Meet our
executive team.

Bill Bayless

Co-founder & Vice Chair

West Virginia University
B.S., Business Administration

Nearly thirty years after co-founding the company and twenty years leading it as our CEO, Bill moved into the role of vice chair in 2023, where he continues to impact the guiding vision for the organization while providing strategic perspective and support to the ACC team. Known for his contagious enthusiasm, he is widely recognized as the nation’s foremost expert on the student housing business and is largely credited for student housing becoming an institutional asset class. Over his 30-year career, he has been involved in nearly $30 billion of student housing transactions, including more than $8.7 billion in ground up development representing a net asset value of more than $12 billion.
 
The son and grandson of steelworkers, Bill was born and raised in the northern panhandle of West Virginia and first forged his vision of what would someday become American Campus Communities while he was still a student at WVU working as a dishwasher, grill cook, night desk attendant, and as a resident assistant at Summit Hall. He saw students and parents as under-served consumers, worthy of better products and services. He saw the need and the opportunity to provide modern, high quality, well-amenitized student communities that could foster environments conducive to academic success.
 
Bill spent the first six years of his career with traditional real estate companies that were intrigued by student housing as a potential side business. Then in 1993, with less than $3,000 in the bank, the 29-year-old moved his wife and two small children to Austin, Texas where he co-founded American Campus Communities with Wayne Senecal and Joseph Domberger. The fledging company, with only one third-party student housing management contract, established an ambitious mission statement: “To be the nation’s premier provider of quality student housing communities and services through a unique understanding of, and an unrelenting commitment to, students, parents, educational institutions, and investors. Our people are our strength achieving success through a dedication to excellence and integrity.”
 
From 1993 to 2003, Bill worked to establish student housing as a viable sector within commercial real estate and to position ACC as the nation’s premier developer and manager of on-campus student housing, pioneering large development transactions with the State University of New York System, the University of California System and the Texas A&M University System. He pioneered creative project-based financing structures that became the industry standard for P3 transactions nationwide. In 1997, he secured $50 million in venture capital from a fund controlled by Reckson Associates to buy out his original partners and to fund the company’s expansion. In 2004, after building the company to more than $300 million in owned assets, Bill undertook the industry’s most transformative transaction, leading the student housing industry to new heights when ACC successfully consummated its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the first publicly-traded student housing company and introducing the sector to Wall Street and institutional investors globally.
 
Under his executive leadership, ACC was one of the top performing publicly traded real estate companies in America. In its eighteen years as a public company, ACC’s enterprise value increased from $300 million to $12.8 billion delivering a total shareholder return of 703% - outperforming the Morgan Stanley REIT Index by 2.1x, the Dow Jones Industrials by 1.7x, the S&P 500 by 1.6x and nearly keeping pace with the tech driven NASDAQ at 736%. In addition, over that time, the company’s same store portfolio achieved average fall occupancy of 97.25 percent and produced positive same store growth in rental rate, rental revenue, and net operating income each year, except for 2020 due to the impacts of the Covid pandemic. In 2022, Bill took the company private, with Blackstone acquiring the company in a $13 billion dollar transaction.
 
Beyond the company’s operational success and financial performance, under Bill’s purview as CEO, ACC was widely recognized as the sector’s “Best-in-Class” company. In 2011, the company achieved an investment grade rating from both Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s. The company received national accolades in 2013 when it was named “Development Firm of the Year” by the National Association of Home Builders and has also been named by both Forbes and Newsweek as one of America’s Most Trusted Companies, with the latter placing the company at number 2 among all real estate companies in 2022. ACC has also been voted as one of the best companies to work for in its home state of Texas on three separate occasions and has achieved the Great Place to Work certification in 2019, 2021 and 2022. In addition, ACC developments have won more than five dozen national and regional real estate awards.
 
Bill’s vision, passion, and tenacious determination have not only fueled the success and prominence of ACC, but have also served as a catalyst for the entire student housing industry becoming a well-respected institutional asset class within the commercial real estate sector, resulting in millions of students and parents across the nation now having a wide variety of modern, high quality, professionally managed, affordable student housing options from which to choose.
 
