HES Virtual Welcome Week

Teo Nicolais, MS is an internationally recognized expert in real estate, advising on investment and development projects around the world and teaching real estate courses at Harvard University.

Nicolais holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College.

An active educator, Nicolais is a Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and an instructor at Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education, with three of his courses forming the foundation for Harvard Extension School’s Real Estate Investment Graduate Certificate. His real estate courses have drawn over 8,300 Harvard students to date.

Nicolais is a Counselor of Real Estate (CRE), Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), and a Certified Property Manager (CPM), making him one of only 17 people worldwide to simultaneously all three designations, each representing a distinct area of real estate expertise. He serves on the Harvard Real Estate Alumni Board, the Board of Directors of the National Apartment Association (NAA), and the Institute of Real Estate Management’s (IREM) international Governing Council. He is the founder and principal of Nicolais, LLC, a real estate investment company focused on multifamily investment properties.

Drawing from both industry experience and academia, Nicolais brings forward-looking insights to his real estate investing, consulting, and teaching, with a commitment to advancing knowledge and innovation in the field.

Leslie Rogne Schumacher, PhD, FRSA, FRHistS is a scholar of international relations and diplomacy, European and Middle East studies, and nationalism and transnationalism. He is a Senior Fellow in the National Security Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and holds or has held positions at Harvard Kennedy School, Cornell University, the University of London, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Before coming to Harvard, he served as Director of the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence at Wells College, a federal intelligence careers program funded by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Dr. Joseph Vitriol is an Assistant Professor in the Business School at Lehigh University and a lecturer in the Extension Schools at Harvard University. Previously, he was a Senior Researcher in the Political Science Department at Stony Brook University, a College Fellow in the Psychology Department at Harvard University, and a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Psychology Department at Lehigh University. He holds a PhD in Social and Political Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and a BA/MA in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

His research examines the causes, consequences, and solutions to bias in judgment and behavior, particularly in political, legal, and organizational contexts. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives, he studies how beliefs about the self, others, and society contribute to prejudice, inequality, and the erosion of democratic values. He employs a variety of research methods while maintaining a commitment to open science, replicability, and translating research into actionable policies. Notably, he develops and tests interventions based on his research to help mitigate negative real-world outcomes, connecting both basic and applied science to improve understanding and practices within organizations and communities.