Jacqueline Rogers
Christine Myers
Suzanne Bereis
Maranda K. Auzenne
Ma Agnes Alimbog
Humanitarian
Tingting Zhang
Karen Wipper
Kim Voss
Mary A. Thompson
Maria Stamolis
Mary Beth Paris
Sheryl Moore-Marlette
Christen Moloney
Deborah La Franchi
Pharrah A. Jackson
Meaghan Gross
Kerry Gawrych
Cassie S. Ford
Leslie Duchene
Alison Daubert
Alexandra (Ali) Cooley
Kelly Blair
Finance Executive
Pranika Uppal Sinha
Alison Shallcross
Mitchell E. Rudin
Christy G. Lockridge
Lonnie Ledbetter
Lisa Latronico
Katie Kazas
Tammy K. Jones
LaVon M. Johns
Nili Sangani
Kameshia Freeman
Crystal Cook
Christina C. Balas
Christina Arico
Diversity Champion
Jenny Wu
Catherine Torsney
Briana Succop
Tiffany Shalibo
Elyse Roeder
Liz Oakley
Darenda Marvin
Julie Livingstone
Caroline Kenney
Andrea Jones
Deb Janik
Mona Hinkle
Rachel Hickenbottom
Veronica Green
Hailey Ghalib
Yvonne Fisher
Beth Demba
Lisa Brady
Morgan Baer Blaska
Sarah Ashcroft
Development Professional
Amanda Wolin
Kay Tidwell
Suzanne St. Pierre
Leslie C. Sharpe
Karen Scanna
Misty Sanford
Nina M. Roket
Jennifer S. Perkins
Jennifer E. Nichols
Allison Nelson
Rebecca Monzi
Michelle M. McAtee
Rori H. Malech
Kim Le
Jennifer C. Johnson
Katherine (Katie) Jahnke Dale
Taryn Fielder
Anita Famili
Tracey C. Easton
Erin E. Day
Stacy B. Bohm
Krystyna M. Blakeslee
Beatriz Azcuy
Jamie Altman Buggy
CRE Legal Counsel
Rose Williams
Erica Wagner
Jami Wadkins
Scarlet Tam
Sandra Oliver
Dori Nolan
Sharon Morrison
Cynthia McMillion
Venessa McEvoy
Anna Malhari
Tracy G. Le
Susan LaGanke
Nicole Kushner Meyer
Laura Khouri
Spencer Jordan
Katie Jacoby
Jackie Impellitier
Missy Hubbell
Vicky Hammond
Meredith Griffin
Carolee Fink
Mollie Fadule
Cori English
Sabrina Dukhovny
Janice Delcid
Elena V. Daniel
Ann Marie Collins
Alexandra Coleman
Michelle Cocagne
Christine Michele Chipurnoi
Jennifer K. Cassell
Nicole Capobianco
Kaylan Brodnax
Dawn A. Beckles
Corporate Real Estate Executive
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Capital Square chief communications and operating officer Jacqueline Rogers established the firm’s philanthropic arm, Capital Square Cares, which has made significant contributions to various charitable organizations under her guidance. With a focus on philanthropic efforts that prioritize children’s welfare, Rogers has led Capital Square Cares in support of the March of Dimes, Little Hands Virginia, Children’s Hospital of Richmond and the World Pediatric Project. In 2022, Rogers spearheaded a partnership with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and led fundraising of $360,000 to support research for the organization. In 2023, she introduced an initiative granting all employees 16 hours of volunteer time off to contribute to a cause of their choice and amplify Capital Square’s commitment to building the future. Beyond her charitable work connected with Capital Square, Rogers serves on the board of directors for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, has been a wish granter for Make-A-Wish America for 5 years and is a literacy volunteer with Children’s Aid’s Work Now, Play Later program, working with students to develop educational fundamentals. Her leadership is characterized by empathy, a culture of collaboration and an ability to inspire those around her.
Jacqueline Rogers
With a passion for helping animals in need, Christine Myers co-founded The Wolfe Project Inc., a nonprofit organization that places stray dogs and other animals with foster and forever homes in the Tampa Bay area. The organization started with one rescue dog named Wolfie and has since helped hundreds of animals. Its mission is to educate and raise awareness, network with animal shelters and rescues, and offer financial support to injured, deformed and mistreated animals. Myers also has served for seven years as a volunteer at a local hospice. Professionally, Myers is director of people and operations at B+E, where she has been instrumental in the firm’s growth and development through recruitment, benefits and overseeing operations. Colleagues say she is great at building relationships, creating a positive work environment and celebrating everyone. She goes above and beyond her job description, always willing to lend a helping hand or give words of encouragement. This was particularly true as the economy stumbled in 2022. Myers met one-on-one with all employees to check in with them and coach them through the challenging market cycle.
Christine Myers
Seeing the impact of COVID-19 on people and communities, Suzanne Bereis was inspired to make a difference through volunteerism. She volunteers with the Charlotte Humane Society, dedicating hundreds of hours to doing laundry, cleaning kennels, socializing cats and educating youth. Every week, Bereis volunteers at the main campus of Atrium Health, devoting more than 150 hours last year to assisting nurses and aides at the Neurosurgical and Spine Center. She is an active member of CREW Charlotte and has served on the fundraising and special events committee as well as the community outreach committee and has led chapter support of organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Amy’s House, Safe Alliance, Susan G. Komen and Go Jen Go. At Grubb Properties, where Bereis is a senior commercial property manager, she participates on the giving committee that builds a Habitat for Humanity home in partnership with vendors each year. She co-chaired builds in Charlotte and Atlanta in 2021 and 2022 and raised more than $25,000 in three years to help fund builds. Bereis has been working in real estate for more than 25 years, holding positions from property accountant to senior commercial property manager.
Suzanne Bereis
On a journey from being a single teenage mother to launching Transitions Commercial Property Management Consulting earlier this year, Maranda Auzenne has emerged as an influencer in commercial property management as well as a leader committed to charitable work in her community. She works tirelessly to help fundraise for nonprofits that support women and children, speaks on panels, mentors early-career professional women and supports industry diversity efforts. Auzenne is particularly focused on amplifying the voices of women who are unable to speak for themselves, including working on the executive boards of Hope Mansion and Bridges Safehouse. As a volunteer with ICSC, Auzenne led a women’s panel at its Red River Conference and reached out to women of color at the event. In her home city of Cedar Hill, Texas, she ran for and won a seat on the city council because she believed that voices of women needed to be more represented. She is only the 5th woman ever to serve on Cedar Hill’s city council. Her community service has garnered her many awards, including the Servant Leader Impact Award from the City of Cedar Hill and a distinguished leadership award from Leadership Southwest.
Maranda K. Auzenne
As an advocate for overseas Filipino workers and immigrants (OFW), Ma Agnes Alimbog helps migrant workers who have issues while working and living abroad, including helping women with their passports. She also helps indigenous peoples in Talakag Bukidnon access water and electricity, and she has collaborated with nongovernmental organizations for an agro-reforestation project for people in Bukidnon. During COVID-19, Alimbog created a weekly live-streaming TV show called the Filipinos World targeted at the OFW community and others connected to the Philippines. Alimbog is VP of operations and media relations at The Filipinos World Media Entertainment and Consulting Firm Co., where she serves as a link to government and nongovernment agencies for collaborative work to empower women, train women in leadership skills and protect abused Filipino workers. Alimbog has been a lead convenor in the participatory management approach linking government agencies with international companies and other agencies to craft and develop operational frameworks for organizations such as the National Commission on Senior Citizens and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. She has more than 25 years of experience in organization development, training and administration.
Ma Agnes Alimbog
Twenty years ago, Tingting Zhang founded the TerraCotta Group with a vision to establish a CRE credit investment firm rooted in the science of economics and based on a data- driven predictive analytical framework to withstand any market cycle. Leveraging her background in academia, Zhang has applied academic insights, objectivity and analytical rigor to commercial real estate lending to accomplish her goal. TerraCotta Group is a private CRE credit manager providing actionable, investable insights using a quantitative methodology framework with recession-tested success. Since its founding, TerraCotta has never had a single credit loss. Before founding the TerraCotta Group, Zhang consulted for the National Intelligence Council of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and contributed to the Lehman Brothers-Eurasia Group Stability Index, the first and only political risk index on Wall Street. As CEO, she oversees the TerraCotta Group’s investment activities and manages portfolio risk as well as leads the firm’s four organizational groups which all work together seamlessly to generate investment results. In 2008, Zhang co-founded the Special Assets Management Association, the only trade organization for banking executives and other professionals engaged in special assets management, to support the community at the start of the Global Financial Crisis.
Tingting Zhang
Dwight Capital EVP and chief underwriter Karen Wipper has a diverse business and legal background as well as experience in the HUD lending industry. She got her start in the industry while interning during college at Love Funding, the former FHA commercial lending subsidiary of Midland States Bank. She earned a promotion nearly every year and eventually ascended to VP and managing deputy chief underwriter, where she oversaw underwriting processes, training teams and supporting sales staff and clients. Following Dwight Capital’s acquisition of Love Funding in 2020, Wipper now serves as Dwight’s EVP and chief underwriter responsible for managing underwriting processes and procedures, the underwriting staff, and credit decisions for FHA multifamily loans. Her current pipeline includes underwriting management of $1.65 billion of actively engaged multifamily transactions, which includes market rate, affordable, refinance and construction business. She has contributed to improving the FHA platform industrywide by serving as president of the Eastern Lenders Association in 2019. She is also currently chair of the MBA/FHA multifamily committee, where she advocated for enhancements to the FHA loan process.
Karen Wipper
Kim Voss knew early on that commercial real estate was her passion and started her career in the real estate industry after graduating from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. She joined ACC and transitioned to the student housing sector in 2004 in a financial reporting role, where she led the financial operations team through its initial public offering and transition to a publicly traded company. Throughout the next 18 years, Voss expanded her role at ACC, including serving as EVP and chief accounting officer for many years. In 2022, she played a key role in ACC’s take-private transaction and became CFO to lead the company through its next chapter as a privately owned company. She is responsible for the company’s FP&A, accounting, treasury, debt and capital markets, asset management, tax, financial systems and internal audit functions. During the past 12 months, Voss has worked with other executives to foster ACC’s development pipeline of more than $2 billion and is also involved in overseeing and executing ACC’s disposition and recapitalization strategy, with a current transaction pipeline of more than $2 billion.
Kim Voss
During Mary Thompson’s more than three-decade career in real estate, she has become an expert in community development banking and Historic Tax Credit/New Market Tax Credit financing. She is SVP and senior relationship manager for the north region of CDB at Bank of America, a team she has been on since 2004. CDB provided $7.1 billion in debt and equity financing last year and helped create 11,000 housing units. In 2023, Thompson was CDB’s top producer, closing more than $900 million in financing, an increase of 63% from the previous year. Based in Boston, Thompson serves clients in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, advising clients and partners on a variety of key themes that impact affordable housing, including the positive impacts of health and housing initiatives, resident services and financial education, best practices and new initiatives around energy efficient design, construction and retrofitting. Prior to CDB, she was an originator of NMTC and HTC investments nationally, with a focus on originating investments in the Eastern U.S. She has worked for Bank of America and its predecessor entities since 1994 in real estate roles including commercial real estate lending, portfolio management and Other Real Estate Owned disposition.
Mary A. Thompson
Maria Stamolis has deployed or overseen more than $25 billion of debt and equity investments during her career. Last year, she was appointed Lincoln Property Co.’s first-ever chief investment officer and is tasked with advancing Lincoln’s investment management platform, which manages more than $20 billion in assets through partnerships and institutional investment vehicles. In the past year, she has met with more than 70 institutions to drive awareness of the company’s investment strategy and full-service capabilities. In her previous role at Canyon Partners, Stamolis was one of the only female partners at the firm and rose in the ranks to become co-head of Canyon Partners Real Estate. In her 16-year tenure at Canyon, she established the firm’s real estate emerging manager platform in partnership with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which provided capital and mentoring to early-stage, high-performing emerging managers investing in commercial real estate. Stamolis provides informal and formal mentoring to help others gain experience to achieve their career goals. She is an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business where she teaches students about real estate investing by mentoring them on the development and deployment of a real estate impact fund.
Maria Stamolis
Mary Beth Paris leads teams of accountants, accounts payable and receivable clerks, treasury and lease administration in her role as VP and corporate controller at Foundry Commercial. She has implemented new processes, best practices and intuitive forms in addition to investing in accounting software upgrades to streamline services, which has allowed Foundry Commercial to continue to grow business while limiting the need for additional resources. Recently, Paris was elevated to the role of platform controller, where she oversees internal control implementation, contributes to budget preparation, ensures compliance with reporting standards and manages the transaction reporting process. Her recent appointment as a partner marks a significant milestone, reflecting exemplary leadership qualities recognized by her peers and superiors. Amid one of the most challenging economic climates in recent history, Paris has played a pivotal role in steering the financial trajectory of the firm, effectively mitigating risks while capitalizing on growth opportunities to ensure fiscal resilience and sustainability.
Mary Beth Paris
Last year, Colliers tapped Sheryl Moore-Marlette to join its global and Americas leadership team as EVP and head of operations and finance for the firm’s occupier services organization. She oversees financial and performance management, business planning and collaboration with shared services as well as the integration of finance and operations to streamline the business. Her leadership places a strong emphasis on fostering people in the workplace, achieving operational excellence and delivering outstanding financial results within corporate real estate and facilities portfolios. Moore-Marlette has 32 years of experience in roles including global operating officer for occupier services where she was an integral member of the firm’s global executive committee, overseeing operations, financial performance, account management and transitions. Before that, she spent 17 years at a leading global CRE firm, much of which was spent serving as COO of its Bank of America account, which involved managing a 54-million-square-foot, full-service global portfolio with more than 650 professionals worldwide and overall P&L accountability. She also led global project management platforms for clients such as UnitedHealth Group and American Express. As the former COO at a prominent architecture, interior design, graphic design and brand strategy services firm, she played an instrumental role in safeguarding the financial health and operational efficiency of the organization.