In 2015, he was featured by Commercial Property Executive as one of commercial real estate’s Most Innovative Executives. In 2017, he was named the National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the category of real estate, construction, and lodging, following Bill Marriott who had received the award in the prior year. Globe Street Real-estate Forum recognized bill as one of 2021’s “Best Bosses,” for the work he did in leading the company during the Covid pandemic. He has also been featured in prominent publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The New York Times; has made numerous appearances on CNBC as the student housing industry’s top expert and has appeared on Bloomberg and ABC’s Nightline. He is frequently invited to speak nationally at real estate conferences and at business schools regarding the student housing industry, ACC’s success and his personal success as an entrepreneur. He has been recognized by his home state being inducted into the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame and by his alma mater, West Virginia University, where he was added to the College of Business & Economics Roll of Distinguished Alumni and has been inducted into the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Bill is also member of Mensa.
 
On the charitable front, Bill serves as the Chair, and was instrumental in the formation of American Campus Charity Foundation, which supports charitable activities focused on disadvantaged youth and education in ACC’s hometown of Austin, Texas, as well as in the local markets served by ACC’s communities. The Foundation has raised nearly $7.5 million for the causes consistent with its focus. Bill also currently serves on the Board for the Rise School of Austin, which provides high quality early childhood education for children with down syndrome and developmental delays alongside traditional and gifted children, in an inclusive setting. The Foundation also partners with the Hi, How Are You Project, a non-profit organization focused on tackling issues of mental health among U.S. college students, to provide training and awareness programs at American Campus communities nationwide.  

Rob Palleschi

CEO

Johnson & Wales University

First student housing experience: My first dorm was a former hotel converted to student housing on Narragansett Bay outside of Providence Rhode Island.
 
Best college-themed movie/TV Show: BELUSHI! Is there a better college movie than Animal House?
 
Most people don't know: I originally wanted to be a chef.
 
Favorite thing about college: The freedom, control and new adventure. Living outside my parents’ home, making my own decisions (occasionally good ones too!), making new friends, exploring and new adventures.

Rob has served as Chief Executive Officer of American Campus Communities since January 2023. As CEO, Rob oversees operations for the entire organization while working with the leadership team to drive the company’s strategic vision and support the execution of the company’s business plan to create environments to facilitate student success.

A seasoned leader with more than three decades of experience in the hospitality and food & beverage industries, Rob has a proven track record of successfully developing and executing global strategies that focus on revenue growth, product quality and guest experience. Prior to joining ACC, he served for six years in escalating leadership roles with G6 Hospitality, the owner and operator of Motel 6 and Studio 6 branded lodging locations. Rob joined G6 in 2017 as Chief Development Officer and became President and CEO in 2018. As CEO, he led the organization’s transition to a full franchise model and the sale of its remaining owned real estate portfolio in 2022, all while reinvigorating a values-driven culture of quality and guest service across the enterprise.

Prior to his time at G6, he served as the CEO of TGI Fridays, where he was focused on driving quality, customer experience and supporting a vibrant team member experience. Previously, he had spent 12 years at Hilton Worldwide, most recently serving as global head of full-service brands, overseeing operations, and developing growth strategies focused on guest experience, product quality and an energized brand identity.

Rob received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration in International Hotel & Tourism Management and a B.S. in Hospitality Administration & Management from Johnson & Wales University. He is actively involved in key industry organizations, including AAHOA and AHLA. Rob resides in Plano, Texas, with his wife Terri.

Jennifer Beese

President, Chief Operating Officer

Texas A&M University
 
First student housing experience: Treehouse Village, a student apartment where I lived and worked. I had a smooth transition from my parent’s home and made several lifelong friends.
 
Best college-themed movie/TV Show: Saved by the Bell College Edition
 
Most people don't know: I have a green thumb--I enjoy gardening and growing plants.
 
Favorite thing about college: A&M football and starting my career in student housing.

