Team Evolution: Jeff Hansen, Carrie D. Lee, Colette Huston and Mark A. Ronnei

Meet Team Evolution

A Boutique Team for The Most Storied Resorts.

Evolution Resort Real Estate is a small and mighty boutique real estate team serving Northern Minnesota’s premier lake and resort communities. We specialize in representing distinctive lifestyle properties including resort vacation rentals, lakeshore properties, residential homes, and legacy land holdings.

1987Since
25+Projects
300+Units
100+Homesites
View Our Full Track Record →

Includes projects led by members of our team at Grand View Lodge before Evolution Resort Real Estate was founded in 2023.

What We Do

Buyers. Sellers.
Resort Owners. Communities.

01

For Buyers and Sellers

Lakeshore and vacation homes, resort ownership, residential representation and complex transactions, including 1031 exchanges, self-directed IRAs and family trusts.

02

For Resort Owners

Development consulting, exit strategies and whole-resort sales and acquisitions, with the goal of keeping privately held resorts thriving.

03

For Communities

Creating common interest communities, drafting association documents and handling ongoing association management.

The Team

Mark A. Ronnei, Evolution Resort Real Estate

Mark A. Ronnei

La Grand Fromage of Development

C: 218-831-8373
O: 218-396-2026
mark@evolutionresorts.com
MN License #20535856

“I started in hospitality at age 14, which means I have almost 55 years in the Minnesota hospitality business. I love it, know it, and would love to help you and your family find the right place to build a lifetime of memories.”

Mark has worked in the Minnesota resort industry for 45 years. He started at Grand View Lodge in 1978 and continued his career for 43 years serving as Director of Sales, Operations Manager, General Manager, and Managing Director. He is a visionary specializing in real estate, development, resort operations, and hospitality marketing.

As of late, Mark joined the Quarterdeck Resort on Gull Lake development team and started Evolution Resort Real Estate and Abides Resort Development company. The goal is to create Minnesota’s most fun boutique resort. Fun is the name of the game. Mark and the team are creating opportunities to own Minnesota’s best resort vacation homes, including a robust rental program.

Evolution Resort Real Estate aims to specialize in helping families find the perfect resort vacation home and represent Minnesota’s premier resort vacation home destinations. The team makes finding the right combination of price, amenities, and location easy.

In Mark’s free time, he serves with Habitat for Humanity, the Nisswa Enhanced Reading Foundation, the Essentia Health Board of Directors, the Crow Wing Power Board of Directors, and the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation. He was also inducted into the Minnesota Hospitality Hall of Fame. Mark’s family history and motto is to do all you can to leave your community better than you found it.

Carrie D. Lee, Evolution Resort Real Estate

Carrie D. Lee

Founder & Managing Director

C: 218-820-4432
O: 218-595-2108
carrie@evolutionresorts.com
MN License #40079619

“I consider my career a blessing; my office is lakeside, golf side, and genuinely fun! It’s very rewarding to help connect vacation destinations and ownership that leads to memories for a lifetime.”

Carrie is a Brainerd Lakes Area local who has always been a go-getter. Her sales experience started at age 11, growing up in the farming industry. She knows people, and she knows business, which drives her client-centric approach to serve people well, earning her referrals.

Carrie has a well-rounded 25+ year career consulting in sales, coaching, and recruiting nationwide. She has been in real estate since 2008, serving clients and building brokerages and real estate teams. She brings energy and compassion to real estate and is a voice of reason in what can be a highly emotional process.

She is passionate about resort development and hospitality and continues to manage nine homeowners associations at Grand View Lodge. A few career highlights are design and execution of leadership development as the Quality Assurance and Training Manager for ETOC Corporation (Grand View Lodge, Tanque Verde Ranch, Camp Lincoln, and Camp Lake Hubert) and Fitler Club in Philadelphia.

Colette “Letty” Huston, Evolution Resort Real Estate

Colette “Letty” Huston

Marketing & Strategy

C: 218-821-0973
O: 218-335-5291
colette@evolutionresorts.com
MN License #40808977

“Most people pick a lane. I picked a lifestyle. Hospitality, real estate, wellness, and bartending all rooted in Northern Minnesota.”

Colette “Letty” Huston grew up on the shores of Woman Lake outside Longville, and she’s never strayed far from the water. Today she calls the Leech Lake area home.

She has spent decades in hospitality, sales and marketing, including the last 10 years with Leisure Hotels & Resorts. She understands the intricacies of resort operations and the guest and owner experience, and her favorite part of the job is curating the marketing that brings sellers and buyers together.

Letty is a licensed real estate agent with Evolution Resort Real Estate, brokered by eXp Realty, a small and mighty boutique team specializing in resort, lakeshore, residential and legacy land properties. The team brings more than 45 years in real estate and more than 75 years in resort development, hospitality operations and destination marketing. She has worked listings at Cragun’s Resort, Grand View Lodge, Quarterdeck Resort, Trapper’s Landing Lodge and Cove Point Lodge.

Off the clock, you’ll find her at Shingobee Sauna Club, her wood-fired, primitive and nature-inspired sauna experience outside Walker, Minnesota. She’s fueled by coffee, fitness, family and anything that keeps her nervous system in check.

Jeff Hansen, Evolution Resort Real Estate

Jeff Hansen

Business Development

C: 320-293-8095
O: 320-525-3242
jeff@evolutionresorts.com
MN License #40951472

Jeff’s journey to Evolution Resort Real Estate is built on a 36-year track record of building profitable, sustaining, high net worth businesses and people. Succeeding through helping others is one of his greatest gifts and most significant passions. He lives with a commitment to lifelong learning and personal growth.

Read Jeff’s full bio »

Testimonials

Above and beyond. My experience has been top notch! The whole team has made my buying experience a world class experience. It is an honor to partner with them to own a vocational rental home.

LORI CARLSON, QUARTERDECK RESORT BUYER

Above and beyond! We are very happy with Carrie and the entire Evolution team, a very cohesive full-service solution that provided us with the local expertise and marketing savvy we needed. Truly appreciated their flexibility, determination to dig deep, and ultimately, deliver! Well done!

STEVE HARRISON, RESIDENTIAL SELLER

Great experience all around. Great team to work with. They were all incredibly helpful in explaining the various facets of the vacation property purchase, management, and ownership details.

TODD TERHORST, QUARTERDECK RESORT BUYER

Fantastic to work with! Carrie was great to work with from a distance and in person. My family purchased through Carrie and she accommodated every request. I would highly recommend using Carrie Lee!

GRAHAM VAN HORN, QUARTERDECK RESORT BUYER

Carrie and the team were fantastic throughout the entire process. From the very beginning, they took the time to understand our needs, answered all of our questions with patience, and provided expert guidance at every step. We couldn’t be happier with the results and are incredibly grateful. To anyone in need of a reliable, knowledgeable, and personable real estate agent we recommend Carrie and the team!

SCOTT & WENDY

Let’s Talk

Tell Us Where You Want to Be.

Whether you’re buying your first place on the lake, selling a family property or exploring resort ownership, start with a conversation. Call or text 218-496-3800.