Sheryl Moore-Marlette
As a divisional controller at private real estate firm MLG Capital, Christen Moloney has dealt with her fair share of change since joining the firm in 2016. Her leadership has been instrumental in guiding the firm through challenging times and exponential growth duringthe past several years. She joined MLG from U.S. Bank, where she worked on the client trust team managing high-net-worth individuals’ investment reporting. She was one of seven accounting team members who managed all aspects of the business, but growth at the company has led the team to split into different specialties and geographic focuses. Moloney now leads the Midwest property accounting team of nine accountants who together manage more than 70 residential and commercial assets. Moloney’s responsibilities include leading the firm’s corporate accounting team, directly overseeing four employees who manage everything from payroll and firm accounting needs to real estate fund support like management fee collections, and managing the books for the firm’s smaller corporate entities. She has helped add efficiencies on the financial side of the business by automating the firm’s payroll system and leading a conversion within the Yardi platform on the residential and commercial property side.
Christen Moloney
Deborah La Franchi founded institutional fund manager and private lender SDS Capital Group in 2001 focused on providing both debt and equity for affordable housing developers and battling poverty. Leading the firm as CEO, she has built SDS to a firm with more than $1.9 billion in assets under management. Each impact fund on SDS’s platform serves a different geographic location and employs a unique investment strategy, but all have the same goal of generating positive impacts for low-income communities and people. La Franchi leads the structuring of each fund’s investment strategy, spearheads fundraising, oversees the senior managers of each fund and division, and participates on each fund’s investment committee. One example of the impact that La Franchi and SDS are having is the $190 million SDS Supportive Housing Fund that is aiming to provide more than 2,000 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for unhoused Californians. The fund currently has more than 800 PSH units in construction as well as four projects in the fund’s immediate pipeline slated to provide additional housing for homeless residents in 2024, primarily in Southern California.
Deborah La Franchi
Inspired by her grandmother, a pastor who fed the community and took care of others, Pharrah Jackson has built a career focused on affordable housing. She is VP of originations for Greystone’s affordable lending team, facilitating the construction, refinancing and recapitalization of affordable housing through short-term bridge loans, bridge-to-agency and permanent financing solutions, FHA lending and tax-exempt bond-financed transactions. She brings more than two decades of affordable housing experience to her role, including production, underwriting, closing, servicing and asset management. During her tenure with Greystone, she has been involved in financing more than 1,000 affordable housing properties totaling more than $8.5 billion in debt. In 2023, she was involved in the financing of 1,645 units of multifamily housing across eight properties, totaling $120 million in permanent loan debt, and this year she closed the largest affordable housing development build in Virginia, including arranging a $39 million Freddie Mac Tax-Exempt Loan Unfunded Forward toward the construction of 265-units of a 516 unit affordable housing property. Located within the Washington D.C. MSA, the multifamily project is a part of a larger development known as The Exchange at Spring Hill Station and will be the first 100% affordable housing property in Tysons.
Pharrah A. Jackson
Bank of America VP and senior relationship manager Meaghan Gross has undertaken several local initiatives that are now deploying at a national level to better support clients. She developed a business advisory board to support Charlotte businesses by bringing together CPAs, attorneys, insurance agents, CRE brokers, architects, HR specialists and financial advisors. The purpose is to eliminate redundant conversations business owners typically have with multiple advisors and reduce miscommunications. This year, she has started to layer in quarterly events with the board to bring awareness and education to the community. These events address economic updates and exit planning. In her role, she manages an extensive portfolio of clients and prospects with annual revenues of $5 million to $100 million, helping companies save, borrow and invest for their current and future needs. She collaborates with local market stakeholders and teammates throughout Bank of America, including investment banking, foreign exchange and wealth management, and facilitates client relationships with product specialists in credit, treasury management and merchant services to design and deliver financial solutions. Gross relocated from Seattle in 2022 and has become an advocate for CREW Charlotte in her new home, supporting fundraising and special events.
Meaghan Gross
When Kerry Gawrych joined ElmTree as its controller in September 2015, her goal was to become a C-Suite executive, an ambitious goal she accomplished in just three years. She built ElmTree’s accounting department from the ground up to six full-time professionals, and today she is a partner and CFO responsible for all aspects of the firm’s accounting, including financial reporting, analysis and administration. She manages the construction draw process for ElmTree’s build-to-suit investments, spearheads the external audit process and ensures the maintenance of internal controls. She also serves on ElmTree’s compliance committee. During the past year, ElmTree transacted on nearly $2 billion in investments across 33 properties and 17 states. Gawrych was heavily involved in supporting the execution strategy by facilitating critical documentation and financial statements. She has been immersed in commercial real estate her entire professional career, including experience in development and operating accounting roles in retail, office, industrial, multifamily and entertainment. Her affinity for the often predictable nature of accounting balances well with the sometimes chaotic landscape of commercial real estate.
Kerry Gawrych
With years of experience and strong relationships across the country with many lenders and sponsor groups, Cassie Ford is deeply rooted in the multifamily agency business. As a senior leader in multifamily structured finance at Fannie Mae, Ford works across divisions to structure beneficial financing and provide access to affordable housing. She leads the Fannie Mae multifamily structured finance customer engagement team, which originates and manages the company’s credit facility product, She also prepares frequent updates, reports and presentations to Fannie Mae leadership, the board of directors and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. She works with the technology team to grow and improve the credit facility module in Salesforce, which is part of a broader multi-year initiative that retires several older online programs. In 2023, Ford was promoted to senior director of the multifamily structured finance team and celebrated her 10th anniversary with the company. After steadily increasing the program year over year, she celebrated $10 billion in credit facility originations in 2022. She also helped close a significant manufactured housing community credit facility and a conventional credit facility.
Cassie S. Ford
M&T Realty Capital Corp. managing director and FHA chief underwriter Leslie Duchene has been active in FHA lending for more than 25 years and a commercial real estate professional for nearly 30 years. Previously, Duchene was instrumental in developing the FHA lending platform at Northmarq and obtaining licensure approvals from HUD. After Northmarq, she helped structure the FHA lending platform for CBRE and drove the platform’s production growth to an average annual volume of $500 million. During the pandemic, Duchene was promoted to FHA program manager at CBRE, overseeing production and underwriting teams and managing a pipeline with record volume of $2 billion resulting in closed volume of roughly $1.6 billion during a two-year period. Duchene also consulted with HUD and the MBA on changes for large loan underwriting parameters, having received the only waiver issued prior to the new policy change. Her work was used as the basis for the new policy issued by HUD last year. At M&T RCC, she guides the FHA lending team and coordinates with production, underwriting, asset management and closing teams to identify and implement strategic initiatives. She also restructured the FHA underwriting team by removing silos, increasing efficiency and elevating the team’s skill set.
Leslie Duchene
During her career, Ali Daubert has participated in or consulted on more than 150 transactions totaling more than $5 billion in value. She brings more than 15 years of experience in real estate and private equity to her role as chief strategy officer at Lincoln Property Co., where she drives the firm’s growth and expansion and leads strategic initiatives focused on the continued evolution of employee and client experience. Within the first six months in her new role last year, Daubert led the company’s first-ever acquisition with the purchase of property and asset management firm RiverRock Real Estate Group. The transaction doubled Lincoln’s property management portfolio in the Western U.S. and added a roster of employees. Daubert recently played a key role in Lincoln’s first rebrand in its 60-year history. Beyond her role at Lincoln, she is on the executive council for Chartwell Investments’ CHIEF Capital, which provides flexible private equity for entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses and corporate carve-outs. Daubert assists in pre-investment due diligence and post-investment portfolio growth. Previously, Daubert was a top partner leading Baker Tilly’s transaction advisory services business.
Alison Daubert
As the CIO and co-founder of Nuveen Green Capital, Ali Cooley develops and leads investment strategy and asset management and oversees a team of 30. When Cooley and partner Jessica Bailey founded Nuveen predecessor Greenworks, their goal was to scale Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy public-private financing. Under Cooley’s leadership, 2023 proved to be a record-setting year of notable and historic milestones despite continued economic turbulence. In August, she oversaw the launch of a new, first-of-its-kind $525 million Nuveen C-PACE lending fund, which drew investments from six major insurance firms. Not only did the fund exceed investment projections, it nearly doubled them, while also expanding Nuveen’s investor portfolio. In this instance, she saw that insurers are increasingly interested in differentiated sources of capital-efficient income and motivated to address climate change. Cooley is a thought leader in the C-PACE space and recently provided key insights on how capital can work efficiently to fund decarbonization efforts during a United Nations roundtable on decarbonizing the built environment.
Alexandra (Ali) Cooley
When Kelly Blair joined Mark IV as CFO as part of the company’s succession plan, she knew that she was replacing a CFO who had held the position for more than two decades. Blair embraced this as an opportunity to improve ways of working, team structure and overall company culture. She identified processes that were potentially hindering the scalability of the business and growth of team members, and using a strategic and people-centric leadership style, Blair established a finance team with clearly defined roles, efficient technology implementations that reduce manual processes, and a cohesive culture of support and openness. Blair oversees all financial activities and reporting. During a year marked with capital issues and loan workouts last year, her financial oversight kept Mark IV’s books strong and balanced, allowing the firm to comfortably ride out the uncertain market. She encouraged and guided the firm to be more creative in 2023, which resulted in more than $500 million in new loans closed. Aside from the nuts-and-bolts accounting processes, Blair handles the firm’s treasury and cash management as well as debt capital markets, including maintaining Mark IV’s loan relationships with lenders and running point on any new debt. She also is preparing for Mark IV’s impending equity raise from an institutional capital perspective.
Kelly Blair
As Greystone’s first head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Pranika Uppal Sinha is responsible for instituting Greystone’s award-winning DEI program, which includes introducing education, resources, programming and other initiatives across the company to move Greystone’s diversity efforts forward. Under her direction, the company committed to and launched its DEI vision, “Building Belonging,” and built a DEI-focused team including a full-time senior manager of DEI and organization development, a DEI committee and a DEI executive advisory council. Under her direction, the DEI budget has expanded and multiple employee resource groups have also formed during the past 18 months, along with robust programming. Despite her relatively short tenure with Greystone, Uppal Sinha’s efforts are already paying dividends. A recent Greystone employee survey found that 95% of employees feel treated equally regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, religious beliefs and sexual orientation. The company’s Brave Conversations series, which are open, facilitated virtual conversations about current DEI topics, attract at least 25% of all employees to each session. Prior to Greystone, Uppal Sinha spent nine years in senior talent, training and development roles with Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, both in Houston, and with 21st Century Consulting Inc. in Chicago.
Pranika Uppal Sinha
Newmark chief of staff Alison Shallcross believes the real estate industry offers opportunities for everyone and is determined to shift the industry paradigm to a more diverse environment. She is doing so by redefining the firm’s outreach to ensure it appeals to women, minorities and the average college student who may not understand the depth and breadth of careers available in real estate. Throughout the pandemic, Shallcross pressed forward to grow Newmark’s University Bridge program, and she says her most significant professional achievement in the past 12 months is expanding the program from one local university to a national presence encompassing 40 universities. The program helps underrepresented communities gain insight and exposure to commercial real estate and the roles available to them once they enter the workforce. Shallcross is the chief of staff at Newmark, where she manages and supports the vision of Newmark CEO Barry Gosin. Her role encompasses a broad range of duties critical to the company’s operational success and strategic vision. In addition, she is a key figure on the Environmental, Social, and Governance executive committee and is deeply involved in culture building within Newmark, which is crucial in shaping the company’s internal environment and community relations.
Alison Shallcross
Since 2004, Savills chairman Mitchell Rudin has uplifted women and minorities in the workplace. As president and CEO of the Tri-State region of CBRE from 2004 to 2015, Rudin oversaw a 60% diversity rate in the company’s regional leadership team, including a Black CFO and general counsel. He also institutionalized DEI initiatives, co-founded the CBRE African American Affinity Group, and started the regional Women’s Network at CBRE and Brookfield. His commitment was recognized in 2011 when he became the inaugural recipient of the CBRE Mitchell E. Rudin Diversity Award. Upon joining Savills in 2019, Rudin championed diversity by doubling the number of client-facing women and significantly increasing minority representation. His leadership was pivotal in developing programs to support Black brokers during the pandemic in 2020. During the pandemic, Savills doubled down on its commitment to recruit, train, and invest in the next generation of diverse young professionals with its paid, rotational junior broker development program. Rudin has mentored emerging leaders at Savills and supported educational and leadership development programs such as Greenhouse Scholars and the Yarbro REAP Scholarship.
Mitchell E. Rudin
In 2021, Christy Lockridge stepped into the newly established chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer role for PGIM Real Estate. Although she did not have a formal DEI background, she brought a passion for DEI developed during many years of leading diversity and inclusion volunteer opportunities. Lockridge has shown skill in navigating among diverse goals and priorities across the business, HR and corporate stakeholders. She has focused on building a strong DEI foundation through five key areas of impact, including talent, culture, investing, industry and community engagement. She created PGIM Real Estate’s DEI advisory council, completed an inaugural audit of the firm’s internal culture, was integral in the firmwide process to select a supplier diversity database provider, created a communications playbook to showcase DEI-focused initiatives and programs, expanded the firm’s community engagement efforts for qualitative and quantitative impact, and established a diversity recruiting council to further expand the reach of its undergraduate campus recruiting teams. Tangible outputs of her efforts include a multiyear DEI strategy that will be used as a roadmap for future DEI leaders, a DEI action plan that incorporates themes from the culture audit and an inclusion-focused training and behavior change management program.
Christy G. Lockridge
As the chief purpose and inclusion officer at American Campus Communities, Lonnie Ledbetter has set a standard for DEI within the student housing sector and among ACC’s partner universities. Ledbetter started as a resident assistant at the University of Texas at Austin and has made her way through operations, business development and human resources at ACC. Her varied roles have given her a deep understanding of the complexities and realities ACC team members face. Throughout two decades, she has learned how to create a workplace culture rooted in inclusion and compassion. Ledbetter regularly leads workshops on effective communication for team members and executives and manages a diversity and inclusion intranet site to communicate initiatives and allow team members to participate in a dialogue on diversity issues. She also has worked with consultants to integrate diversity and inclusion into existing programs, as well as evaluate new opportunities for impact, including reimagining the company’s vision, goals and DEI statement. In 2020, ACC formally launched a DEI task force to ensure comprehensive representation is achieved throughout all levels of the organization. In 2021, Ledbetter led ACC in publishing its first annual Environmental, Social, and Governance report to evaluate and benchmark DEI objectives and outcomes.
