Our Team

Michael P. Jonas

Managing Director

Michael P. Jonas, MAI, AI-GRS, CCIM began his career in 1999 working in appraisal commercial real estate in Orlando. After earning his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance at University of Central Florida, he relocated to Naples working at Coastal Engineers Consultants, Inc. Michael also spent time as a bank review appraiser with Orion Bank and Iberia Bank, where he helped implement a revised ordering process to keep banks current with revised government regulations.

Michael later joined Integra Realty Resources and Capstone Valuation Advisors before starting his own business specializing in appraisal review. During this time, he provided various appraisal services including lending assignments, government condemnation assignments, and appraisal reviews. He is versed in litigation assignments including deficiency judgement appraisals and qualified as an expert witness.

Michael is married with four children. When he is not chasing his children, he enjoys boating, fishing and diving in the Florida Keys.

J. Lee Norris, MAI, SRA

Director of Residential Operations

J. (Lee) Norris was born in Fort Myers, Florida and has been a lifelong resident of southwest Florida. Lee has a Bachelor of Science in real estate from Florida State University. Lee achieved his SRA in 1983, the SRPA designation in 1989 and the MAI designation in 1994. Lee is a State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser (#643) and maintains an active Florida Real Estate Broker license.

Lee was a founding member of the Carlson Norris & Associates appraisal firm. He is a past chapter president of the predecessor organization the Society of Real Estate Appraisers to the Appraisal Institute, and has also served as a regional representative.

Lee performs a variety of tasks for the company including reviewing appraisals, preparing appraisal reports and day to day management of the firm. He has performed a variety of assignments over his 30 year career with Carlson, Norris. These assignments include all types of commercial and industrial properties as well as agricultural properties and litigation assignments.

Lee has recently appraised conservation easements, airboat venues as part of the Everglades restoration project, agricultural tracts as large as 8,000 acres, environmentally sensitive land, development tracts and numerous commercial retail buildings, offices and industrial properties.

Lee is a native Floridian, with ancestors in Florida since 1835. He was born in Fort Myers and has been an appraiser since 1978. He is married and has 2 children.

Arthur A. Paus

State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser RZ3202

Art Paus was born in Nebraska and was general manager of Paus Farms, a family farming operation for 30 years in Nebraska and production manager of PSF Inc. in northwest Missouri for 5 years. In 2004 Art moved to Cape Coral, Florida. He holds a BS degree in Bio-systems engineering from the University of Nebraska in 1972 and a MBA degree from William Woods University in 2003. Art is married to his wife Cathy of 47 years and has three grown children and five grandchildren.

Art’s appraisal career started in 2005 as a real estate appraiser for Carlson Norris & Associates. He became a Florida Registered Trainee Appraiser in 2005, State-Certified Residential Appraiser in 2007 and State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser in 2008. He also was an associate member of the Appraisal Institute from 2008- to 2015.

Properties appraised include commercial buildings, industrial buildings, hotels, motels, RV/mobile home parks, golf courses, marinas, condominium developments, residential subdivisions, convenience stores, medical office buildings, commercial vacant land, apartment projects (4 units and more), acreage, single family homes, single condominium units, mobile homes, residential lots and duplexes.

A few of the more interesting assignments for Art include: Marinas in Collier and Sarasota Counties, fish camp in Highlands County, hotel in Orlando, island resort in Charlotte County, two proposed upscale RV parks in Hendry County, two high-end private golf courses in Collier County and several bowling alley/family entertainment centers in Collier, Lee and Charlotte Counties.

John B. Jamison, Jr. (Buck)

State-Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser RD1254

Born and raised in South Florida, Buck moved from the east coast of Florida to the west coast of Florida in August 2004. After receiving his bachelor’s degree at the University of Georgia, he spent several years as a petroleum inspector and in restaurant and retail management, before becoming a residential appraiser in 1985. Shortly after his arrival to Lee County, he came on board with Carlson Norris & Associates in September of 2004.

His expertise includes unique residential properties, appraisal review, as well as litigation related consultant and appraisal services. He has testified as an expert witness in Lee County Florida and Erie County, New York.

