Professional Staff

Michael A. Scarcella, MAI

As a founding partner in the firm, Mike heads up the Coachella Valley office of Capital Realty Analysts. A Southern California native, Mike left California to attend college in Nevada, where he earned a B.S. in Business from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. After graduation, Mike returned to California to work in private accounting in the hotel and construction fields before accepting a position as a staff appraiser with the firm MacKenzie & Associates. Under the direction of the late Mr. James H. MacKenzie, MAI, Mike developed the skills that led to his 1996 award of the MAI designation. Since then, he has gone on to become one of the most prominent real estate appraisal professionals in the region. In addition, Mike has served on the Ethics and Experience Review committees of the Appraisal Institute. Mike resides in La Quinta, CA and is married with 4 children.

James C. Dingman

Jim is a founding partner in the firm, and heads up the Central Coast office of Capital Realty Analysts. Jim is an east coast native who attended the University of New Hampshire and went on to a professional career in the food & beverage business. After gaining notoriety as an accomplished chef, his career path focused on resort management. Rising through the ranks to General Manager, Jim operated the highly successful Crown Colony Country Club, Breckenridge Ski Resort and Radisson Hotel San Jose operations. After leaving the hospitality industry, Jim moved on to private investment and accepted a position as director of operations for a large and successful private real estate firm. Jim went on to accept a staff appraiser position with the appraisal firm of MacKenzie & Associates where he developed a particularly strong expertise in Native American ground leasing transactions, along with a varied background in all types of commercial valuation assignments. Seeking to expand the firms range, Jim left the Coachella Valley to establish a successful practice in the Central Coast market. Our offices are located in Santa Ynez, covering the Central Coast communities and continues to specialize in Native American appraisals throughout California.

Jennifer Prado

Also a Southern California native, Jennifer acquired a B.A in sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1994. In 1997, Jennifer acquired her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating from Law School, Jennifer worked as a Public Defender in the Coachella Valley, handling a large and complex caseload with top-of-the-market ethics and significant experience in felony jury trials. In 2004, Jennifer moved on to become a commercial real estate broker with the firm Industrial West. In addition to negotiating sales and leasing transactions, Jennifer served as Chair of the Desert Area Commercial Information Exchange. With backgrounds in law and brokerage, Jennifer is a natural for the appraisal profession, and a key member of the CRA team since 2006; handling the most complex commercial assignments with the same professionalism and high ethical standards she brought to the PD’s office and in the brokerage field. Jennifer currently resides in La Quinta with her husband and son

Edward S. Aarons

Ed runs the single family residential arm of CRA. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Ed received a B.S. in Business Administration from Woodbury University in 1971. After college, Ed entered the pharmaceutical field where he worked his way up to Director of Institutional Business for the world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, now known as Astra Zeneca International. Upon retirement from Astra in 1997, Ed successfully created and sold a pharmaceutical start-up company. Subsequently, Ed entered the appraisal field to keep busy in retirement. However, his superior technical appraisal and people skills led to a full time 2nd career handling the residential arm of the firm. Ed resides in Rancho Mirage and is married with 2 children and 3 grandchildren.

Doug Hughes

The youngest member of the CRA team is Doug Hughes. Doug grew up in the High Desert area of Southern California. While still in school, Doug worked as a waiter and bartender. In the process, Doug developed an expertise in accounting and in addition to his bartending duties, managed the bookkeeping functions for a large and successful national chain restaurant. In 2006, Doug acquired an Associates of Arts Degree in Business Administration from College of the Desert, making the Dean’s List with a cumulative GPA of 3.65. Doug’s expertise with numbers is proving to be an asset as he is rapidly moving up in the appraisal ranks, performing complex commercial assignments. Doug resides in Palm Desert and is single. 

Francine Vossler

Francine Vossler handles the firms administrative functions. She is a Southern California Native who held a wide variety of positions leading up to her association with CRA. These included her long association with Landmark Golf, one of the premier golf course development and management firms in the country, and later asserted her talents & creative designs with a reputable Design Center for many years leading up to her association with CRA. Francine’s people skills have proven to be a very complimentary asset to the firm.