Lonnie Ledbetter
Lisa Latronico joined Skender in 2001 as an administrative assistant when the firm had just 15 employees and now is chief people officer. Among her priorities are diversity and inclusion and creating a positive and supportive work environment for underrepresented communities. Latronico has championed internship and pre-internship programs in partnership with nonprofits that target people with diverse backgrounds. One of Skender’s work-study partnerships is with Genesys Works, a program for youth from underserved communities that provides skills training and career development opportunities for students at several Chicago Public Schools. Latronico also led Skender to sponsor a graduate from a Chicago trade school or nonprofit organization for membership in the Carpenters, Laborers or Painters union. She helped foster and maintain Skender’s relationship with Revolution Workshop, a nonprofit social enterprise that produces construction workforce development for unemployed or underemployed people, and she played a significant role in launching an annual $10,000 scholarship program designed to pave the way for more women and minorities to seek careers in architecture, construction and engineering. Under her watch, Skender has significantly diversified its representation with women making up half of Skender’s C-suite, nearly a third of its leadership team and 17% of its total workforce, while 35% of employees are minorities.
Lisa Latronico
Longfellow Real Estate Partners LLC managing director of capital markets Katie Kazas is the board president of The Goldie Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating and advancing the careers of women with high potential through scholarship, mentoring, networking and professional development. Kazas has served on the board for several years as well as mentoring several Goldie Scholars. Previously, she was a co-chair of the organization’s primary fundraising event, the Goldie Gala. In addition to her volunteer work, Kazas is a key member of Longfellow’s national team responsible for managing relationships with lenders and debt brokers along with capital strategy, debt sourcing and loan closing. She led the charge on numerous deals and high-profile projects, including the $310 million financing deal on Avia Labs in Millbrae, California, which will be a six-story, 315,000-square-foot all-electric life science development. She also has been instrumental in building Longfellow’s corporate giving initiatives that center on community giving, STEM education and DEI initiatives.
Katie Kazas
Tammy Jones is one of only a few female African-American CEOs in commercial real estate. She founded Basis Investment Group and leads the firm with a focus on diversity in experience and thought. The firm is composed 77% of women and minorities and promotes opportunities and education in real estate with underrepresented groups through the BIG Foundation, which is dedicated to creating a pipeline of women and diverse groups into commercial real estate. Basis makes substantial investments in affordable housing and provides capital access to female- and minority-led firms. Last year, Basis rounded out a minority-led team bringing much-needed affordable housing to the region with a private residential development at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The project comprises minority representation at all levels, including Basis’s $100 million equity investment, along with the project’s developers, contractors, architects, designers and eventually retail proprietors. Jones’ BIG Foundation has co-sponsored the Real Estate Exchange (REEX) Summer Program since 2017. Last year, 82 high school students of color were admitted to the program, bringing the total number of program graduates to more than 700. Through REEX, Basis partners with colleges and universities such as Harvard, Columbia, NYU and Howard, to promote diversity and inclusion while inspiring a new generation of real estate professionals.
Tammy K. Jones
For more than 15 years, LaVon Johns has mentored young lawyers and paralegals in the commercial real estate industry, with a particular focus on supporting the career development of women and people of color. She has spent much of her career at minority-owned law firms, but last year she moved to Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila, a mid-sized full-service firm noted for its diverse partnership and progressive culture. As a partner and business transactions practice team lead, Johns is building a business transactions practice that includes attorneys from a range of backgrounds. She also works with students at her alma mater, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she has been an adjunct professor for 10 years. As part of her practice, Johns prides herself on advising on impact developments such as the Discover call center that has created 1,000 jobs on Chicago’s south side. She is a member of numerous professional and civic organizations, including the National Bar Association, Airport Minority Advisory Council, Illinois State Bar Association, the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, Lambda Alpha International, the Economic Club of Chicago and ULI.
LaVon M. Johns
The first step in Nili Sangani’s journey as a diversity champion was to rise to a position of influence herself. She is SVP of operations at Encore Enterprises Inc., a 1,600-employee, vertically integrated CRE investment firm. She also is the managing principal of Encore subsidiary Ignite Investments, a women-run capital-raising platform. Having realized her own position of power within CRE, Sangani is now on a personal mission to affect change for women industrywide. For both Encore and Ignite, Sangani directly recruits the company’s executive talent and oversees enterprisewide talent recruitment endeavors with women’s parity as a top priority. Examples of systemic changes she has implemented include changing sales commissions to a flat 3%, overhauling Encore’s HR department, and revising and standardizing the performance evaluation process to eliminate bias or favoritism. Due to her work, Encore has 50% women on its board of directors and 44% of its management are women. Nearly three-quarters of the firm’s employees are women.
Nili Sangani
Kameshia Freeman says she has learned valuable career lessons from people working on the front lines. For example, while she was an intern with the General Services Administration, she learned how to perform lease inspections and review lease agreements from customer service representatives. She brought those lessons with her to JLL, where she is senior VP of government and education. Freeman has been a passionate supporter of DEI throughout her professional career, demonstrated by her fierce advocacy within her organization and within the community. She is a member of JLL’s government and education DEI recruitment committee engaging in active and purposeful recruiting to promote diversity and mentorship to increase talent retention. She also makes herself available as a resource to team members willing to learn, grow, participate and contribute to a more diverse and inclusive work environment. Freeman has hired and mentored students in JLL’s internship program and was selected to serve as a panel member for JLL’s Black Professional Network Juneteenth Celebration and Black Futures Symposium. Understanding the need for the commercial real estate industry to become more diverse and inclusive, Freeman co-founded the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the African American Real Estate Professionals, an organization focused on supporting, advancing and promoting the intellectual, professional and economic development of people of color in commercial real estate.
Kameshia Freeman
As a woman in leadership, First American Title Insurance Co. VP and profit center manager Crystal Cook takes every opportunity to provide mentorship and resources to other women. During the firm’s recruitment efforts, Cook is vocal about the importance of having a diverse slate of candidates and encourages her management team to increase diversity across the business. Through her work on First American’s DEI Advisory Council, employee resource groups and Women in Leadership program, Cook is dedicated to advancing equity for women and other underrepresented groups at the company and within the title insurance industry. She also has been instrumental in implementing employee resource groups within the company, including for LGBTQ+ employees, Black employees, Latinx/Hispanic employees, API employees and employees with varying abilities and disabilities. Cook is a fierce advocate for the WIL program and SPARK – two programs that provide resources and support for women on a leadership path within First American. She is an indirect beneficiary of WIL as the program facilitated the promotion of her direct manager, thereby giving Cook the opportunity to increase her own sphere of influence within the company.
Crystal Cook
As a first-generation American, Christina Balas has long advocated for equity and inclusion. She has relied on a tribe of women mentors to help guide her through her career and is determined to do the same for others. Since joining Coldwell Banker Commercial, Balas has worked to increase the presence of women in the commercial real estate industry and at the firm. During the past year, she has implemented projects that have increased women in leadership at the firm and spearheaded the Women at CBC group. She also co-leads the CBC What Moves Her program and has nurtured opportunities to highlight women in the network through events, a podcast and virtual meetings. During the pandemic, she launched a podcast highlighting diverse voices in the industry that has grown to more than 16,000 listens. Among her accomplishments is increasing the number of women in the Top 2 by 133% year over year. Balas is the national director of strategic implementation for CBC responsible for process development. In 2022, she was named to the Otso Women of Influence list.
Christina C. Balas
Christina Arico is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion at Shawmut Design and Construction and across the industry. With a focus on advocating for underrepresented employees, Arico helped found the firm’s women’s networking group from concept through executive approval to execution. That effort opened doors for other diversity initiatives including the firm’s diversity leadership council, through which Arico established a partnership with Deloitte Human Capital and Catalyst to build awareness of unconscious bias, improve managerial, promotion, and mentorship systems, and use data to establish accountability — creating a strategic framework to advance toward Shawmut’s goal of workplace equity. She was selected as the council’s co-chair by Shawmut’s CEO and worked closely with Deloitte Human Capital to ensure strategies being implemented were effective and sustainable. Arico also oversees the firm’s regional diversity leadership councils composed of more than 70 employees that provide local resources across Shawmut’s different offices and drive progress through training, organization memberships, panels and events. Arico joined Shawmut in 2001 as an accounts payable supervisor in New England and has been promoted multiple times. She now is head of business finance for the company.
Christina Arico
Jenny Wu brings extensive experience as an architect as well as expertise in construction, finance and development to her role as managing director of Jonathan Rose Cos. She has spearheaded the creation of more than 1,800 affordable housing units with another 2,700 units currently in the pre-development phase, and she leads green development projects across seven states. Wu is responsible for the strategic execution of development initiatives spanning multiple states, where she oversees the day-to-day operations of the development group. Currently, she is advancing the redevelopment of a 176-unit senior living project in the West Village neighborhood of New York City, the first affordable development in the neighborhood in more than two decades. She also is driving the ahead-of-schedule construction of a 125-unit affordable housing project in the historic Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington D.C. This all-electric building will feature a green roof with integrated solar array, electric vehicle charging stations, and carbon-injected concrete, capturing more than 1.1 million kilograms of carbon within the building’s structure. Wu contributes her expertise to the New York State Association for Affordable Housing’s policy committee and the Pennsylvania Developer Council’s PHFA committee, where she actively advocates for policies that foster the growth of affordable housing in both New York State and Pennsylvania.
Jenny Wu
Catherine Torsney began her professional career with JT Magen 25 years ago as a construction superintendent and worked her way up to her current role as a senior project manager where she oversees the execution of projects from inception in the pre-construction phase to project completion. Her responsibilities include leading the development of project plans, timelines and schedules to ensure timely and efficient project delivery. With a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of construction processes, regulations and industry standards, Torsney serves as the primary conduit of information between her team, clients, subcontractors and consultants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of her projects, an 11-floor, 215,000-square-foot fit-out for a Fortune 500 headquarters, was stalled due to the stay-at-home mandate. As JT Magen’s first project to resume construction during the pandemic, this job was deemed essential after six weeks. Torsney was onsite daily, implementing stringent safety protocols to protect the health and well-being of her team members, subcontractors and clients. Affectionately known within JT Magen as “Mother Hubbard,” Torsney serves as a trusted advisor and mentor to both men and women across all career levels, with her door always open to anyone seeking counsel or advice.
Catherine Torsney
Briana Succop brings more than two decades of experience in finance, investment and real estate capital to her role as senior investment director and head of business development at Kairos Investment Management Co. Prior to joining Kairos, Succop was a managing director at AllianceBernstein, where she handled business development efforts in North America, South America and Australia for the firm’s private alternatives platform. Her credentials also include leadership and capital- raising roles at Harrison Street, Abacus Capital Group and Covenant Capital Group. She joined Kairos in September 2023 and now oversees both the business development and investor relations teams and is responsible for oversight of the firm’s strategic business development activities and all of its client correspondence. She builds and maintains partnerships with institutional investors to secure funding for Kairos’ various planned initiatives and develops, implements and maintains a capital raise strategy aligned with Kairos’ investment goals and objectives while preparing necessary support materials for such efforts, including pitch decks and presentations.
Briana Succop
Based in Nashville, Tiffany Shalibo oversees a national development team responsible for planning and executing the privatized military housing portion of Lendlease’s Communities business. Since beginning as general manager of development in 2022, Shalibo has been integral in developing the Army’s first new privatized housing project in 13 years. Providing new construction housing inventory for military personnel based at U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Florida, the $110 million development broke ground in late 2023 and will include 75 family housing units, as well as 60 two-bedroom apartments for unaccompanied service members. With 13 years of Department of Defense work with Lendlease, including six years as development manager, then later portfolio development manager for the firm’s Privatized Army Lodging portfolio, Shalibo has developed a deep appreciation for the service and sacrifice of military personnel. This has ingrained in her a commitment to do the very best for military families by understanding their specific needs and finding the best solutions, including developing market-driven designs and floor plans that offer similar features to housing found beyond a military installation’s gate as well as community features like tennis, pickleball and basketball courts, agility courses geared to tweens and teens, and dog parks.
Tiffany Shalibo
In her role as senior director at MGAC, Elyse Roeder has demonstrated an ability to navigate complex projects, ranging from renovations and additions to new builds and interior fit-outs. She has 15 years of experience in project management and has developed exceptional leadership skills as well as an affinity for sustainability and innovation, particularly in large-scale education projects. Roeder is contributing to the initiative to transition all Washington D.C. schools to net-zero energy status, whether through ground-up construction or renovation projects. Despite facing challenges, such as site constraints and historical considerations, Roeder has been instrumental in identifying and implementing innovative solutions. She also managed modernization projects for several elementary and middle schools, overseeing tasks ranging from demolition and new build, complete renovations, underpinning and historical restorations. Her expertise extended to managing the construction of new facilities focused on meeting educational specifications, energy efficiency standards and LEED certifications. Her responsibilities include overseeing submittals, RFIs, change orders, construction progress, financial forecasts and project reports, as well as coordinating architectural and engineering drawings and trade activities. Roeder is on the advisory board of Women in Engineering at the University of Maryland where she meets with staff to review admission and retention strategies targeted at women in the engineering field.
Elyse Roeder
Liz Oakley has been instrumental in developing numerous affordable housing projects throughout New York City in her role as EVP of affordable development at Douglaston Development. She leads the firm’s affordable housing development strategy, focusing on strengthening existing relationships with government agencies and community partners and fostering coordination between Douglaston Development and the firm’s general contracting and property management affiliates. Oakley has been working closely with The New York City Housing Authority on the ongoing $523 million rehabilitation of the Linden and Penn-Wortman Houses in East New York Brooklyn, which will include major renovations to 1,922 units and the $477 million comprehensive modernization of Harlem’s Saint Nicholas Houses, which will benefit nearly 3,350 residents. Oakley has nearly 17 years of experience in affordable housing and community development. She served as deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, leading the team to exceed annual housing production targets of more than 25,000 affordable units for 2020 and 2021, and setting records for homeless, senior and new construction production.