His expertise includes single family homes, condominiums, co-ops, 2-4 small residential income properties, manufactured homes, acreage, dockominiums, rackominiums, and vacant land. Specialty residential appraising includes historical homes, stigmatized properties, high end custom residences, retrospective appraisals and residential properties unique in construction features and/or location.

He has extensive appraisal review experience and has served as a litigation related appraisal consultant, as well as testified as an expert witness in Lee County, Florida and Erie County, New York

Richard (“Rich”) Carter Tyler

State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser RZ3136

Rich is an appraiser at Carlson Norris & Associates. He is married to his wife, Beth and they have three grown children. Rich is a third generation Floridian, who received his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida International University in 1982. Rich grew up boating and diving in the Florida Keys, and he is an enthusiastic tennis player.

After working for over twenty years in hospitality management and in the insurance industry, Rich became a real estate appraiser in Miami, Florida in 2003. He became a State Certified Residential Appraiser in 2006, and has been a State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser since 2007. Rich is also an associate member of the Appraisal Institute. Rich joined Carlson Norris & Associates in 2013 and has appraised a variety of commercial properties including; vacant land, complex multi-tenant office and retail as well as industrial properties.

Victor Torres

MAI State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser RZ3912

Victor A. Torres is one of the Senior Appraisers at Carlson, Norris & Associates. Since 2012, Victor has completed commercial appraisals in Puerto Rico, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. He specialized in residential subdivisions, multi-tenant retail facilities, triple net facilities, ground leases, industrial properties, proposed facilities, and single-tenant office/retail facilities.  In addition, Prior to Carlson, Norris & Associates, he was an appraiser for Bluemark Realty Advisors and Franklin Street Valuation Advisory in Tampa, Florida.

Torres, received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez campus. He holds a State-Certified General in the state of Florida and Puerto Rico. Also, Torres has recently completed the Member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI) designation.

Erin Walter

State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser RZ4235

Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Erin began her career as a bank teller in 2006. She quickly advanced through the banking industry and eventually planted her feet in real estate lending as a mortgage loan processor. It was in that role where she discovered her passion for real estate and delved deeper into the world of appraisals. In 2012, Erin earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice from Penn State University, where she graduated with honors.

Erin’s background in real estate lending, combined with the spectacular waterfront neighborhoods of Southwest Florida, inspired her to pursue appraisals as a full-time career. She joined Carlson, Norris and Associates in 2019 and has since obtained her Certified General Appraiser license. Her experience includes single family homes, condominiums, manufactured homes, vacant land, 2-4 unit residential income properties, high end custom residences and various commercial property types.

Tara M. Galeoti

State-Registered Trainee Appraiser RI12086

Tara Galeoti, who is originally from Northeastern Ohio, moved to Southwest Florida in 1998. She began her journey as an appraiser in 2003 attending The Real Estate Academy in Fort Myers, Florida. Tara began working for a small appraisal firm in Cape Coral where she gained experience appraising various types of properties in Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties. In 2008, when the area was experiencing an economic downturn, Tara was hired at an appraisal firm in Englewood, FL to handle the bulk of their foreclosure work in Lee County. In 2015, she began working with Carlson, Norris and Associates in Ft. Myers.

Tara’s experience includes single family homes, manufactured homes, condominiums, 2-4 unit residential income properties and vacant land.

She thoroughly enjoys living in SW Florida and believes working in the Sunshine State has its perks including visiting some properties by boat. Two unique properties that Tara appraised include a bungalow-style property in Cayo Costa Island and an elevated, single family home on Useppa Island; both waterfront properties only accessible by boat or seaplane.

Tara also attended Hodges University from 2011-2014 where she received her degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Zachary (“Zack”) D. Kazak

State-Registered Trainee Appraiser RI24996

Born in Dayton, Ohio, and raised in Fort Myers, Florida Zack has been a Florida native for 21 years. He graduated from Fort Myers High school in 2015. After that, Zack earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Edward Waters College in 2020 while playing collegiate baseball.

Zachary started his appraisal career in 2021, but he became interested in real estate well before that thanks to his parent’s involvement in property management and home remodeling. Though he has not been in appraising for very long, his goal is to become a Certified General Appraiser. After moving back from college, Zack enjoys his time going to car events, spending time with friends, and exploring the sunshine state.