As ACC President and Chief Operating Officer, Jennifer is the responsible for guiding the company’s success, preserving and advancing culture, and mentoring and developing the ACC team. Beese leads all company operations with more than 2,900 employees under her supervision. Her oversight encompasses marketing and leasing, customer service, human resources, training, and corporate administration and company culture. Jennifer also oversees our Inside Track employee development program, as well as our unmatched residence life program.

Under her leadership, ACC has consistently achieved industry-leading occupancy and 15 straight years of same-store growth in the areas of revenue, rental rate, rental revenue, and net operating income (excluding pandemic). Jennifer has played a critical role in the development of ACC’s proprietary systems, including NextGen and our business intelligence initiatives. Working with our Co-founder & Vice Chair, Bill Bayless, Jennifer developed the initial flowcharts for our Leasing Administration and Marketing system, LAMS – a pioneering technology platform that had never before existed in student housing that has been a driving force in the success of the company as a whole.
 
Since Jennifer joined ACC as a regional manager 20+ years ago, she has held a variety of positions in property management, on-campus business development, and our training department. Her roots in student housing extend back to her college days, during which she worked on-site in property management.
 
After graduation, she joined JPI and worked on-site in their first purpose-built student housing community, then moved on to the training department at the corporate offices, working to develop onsite employees in both multi-family and student housing. Her experience and expertise in both student and multi-family housing are invaluable assets to our team.

On the charitable front, Jennifer was instrumental in the formation of American Campus Charities Foundation, which supports charitable activities focused on disadvantaged youth and education in ACC’s hometown of Austin, Texas, as well as in the local markets served by ACC’s communities. The Foundation has raised in excess of $1 million for the causes consistent with its focus. Jennifer also serves on the board of the Rise School, Austin's first and only school dedicated to inclusive early education for children with and without disabilities. The Rise School of Austin uses individualized learning techniques to enable every child to achieve his or her maximum potential.

Jorge de Cárdenas

EVP, Chief Technology Officer

Texas A&M University
B.S., Computer Science
Specializations in Mathematics and Management
CERT-Certification in Cybersecurity Oversight, Carnegie Mellon University

 
First student housing experience: Lived off-campus in a house with two roommates. They filled the trunk of my car with packing peanuts, and later “stole” the car (I stole it back and had them searching frantically all day)… It was non-stop pranks!
 
Best college-themed movie/TV show: Good Will Hunting
 
Most people don't know: I can juggle and ride a unicycle at the same time (seriously)
 
Favorite thing about college: The relationships I built with some of my instructors, especially the regular Thursday poker games with my statistics professor

Jorge and his team are revolutionizing the way technology is used in the student housing industry. Under his direction, ACC implemented the first “gigabit to the bed” Internet service in the country, providing our student residents the access they need to succeed in their college careers. At the same time, Jorge’s IT staff developed ACC’s proprietary enterprise-capable Leasing Administration and Marketing System (LAMS) – the first of its kind in the industry – while also sustaining the technology backbone that enables our multifaceted operation.
 
After Jorge joined the company in 2004, he and the rest of our leadership focused on a strategic opportunity: ACC needed a new technology platform designed for scalable growth, with tools built specifically for the unique leasing life cycle in the student-housing market. In addition to LAMS, our IT team developed ACC’s Market Survey business intelligence platform and the Strategic Marketing System, a comprehensive web-based marketing planning and execution tool.
 
Jorge also oversees our Technical Services team, which focuses entirely on property-based technology enablement. This team works closely with our development group to make sure each community has the proper infrastructure for current and future technology needs, while securing local vendor support with best-in-market pricing and services. It’s not surprising, then, to discover that Jorge began his career developing software for NASA at Lockheed Engineering and Science.
 
Prior to joining ACC, he co-founded and served as principal consultant of Everest Technologies, Inc., an Oil & Gas IT consulting firm, which later sold to SAIC, Inc. He was also director of product management for emerging technologies at VISA®.
 
 Jorge is especially proud that ACC supports charitable causes that promote education and the wellbeing of children.
 
Outside of work, Jorge serves as co-founder and board president of The Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts, a nonprofit which offers a nationally accredited college-preparatory curriculum and world-class arts education.