Liz Oakley
WMG Development credits its recent growth in team members and development projects to the work of director of planning and entitlements Darenda Marvin during a challenging period of rising interest rates and market uncertainty. Leveraging her experience and familiarity with the Florida commercial real estate market developed during more than three decades, Marvin has managed a mountain of paperwork, permitting, regulations and red tape to secure more planning and entitlement rights since 2020 than any four years in the company’s history. Marvin and her team are involved with six grocery-anchored centers in Florida that are each at different points along the timeline from initial planning to a grand opening. After years of planning, she helped WMG deliver its first grand opening of a Publix, located at The Shoppes at Palmer Ranch in Sarasota, in April 2023. Although she joined WMG two weeks prior to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting offices down, Marvin emerged as a leader and trusted mentor during a time when people were scared for both their jobs and their health. For 15 years, Marvin served as an officer in the Junior League of Manatee County, a nonprofit organization that promotes women’s leadership in the community via volunteering and other positive actions.
Darenda Marvin
Julie Livingstone’s decade of experience in development and her master’s degree in public policy and urban planning help her reimagine possibilities for properties to create long-term value for stakeholders. She is a director of real estate development with The RMR group responsible for a variety of development and redevelopment projects across the country. Her projects include master plan development, municipal rezoning, project pivoting, office-to-warehouse ground-up development and office-to-residential conversions. Livingstone collaborates with other teams across RMR, including the tax, accounting, legal, debt, acquisitions/dispositions, analyst, asset management and property management teams. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in brain and cognitive sciences, she served with AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps in Gulf Coast communities after Hurricane Katrina. In 2019, following several CRE development promotions over five years with the HYM Investment Group, Livingstone was recognized by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce with its Emerging Executive Pinnacle Award. She continues to champion women professionals by sitting on the GBCC’s women’s network advisory board. She also serves as a student mentor as part of RMR’s participation in Project Destined.
Julie Livingstone
Caroline Kenney began her career with affordable housing nonprofits in Chicago, where she developed a passion for real estate and development. Throughout her 20 years in the community development industry, Kenney has mastered the art of bringing together community stakeholders, public agencies and elected officials, nonprofit institutions, private development partners, public and private financial partners, large development teams and end users to accomplish shared goals on mixed-income redevelopments. In 2022, Kenney was awarded the first-ever Washington ULI Groundbreaker Award recognizing exceptional development leadership. As Urban Atlantic’s managing director of public-private ventures, she oversees more than $3.5 billion in public-private developments in the Washington D.C. region and Charlotte, North Carolina. These projects include Parks at Walter Reed, Cheverly Hospital redevelopment and the Lisner Home senior development. Her expertise in multiple asset types encompasses rental and for-sale residential, including affordable, workforce, mixed-income, market rate, individual, family and senior housing. Kenney is the board secretary of Washington D.C. Economic Partnership, a nonprofit that connects national and international corporations to the public sector to enhance economic development and sustainability. She is also a board member on Jubilee Housing’s board of directors.
Caroline Kenney
As SVP of development and construction for Mare Island Co., Andrea Jones is guiding the redevelopment of a sizeable historic island in Vallejo, California. The 5,000-acre Mare Island peninsula, which was the US’ first naval station on the West Coast when it was established in 1854, is transforming into a mixed-use community with housing, entertainment, hospitality and business. A project the size of Mare Island could seem insurmountable, but Jones takes the project day by day and has proven to be an expert at navigating complex land use, engineering and development challenges. Jones oversees development and construction for Mare Island’s redevelopment, including land use, design work, entitlement, processing and construction for mixed-use development. She is spearheading a specific plan to rezone the entire island, with a goal of securing approval in 2027. Jones leads underground determination and mitigation and is responsible for determining how to retrofit millions of square feet of vacant building space in existing buildings for new commercial tenants. For instance, Kindred Motors, a classic car restoration company that opened its new headquarters on Mare Island in 2023, operates in a refurbished 105,000-square-foot factory that was used during World War II for Navy storage.
Andrea Jones
Deb Janik is a force in the Cleveland real estate market with more than 30 years of experience in public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She has led and managed more than 200 real estate and community engagement projects across Ohio. Janik is SVP of business development at Bedrock, managing an internal team and overseeing external consultants and contractors. She has cultivated and maintained strong connections and relationships with public and private partners, including the city of Cleveland, and leverages her experience in both the public and private sectors to enhance key partnerships, shepherd game-changing policies, and establish development precedents in the city. Since joining the company in 2022, Janik has advanced several key projects within the firm’s portfolio, increasing real estate holdings in the downtown region by 1.5 million square feet of development in the works. Notably, she spearheads the Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan, a $3.5 billion, 15-to-20-year vision that will reimagine 35 acres in downtown Cleveland. Janik is heavily involved in the local Cleveland community as an executive committee member and on the board of Downtown Cleveland Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to talent attraction, job creation, residential population growth and investment in downtown.
Deb Janik
During her 25-year career in the construction industry, Mona Hinkle’s leadership and ability to navigate challenges has resulted in more than 600,000 square feet of hospitality projects, 300,000 square feet of life science and research and development projects, and more than 40 government projects. She brings military experience to her role as well as time spent as a union electrician and construction superintendent. Today she is project superintendent for Prevost Construction where she has overseen significant projects, including the buildout of a 55,000-square-foot warehouse and lab facility for a functional mushroom production company. Hinkle managed a complex project scope that included the construction of 14 new production rooms as well as a hydration room, autoclave, inoculation area, growing rooms, dryer, mill, packaging section and a clean room. Hinkle is the first female superintendent at Prevost and is recognized for her straightforward approach, fostering a work environment built on transparency and accountability. One of her notable leadership endeavors was the 340,000-square-foot, $45 million Legoland Castle project that required complete construction using wooden framing. Hinkle and her team exceeded a tight timeline and ensured all specifications were met.
Mona Hinkle
Rachel Hickenbottom joined Link Logistics in 2020 with responsibility for building and leading a team focused on executing development projects for the firm’s West region, including Southern California, Northern California and Seattle. She is the SVP of development at the firm where she manages assignments and guides her team as they work alongside municipalities, assess and respond to site-specific conditions, and engage with design consultants and general contractors. In 2023, Hickenbottom completed a project she kicked off during her first year at Link amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Northern California redevelopment was fraught with hurdles including significant delays securing municipality approvals, inclement weather that impacted construction, and supply chain hitches that stalled the installation of electrical components. After years of patience and perseverance and many meetings with internal and external stakeholders, the building finally reached completion in January 2024. Hickenbottom holds 31 years of commercial real estate experience. Before Link Logistics, she worked for Prologis, DCT Industrial Trust, Prism Realty Corp., Majestic Realty Co. and Panattoni Development Co. With extensive experience in markets throughout California, she has held roles across business functions, including development, leasing, construction, accounting and property management.
Rachel Hickenbottom
Veronica Green joined Slate Asset Management’s Toronto office in 2020 as a project coordinator, and by 2022 she had ascended to the role of VP where she leverages experience in policy and project feasibility, including site-specific planning and investment strategy. Her transaction exposure is more than $1 billion across the US, Canada and Europe and she has sourced off-market transactions to realize complex land assemblies, including ground-up and repositioning opportunities. From 2021 to 2022, Green played a key role in acquiring three large-scale sites in Toronto and Hamilton, each of which are covered land plays with large-scale redevelopment potential, totaling two million square feet of development gross floor area. She has championed these projects through the entitlement process and has achieved a significant increase in density compared to underwriting, resulting in a lowered acquisition basis and improved equity returns for investors. Green is a committee member of the Art Gems fundraising art auction that supports Creative Works Studio, a mental health program in downtown Toronto that combines occupational therapy and the arts. Her interest in art has led to several partnerships at Slate including commissioning local artists to create the hoarding for Slate’s projects and commissioning artwork to be sold with residential pre-construction units.
Veronica Green
Hailey Ghalib has led the Affinius Capital housing development business through significant growth from just a couple of multifamily development projects in 2008 to 84 projects with more than $12.6 billion in stabilized value or sale price completed, under development or sold. She is the company’s senior managing director and head of housing investment and development. Development activity under her leadership spans rental housing sectors and includes premium, mid-market, workforce and inclusionary within multifamily in addition to highly differentiated need-based senior housing product. Ghalib was responsible for negotiating and managing the closing of 92 multifamily and senior housing ground-up development ventures and value-add acquisitions since 2008, totaling $10.1 billion in sale price or stabilized value. In response to the housing affordability crisis in the U.S. and the impact of the building industry on climate change, Ghalib drove greater focus in recent years for Affinius’ housing strategy toward creating green and attainable housing and adopting the National Green Building Standards or LEED in building design, resulting in 3,000 units of attainable housing projects under production across the US that also meet the National Green Building Standard.
Hailey Ghalib
As VP and director of asset management at SKS Partners, Yvonne Fisher oversees leasing, value creation, investment strategy and investor communication for office, industrial, life science and residential real estate assets. She has more than 25 years of experience across property management, leasing and project management and has built a people-first approach to business. Fisher previously worked for CBRE as an associate director managing a portfolio of 14 buildings totaling two million square feet. She also served as a portfolio manager for CAC Real Estate Management Co. Inc., where she managed a large portfolio of office buildings in San Francisco. She has excelled in her career due to a balance of strategy and diplomacy, expansive industry knowledge and attention to detail. Her responsibilities include monitoring asset performance, devising strategic optimization plans, cultivating tenant and investor relations, supervising property operations, mitigating risks and conducting meticulous financial analysis and reporting. Fisher is also deeply involved in the Bay Area’s ambitious $2 billion redevelopment of a 36-acre site at Moffett Field. The site in the heart of Silicon Valley will be home to Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park, an innovation hub envisioned by SKS Partners and The University of California, Berkeley in collaboration with NASA.
Yvonne Fisher
As head of capital deployment for the East region at Prologis, Beth Demba leads a team that deploys capital across seven markets including Toronto, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and the larger Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Virginia area. She oversees the team’s investment opportunities and refines investment strategy, especially during volatile market conditions and lack of pricing clarity last year. She led her team to more than $3 billion in investments in 2023. Under her leadership and focus on team culture, her team has grown from 11 to 15 people. Demba drives strategy for individual building and portfolio acquisitions, land acquisitions and development starts and oversees the management of the existing land bank across the Northeast. During the past year, Demba oversaw pricing and acquisition for buildings and land totaling six million square feet and $1.4 billion in value across the Northeast and was responsible for development investments of 1.7 million square feet. Demba is focused on integrating ESG goals in new developments across the region, including a first-of-its-kind electric charging project with Prologis Mobility on the East Coast.
Beth Demba
Lisa Brady has spent her entire 20-year career dedicated to the commercial real estate industry, most recently as VP and Las Vegas market officer at logistics firm Prologis. Brady is responsible for the real estate performance, business planning and ongoing operations in the market and oversees a team of 12 people. She drives initiatives and strategies and is the external market leader representing Prologis in the community. Brady has led strong performance in the Las Vegas market, managing a portfolio of more than 14 million square feet, including 80 buildings, two active development sites and more than 290 customers. Current projects include a 309,000-square-foot development underway in North Las Vegas with sustainability features. Under Brady’s leadership, the company purchased more than 1,100 acres of land in South Nevada for future development, with the largest acquisition being 882 gross acres in North Nevada in the Apex development, which will add 11 million square feet of building space. She also led Prologis’ first rooftop solar panel project in Nevada. Brady and her team have been recognized as SIOR’s developer of the year in 2022 and 2023, and she was individually recognized as developer of the year by NAIOP in 2022.
Lisa Brady
Trammell Crow Co. VP Morgan Baer Blaska has carved out a niche for herself in life science and advanced science real estate development. Together with the TCC Midwest team, she negotiated and signed more than 128,000 square feet in leases across the firm’s Chicago life science portfolio last year, a time when many developers were experiencing a slowdown in life science product. She is responsible for supporting new business development, completing due diligence, providing financial oversight and overseeing project management across TCC’s portfolio of life science developments and is involved in the development process for more than 1.2 million square feet of class A lab and office space that is either recently delivered or under construction. Baer Blaska is a hands-on leader who likes to be involved at every stage of the development process, from underwriting to design and lease-up. She has also developed a deep understanding of the non-developmental factors that contribute to the success of a lab building, including operations, marketing and asset management. Baer Blaska and her team stabilized TCC Midwest’s first life science asset – 1375 West Fulton – and are on their way to the lease-up of its sister property – 400 North Aberdeen.
Morgan Baer Blaska
Sarah Ashcroft’s 25-year career in development spans low- income housing, luxury, multifamily and high-rise through which she has built a sense of design and a diverse understanding of the market. She is SVP of development at Silverstein Properties, which she joined in 2022, and is responsible for managing the firm’s developments and expanding its pipeline of future projects. Ashcroft is involved with managing the development of five World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the 900-ft tall building is slated to have 190,000 square feet of office space, a 12,000-square-foot community facility space, 55,000 square feet of public amenity space, 7,000 square feet of retail space, and 1.2 million square feet of residential space divided into 1,200 apartments. One-third of the total inventory will be devoted to affordable housing. Ashcroft also is managing the execution of projects in the Cantor Silverstein Opportunity Zone Fund in the southeast and western desert regions, including a 450-unit multifamily project in Tampa, a 340-unit rental building in Las Vegas and a 724-unit large-scale development in Tempe, Arizona. Ashcroft is a member of ULI and is active on the urban revitalization committee product council.
