Justin Dean Mortman is a designer and aspiring real estate developer from Princeton, New Jersey. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University, where he also pursued a minor in Business, and is currently completing a Master of Science in Real Estate Development at Columbia University.

Justin’s work is rooted in a long-standing interest in how the built environment shapes human experience. His background in architecture gave him a strong foundation in design thinking, spatial problem-solving, and user-centered planning, while his graduate studies in real estate development have expanded that perspective to include financial feasibility, market strategy, and execution. He is especially interested in the intersection of thoughtful design and disciplined development, with a focus on creating projects that are both contextually responsive and economically viable.

At Cornell, Justin explored housing, sustainability, and quality of life through the Housing Innovation Lab under Professor Katharina Kral, contributing to research on residential retrofits in New York City. He also served as Project Manager for Cornell University Sustainable Design’s Sustainable Education project, helping lead the design of a sustainable Teacher’s Institute in Nepal.

Professionally, Justin has worked across both architecture and development, from interning at Feldman Architecture in San Francisco to his current role as a Real Estate Acquisitions and Development Analyst at Äu in New York City. He continues to build on this foundation through graduate coursework, financial modeling, underwriting, certifications, and real estate case competitions, with a growing interest in the intersection of design, sustainability, and real estate finance.