ADVISORY BOARD

Jimmy Rollins is a former professional baseball player and one of the greatest all-around shortstops to ever play in the Major Leagues, winning four Gold Glove Awards, a Silver Slugger and the 2007 National League MVP. Jimmy played 17 seasons, 14 of them with the Philadelphia Phillies, and was the first player in National League history to have 20 or more doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in a single season. During his time in Philadelphia, the Rollins Family Foundation was created to help local children in need. Since retirement, Jimmy has been a mainstay on the TBS Baseball coverage as an Emmy-nominated analyst and is the Special Assistant to the Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations, David Dombrowski. Jimmy has three beautiful daughters and resides in Los Angeles, CA.

A Southern California native, Scott Leventhal graduated from the University of Southern California in 1991. He began his professional career shortly thereafter at Mouthpiece Sports and Entertainment, where he represented the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Namath, Sandy Koufax and Jim Brown. He transitioned to the exclusive representation of professional baseball players in 1996. As an owner of All Bases Covered Sports Management, Scott represents over 60 MLB players and has amassed over 30 years of experience in the sports business. Scott has represented such stars as Eric Chavez, Lorenzo Cain, Kevin Pillar, David Robertson, Eric Gagne, Steven Vogt, and Brian Dozier. He currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife and three sons.

James Loney played 17 seasons of professional baseball, eleven of them at the Major League level with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and the New York Mets. He is currently an agent with VaynerSports and has been a part time analyst with CBS since 2019. James is originally from Houston, Texas and now resides in Los Angeles, California.

Adam is currently in his 8th season as a professional soccer player. He began his professional career in the United States at the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer. In the following years, he played both within and outside the United States. His international career began at age 14 when playing for the US Youth National team up until U20 representing the US in various tournaments. Adam has since transitioned to represent the Afghanistan National Team where he plays in matches throughout Asia in both Asian Cup qualifying and World Cup qualifying games. His overseas career continued when he signed in Poland to gain European exposure. After Poland, he played in Canada, and followed his true passion where he landed in Southeast Asia. Presently, Adam plays for a first division team in Indonesia. Adam has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration, Marketing Management, from the University of Akron, where he was a first-team All-American up until he signed for the Philadelphia Union. Adam has spent his career both training and competing, and working on business strategies to facilitate the development of young athletes on the precipice of their professional careers.

Lazaro (“Laz”) Díaz has been an umpire for Major League Baseball since 1999. He was promoted to crew chief for the 2022 season, becoming the second full-time, Latino-born crew chief in the major leagues. Laz has worked the World Series in 2007, 2017, and 2020, the American League Championship Series in 2009, 2015, 2016, and 2021, the Division Series in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2020, the All-Star Game in 2000 and 2010, and the Wild Card in 2020 and 2021. In 2010, Díaz was inducted into the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.

Shaddai Noé Godoy Monárrez is the President of JD Promotions, a boxing promotions and advisory firm based in Culican Sinaloa Mexico. Honored as 2021 Promoter of the Year for hosting the most boxing events in Mexico, Shaddai provides meaningful guidance and personal assistance to up-and-coming talent.

Bill Picketts is the current head coach of LA Pierce college. Bill was drafted in the 12th round by the Oakland Athletics out of Cal State Los Angeles. After his minor league career ended, he transitioned directly into coaching. First in the high school ranks then returning to College of the Canyons as an assistant for over 15 years. After one year as the head assistant at LA Pierce College, Bill took over the reins in 2015 and has been the Head Coach ever since. In 2019, Bill accepted the managerial position of the Philippines National Team in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier. Known for his ability to develop his players, Bill has coached dozens of players that have reached the 4-year level. As proud as he is with the number of professional players that have come through his program, Bill’s greatest source of pride is seeing his student-athletes move on and achieve academic success.Bill earned his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology at CSU Northridge and his master’s degree in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University.

Rick Garcia is a professional and accredited investor in commercial real estate, a business owner and CEO for over 17 years. Rick García was scouted as a prospect by the Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos through high school, but shoulder injuries prevented a potential pro career. After a few years of rest and physical therapy, his love of baseball couldn’t keep him away and he returned back to play semi professionally on and off through the next 10 years (Florida, United Kingdom, California), and he helped the LA adult baseball team (Yankees) reach the championship at Dodger Stadium in 2005.

Ricky Funez is not just a veteran boxing trainer but a transformative figure who turned his early years of rebellion into a lifelong passion for mentoring athletes. Serving as the linchpin of Ten Goose Boxing Gym in Van Nuys, California, Ricky has rubbed shoulders with boxing royalty like Floyd Money Mayweather. Now, he joins ScoutUs Pro as an Advisor for Athletic Development and Training Programs, contributing his decades of expertise to develop the next generation of athletic talent.