Sarah Ashcroft
Cox, Castle & Nicholson partner Amanda Wolin specializes in representing different types of lenders, including national and regional banks, insurance companies and private lenders, in connection with real estate financing transactions. She has experience with acquisition and development loans, bridge loans, construction loans and mezzanine loans, and a broad range of product types, including commercial, multifamily, hotel and retail projects. She also has experience with secondary market transactions, such as loan-on-loan deals and asset management work, including loan assumptions and loan modifications. Wolin has expanded the firm’s representation of lending clients nationally and has brought many new clients to the firm. She represented a mortgage lender in connection with a $450 million construction loan secured by a to-be-built life sciences building in California and represented a lender in connection with a $220 million loan secured by an office building in Downtown Los Angeles. She is dedicated to training junior and mid-level associates and has been integral in implementing the Capital Markets Boot Camp program, where partners break down various topics so that junior team members and off-team associates can learn and better understand the team’s work. Wolin is involved with the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Amanda Wolin
Kay Tidwell leads a team at Hudson Pacific Properties that oversees risk management strategies as EVP, general counsel and chief risk officer of the firm. Tidwell has aided in many of Hudson Pacific’s recent achievements, including several acquisitions to expand the company’s studio offering, expansion into New York with Sunset Pier 94 Studios and the $700 million sale of One Westside and Westside Two, which was the largest full office sale in the US in 2023. In her day-to-day role, Tidwell advises the company on general corporate matters, including governance and compliance, litigation and settlement, intellectual property, negotiation and preparation of employment, consulting and confidentiality agreements, corporate housekeeping requirements, compensation plans, agreements with vendors, tenants and joint venture partners. She is responsible for drafting and reviewing SEC filings, including the company’s periodic and current reports, proxy statements, registration statements and section 16 filings. Tidwell joined the Hudson Pacific team shortly after the company’s IPO in 2010, and her career spans more than 20 years of representing REITs and other public and privately held companies and financial institutions. Prior to Hudson Pacific, Tidwell was a corporate attorney at the global law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, where she began her legal career in the Los Angeles office.
Kay Tidwell
For decades, Suzanne St. Pierre has worked on projects where public and private stakeholders come together to improve the urban environment. As a partner with Venable LLP, St. Pierre represents public entities, quasi and governmental entities, and nonprofits on major capital projects, including infrastructure and P3 projects. A firm leader, she has played a major role in developing Venable’s New York real estate practice in addition to serving on the firm’s board of directors and its foundation grant committee. In 2023, St. Pierre participated in Venable’s decision to enter a long-term office lease at 151 West 42nd Street, signaling the firm’s commitment to the market amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She is Venable’s lead outside counsel in many major real estate development transactions including acquisitions, sales, financing and leasing of real property, formation and restructuring of joint ventures, creation of co-investment structures and participation in fund investments, formation of commercial condominiums, development of infrastructure and other types of real estate projects, and ground-up construction and renovation. Throughout the past three decades, she has represented Amtrak in the development of Moynihan Station and the construction of the Hudson Tunnel Project, as well as other projects that have improved the public realm and New York City’s neighborhoods.
Suzanne St. Pierre
Leslie Sharpe is an attorney in Butler Snow’s real estate and finance practice group in the firm’s Huntsville, Alabama, office. She has more than 20 years of experience representing and advising clients in matters involving commercial real estate, finance, economic development and related corporate issues. Sharpe specializes in procuring state and local economic development incentives, including tax abatements and jobs and investment tax credits, industrial development grants, and training and recruiting incentives for companies seeking to build and establish operations in Alabama and those with existing Alabama operations. She has advised major manufacturers, including companies operating in the automotive, firearms, all-terrain vehicles, aerospace and defense industries, data centers and solar energy providers. In addition to her economic development and incentives practice, Sharpe handles large-scale commercial loan closings for banking institutions and devotes a substantial portion of her practice to representing and advising privately held companies in the development, construction and leasing of commercial office buildings, condominiums, manufacturing facilities, warehouse and industrial parks, and multifamily and build-to-rent projects.
Leslie C. Sharpe
At the forefront of New York City CRE, Hogan Lovells partner Karen Scanna helps clients navigate turbulent markets and novel legal issues with a knack for uncovering new ways for deals to proceed despite structural impediments. She has advised on the development of Citi Field, a successful bid for the redevelopment of Bronx Point, the acquisition and redevelopment of The World Trade Center, and the development of Essex Crossing. Scanna advises clients on complex real estate matters including financing, acquisitions and development projects involving office, multifamily residential and retail properties. She also has extensive experience with hotels, assisted/senior living and student housing portfolios. She is adept at navigating the city’s competitive bid process and is sought after for high-profile public-private partnerships with city-owned properties for redevelopment, by deed or ground lease. Scanna is a subject matter expert on the U.S. Corporate Transparency Act and participates in the firm’s CTA task force. She also contributes to thought leadership on the topic and helps ensure the firm’s clients act in compliance with the new regulations.
Karen Scanna
Misty Sanford brings two decades of experience to her role as partner and chair of West Coast real estate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where she handles complex transactions and leads impactful projects in California and across the country. Her practice emphasizes loan workouts, public/private partnerships, real estate financing including CMBS, complex mixed-use developments, purchase and sale, joint ventures, environmental issues, land use, leasing and reciprocal easement agreements. Her accomplishments include the $2 billion Mission Rock project in San Francisco representing a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and the San Francisco Giants. She also led Adept Development in a public-private partnership with the city of Ontario, California, to redevelop 10.5 acres of land surrounding the Toyota Arena. Sanford is a member and committee chair of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and served as a mayoral appointee to the City of Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners and the City of Los Angeles Environmental Affairs Commission. She also is a founder and former chair of the board of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, a nonprofit that converts blighted parcels of land into parks and gardens.
Misty Sanford
Nina Roket wears many hats at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, including co-managing partner, member of the executive committee, co-chair of the real estate law practice, chair of the leasing practice, founder and chair of the women’s committee and chair of the hiring committee. Roket was the firm’s first female equity partner, co-administrative/managing partner and executive committee member. She crafts leasing, property transfer and finance transactions for properties, owners, developers and investors and advises clients in acquisitions, sales, financing, development and leasing of major real estate projects. She acts as landlord’s counsel at numerous office buildings in Midtown and Downtown New York City and represents both owners and nonprofit organizations in the creation of leasehold condominiums and long-term leases. In retail, Roket manages complex leasing projects for numerous developers and owners of significant, high-profile retail sites across the US, including in New York, Miami Beach, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills and Atlantic City. Her most significant accomplishments during the past 12 months include helping clients achieve their goals despite the challenging real estate market.
Nina M. Roket
Jennifer Perkins brings almost four decades of experience with complex leasing transactions for tenants and landlords to her role as a partner at Arnold & Porter. She is one of the leading leasing lawyers in the Washington D.C. area with projects encompassing millions of square feet, including negotiating anchor office leases, retail agreements and governmental leases as well as assisting clients with leases in which tenants are in financial distress. She represents her own firm on real estate deals and other law firms hire her to represent them in their real estate projects, including headquarters deals. She has worked with a prominent financial service provider throughout the US for the leasing of branch storefronts as well as regional offices, including in and around New York City, Santa Clara, CA, cities on the southeast coast of Florida, Boston and Bellevue, WA. These projects often involve addressing complicated construction-related issues arising from base building development or renovation. Perkins clerked for a judge in Washington D.C. for her first year out of law school and then worked for seven years at a regional law firm providing general real estate legal services. She moved with a group of attorneys to Arnold & Porter in 1993 and became counsel in 1995 and partner in 1998.
Jennifer S. Perkins
CRG EVP and general counsel Jennifer Nichols leads an in-house department handling all legal, compliance and risk management as the firm expands its national multibillion- dollar real estate platform. During her time with CRG, the company has evolved from a subsidiary of Clayco to a standalone business with eight regional offices delivering more than 220 million square feet of industrial and multifamily developments worth more than $14 billion. Nichols has helped facilitate CRG’s entry into more than 30 markets, with projects ranging from student housing communities to warehouses for Fortune 500 companies. Her legal department negotiates contracts, mitigates risk, ensures compliance and closes deals, often under tight deadlines. From 2020 to 2023, Nichols and her team managed more than 150 land purchases, dispositions, leases and build-to-suit transactions, for such companies as Williams Sonoma, Costco, Shopify and Lowe’s. Nichols also oversees the creation and execution of investor contracts for CRG’s investment funds, including U.S. Logistics Fund II, which supported the development of more than $1.5 billion in new industrial facilities and identified and attracted underrepresented investors, including women and people of color. The first person of color on CRG’s executive leadership team, Nichols has been a voice for the firm’s DEI initiatives.
Jennifer E. Nichols
As the co-deputy chair of Akerman’s real estate practice group, composed of more than 160 attorneys and real estate professionals across 24 U.S. offices, Allison Nelson’s impact reverberates throughout the firm as well as the legal and real estate industries. She manages and supervises a team of real estate attorneys and professionals and develops and executes strategic plans for the department. Under her leadership, Akerman’s real estate practice group has consistently earned recognition as one of the leading teams of real estate lawyers and development professionals in the US. In her healthcare real estate practice, she negotiates compliant sales and acquisitions, joint venture developments, and leases, ground leases and subleases. She partners with clients to build and improve systems to manage real estate portfolios to ensure compliance with federal and state healthcare regulatory laws. As outside real estate counsel, Nelson represents one of the largest healthcare companies in the nation, as well as one of the top dialysis providers in the country. She also represents regional and smaller medical practice groups in acquiring, developing and leasing medical properties. She recently closed several transactions involving the ground-up development of 100,000-square-foot medical office buildings, each exceeding $100 million in construction costs.
Allison Nelson
Rebecca Monzi is a recognized name in Washington D.C. real estate with nearly two decades of experience in commercial real estate law most recently as a principal at Friedlander Misler PLLC. As the youngest woman to become a real estate equity partner at the firm, Monzi specializes in real estate development and represents buyers, sellers and owners in deals ranging from $10 million to $355 million. She advises developer, investor and financial institution clients in the acquisition, development, sale and financing of commercial, industrial and mixed-use property, multifamily housing and affordable housing projects. She also has substantial experience with federally insured and guaranteed financing transactions, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Section eight contracts. As a complement to this work, she is highly skilled in representing clients in commercial litigation in state and federal courts and before governmental agencies. Monzi is an active member of Washington D.C.’s CREW chapter and this year is serving as co-chair of the membership committee where she has helped coordinate numerous well-attended networking and educational events. In addition to her professional endeavors, Monzi is a devoted mental health advocate and activist.
Rebecca Monzi
Michelle McAtee joined Jenner & Block as an associate in 2004 and since then she has ascended to co-chair of the firm’s real estate transactions practice and was made a partner. She has worked closely with clients on complex and high-stakes transactions including real estate acquisitions, finance deals, project construction, development and dispositions. After receiving many of the same questions from commercial landlord clients and prospects, McAtee launched a virtual fireside chat regularly hosted by the firm’s real estate, restructuring and bankruptcy, and litigation practices. McAtee worked with a cross-practice team of Jenner attorneys advising The Catholic University of America on contracts, interconnection and permit issues to obtain approval from the DC Zoning Commission for the construction of Washington D.C.’s largest urban solar array, which will generate 10,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy annually. In addition, Housing Forward, an Illinois-based nonprofit working to end homelessness, sought her out to help with the acquisition and development of land in Broadview, Illinois, with a plan to turn a vacant lot into a four-story permanent housing development for Chicago’s homeless population. McAtee and the team have provided counsel worth more than $1 million in pro bono legal fees in the effort to reduce homelessness in the community.
Michelle M. McAtee
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP partner Rori Malech represents both borrowers and lenders and has recently advised on nationwide real estate transactions valued at more than $1.5 billion. Malech represents local and national developers, REITs, institutional equity investors, institutional and non-institutional lenders, and hotel owners and operators with their development and finance transactions. She has extensive experience in real estate and hospitality including financings, joint ventures, acquisitions and negotiation of management and license agreements. While her roots are in Washington D.C. and New York, her practice is national, and she has been integral in expanding relationships in other markets throughout the country, including Miami, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles. She is a frequent speaker and panelist on the hospitality industry and preferred equity transactions and regularly educates both her clients and the real estate community about structuring preferred equity financing, sharing the depth of her experience with both joint ventures and financings, and offering guidance on these transactions from all sides of the table. Her notable deals include representing a major real estate debt fund in a $204 million construction loan secured by a student housing tower, a multifamily residential tower, retail space, office space, and two levels of below-grade parking in Arizona.
Rori H. Malech
During her 20-year career in real estate law, Kim Le has counseled some of the largest real estate firms on billions of dollars of complex CRE transactions, including platform and programmatic creation, multilayered financings, portfolio acquisitions and complex joint venture equity partnerships. She co-chairs the real estate practice group at Adler & Stachenfeld and represents boutique developers, public REITs, sovereign wealth funds and PE funds. Le established several programmatic platforms in the industrial market and guided her client base of investors and lenders as they entered the thriving real estate sector at just the right time, overseeing a healthy pipeline of complex, large-scale deals and providing major capital sources with access to these high-demand investments. She also oversees a team of more than a dozen attorneys within the real estate practice group, who combined have structured more than 3,000 real estate JV transactions. A long-serving member of the firm, Le joined Adler & Stachenfeld as an associate in 2004 and has played a significant role in the firm’s growth. Among her most recent and significant transactions, Le closed on a $250 million loan facility for a portfolio of nationwide industrial assets.
Kim Le
Hopkins & Carley’s first female managing shareholder, Jennifer Johnson, is widely known as a sophisticated and visionary real estate attorney. Johnson initially launched her practice as a litigator in Big Law, but after some soul- searching, she realized her calling for real estate law. In her real estate practice, Johnson advises global Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, investment funds, established nonprofit corporations, developers, local businesses, entrepreneurs and investors on a range of real estate matters. She primarily focuses on leasing and has represented landlords and tenants in office, industrial, mixed-use, grocery store, retail, medical and shopping center leases. With a sub-specialty in insolvency law, she brings an experienced bankruptcy and workout perspective to her clients’ leasing and other real estate transactions. She also has served on the firm’s executive committee for eight years. Before joining Hopkins & Carley’s real estate team, she served as an executive committee member, real estate department co-chair and hiring partner at another regional law firm. As one of only a handful of leasing lawyers who has international leasing capabilities, Johnson has helped her clients expand their presence around the globe. Her work often involves deals and properties valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Jennifer C. Johnson
Katherine Jahnke Dale has led the zoning and entitlements process for many projects that are transforming Chicago and its skyline, including Lincoln Yards, the 78 and projects in Fulton Market, one of the hottest neighborhoods for development in the country. She is one of Chicago’s leading attorneys in land use and development, including industrial, multifamily residential, mixed-use and commercial developments. Her practice involves representing developers, purchasers, sellers and owners of institutional, residential and commercial property in securing development and zoning approvals, negotiating and implementing public-private partnerships and financing arrangements and incentives, performing general and zoning due diligence, and negotiating and closing real estate acquisitions and dispositions. Jahnke Dale leads DLA Piper’s Chicago real estate practice and is the first woman to hold the position of managing partner of the Chicago office in at least 15 years. She co-manages the Chicago and Minneapolis offices, which together represent 200 lawyers and 170 business professionals. For the past five years, she has served on the board of the Real Estate Finance Forum, a Chicago-based real estate industry group committed to advancing women in the industry. She was REFF’s president starting in January 2022.
