Board of Directors

William Talbot has served as ACC’s Chief Investment Officer/EVP since November 2012 and currently oversees all of the company’s investment activity – including mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, and on and off-campus development. During his time at the company, William has been involved in transactions totaling more than 200 communities and more than $8.0 billion of student housing products, including the public merger with GMH as well as several of the largest portfolio acquisitions in the sector.

He currently serves as Chairman of ULI’s Student Housing Council and as a Chair-Elect of the Boys and Girls Club of Austin and Travis County, Inc. He also currently serves on the NMHC Finance Committee.

American Campus Communities, Inc. is the largest owner, manager, and developer of high-quality student housing communities in the United States. The company is a fully integrated, self-managed, and self-administered equity real estate investment trust (REIT) with expertise in the design, finance, development, construction management, and operational management of student housing properties. As of September 30, 2018, American Campus Communities owned 168 student housing properties containing approximately 103,500 beds. Including its owned and third-party managed properties, ACC’s total managed portfolio consisted of 202 properties with approximately 131,900 beds. Visit www.americancampus.com

Thomas Aylor has served as the Chief Financial Officer of ProjectManager.com since October 2019. Prior to this role, Thomas was the VP of Finance (2012 – 2017) and CFO (2017-2019) of RetailMeNot. As the head of the RetailMeNot global finance organization, he managed the financial accounting and international finance teams. Thomas has a wealth of experience in strategic financial transactions, corporate governance, and operational finance and administration activities. During his 12-year tenure at Ernst & Young, he served clients ranging from growth-stage technology companies, Fortune 500 companies, and non-profit organizations. Thomas received his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Texas State University.

He also currently serves as a Board Member and Secretary of the Board of Directors of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas.

Sam Zabaneh practices corporate and securities law, primarily in the context of entrepreneurial and emerging growth companies.

In his practice, he advises clients regarding general corporate matters and handles various capital raising and liquidity event transactions, including private and public equity financing and mergers and acquisitions. In addition, he advises clients with respect to corporate governance and periodic reporting requirements of publicly held companies.

Sam is a member of DLA Piper’s North American Pro Bono Committee.

Lynn Hamilton Butler’s practice consists of commercial bankruptcy and corporate reorganization, specializing in workouts, reorganizations, asset sales, and bankruptcy litigation. He also represents clients in disputes with the State of Texas and its agencies, with emphasis on state tax defense.

As part of his bankruptcy practice, Lynn has represented commercial debtors and creditors in numerous industries. In his 23 years of practice, he has been involved in more than 600 cases in Texas alone. He has also practiced in the U.S. Circuit Courts for the Second, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits and is admitted to practice in front of the United States Supreme Court.

Lynn litigates regularly in bankruptcy court, having served as lead plaintiff and defense counsel in many bankruptcy adversaries, including fraud discharge-ability lawsuits. Lynn also has significant bankruptcy appellate experience, having been lead appellate counsel in more than 20 bankruptcy appeals.

Lynn represents clients in bankruptcy cases involving, among other things, manufacturing, restaurants, real estate, utilities, and retail, as well as debtor-creditor-related litigation. He has developed a specialty in the representation of clients in healthcare-related bankruptcies, having been lead debtor counsel in seven hospital bankruptcies, including four Chapter 9 municipal hospital bankruptcies. Lynn has also represented individual doctors, practice groups, home healthcare agencies, and nursing homes in bankruptcy and debtor/creditor disputes, including disputes involving Medicare and Medicaid. Additionally, Lynn has significant experience in music copyright bankruptcies in the representation of music companies, licensees, and artists.

Lynn represents clients with issues and disputes with the State of Texas, especially those involving the Office of the Attorney General and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. He regularly represents taxpayers in state and federal tax disputes, both at the administrative hearings and the collection stages. His representation also includes dealing with the Internal Revenue Service in similar situations. Lynn also represents clients in disputes with the other Texas state agencies, including the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Public Utilities Commission, the Texas Railroad Commission, and other agencies.
Lynn is board-certified in business bankruptcy law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has been since 1996. For eight years, he was an Assistant Attorney General with the Texas Attorney General’s Office in its Bankruptcy and Collection Division. Before joining Husch Blackwell, Lynn practiced with Brown McCarroll.