Board of Directors

President, Co-Chairman, John Gomes

John Gomes is an American born, international luxury real estate broker, entrepreneur and businessman based in New York City. Mr. Gomes is a member of the board of directors of the Eklund Gomes Foundation. He serves as the President of the board.   He is a founding partner of the Eklund Gomes Team and a Managing Director working with Douglas Elliman; the largest real estate brokerage on the East Coast, senior management team, which focuses on international sales, new developments and resales throughout Manhattan. John is highly regarded in the industry by his peers and he is often quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Real Deal and the New York Post among other press and television programs.  John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree as a double major in both Political Science and Communication Studies. He also holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship. He grew up in Boston and currently owns an apartment in Lower Manhattan. He enjoys running, reading, traveling and he loves all things related to real estate.  His duties are spelled out in our bylaws, and include attending meetings of our board of directors and voting on board decisions.

Secretary, Co-Chairman, Fredrik Eklund

Fredrik Eklund is a Swedish born, international luxury real estate broker, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, businessman and Emmy-nominated tv personality.  Mr. Eklund is a member of the board of directors of the Eklund Gomes Foundation. He serves as our secretary.  Mr. Eklund is also a founding partner of the Eklund Gomes Team, ranked as the top team nationwide at Douglas Elliman the last three years consecutively. Elliman is the largest real estate brokerage on the East Coast, where Eklund Gomes focuses on international sales, new developments and resales throughout Manhattan. Eklund is also the founder and owner of Eklund Stockholm New York, Scandinavia’s most high-end residential real estate brokerage with 65 employees and over a $1 billion in closed sales per year. He is often featured in Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, New York Times, New York Post and New York Observer as a real estate expert. Eklund is also an active member of the Real Estate Board of New York, and is staring on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing, now in production of its sixth season.  His duties are spelled out in our bylaws, and include attending meetings of our board of directors and voting on board decisions.

Treasurer, Andy Presti

Andrew Presti is a member of the board of directors. He is also our treasurer.  His qualifications include graduating St. John’s University where he received a BS degree in Accounting. While attending school in 1982, he started the accounting firm in which he now is a Senior Partner. The firm, Presti & Naegele, employs over 35 full-time accountants and staff and has a varied client base in multiple industries. In 1997, he co-founded First Central Savings Bank, a newly chartered savings bank in New York City. The bank currently operates 9 locations in Queens and Long Island and employs in excess of 90 people. He serves on the Board of Directors as well as the Executive, Investment, Audit and IT committees. He sits on the board of The Tiro A Segno Foundation and is a director of the Tiro A Segno of New York, an Italian-American club on MacDougal Street in NYC.

Officers

Executive Director, Michelle A. Diaz

Michelle A. Diaz joins the Eklund Gomes Foundation as the Executive Director.  For the past 11 years, Michelle was the President and CEO of MAD Events Inc, a full-scale event and project management company.  She took on many of the entrepreneurial responsibilities including producer, operations and creative director.  By having a hands-on approach from inception to completion of all her projects, including overseeing event logistics and production, creating and managing large budgets, she has demonstrated tremendous knowledge and understanding of running a business and managing people.   Her past clients include NYC’s top real estate brokers, construction management companies, CEO’s of major organizations and several non-profit foundations.  Before devoting her work full-time to MAD Events Inc, Michelle served as Executive Office Manager and Executive Assistant in the Finance and Construction industries.  Michelle attended Northwood University with a focus on business management and accounting. Michelle is an active volunteer for several non-profit organizations such as NY Cares, The Scarlet Fund, NY Road Runners, #RAKE and many more. She is a 3 time NYC Marathon finisher.