non-profit Beverly J. Searles Foundation to honor their late mother, Beverly Jones Searles. Beverly Jones was born in Duluth, Minnesota on June 10, 1924. When she was only two months old, her father, John Beverley Jones, was tragically killed while successfully saving the lives of two drowning young people in a bay off Lake Superior. Beverly's mother passed away in 1936, leaving her with no surviving siblings or grandparents. She was raised by her great aunt and uncle in Detroit, Michigan.
Beverly's 18th birthday fell just months after Pearl Harbor. She immediately devoted her early career to the American war effort. In July 1944, she traveled to Wichita, Kansas to marry her sweetheart, David Sewall Searles, who was completing his training as a B-24 Flying Fortress pilot. He shipped out to England with the 8th Army Air Force just days after their wedding. Beverly returned to Detroit to look after David’s mother and her aging aunts and uncles.
On Christmas Eve 1944, her husband David was critically injured in a severe B-24 combat plane crash in Europe. Beverly rushed to his side, spending almost 20 months nursing him through intense reconstructive surgeries and rehabilitation.
In 1952, at ages 28 and 30, they entered the hospitality industry in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, running the Green Shutters Inn and Cottages while raising four young sons. This experience cemented her lifelong dedication as a consummate caregiver and hostess.
After relocating to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the 1960s, Beverly worked as the executive secretary for the entire Board of Commissioners of Broward County for 30 years—one of the fastest-growing regions in America. Throughout this time, she volunteered passionately as a Candy Striper in the local hospital, caring for the elderly, invalid, and dying.
To honor her legacy, David and Rick created the foundation to allow lower-income seniors the privacy, choice, and dignity to gracefully age-in-place. This is achieved by building strong community connections and funding resident wellness services.
Resident Support Charities
The Searles Foundation acts as the sponsor and primary funding channel for onsite independent support services:
Finding Favor, Inc.
Active in The Women's Affordable Housing Network (WAHN). Run by Danielle Johnson and Robin McKiddy, supporting nearly 1,000 low-income residents in active adult communities.
Southwest Atlanta Support
Provides neighborhood stabilization, coordinate social activities, educational programs, and local resource assistance.
Stewardship Values
- Rents restricted below 30% of income
- Predominantly serve under 60% AMI
- Comply strictly with IRS Rev. Proc. 96-32
- Energy-efficient green architecture
Our History Timeline
A multi-decade legacy of real estate investment, asset management, and community transformations.
David worked for an office developer in the NYC suburbs.
David was VP of Finance for a Florida land company that owned 7,000 acres of mixed-use and residential land in Miami-Dade County and in the Orlando area.
David organized Phoenix Associates following the first (and last) time someone fired him.
G. Malcolm Kilpatrick and David formed Chase Properties Company, a residential land developer in the Atlanta region. Malcolm and David were 50-50 business partners until Malcolm retired in 2019 at age 78. They remain friends.
Chase Properties and Charles Sheron zoned properties together. Chase Properties Co. buys and develops residential land.
Chase Properties teamed with Gerald A. Blonder and David Berkman. They formed Royal Chase, Inc. and Royal Chase Investment Company. In the following 10 years, Royal Chase developed apartments. Royal Chase purchased, developed, and sold 600 acres of mixed-use land around Atlanta.
Malcolm and David formed Chase Resolution Team, Inc. to serve the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and its Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) affiliate after threats from Chase Manhattan Bank, Chase Resolution Team, Inc. changed its name to CRT Trust Advisors, Inc.
CRT Asset Management, Inc. signed the first of several professional service contracts with the FDIC/RTC to administer and manage portfolios with 8,000 loans and REO. David and Macolm formed and owned CRT Asset Management. 1992 -1994 FDIC/RTC engaged CRT Trust Advisors for diligence and valuation services for a massive portfolio of golf courses, residential land, hotels, and other land. This resulted in the largest single-public-outcry auction.
FDIC and CRT Trust formed Tennessee Land Investors, LP, as a 50-50 partnership to manage, develop, and sell 162 acres of mixed-use land in and around Nashville, TN. The FDIC-CRT partnership continued for eleven years.
Malcolm Kilpatrick, Rick Searles, and David Searles formed CRT Realty & Development, LLC. CRT Realty served as a development consultant to Sunrise Senior Living across four southeastern states for 9 years.
CRT Realty & Development served as a development consultant to the developers of Big Bethel Village for Big Bethel AME Church. 2004 – 2007 CRT Realty & Development served as the developer of 505 units of new-construction active-adult apartments across four projects in metro Atlanta. This service included the Antioch AME Church, the oldest African American congregation in DeKalb County, GA. Financing partners included SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners, PNC Real Estate, Aegon, Washington Mutual Bank (merged into JPMorgan Chase), and Bank of America.
Rick Searles and David Searles formed Beverly J. Searles Foundation, Inc. to honor their late mother.
Philip Searles leads the development of 14 new apartment developments in Georgia. All used Affordable Housing Tax Credits. Several communities used Private Activity Bonds issued through local conduit issuers.
Searles Foundation and Dominium formed the Dominium Searles Joint Venture I, LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company.
Cassius S. Coleman formed Five Points Development, LLC.
Langston Hughes Affordable Housing, Inc., formed the first handful of partnerships with Dominium. The total now is 46 partnerships. Counsel for Dominium has since brought LHAH into partnerships with three other national developers. Preserve at Peachtree Shoals 55+ Apartments
Leadership & Directors
A highly experienced board of directors and professional partners leading strategic community development.
Philip E. Searles
President, Searles Foundation & Board Chairman, Lenbrook Square Foundation, Inc.