Hannah Dwyer

State-Registered Trainee Appraiser RI25089

Hannah was born and raised in Upstate New York where she spent time in retail management before moving to sunny Southwest Florida to pursue a career in appraisal. She became a Florida State Registered Trainee Appraiser in 2020 and began working at Carlson Norris & Associates in 2021. She is currently in her last year of school at Western Governor’s University to obtain her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. Her goal is to become a State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser.

In her free time, Hannah enjoys lake and saltwater fishing, boating, spending time with her two dogs and enjoying the year-round warmth of the Florida outdoors.

Mitchell Clark

State-Registered Trainee Appraiser RI25830

Born in South Alabama, Mitchell attended Auburn University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology. Working previously as an environmental specialist at a consulting firm in Colorado, he moved to the Southwest Florida region in 2020. Mitchell is currently a Registered Trainee Appraiser with the State of Florida, and is working toward his goal of becoming a Certified General Appraiser.

In his free time, Mitchell enjoys the outdoors, spending time with friends and family, and exploring the state of Florida with his wife, Angela.

Brandon M. Jonas

State-Registered Trainee Appraiser RI25835

Born in Orlando, Florida, and raised in Naples, Florida, Brandon has been a Florida native for his entire life. He graduated from Gulf Coast High School in 2019. After that, Brandon earned his bachelor’s degree in Secondary Science Education from the University of South Florida in 2022.

Brandon started his appraisal career in 2023, but he became interested in real estate well before that thanks to his father’s involvement in appraisal and real estate work. Though he has not been appraising for very long, his goal is to become a Certified General Appraiser. Some of Brandon’s favorite events and hobbies include board games and card games, organizing a book club, participating in recreational sports, and being around his kids and family.

Bonnie Leite

Operations Manager

Bonnie Leite is originally from northwest New Jersey. She moved to Florida in 1985 and relocated to southwest Florida in 2016. She brings 15 years’ office administration expertise and 5 years’ real estate industry experience. Her background is commercial real estate, title coordinator, office manager, business consultant, and marketing/social media consultant.

Bonnie attended Rollins College in Winter Park studying Organizational Behavior, Culture and Innovation, Leadership, Psychology and Communication. In 2018, Bonnie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Hodges University, Magna Cum Laude.

Having joined Carlson Norris & Associates in 2019, she is excited to assist with providing quality professional services to our valued clients while growing the potential and success of the company.

In Memory of C. William “Bill” Carlson

Charles William Carlson, Jr., co-founder of Carlson, Norris & Associates, was born in 1948 in Miami, Florida. In 1963, his family moved to Fort Myers, where Bill attended Fort Myers High School. Bill played both football and baseball. After high school, Bill attended NorthEastern Oklahoma College, on a football scholarship, but later transferred to University of Southern Mississippi.

Bill began his appraisal career with Richard P. Webster, Inc. in 1976.  After 10 years, Bill and his brother-in-law, Lee Norris, opened their own appraisal office, Carlson, Norris & Associates. Professionally, he earned designations of SRA, SRPA, and MAI, Member of the Appraisal Institute, and included South Florida Water Management and the Department of Environmental Protection as former clients. He also worked for Lee County Value Adjustment Board, serving as a Special Magistrate. After 30 years of successful business, Bill semi-retired, continuing to work as an appraiser part time.

Bill, a State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, had held the highest distinctions in his appraisal career including MAI and SRA. He had completed many appraisal projects for the City of Fort Myers, City of Cape Coral, Lee County, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, financial institutions, attorneys, builders, developers, mortgage companies, home transfer companies, and private individuals.

Bill was a Special Magistrate for Lee County and Collier County Adjustment Boards.

His professional memberships included:

•           President of Southwest Florida Chapter of the Appraisal Institute
•           Society of Real Estate Appraisers, Chapter 186, Fort Myers, Florida 1991
•           Member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI, SRA)
•           State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser #RZ667

Although Bill passed away on November 22, 2022, the impact he had on our local community will be felt for many more years to come.