Brandon Michaels is a Senior Managing Director of Investments at Marcus & Millichap’s Encino office. Since joining the firm in 2004, Brandon has established himself as one of the industry’s top producers nationally for the sale of retail, office, single-tenant net leased, industrial, and land development opportunities. Brandon has successfully closed over 1,100 commercial real estate transactions totaling in excess of $6.0 billion in total consideration, and has completed over 250 1031 exchanges. Brandon prides himself on his ability to protect his clients best interests and negotiate on their behalf, ideally positioning his clients to achieve market leading sales values while concurrently protecting them from downside risk and renegotiation. His industry leading track record isa direct result of intimate market knowledge, a detailed analysis and underwriting process, the comprehensive and aggressive marketing process he has created, his unique and unmatched ability to negotiate on behalf of his clients, and his strategic and tactical thought process through the course of a transaction. Brandon is the all-time leading sales agent throughout Los Angeles County, having handled more transactions than any commercial real estate agent at any firm. Brandon’s commitment to serving the needs of his clients and executing on their behalf has earned him national sales recognition over the past 20 consecutive years. Over the past decade, Brandon has been ranked as a top-five multi-tenant retail agent nationally for Marcus & Millichap, including four years as the top multi-tenant retail agent nationwide. Brandon has earned 19 National Achievement Awards since 2004 and has been a member of the prestigious Chairman’s Club and Circle of Excellence on multiple occasions. Brandon is a top thirty agent for all Marcus & Millichap agents across all product types nationally and has gained the unique distinction of being named nationally a top retail, office, and land development agent. His extensive role as a commercial real estate broker as well as an active commercial real estate investor has educated him on all aspects of the commercial real estate field. His vast experiences have allowed him to play an active role in the marketing, negotiating, financing, legality, management, leasing, construction, development and sales aspects of commercial real estate, all of which makes him extremely knowledgeable and an invaluable resource to his clients. Brandon graduated from the University of Southern California, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the Marshall School of Business. Brandon has lived in Southern California his entire life and has an in-depth understanding of the varying regions and nuances associated with each specific market. Brandon is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and a Senior Director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Group. Prior to his career in commercial real estate, Brandon played college baseball for Moorpark College, where he was an all-conference utility player, and at Cal State University Northridge, where he played centerfield.

David Martinez has been in the personal finance industry since 2002. David has been a top producing mortgage loan originator with Prime Equity Mortgage since 2012. His hard work and passion for the business has helped David’s reputation as a qualified mortgage originator. David specializes in all facets of the Mortgage and Real Estate Business. Whether it be navigating the way for first time homebuyers or helping a seasoned investor, he knows how to get them in the right product or program that fits their mortgage needs. Prior to his time in the mortgage industry, David Spent several years in the banking Industry. He was a Branch Manager with US BANK at their Hollywood, Encino, and Burbank locations. His leadership was essential in bringing in the best customer service experience to each and every customer that interacted with his team members. He also worked with Bank of America as a personal banker. David’s insightful knowledge of the personal finance industry allowed him to assist his clients in identifying the right loan package for each unique situation. David enjoys educating his clients, so they can make an informed decision about their mortgage needs. This has helped him develop an outstanding reputation in the real estate community and has created a broad network of satisfied clients. David enjoys spending time with his family. He loves taking vacations with his wife and children to create lasting memories. He also makes time to attend his daughter’s dance competitions and son’s basketball & baseball games.

Sharone Sabar is the Executive Managing Director of Capital Markets at Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation. He grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from University of Southern California with a bachelor degree in science with an emphasis in finance. Sharone heads the Capital Markets group at Marcus Millichap in Encino where he is responsible for arranging debt and equity for real estate assets across the nation. In the last 17 years, Sharone has secured in excess of $5 Billion in financing secured by apartment buildings, shopping centers, office buildings, hotels, self storage and industrial properties.

Jim Kurkhill is a Southern California-based attorney with three decades of experience handling various tech-heavy cases and contract negotiations. Jim's unique approach to his practice often involves data-analytic and data-visualization tools. Mr. Kurkhill graduated with a B.S. in Optics in 1983 from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. He received his JD from Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, in 1993. Jim's engineering experience includes four years in the aerospace industry, assisting with the development and testing of a directed energy laser defense system deployed in White Sands Missle Range, NM, and three years in product development and marketing in California. Jim lectures on risk management and best practices for analyzing and presenting complex data-driven matters.