Lonnie Ledbetter

EVP, Chief Purpose & Inclusion Officer
The University of Texas at Austin
B.A., Economics
SHRM-SCP

First student housing experience: Moving into a residence hall that had very industrial metal furniture and sharing a bathroom with 30 other college freshman girls. I was shocked to learn that I did not have a curfew!

Most memorable college experience: On the first night of my freshman year, the RA staff held a hall meeting for all the residents to get to know one another. The RA staff was so welcoming and made sure we were all comfortable. I decided that night that I wanted to be an RA. the following year, I became an RA and started my career in student housing. 

Favorite thing about college: Football season, the RA staffs that I was a part of, and the friendships I made. 

Most people don't know: I am obsessed with Sudoku puzzles. They are a great stress reliever. 

Favorite college-themed movie: Road Trip

Lonnie is the executive responsible for leading ACC’s Human Resources, Organizational Structure, Culture, Training, Residence Life, and all Diversity & Inclusion and Environmental, Social and Governance Initiatives. Lonnie also leads the company's Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce, which works to create an inclusive culture where all know their unique voices will be valued.

Lonnie spearheads ACC’s commitment to providing team members at all levels of the organization with the training, support, and learning opportunities they need to be successful. Additionally, Lonnie is responsible for ACC’s residence life program, which fosters the academic success and well-being of our student residents. Our programming centers around the development of three core skillsets –interpersonal, life management, and academic success.

During her time at ACC, Lonnie designed and implemented our InsideTrack conference, which offers career development for community-level team members interesting in becoming general managers. The curriculums delivered in an intensive three-day training program at the ACC corporate office, and a six-month mentoring program emphasizing residence life, human resource management, business operations, marketing and leasing, facilities, and career development.

Since Lonnie began her career as a Resident Assistant, she has gained invaluable experience in student and multifamily housing in her roles with private real estate developer JPI and with ACC as a leasing consultant, director of business development, VP of training and VP of organizational development. Lonnie is a CPLP, and her experience and leadership have played a critical role in the growth and internal development of ACC. 
 

William W. Talbot

EVP, Chief Investment Officer

Vanderbilt University (But as a Missouri native, he roots for Mizzou),
B.A., Economics, Spanish
 
First student housing experience: The typical double occupancy room with group showers down the hall
 
Favorite college-themed movie/TV show: Old School
 
Favorite thing about college: Experiencing new things – whether it was meeting new friends, exploring new places, or learning new subjects.

William W. Talbot has served as ACC’s Chief Investment Officer/EVP since November 2012 and currently oversees all of the company’s investment activity – including mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, and on and off campus development as well as the company’s market research. During his time at the company, Mr. Talbot has been involved in transactions totaling more than 200 communities and more than $7.0 billion of student housing product, including the public merger with GMH as well as several of the largest portfolio acquisitions in the sector.
 
Mr. Talbot joined ACC in August 2001 as Director of Acquisitions and has since served in increasing capacities – including Director of Asset Management, Vice President of Investments, Senior Vice President of Investments and Executive Vice President of Investments. Prior to joining ACC, Mr. Talbot worked as an Acquisition Analyst for Lend Lease Real Estate Investments.
 
Mr. Talbot currently serves as Chairman of ULI’s Student Housing Council, member of the NMHC Finance Committee and as Chair-Elect of the Boys and Girls Club of Austin and Travis County, Inc. Mr. Talbot is a graduate of Vanderbilt University.

Kim K. Voss

EVP, CFO

The University of Texas at Austin
B.B.A., Accounting, M.P.A. (Master of Professional Accounting)
 
First student housing experience: All-girl private dorm. I clearly remember that my parents dropped me off and rushed out the door. Come to find out, they intentionally left right away so that I would not see them get emotional. Now that I have two children of my own, I completely understand!
 
Best college-themed movie/TV show: Hands down, Revenge of the Nerds!
 
Most people don't know: I am a first-generation American. (My father is from Poland)
 
Favorite thing about college: To this day, I still remember the excitement of walking the UT campus with my backpack in those first few weeks. It felt like the beginning of an amazing journey – and it was!