Katherine (Katie) Jahnke Dale
Taryn Fielder joined Veris Residential as general counsel in 2022 and since then has played a leading role in supporting the company’s transition to a pure-play multifamily REIT. Prior to joining Veris Residential, she served as general counsel at WashREIT (now Elme Communities), where she helped lead the company through its transformation from a diversified REIT to a pure-play multifamily business amid the pandemic. In 2020, Fielder spearheaded WashREIT’s pandemic response task force which helped the company anticipate challenges and engage in creative problem-solving as circumstances rapidly evolved. At Veris, she is responsible for structuring all corporate and real estate transactions. In the past 12 months, she was instrumental in consummating the company’s successful sales of Harborside 1, 2 and 3 and the Port Imperial Hotel. At $420 million, the Harborside sale was one of the largest commercial office transactions in 2023. In addition to working on transactions, Fielder has been instrumental in driving higher revenues, reducing concessions across Veris Residential’s portfolio, and stabilizing controllable expenses since she joined the company in 2022.
Taryn Fielder
Anita Famili has carved out a unique niche at the intersection of real estate and the cannabis and CBD industry. Her work on behalf of clients in the cannabis and CBD space includes Cookies, a top-selling cannabis brand, in its joint venture and development of a cannabis consumption lounge in West Hollywood. With more than two decades of experience representing owners, operators, lenders, developers and investors, Famili leads the real estate transactions and finance group for Manatt and is a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Recently, she represented Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in the sale of the Westfield Mission Valley Shopping Center in San Diego. The disposition includes an open-air shopping area, which was sold to affiliates of Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group and Arsenault Holdings LLC, and a strip mall, which was sold to an affiliate of Sunbelt Investment Holdings Inc. The Mission Valley Shopping Center was sold for a combined purchase price of around $290 million and makes up 1.5 million square feet of space. In the past year, Manatt’s real estate team, led by Famili, has been involved in negotiating the acquisition and development of regional warehouse facilities and 14 built-to-suit retail leases across 16 states.
Anita Famili
In her role as general counsel for state bond issuer SC Housing, Tracey Easton has touched nearly every multifamily affordable housing project in South Carolina for more than two decades both in deals and funding. In 2022, Easton was recruited to the private sector to lead the relaunch of Moore & VanAllen PLLC’s affordable housing practice, which had been dormant for more than 20 years. As senior counsel, she is building a book of business from scratch leveraging her network and educating developers on ways she can support them in private practice. Easton assists clients with housing transactions, legislative and community advocacy related to affordable multifamily housing, management issues and corporate structuring. She is involved with the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the South Carolina Bar where she serves on both the ethics advisory committee and professional responsibility committee. In addition, Easton is president of the South Carolina Women’s Affordable Housing Network where she has grown membership to more than 200 and assists with fundraising, events, education and scholarship including preparing legal documents, securing insurance and ensuring nonprofit compliance.
Tracey C. Easton
Erin Day joined Invesco Real Estate when it was launching its first nonpublic REIT to break into the private wealth and retail channel, bringing with her corporate and securities law firm experience with registered products and offerings. Day and her team built the infrastructure for the nonpublic REIT from a governance perspective and handled all securities issues involving the registered product launch and related distribution negotiations. INREIT is now an institutionally managed, public nonlisted, monthly NAV REIT investing in a diversified portfolio of high-quality, income-producing U.S. properties with a total asset value of $1 billion. Last year, Day and her team were involved in creating the first-of-its-kind Invesco Commercial Real Estate Finance Trust Inc., a private fund with sales in its continuous private offering to accredited investors of $75 million, plus commitment of $200 million from institutional investors. In addition, Day helped build and launch IRE’s 1031 exchange program, building its structure in 2022 and launching it in 2023. Day is associate general counsel at Invesco Ltd. and general counsel for INREIT and INCREF. She is active in the Women’s Bond Club, an invitation-only organization for women in financial services.
Erin E. Day
Akerman LLP partner Stacy Bercun Bohm represents developers, contractors, subcontractors and design professionals in complex construction contract, project administration and litigation matters. She leads Akerman’s Florida construction law practice and Fort Lauderdale real estate team. Throughout the past two decades, Bohm’s projects comprise some of the largest and most complex landmarks in the state. She has represented Robert Finvarb Cos., the owner and developer of Marriott, Courtyard, Doubletree, Spring Hill Suites Hotels and AC Hotels across the country, for more than 20 years and has been instrumental in helping guide the client through various complex construction-related matters, including drafting, negotiating and oversight of construction and design professional contracts, project closeout and litigation. She also works with the client in connection with the construction of several marina projects and multifamily projects. Bohm is well-versed in industry trends and frequently authors thought leadership published in Bloomberg Law, Hotel Business, Hospitality Net and Mortgage Bankers Association. At the pandemic’s height, she drafted programs to handle construction project compliance per the CDC and governmental pandemic guidelines, including maintaining social distancing standards and other construction-related protocols.
Stacy B. Bohm
In 2020, Krystyna Blakeslee joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP to launch, lead and grow its real estate finance practice, bringing with her a core team of five associates and a paralegal as well as several longtime clients. She is a partner at the firm and chairs the real estate finance practice group where she and her team steer clients through high-profile commercial real estate finance transactions. Blakeslee served in the U.S. Marines and was deployed to Iraq following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She oversaw a squad and as a military leader, she learned to be resourceful and adapt to changing situations. Blakeslee has been the lead lawyer on some of the country’s most high-profile commercial real estate transactions. She focuses on origination, acquisition and disposition of mortgage loans, mezzanine financings and subordinate debt, post-closing modifications, restructurings and workouts and loan sales and purchases. She has experience with data centers, retail, office, hospitality, assisted living/nursing care and condominium properties, as well as construction financing, TIC structures and ground lease transactions. She also handles joint venture investments and acquisitions of real estate assets, including hotels, and advises funds in connection with their investment and financing activities in real estate. Blakeslee represents veterans pro bono in seeking benefits and disability coverage upgrades.
Krystyna M. Blakeslee
Beatriz Azcuy has led the effort to establish Sidley Austin LLP’s Miami office, helping it grow from four desks in 2022 to 50 lawyers serving 700 clients today. As a co-managing partner and head of the Miami real estate group, she works closely with the firm’s chair to evaluate and select lateral hires, and she oversees the day-to-day operations of the office, the firm’s business plan, financial management and strategic growth. Her wide-ranging accomplishments in industry-shaping real estate deals include a $140 million refinancing of Soho House & Co. Inc.’s private members club on Miami Beach last year. The deal represented a departure from its standard CMBS hotel financings and challenges of the deal included negotiating transition agreements, addressing potential post-default scenarios in light of its membership model, and Soho House’s need to protect its brand. Azcuy also chairs the firm’s Miami DEI committee. She brings almost 30 years of experience advising and representing financial institutions, investment banks, private equity funds and other institutional clients in a broad range of commercial real estate transactions. Azcuy created the Beatriz Azcuy Endowed Law Scholarship and the Beatriz Azcuy Law Scholarship to be awarded to first-generation students like herself.
Beatriz Azcuy
After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in business administration, Jamie Altman Buggy pursued a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. She started her legal career clerking for The Honorable Judge William C. Hillman of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston, after which she practiced commercial litigation at two firms. She joined Harvest LLP as a partner in 2022 and currently serves as general counsel and head of the firm’s litigation department. Altman Buggy helps clients avoid disputes that could disrupt their business deals, and when litigation proves necessary, she is an unrelenting advocate for them. She represents parties in real estate disputes from breach of contract, fraud and insurance coverage to business partnership disputes and breach of fiduciary duty. With a specialty in commercial landlord-tenant disputes, Altman Buggy thrives in situations that lack precedent and require a creative approach. Her accomplishments include collecting tens of millions of dollars on behalf of publicly traded REITs through her litigation of landlord-tenant disputes and representing a large property development firm in connection with an ongoing “bet the company” litigation that may establish new precedent in the CRE industry by imposing new obligations on commercial landlords.
Jamie Altman Buggy
Throughout her years at Unispace, Rose Williams has risen quickly into leadership roles, culminating with her appointment to the top executive leadership position at Unispace’s Americas business in December. Originally hired into the construction team in Unispace’s New Zealand business seven years ago, she went on to earn principal-level positions in New Zealand and then in the Americas. Rapidly proving her expertise in strategic growth and client service in the Americas market, she was promoted to head of client Solutions, and under her leadership, Unispace Americas has diversified its offering from office to corporate interiors, labs, research and R&D facilities, experiential and hospitality spaces. She also spearheaded the service integration of several acquisitions. Williams provides ability and risk management for planning and delivering safe, quality and cost-effective projects for clients. She is the driving force behind designing, directing and overseeing Unispace’s operational policies, initiatives, and goals, and also recruits, leads and supports Unispace’s design and construction professionals. Williams is a passionate advocate of Unispace’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives and has been instrumental in creating a strategy to expand the company’s supplier base to include more women and minority-owned businesses.
Rose Williams
In 2019, Erica Wagner joined PepsiCo to transform the firm’s corporate real estate team, which lacked cohesion and a global perspective and was primarily focused on office-centric operations. She quickly developed credibility, initiated optimization initiatives and built relationships just in time for the pandemic to hit. Through her leadership, the team weathered the storm and emerged stronger. In 2023, she positioned PepsiCo Global Real Estate as a strategic business partner within the broader organization, which resulted in an invitation to join the senior management team. As SVP of PGRE, Wagner has shifted the service delivery model from a tactical to a proactive business strategy for a portfolio spanning more than 3,850 locations and 200 million square feet, using strategic partnership alignment and embracing agile work environments. She created process improvements through numerous HQ rollouts and increased employee satisfaction. As a supporter of organizations such as International Justice Mission, Compassion International and Envision Berlin, Wagner helps combat injustice and alleviate suffering, leveraging her platform and resources to amplify the voices of the voiceless and empower those in need.
Erica Wagner
Jami Wadkins helped mastermind Centennial’s acquisition of the Bayer Properties operating platform. Under her leadership as co-president, Bayer had already been an owner, operator and developer of open-air retail space for almost three decades, and had built a reputation for exceptional merchandising, placemaking and design. The deal expanded Centennial’s reach nationally, diversified its portfolio, deepened its relationships with the luxury tenant community, and unified two teams. Wadkins worked on a compressed timeline to close the deal and retain the entire Bayer workforce. Now as CFO of the combined company, she and her departments have combined the best of both operating platforms to create significant efficiencies in both accounting, finance and development, including overseeing the implementation of Centennial’s Yardi electronic payables system and rolling out Center for expense management. She also oversaw the task of bringing the human resources function in-house for more than 300 employees. Wadkins is responsible for managing the company’s overall financial health, ensuring compliance and contributing to its sustained success through effective financial planning and decision-making. She is a beloved leader who participates in the company Halloween costume contest, spontaneously buys Lego sets for the accounting department, performs and records funny cover songs and has even been known to deliver homemade cookies while dressed as the Grinch.
Jami Wadkins
Scarlet Tam has played an indispensable role in the growth of San Francisco-based Hamilton Zanze Real Estate investments, expanding its investor base through a tireless work ethic, attention to detail and dedication to client satisfaction. As senior director of tax, she oversees income tax matters for HZ properties and management companies, including federal and state tax reporting, tax planning and structuring. She also works with national accounting firms and various independent CPAs to provide tax documents and information to investors. Ashlee Cabeal, CFO at Hamilton Zanze, says Tam is one of the firm’s best teachers. “We are a 1031 exchange shop, and Scarlet knows everything about exchanges — not just the nuts and bolts of the transaction, but the tax implications, how to flow it through our partnership returns, what it means for our investor portal and Yardi IM,” says Cabeal. “You can often find a line of people by her desk to ask her questions or run something by her — that is because she is so incredibly knowledgeable as well as a wonderful teacher.” One of Tam’s most notable achievements has been her pivotal role in preparing Hamilton Zanze’s upcoming HZ Evergreen Fund.
Scarlet Tam
In her role as section chief of global real estate at the International Monetary Fund, Sandy Oliver oversees 220 properties globally, plays a pivotal role in providing essential real estate services for client operations across member countries and ensures every dollar is optimized to its fullest potential. Leading a team of experts, she orchestrates portfolio strategy development, transaction management, project management, and lease administration. Described as resilient and adaptable, Oliver has developed expertise in global real estate portfolio management, transaction management, lease administration, project management, change management, strategic communications, crisis communications and performance management systems and dashboards. In the past 12 months, she spearheaded the RFP process for a service provider and selected Colliers to implement a fully outsourced global solution for office procurement. This partnership was formalized after an extensive evaluation process conducted with Oliver at the helm. The comprehensive project, inclusive of site selection, design, construction and implementation, demonstrates her ability to tackle challenges head-on and deliver results that exceed expectations. Beyond her role at the IMF, Oliver is a member of various professional organizations. Her contributions to CoRE Tech span from serving as a panel member at CoRE Tech 2019 to being an advisory council member since 2018.
