Executive Team 

Henry Liebman – President/Chief Executive Officer

In 1996, Henry Liebman co-founded American Life, Inc., and has since served as our Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, he oversees all daily company operations and strategic planning.

Henry has more than 20 years of experience in real estate law and immigration law and more than 20 years experience in commercial real estate management and investment. He has served as Managing Partner of Coe Nordwall Liebman, LLC. Henry also founded Northwest International Bank and served as its first board chairman.

Among these distinctions, Henry is frequently invited to speak on business and immigration topics at organizations throughout the Northwest and abroad. He is quoted frequently and has written several articles on a variety of subjects. Additionally, he authored The Immigration Handbook, which has been published in the U.S., Spain, and The United Kingdom.

Henry earned his Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Washington in 1973 and received his Juris Doctor degree from The University of Puget Sound in 1980. His experience in immigration law, finance, and real estate is both extensive and eclectic and provides particular value to American Life and its investors.

Ray Klein – Vice President/Co-Founder

Ray Klein co-founded American Life, Inc., with business partner Henry Liebman in 1996 and has since served as vice president. Currently he is responsible for leading all our marketing initiatives in Asia.

Ray has a solid track record in tactical, leading-edge investment transactions. In 2009, he led a local investor group separately in the acquisition of the Okabe Hotel Group, a 500-room resort chain in Japan, and served as its president until the company was sold in late 2010.

In 1996, Ray also founded Tekinvest KK, a strategic consulting firm that focused on localizing U.S. technology companies in the Japanese market. Most notably, they include NetRatings Japan, Inc. (a joint venture with Nielsen Media Research and Transcosmos Inc.), and the security company McAfee Associates. Today, Tekinvest KK serves as the Asian headquarters for American Life, Inc.

Over the years, Ray has also been an angel investor and has served as a board member and advisor to early-stage companies throughout the U.S., Japan, and Canada. Ray received a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1985, and he earned his Master's in computer science from Michigan State University in 1987. Ray has lived in Tokyo, Japan, since 1990 and is bilingual in English and Japanese.

Gregory Steinhauer – Chief Operating Officer

Gregory Steinhauer is a graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (1984) with a Bachelor of Science in economics. He has spent his entire working career in construction and real estate development. He currently directs all American Life large-scale development projects and oversees SODO Builders, the company's in-house construction company.

A lifelong resident of Seattle, Greg served as president of a construction and residential development company for 15 years that specialized in urban infill mid-rise projects. Just prior to joining American Life, he was vice president of development for a billion-dollar institutional real estate investment firm in which he was active in acquiring and entitling several projects.

Greg is an active board member of Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club. He and his wife are also active, longtime supporters of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center..

Jim Christensen – Chief Financial Officer

Jim Christensen graduated from Minnesota State University in 1972 with a Bachelor's degree in accounting. Jim has 30 years of experience in accounting and finance, both in public accounting and in industry. He obtained his CPA in 1974 while being employed six years with KPMG Peat Marwick in Minneapolis, a large, international public accounting firm. There he performed audit services for several public industries, both medium and large in size and complexity.

During the mid-1980s, Jim served as the Corporate Controller and CAO for Food Services of America, a large (formerly publicly owned) wholesale distributor and retail food company. Since then, he has had 16 years of experience as the chief financial officer for small to medium and rapidly growing, privately owned wholesale distribution companies. These companies include NutraSource, Inc., a leading Northwest natural food wholesaler, successfully sold in 1995. More recently, he was the CFO for Pacific Rim Import Corp., one of the largest independent wholesale gift and houseware import distributors in the nation. Jim has a strong background in managing accounting, finance, and administration functions.

Jo Hwang – Administrative | Marketing |
Investor Management Director

Jo Hwang immigrated from Korea and is a long time resident of Seattle, Washington. Her immediate and large extended family currently resides in Seattle and Korea. Jo attended University of Washington, majoring in Business Administration. She is fluent in both Korean and English. Prior to working as Marketing and Investor Management Director at American Life, Jo worked 8 years at a Seattle/Tacoma law firm managing cases involving immigration, business, personal injury, and aviation law. In addition to her legal background, Jo joined American Life in 1999 with extensive experience as the owner and operator of several successful businesses, and commercial real estate management. Her strong legal and commercial business/real estate experience made her an asset to American Life from her first day on the job. In the ensuing twelve years, Jo's commitment to American Life's mission to provide a safe harbor for investors, her integrity, and knowledge of the commercial real estate market, as well as the immigration challenges potential migrants face, make her an essential member of American Life's executive team.

Jo oversees American Life's day-to-day investor management, in addition to providing extensive support to attorneys and migration agents with investment and EB-5 related matters. Jo regularly attends EB-5 conferences and seminars where she is a frequent speaker on behalf of American Life and its projects, both domestically and abroad. Currently Jo is proud to assist over 1000 EB-5 investors from every corner of the world in pursuit of their goal of obtaining permanent residency in the U.S. She accomplishes this objective through the many Regional Center projects managed and operated by American Life in key locations throughout the United States. As an immigrant herself, Jo brings unique insight and perspective. Her intimate knowledge and experience with the EB-5 program provides invaluable service to investors and other interested parties.

Professional and Personal Affiliations and Associations include:

Member of Association to Invest in the USA; Member of President's Advisory Council of Invest in the USA; Korean Women's Association of Washington; and Korean American Professional Society.

Donald Ayres – Property Manager

Donald Ayres brings 30 years of management and development experience to American Life. Prior to joining the company, he was with Health Force Partners as a founding member and served as senior VP of 12 physical therapy clinics and 4 regional occupational medicine clinics in King and Snohomish Counties. Don has been working in the Seattle business community for 30 years. He was a founding partner in Eagle Rehab in 1992, a 40-office group of clinics through Washington State. There he served as regional manager in charge of operations, facility development, and property management and oversaw budgeting and business development for 17 clinics. Prior to that, Don founded Therapy Network Services, a 175-member IPA in 3 states that contracted with insurance companies to provide rehabilitation.

Don received his BS in Athletic Training from Washington State University and his post-graduate degree in physical therapy in 1976 from Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. He has served as board chair for Washington State Private Practice and Socioeconomic Chairman for The Washington State Physical Therapy Association. Don has also served as president of Everett Golf and Country Club in 2001. He currently serves on the board of directors and is vice chair of the Providence Everett Medical Center Foundation.

Shari Hollinger – Account Manager

With an accounting career spanning nearly two decades, Shari Hollinger is an expert in developing and implementing processes that improve accounting functions. Shari was the first employee of American Life and set up the original accounting systems for the company and its partnerships. Her responsibilities include maintaining the integrity of accounting systems, investor accounting and distributions, year-end and tax reporting, general ledger management, leadership of support staff members, and special projects.

Prior to joining American Life, Shari performed day-to-day finance, accounting, and internal reporting functions for her family's trucking firm. She has also served as a bookkeeper and accountant with various small businesses.

Shari earned her Bachelor's degree in business administration with an accounting emphasis from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Her impressive background in commercial property management includes performing job costing, negotiating contractual agreements, and preparing budgetary reports and operating statements.