As our Chief Financial Officer, Kim is responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial operations functions – including accounting, treasury, debt / capital markets, tax, risk management, financial planning and reporting, financial systems, and internal controls. She joined ACC in 2004, shortly before our $300 million Initial Public Offering, leading the company’s accounting department through its transition to a publicly traded company. During ACC’s eighteen years as a public company, Kim served in various leadership positions, including, most recently, as EVP Chief Accounting Officer, and oversaw the strategic growth of the company’s financial operations team to support ACC’s growth into the national leader in the student housing industry. In August 2022, things came full circle when she played a key role in the $13 billion sale of the company to affiliates of Blackstone, navigating the ACC through its transition back to private equity ownership as a Blackstone portfolio company.
 
From the very first time she met the Bill Bayless in 2004, she was hooked on the team’s enthusiasm and passion right away. Years later, she is still just as excited about working with her fellow team members to serve our students and university partners. Kim is a CPA and a member of the advisory council for The University of Texas McCombs School of Business Department of Accounting. She also enjoys participating in charitable activities as a Board member of Folds of Honor – Central Texas, which provides educational scholarships to military families across the nation, and Eanes Education Foundation, which fosters excellence in Eanes ISD public schools.

James E. Wilhelm, III

EVP, Public-Private Transactions

Miami University (Ohio)
B.S., Finance
 
First student housing experience: Traditional 1960s-style dormitory and dining hall, all four years 
 
Best college movie/TV show: Animal House —“Seven years of college down the drain!” Classic!
 
Favorite college experience: Most people don’t know: I went from a walk-on to starting defensive back for the Miami of Ohio football team. In my senior year, our little ragtag bunch beat the LSU Tigers 21-12 at Baton Rouge, in the pouring rain. I’ll never forget the euphoria of counting down those final 7-9 seconds and realizing we were actually going to win.

Jamie is the executive overseeing ACC’s P3 division, responsible for all on-campus business development efforts, including our American Campus Equity® (ACE) program. Under Jamie’s leadership, his team has developed and/or completed more than three dozen on-campus transactions – including third party, tax-exempt bond finance projects, conventional leasehold mortgages, university general obligation bonds, and direct investments under the ACE program.
 
These transactions comprise nearly $2.1 billion in total development cost. All told, Jamie has been involved in higher education finance for more than 25 years. Prior to joining ACC in 2007, Jamie was an investment banker specializing in higher education and related non-profit finance. Throughout his investment banking career, Jamie participated in the origination of more than $2 billion of debt and derivative transactions for more than 80 higher education institutions and nonprofits. Prior to joining the company, he also served as the investment banker for more than $350 million of ACC projects prior to joining the company. Having worked very closely with higher-ed presidents, CFOs, and finance committees, Jamie has an unmatched understanding of the complex issues these leaders face when managing their balance sheets, debt capacity, and credit ratings while successfully achieving their overall mission and vision.
 
His deep experience and unique perspective combine to help ACC achieve win-win solutions for the colleges and universities we serve. Jamie joined ACC from RBC Bank’s public finance department, where he served as the managing director of the higher education sector.
 
Prior to RBC, he was a managing director with Banc One Capital Markets (currently JPMorgan Capital Markets) and held positions at McDonald & Company Securities (currently KeyBanc Capital Markets) and The Ohio Company (currently Fifth Third Markets).

Brian Winger

EVP, General Counsel
Oklahoma Christian University
B.S., History/Pre-law
Oklahoma City University, J.D.
 
First student housing experience:  Sub-leasing my brother’s off-campus apartment.             
 
Favorite thing about college: It was a lot of fun and productive at the same time. 

Brian is primarily responsible for negotiating and structuring complicated transactions and managing significant litigation matters. He joined American Campus Communities in 2000 as director of off-campus development and has since served in increasing capacities. During his eighteen years at American Campus, Brian has been involved in countless transactions that have a combined worth of billions of dollars.

Previously, Brian was the chief operating officer with Aspen Gold Development Company, a private real-estate developer. He also held the position of general counsel for Oklahoma Christian University. Brian is a licensed attorney in Oklahoma.