Sandra Oliver
Dori Nolan is focused on growing Berkadia’s relationships with current and new institutional investor clients and has made a notable impact on the company’s growth as SVP of institutional solutions. With extensive multifamily transaction expertise and industrywide relationships, she is responsible for collaborating with investment sales and mortgage banking professionals to improve customer care programs, enhance customer service satisfaction and drive production at Berkadia. One of her recent accomplishments was launching Berkadia’s new alliance with Knight Frank. Nolan also helped institutional clients identify acquisition and disposition strategies at a time when the capital markets and the multifamily sector were experiencing significant challenges, resulting in the sale of institutional quality assets totaling more than $3.4 billion in gross market value. Berkadia’s market share has been steadily growing since Nolan joined Berkadia five years ago. She is an active member of NMHC, the NMHC finance committee and ULI. She also served as a mentor for Project Destined and is spearheading the development of a Berkadia-sponsored academic program in collaboration with NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate.
Dori Nolan
Throughout three decades, Sharon Morrison has developed insightful real estate solutions for global brands with expertise in complex lease and sales negotiations, site selection, build-to-suits and portfolio management across office and industrial sectors. She began her career at the Staubach Co., where she helped launch an industrial focus and build it into a national practice. She repeated the effort at Transwestern on both the office and industrial sides. In 2013, Morrison founded Texas-based tenant representation firm Esrp, where she served as CEO until the company merged with Cresa. She guided the firm through the challenges of the pandemic and advised clients and internal advisors on how to navigate the unknown circumstances businesses faced. In her current role as managing principal of Cresa’s Texas region, she oversees all aspects of the firm’s operations and marketing. Her strategic vision and hands-on approach have been instrumental in driving the expansion of the Dallas office and solidifying its reputation as a trusted advisor in the competitive real estate market. The Dallas office ended 2023 with 436 transactions, totaling more than 20 million square feet of space, amounting to more than $1 billion in gross rent value.
Sharon Morrison
Cynthia McMillion began her career as a leasing professional and has ascended to the role of president at Emerge Living where she leads a team of more than 200 employees and manages more than 10,000 residents. She is notable for her commitment to sustainability in real estate, advocating for eco-friendly initiatives, and integrating green building technologies and energy-efficient systems into properties. She also is dedicated to fostering a culture of excellence and innovation and leads by example, inspiring her team to push boundaries. In the past 12 months, McMillion led the integration and onboarding of 10 new multifamily communities, each comprising between 100 and 500 units. She also orchestrated a seamless transition in the branding of the firm from Disrupt Management to Emerge Living. One of McMillion’s most impactful contributions has been the development of comprehensive internal training systems tailored for more than 200 employees. These training programs have been designed not only to enhance the professional growth of the employees but also to ensure they feel supported in their roles with ample opportunities for advancement. McMillion participates in professional organizations such as NAA and IREM. Notably, she served as chairman of the board for Open Arms, an organization providing housing and support to individuals facing medical crises.
Cynthia McMillion
Based in Las Vegas, Venessa McEvoy oversees brokerage and business operations in the Nevada market for Cushman & Wakefield, including the firm’s Las Vegas and Reno offices. Despite challenging market conditions, the office has achieved top market share in the Las Vegas MSA and team members have enjoyed record-breaking success due to McEvoy’s knowledge and leadership. She was appointed director of brokerage in 2022 and is the only female minority market leader of any major CRE firm in the state. In this role, McEvoy leads business development, associate broker training, strategic planning, recruiting and community outreach. She has excelled in leadership roles throughout her career and possesses a deep knowledge of Nevada and the CRE industry generally. McEvoy joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2019 and previously served as the firm’s Nevada operations director. Before that, she was director of marketing for national consumer and B2B brands where she helped companies achieve new brand awareness and sales growth. She also worked with real estate developer Harsch Investment Properties and was instrumental in creating operational models and strategic objectives. McEvoy is a lifelong Nevadan and an active supporter of the local community. Her passion is improving the lives of children in underserved communities through education and assistance.
Venessa McEvoy
In her three years as COO of Veris Residential, Anna Malhari has overseen the company’s strategic transformation into a pure-play multifamily REIT, including the merger of two companies, the sale of more than $2.5 billion of nonstrategic assets, the development and stabilization of four new multifamily properties and one acquisition, totaling nearly 2,000 units, and the establishment of extensive ESG initiatives. In 2023 alone, Malhari oversaw $700 million in nonstrategic asset sales, the most significant being the $420 million sale of Harborside 1, two and 3, which was the largest multitenant office sale in New Jersey history. The company’s transformation was aligned with the prioritization of Environmental, Social and Governance concerns, all of which fall under Malhari’s purview. During the past three years under her leadership, Veris has reduced Scope 1 & two emissions by 54%, reduced energy consumption by 24%, achieved green certification at 80% of properties, added EV charging points to 65% of properties, earned the WELL Equity Rating portfoliowide, secured inclusion in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and employed 53% racially/ethnically diverse employees. Malhari is also a busy mom to a lively toddler who lives onsite with her at one of Veris’ communities.
Anna Malhari
As president of Inland Property Tax Services LLC for seven years, Tracy Le has led the company through various economic and real estate cycles. She oversees a portfolio of more than $9 billion taxable market value of commercial real estate properties, and in 2023, she did not miss an appeal opportunity or a tax payment deadline. Using her experience in real estate and tangible personal property tax filings, appeals, assessment negotiations, audits, multistate property tax compliance, tax abatement, tax projections and pre-acquisition tax due diligence, IPTS has saved its clients more than $88 million in annual taxes in the past five years. Her career in finance was sparked at her first job with the Utah State Tax Commission where she was a mail opener. Speaking and understanding very little English, she used a dictionary to translate words as she sorted income tax returns. The Tax Commission took notice of her ambition and moved her to the collections division for a part-time role. An immigrant from Vietnam, Le’s father passed away when she was in second grade and her mother worked long hours to provide for their family. This created the independent, can-do mindset Le still has today.
Tracy G. Le
Susan LaGanke brings more than two decades of multidisciplinary industry experience to her role as senior managing director of project and developer services in Cushman & Wakefield’s Phoenix office. She has emerged as a leader in the firm’s Southwest region and West mid-cap multimarket practice and has helped the Phoenix office and the broader Southwest region increase market share more than tenfold since she joined the firm in 2018. With a strong execution and results-oriented approach, LaGanke is a proven team leader across key project management areas such as platform integration, strategy development, transactional, financial, business development efforts, client relations and more. Prior to Cushman & Wakefield, she was a senior managing director with a global real estate firm since 2005, where she was directly responsible for its national multimarket mid-cap project management services as well as managing all occupier and investor services throughout the Southwest region. LaGanke is passionate about mentoring and graduated from Harvard University’s Mentor Management Program in 2018. She is also actively involved with Girls Can Build, an Arizona-based initiative that breaks down barriers to women in construction, design, engineering and technology.
Susan LaGanke
Kushner president Nicole Kushner Meyer spearheads deal sourcing, investor relations and execution of real estate development for the firm and oversees an extensive real estate portfolio encompassing $2.6 billion in transactions in 2023, 26,500 apartments, 2.2 million square feet of retail, 5.2 million square feet of office and 688 hotel keys. She currently is overseeing a development pipeline of 12.9 million square feet of residential, commercial and industrial space. Last year, Kushner Meyer sought to set several newly completed multifamily projects in New Jersey and South Florida apart by forging a partnership with Restoration Hardware, elevating the product offerings. She helped secure a capital partner, enabling Kushner Meyer to launch a new credit fund. This initiative allowed the company to analyze development and construction pipelines effectively and provide lending support for construction and bridge loans, particularly in lease-up phases. She also helped build a robust organizational culture within Kushner Meyer, incentivizing teams to achieve high occupancy rates and fostering a cohesive work environment across the organization. Her dedication to cultivating the next generation extends to mentoring students at New York University, where she has served on the Dean’s Advisory Council for many years.
Nicole Kushner Meyer
As president of Western National Property Management, the residential real estate management arm of Western National Group, Laura Khouri has spent the past 38 years perfecting the art of multifamily property management. Under her leadership, the company manages more than 24,500 multifamily units with a combined value of more than $8 billion in California, Nevada and Utah. Colleagues say Khouri has a calm demeanor, warm sense of humor and an affable personality. She leads with empathy and compassion and instills confidence in team members to do their job well. Recently, Khouri has been overseeing a sponsorship campaign with the Anaheim Ducks hockey team. The three-year partnership agreement allows the Western National logo to appear on a patch on the Ducks’ jerseys — the first time ever a sponsor’s brand will appear on a Ducks jersey and an apartment property management company’s logo will be featured on a professional sports team’s jersey. In addition, Khouri was chiefly responsible for WNPM being selected by Treehouse to professionally manage two community-living properties in Los Angeles. Khouri is frequently chosen to speak at real estate industry events.
Laura Khouri
Spencer Jordan’s unconventional introduction to commercial real estate began as a new college graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. She cold-called brokers at development companies to learn more about CRE and developed a vague interest in working as a landlord. Jordan accepted an entry-level position as a specialty leasing coordinator and earned a reputation for her ability to navigate tough leasing landscapes and guide landmark projects. She joined Steiner + Associates in 2017 and today is SVP of leasing where she leads the firm’s team specializing in retail brokerage with a focus on mixed-use development and strategic planning. She also serves as a consultant to institutional and private capital owners, retailers and developers. Jordan has overseen the merchandising strategy on more than 14.7 million square feet of commercial space and close to $1 billion in acquisitions, dispositions, redevelopments and ground-up builds. She has leased projects on behalf of private developers and publicly traded REITs with tenants including global luxury retailers, shopping center staples, food and beverage favorites and burgeoning DTC concepts. One of her primary responsibilities has been upgrading the Easton Town Center merchandising mix. Her leadership has been pivotal in navigating the challenges of the pandemic, as she negotiated nearly 70 amendments to keep Easton’s tenant roster strong and thriving.
Spencer Jordan
Katie Jacoby joined Anchor Health Properties with no real estate experience as a development coordinator and has worked her way up to leadership at the firm. She has managed all aspects of the medical real estate development process from project concept through building opening and recently has added responsibility for the operations and profitability of all development activities. As partner and EVP of strategy and development, she leads the company’s development platform and implements corporate strategic initiatives across the country, including financial, operational, growth, team and delivery partnerships. Throughout her 20-year tenure with Anchor, she has been involved in the development and leasing of four million square feet and $2 billion of outpatient and inpatient healthcare facilities. Jacoby built and maintained a strong, positive team culture throughout market challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, and navigating the daily challenges of a highly complex, high-risk business model. She fosters a culture of collaboration, innovation and holistic problem-solving among her team to find the most beneficial and positive outcomes. Jacoby is an active member of ULI’s Health Care and Life Sciences Council and the Philadelphia Chapter of Women in Healthcare.
Katie Jacoby
When Jackie Impellitier joined ZRS Management LLC in 1999, she had one job – make the company run better. Since then, she has grown the operations department from one person – herself – to a team of 15 while shaping how the company does business. ZRS is now one of the largest independent third-party property management companies in the country, managing more than 76,000 units for institutional clients, partnerships and individual owners across seven states. As VP of operations, Impellitier oversees the operations department that supports all property management technical functions, standard operating procedures and workflows. She built the firm’s internal ZRS portal where all associates can access training, policies and procedures, property dashboards and compliance back-up. Affectionately known as ZRS’ jack-of-all-trades, Impellitier has worn many hats and taken on many tasks since she started with the firm as a leasing agent. In 2023, Impellitier developed a centralized services department to offset the labor shortage, realize payroll savings opportunities, and eliminate mundane tasks to refocus onsite staff to a high level of customer and resident service. She serves as a grief counselor for New Hope for Kids, an Orlando-based group that offers support and assistance to kids who have lost a parent. Impellitier was recently promoted to COO.
Jackie Impellitier
Having served in HR roles for more than 25 years, JPI chief people officer Missy Hubbell is known as someone who truly lives out a people-first approach. This was particularly evident as she helped JPI navigate the challenges of COVID-19, shutdowns, the great resignation, and other recent challenges. Hubbell has led the company to add 200 associates during the past three years. She also launched the Real Estate HR Roundtable, a leadership group made up of 12 CPO/CHROs to participate in quarterly and annual meetings and share best practices, industry trends, and provide general support for ongoing growth. In her role, Hubbell provides strategic direction to all activities associated with JPI’s people and culture functions, including talent acquisition, people operations, associate relations/engagement, learning and development, and alignment and reinforcement of the company’s culture. When Sumitomo Forestry America acquired a majority stake in JPI, the organization rolled out a new financial system and moved to a new headquarters in Dallas, Hubbell provided a steadying presence for employees and reinforced its culture. JPI has an industry-low turnover of below 15%, a noteworthy achievement attributable to Hubbell’s influence.
Missy Hubbell
With specialized expertise in leasing and property management of more than 12 million square feet of retail, Vicky Hammond has catapulted up the ranks of California CRE services firm Coreland Cos. where she is a managing principal. Hammond is considered the leading voice of the 34-year-old firm. She directs more than 40 professionals and guides company operations, client services and corporate growth. Under her leadership, Coreland has experienced consistent performance including continual year-to-year growth, exceeding revenue goals by margins of 12 and 13% during the past five years. Throughout the past decade, company revenue has grown more than 50%. Hammond has also served the commercial real estate industry through numerous ICSC volunteer roles. As the Southern California/Southern Nevada Marketplace Council director, she oversees all ICSC volunteers and activities in the expanding region, and she mentors students annually through ICSC’s Foundation Mentorship Program. She is a member of CREW and has mentored young industry professionals through the Orange County Mentorship Program.
Vicky Hammond
Before she became the managing director of the enterprise services function at Greystar in 2021, Meredith Griffin was instrumental in the firm’s global expansion by establishing and mobilizing its global accounting efforts in the Asia- enterprise services function. Griffin accepted the challenge of creating a centralized corporate office oversight function and workplace strategy at Greystar to increase visibility into its global corporate office overhead costs and occupancy rates and ensure it was developing office space that was keeping pace with the changing landscape of office needs and usage coming out of the pandemic. This work included creating a team, new processes and strategies, centralized financial reporting, development of a corporate office playbook, and working with city leaders to analyze future office needs as well as oversight on new project buildouts. In 2023, Griffin took the lead on business plans for the enterprise services function, developing the strategic direction and prioritization of key strategic initiatives to build out a $100 million budget and business plan that will enable, support and scale with the global business. Her other major initiative of 2023 was developing and leading Greystar Gives Back, a companywide community initiative coinciding with its 30th anniversary.