Philip heads the Searles Foundation. A native of Atlanta, Philip Searles is our leader for the next generation. After earning a degree in Accounting from the University of Alabama, he began working at the Reznick Group. Philip has been President of Searles Foundation since 2008. In July 2022, the Lenbrook Square Foundation, Inc. elected Philip Searles to its Board of Directors. Lenbrook is a respected Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC).
David S. Searles, Jr.
Chairman of the Board and CFO, Searles Foundation
Upon graduation with his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1970, David Searles joined the HBS faculty for one year, then began his real estate career in 1971. He has been a developer, owner, investor, and broker full-time since 1971. David Searles and Malcolm Kilpatrick have been business partners since 1975. David was CFO of one NASDAQ-traded company and a member of the Board of Directors of Eagle Bancshares, Inc.
Richard D. Searles
Executive Director, Searles Foundation
Rick has been active in the senior housing industry since 1995, working with Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. in its Southeast expansion. Before this, he was the Project Manager for a national due diligence contract with the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC/FDIC). Rick owns CRT Realty & Development, LLC, and has background as a carpenter and builder since 1972.
Donald Russell
Independent Director, Clearwater Business Advisors
Don has over 30 years of experience in investment banking, private equity, and merchant banking, orchestrating over $7 billion in transactions. He led the cable television and broadcast division of Communications Equity Associates, and was president of CEA's New York subsidiary. Don holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Colgate University and was elected to the Society of International Business Fellows in 2000.
Charles Sheron
Independent Director, CEO of The Sheron Group
Charles has over 50 years of domestic and international experience in construction, property development, automated car parking systems, manufacturing, aviation, technology, energy, security, international motor sports, and AI. He has served on the boards of public, private, and non-profit organizations.
Brian Dickhaus
Independent Director, Senior Account Executive at OpenText
Brian is a B2B sales professional enabling digital transformation, information governance, customer experience, and analytics for global enterprises.
Patricia Gadson
Independent Director, Retired Apparel Professional
Patricia has a professional background in people management across diverse industries. She opened the resale boutique 'Bottomless Closet' and spearheaded the opening of the Sundries Shop at Sweetwater Terrace in 2014, which she manages with resident volunteers.
G. Malcolm Kilpatrick
Independent Director, Retired Real Estate Investor
Malcolm co-founded Chase Properties Associates, LLC and CRT Trust Advisors, Inc. He began developing Affordable Apartments in 1977 and has personally negotiated and administered complex real estate contracts exceeding $125 million in value, with specific focus on multi-family developments.
Marion Nurse
Independent Director
Ms. Nurse has an extensive background in human services. She worked for the State of New York helping mentally challenged individuals integrate into society as part of the early efforts of the HUD Section 811 Program. After moving to Atlanta, she served as a manager at the Internal Revenue Service and was certified with the Department of Health to support grandparents raising grandchildren. She has been a board member since June 2013.
Alysse Daniels, M. Ed.
Independent Director, Senior Regional VP of CENTEGIX
Ms. Daniels is a National and Regional Vice President with deep expertise in high-level account management, business development, and consultative sales across school districts in North America. She has over 10 years of experience as an educator and administrator in a major urban school district, providing strategic planning and professional development. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Kenneth D. Searles
CTO, Searles Foundation & Langston Hughes
People-focused technologist with over twenty years of experience in digital transformation, business analytics, process improvement, strategic planning, and IT management. Possesses excellent leadership, interpersonal, and group facilitation skills and is experienced with a broad range of approaches to implement technology that enables and empowers the digital business.
Cassius S. Coleman
CEO of Five Points Development, LLC & EVP of Langston Hughes Affordable Housing, Inc.
Cassius has 30 years of experience in accounting, tax, and finance. He transitioned from accounting to real estate development, taking projects from zoning and financing to construction and occupancy. He is also the CFO of Senior Day Out, a local nonprofit serving Georgia's seniors.
David W. Russell
Owner of River North Development, LLC
David has been instrumental in developing 22 senior housing properties with development costs exceeding $250 million. He holds a B.S. in Political Economy from Tulane University and an MBA in Finance from Emory University.
Marshall F. Aiken
Owner of FTR Development, LLC
Marshall joined the Searles Group in December 2020 after five years as a senior officer at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA). He has 22 years of experience in architectural and construction industries serving public housing authorities.
J. Mark Slack
Principal of Kanawha Realty Advisors, LLC
Mark has 30 years of experience in commercial real estate finance and affordable housing. He served with AIG-SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners and has performed due diligence on over 10,000 affordable housing units with a capitalization of $2 billion. He is also active in green building verified verification through Viridiant.
Joann Costa-Cordero
Asset Management & Developer-in-Training
Joann has over 20 years of experience in financial institutions and the entertainment industry. She joined the Searles Foundation in 2018, obtaining her Real Estate License in 2022. She holds a BBA from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico.
Victoria Curran
Senior Accountant, CPA
Victoria joined the team in 2016. She manages the accounting department and tax-related tasks for the Foundation and its subsidiaries. She is a licensed CPA in New York and a member of the Georgia Society of CPAs.
Danielle Johnson
President and Executive Director, Finding Favor, Inc.
Danielle joined the foundation in 2019. In 2014, she began working with the Higher Ground Empowerment Center, assisting in the development of 105 affordable senior housing units in Vine City, Atlanta.
Robin McKiddy
Vice President, Finding Favor, Inc.
Robin holds a graduate degree in Applied Gerontology from Brenau University. She oversees staff, programming, and administrative duties across several communities, bringing many years of experience working with the aging population.
Deborah (Debbie) A. Gallogly
Founder, Finding Favor, Inc.
Debbie joined CRT and the Searles Foundation and was responsible for Operations from April 2004 until her retirement in 2025.