Sharon Locatell, MAI, has been installed as 2015 president of the Metropolitan New York Chapter of the Appraisal Institute. President and partner of Appraisers and Planners, Inc., one of the leading New York City-based full service real estate appraisal and consulting firms, Locatell was sworn into office by Appraisers and Planners CEO, James Levy, MAI. Locatell has 25 years of experience in real estate valuation and consulting with a diversified background in terms of services and property type including commercial, residential, retail, industrial and vacant land, as well as lease analysis and feasibility studies. She is actively involved in market value appraisals, consulting assignments, arbitration proceedings, purchase price allocation studies, estate work, litigation support and expert witness testimony and investment advisory consultation. Active as an arbitrator, Locatell has testified as an expert witness in Federal District Court on numerous occasions and in various local and state courts. Her prior responsibilities have included valuation of Rockefeller Center as well as one of Europe's tallest office buildings, the Messe Turm located in Frankfurt, Germany. She is a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser in the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. A graduate of Gettysburg College with a Masters Degree from the University of Florida, Locatell holds the MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute, MRICS designation from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a member of the Real Estate Board of New York. For multiple years, Locatell has served as an officer, board member and committee chair with the Metropolitan New York Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and as a regional representative for the national Appraisal Institute. The Appraisal Institute is a global association of real estate appraisers with nearly 23,000 valuation professionals in almost 60 countries and the global leader in advancing professionalism and ethics, standards, methodologies and practices of property economics worldwide. As president of the Metropolitan New York Chapter, Locatell will oversee the Chapter's administrative, managerial, strategic planning and fiduciary responsibilities and an annual schedule of luncheons, breakfasts, courses, seminars, special events and a conference, all focused on enhancing the professional knowledge and skills of its members and real estate industry colleagues.