Meredith Griffin
With experience in both the public and private sectors, Carolee Fink has spent her career planning, negotiating and implementing transformational public-private development projects in New York City. As COO and principal of MSquared, Fink oversees the company’s operations and development practice and leads large-scale mixed-income projects anchored by public-private partnerships. These projects are addressing the ongoing national housing crisis while incorporating sustainable materials and delivering the services and transit connections residents need. Fink also serves on MSquared’s investment committee and is responsible for sourcing deals across the country for the company’s development platform. Under her leadership during the past three years, MSquared has grown to 3,300 units of mixed-income housing in development or in the pipeline, representing more than $1.5 billion in value. Prior to MSquared, Fink held multiple senior economic development roles. Throughout her tenure at City Hall, she successfully led the development of several major city projects and initiatives, including Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District, NYU’s Applied Sciences Campus, and the redevelopment of the Domino Sugar Refinery. Fink also served as chief of staff to New York City Deputy Mayor, Alicia Glen, where she managed day-to-day office operations while ensuring that 20 reporting agencies, with a combined budget of $30 billion, operated effectively and efficiently.
Carolee Fink
Last year, Mollie Fadule was instrumental in selling JPI to Tokyo-based public company Sumitomo Forestry, which included a minority equity position for her and CEO Payton Mayes as well as $300 million in new capital to fund growth for the company. As a member of JPI’s board and serving as chief financial and investment officer at JPI, Fadule oversees investment, capital markets, finance, accounting, legal, risk and technology initiatives. Since she joined JPI, Fadule has strategically grown JPI from 165 associates to more than 300 associates, and under her leadership, JPI built out a robust business analytics platform providing transparency for team leaders into KPIs of the business and achieving efficiencies for the team saving more than eight hours in manual work per week. Fadule’s journey from a pre-med student at Harvard to a leadership role at JPI is a testament to her resilience, adaptability and dedication to making a difference. Despite facing personal adversity, including a battle with breast cancer at age 32, Fadule emerged stronger, with an even greater sense of purpose. Her ability to channel her experiences into a career focused on housing underscores her passion for creating positive change in people’s lives.
Mollie Fadule
In 2021, Cori English was appointed managing principal for Northern California East Bay Markets at Cushman & Wakefield, becoming one of the first women at any commercial real estate firm to serve in a market-leading role in the Northern California region. English’s region is one of the most important commercial real estate markets for Cushman & Wakefield. Since joining the firm, English has been passionate about changing the culture in her region for the better and building a collaborative and authentic work network. She sends a “Monday Morning Memo” to more than 200 individuals representing every service line and national leadership. In addition, she founded an associate broker training program focused on professionals with less than five years in the industry. Initiatives like these have earned her national recognition from the highest levels of leadership and have been implemented in other markets. English has specialized in commercial real estate her entire career spanning more than 20 years, including a well-rounded background across landlord representation, asset management and talent recruitment. She spent the majority of her career at CBRE where she worked for 13 years over two separate periods. While there, she represented more than 5.2 million square feet of class A office space in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area for institutional investor clients.
Cori English
Arixa Capital has grown significantly during Sabrina Dukhovny’s tenure at the firm. The 17-year industry veteran was recently elevated to EVP of operations after overseeing the funding of more than $2 billion in loans. She currently manages a loan-servicing portfolio of more than $1.1 billion. Throughout the lifecycle of a loan, Dukhovny ensures that all departments are coordinating and communicating and that processes are consistent and documented. Known for her commitment to innovation, Dukhovny spearheaded the development of Arixa’s cloud-based lending platform, taking manual processes handled via email and on spreadsheets and building them into a central system that can be accessed from anywhere from a phone or computer. These changes centralize communication and knowledge and allow the team to work safer and faster. She is passionate about nurturing young talent in the financial industry through mentorship programs and has advocated for hiring interns. In times of uncertainty, Dukhovny has emerged as a leader, guiding her team through challenges with resilience and strategic vision. When interest rates started to rise at an unprecedented pace, she pivoted from her focus on internal lending operations to capital-raising efforts, which eventually landed a strategic joint venture with Oaktree Capital Management.
Sabrina Dukhovny
Janice Delcid is a co-founder and CFO of Epique Realty, a national, woman-owned brokerage. The mother of seven prioritizes the more than 1,100 agents of Epique as if they were an extension of her own family, understanding the importance of balancing personal and professional endeavors. She believes in taking a proactive approach to agent success, offering innovative tools and benefits to ensure agents have the resources they need to thrive. She also has developed innovative benefits including free healthcare, free prescriptions and free unlimited car wash memberships as well as free listing photos, yard sign installation and removal, transaction coordinators and marketing support. Delcid oversees all aspects of financial management, guiding the company’s fiscal strategy. Her background in business banking and love for mathematics equip her with the tools to navigate complex financial landscapes. In addition to her financial duties, Delcid oversees human resources, spearheading hiring decisions. In the community, she has spearheaded initiatives to provide essential services to underserved populations during the holiday season, both locally in Houston and internationally.
Janice Delcid
As SVP and head of ESG at Logistics Property Co., Elena Daniel has developed and managed comprehensive frameworks and policies for both ESG and Workplace Health, Safety and Environment (WHSE), ensuring alignment with industry standards and regulations. Her role spans strategic development, program execution, reporting, compliance and management of sustainability initiatives, all aimed at advancing the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship, social responsibility and governance excellence. She chairs the firm’s dedicated committees for ESG and WHSE and has been responsible for quarterly and monthly reporting to the board. Under her leadership, the company has achieved significant accolades, such as being a regional sector leader of the GRESB Development Benchmark and scoring higher than the GRESB average. The company has also received Green Lease Platinum recognition. Daniel has led the company to become a signatory to various global commitments, including the UN-Principles for Responsible Investment, the Asset Managers Alliance for Net Zero, and the CEO Pledge for Diversity & Inclusion. She has also co-launched the firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion plan and women’s leadership council. She identified and eliminated redundancies in ESG reporting, resulting in more than $150,000 in savings for the company.
Elena V. Daniel
Ann Marie Collins brings decades of commercial real estate experience to her role as EVP at Savills, with extensive experience in real estate, energy and wholesale production. Prior to Savills, Collins spent 17 years as managing director at JLL and the Staubach Co., where she founded the business and economic incentives team in North America. She also negotiated with state and local governments and helped change legislation in 15 states. Prior to JLL, Collins was a partner at KPMG Peat Marwick, and the director of purchasing, energy and economic incentives at Frito-Lay. Having corporate experience has allowed her to approach companies from an inside-out view with a focus on reducing their cost of goods sold. Last year, she played an integral role on the Savills team that secured the 1.8 million-square-foot, $1.4 billion deal for Anovion Technologies’ new synthetic graphite manufacturing facility in Bainbridge, Georgia. She was Savills’ top producer in North America last year, the first non-leasing or capital markets professional to earn the title. She led two of Savills’ largest projects and secured $500 million in business and tax incentives for clients in 2023.
Ann Marie Collins
Alexandra Coleman finds her work in the affordable housing preservation sector to be a perfect marriage of public policy and real estate finance and development where hard work has a direct impact on people’s lives. As Hudson Valley Property Group’s chief of staff, Coleman leads cross-functional strategic initiatives aimed at fortifying the firm’s position for growth while streamlining operations and enhancing efficiencies. Through deal-sourcing, marketing, fundraising, event planning, process improvement and project management, Coleman has been instrumental in the firm’s growth to 10,650 units from 1,100 and from four to 40 employees more than eight years. In 2023, a significant portion of her time was dedicated to positioning HVPG for growth. She spearheaded numerous change management initiatives and interdepartmental projects, including selecting, onboarding and implementing a new project management software solution across multiple HVPG teams. Coleman also played a pivotal role in implementing the next iteration of the Objectives and Key Results process across the firm, driving departmental alignment to achieve annual company-level objectives. She is a member of New York Women in Housing and Finance, where she has previously served as a mentor, and she is a former scholar and honorary member of NY Women Executives in Real Estate.
Alexandra Coleman
Marcus & Millichap SVP of events Michelle Cocagne has served the brokerage for 25 years, driving revenue through planning and executing high-profile events. She leads a team responsible for organizing and carrying out Marcus & Millichap’s participation in hundreds of commercial real estate trade shows, conferences and other industry-related events each year. This includes planning, organizing and managing the firm’s two largest annual award ceremonies, the National Achievement Awards, which honors the accomplishments of the firm’s top investment and capital markets professionals, and SIA Weekend, a major company event that inducts qualifying investment and capital markets professionals into the firm’s upper echelon and celebrates all previous inductees. Cocagne is also responsible for all the company’s award ceremonies, company addresses, client webcasts and webinars. She is known for her attention to detail, meticulous planning and care for her team and clients. Cocagne is an active member of CREW and an advocate for women around the country. She sets an example through her leadership and support through various events, programs and initiatives at Marcus & Millichap directly supporting women in business.
Michelle Cocagne
Christine Chipurnoi is one of the top five insurance brokers at USI Insurance Services, where she is an EVP handling all aspects of corporate risk and insurance, including property, casualty, builder’s risk, environmental, workers compensation, cyber, professional and executive risk coverage. With more than 150 clients, her services account for more than $10 million in annual revenue for USI and represent more than $100 million in premiums. Chipurnoi specializes in hospitality, construction and commercial real estate including multifamily, office, retail and industrial. She also provides services to general and trade contractors, particularly those with complex insurance/risk management issues. She consulted with a major client while it transitioned from owner/developer to third-party GC, facilitating continuous coverage during and after a complex transformation. Chipurnoi also assisted a client with a high CAT-exposed industrial real estate portfolio in coastal New Orleans that took a significant rate increase and a large increase in wind deductible due to significant claims activity and an upside-down market. Chipurnoi is past president of CREW NY and past president of The Insurance Brokers Association of New York, the first woman to hold that position.
Christine Michele Chipurnoi
Jennifer Cassell joined CAPREIT in the early 2000s and served in various positions during the years, gaining the respect of team members and outside stakeholders on her way to becoming the firm’s president in 2023. In part because of her strong leadership and legal acumen, CAPREIT pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy from 2015 to 2019, teaming with JV partners to purchase market-rate and affordable properties totaling nearly 8,000 apartments. She played a vital role in the sale of a six-property Richmond MSA LIHTC portfolio to Nuveen Real Estate, generating a net profit of $100 million and helped launch a major push into multifamily ground-up development, with more than $500 million in planned new communities in the southeast US. Recently, Cassell played an important role in CAPREIT’s entrance into the build-to-rent market when the company closed its acquisition of a 120-home BTR development community in Greenville, South Carolina. She works to improve company operations and promote the professional development of CAPREIT employees as well as focusing on ESG efforts and the CAPREIT Cares program. Cassell is a member of the Bar of Maryland, the American Bar Association and Chief, a private women’s business organization for senior executives.
Jennifer K. Cassell
Nicole Capobianco plays a pivotal role in shaping the talent and strategy for the Matthews Real Estate Investment Services sales division as its VP of sales recruiting and enablement. She oversees more than 20 professionals who ensure the recruitment process is efficient, effective and aligned with the organization’s goals and values. In addition to recruiting, Capobianco is responsible for leading and implementing training and development programs for new hires across the country. She is dedicated to professional development initiatives for both agents and support employees and cultivates a sense of unity and purpose in the recruiting and sales department. Capobianco’s efforts have added more than 50 senior agents and executive roles, leading to increased support teams and expansion into new offices and markets. Recently, she led the launch of a new learning management system that streamlines training for employee, new agent and senior agent hires. In addition, she launched a comprehensive health and insurance services program tailored to suit the needs of Matthews’ independent contractors and led the implementation of a recruitment automation system leveraging cutting-edge technology. Capobianco is a co-owner and operator of Empowered Care Chiropractic, a healthcare practice focused on promoting holistic wellness and healing.
Nicole Capobianco
As the director of operations in commercial real estate at Greysteel, Kaylan Brodnax leads a team of deal managers who play a central role in supporting the company’s investment sales teams. She provides guidance, mentorship and strategic direction to ensure the team effectively facilitates transactions. Brodnax oversees Greysteel’s production processes, ensuring the efficiency of multiple departments and optimizing workflows, eliminating bottlenecks and streamlining operations to enhance overall productivity. She also is responsible for creating and implementing policies and procedures aimed at increasing production and enhancing support for brokers. Under Brodnax’s leadership, Greysteel achieved record deal volume in the past 12 months due to innovative marketing campaigns she spearheaded to elevate brand visibility and market presence. Brodnax is a member of the National Association of Realtors, CREW Network and ULI and is involved in mentorship programs that support aspiring professionals and empower women in the commercial real estate industry. She mentors individuals seeking guidance and career advice, sharing her knowledge, experiences, and insights to help them succeed in their professional endeavors.
Kaylan Brodnax
Bozzuto SVP of accounting and financial services Dawn Beckles inspires and motivates her team of more than 100 people through a positive work culture, mentorship and support. She is responsible for all the organization’s accounting and finance operations, including the timely and accurate completion of the monthly financial statements, cash flow management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, insurance, legal, and financial planning and analysis. Beckles is the main point of contact for the annual company audit and is a strategic advisor to the president of Bozzuto Management Co., working on complex growth charts, forecasts and analyses for the future. Her team creates the financial reporting for 105,000 apartment homes nationwide with more than 100 investor groups ranging from high-net-worth individuals to public REIT organizations. During the past year, she oversaw the onboarding of 26,569 apartment homes and the disposition of 13,279 apartment homes. In addition, she implemented process improvements throughout the accounting department that saved $1 million in payroll. Before her tenure at Bozzuto, Beckles was an auditor for Arthur Andersen and worked as a controller for NYSE real estate company First Potomac, where she led a team of 40 accountants and was responsible for the SEC reporting and internal audit function.
Dawn A. Beckles
