Ryan LeVasseur

Ryan M. LeVasseur is a real estate strategy advisor with more than 20 years of experience helping universities and other mission-driven institutions advance complex real estate initiatives.

Ryan served as Managing Director of Real Estate for Rice Management Company, where he led Rice University’s most significant real estate initiatives. He was responsible for leading the development of the Ion District, Houston’s 16-acre innovation district built around the adaptive reuse of the historic Sears building into the Ion, a flagship innovation hub that has become the center of Houston’s entrepreneurship ecosystem..

Ryan has since founded LeVass Ventures, where he advises institutions on campus expansion, innovation districts, mixed-use development, public-private partnerships, governance, and long-term implementation strategies. LeVass Ventures is leading a higher education growth initiative at Memorial City Houston on behalf of MetroNational, one of Texas’ largest commercial landowners. The effort is successful in attracting several leading universities to expand their presence in Texas through on-site executive education and business partnerships with Houston’s energy sector.

Ryan holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University and Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Rice University. He previously served on the graduate faculty at Columbia University, where he taught real estate market analysis.