Nikki
Thornton

Caroline
Sullivan

Amanda Spangler

Tomi
Sargent

Elena
Ji

Kelly M.
Greco

Sarah
Godwin

Rachel
Gines

Shaily
Garg

Katie
Evans

Ashley
Doukas

Zoe
Daniel

Anita R
Chen

Jennifer
Carrillo

Rising Star

Linda
White

Eglae
Recchia

Eve
Picker

Dawn H.
Pfaff

Leana
Janik

Robin
Fisher

Erin
Converse

PropTech Executive / Innovator

Natali
Juarbe

Gina
Iverson

Jill
Higgins

Jennifer
Heede

Kim
Feliciano

Toni
Eubanks

Bianca
Curtis

Kia
Crooms

Shawn
Brown

Property / Facility Manager

Due to her ability to develop and strengthen relationships 
among stakeholders involved in a project as well as her 
professionalism and collaborative approach, Caroline Sullivan 
was recruited to Bozzuto in 2014. She is the director of 
business development for Bozzuto Construction responsible 
for managing the business development process while also 
creating and maintaining client and industry relationships for 
projects in Washington D.C. and Virginia. Her expertise 
includes various multifamily product types, including rental 
residential, affordable, mixed-income, market rate, renovations, and student and senior housing. Since she took over business development efforts for the DMV, the construction pipeline has doubled to $2 billion. In 2023, Sullivan oversaw the pursuit of more than $1 billion worth of projects and closed $250 million into active construction. She graduated from the ULI Washington Leadership Institute, an experiential training program that equips future land use leaders with the regional and industry insights, leadership skills and multidisciplinary relationships they need to build a thriving, sustainable and equitable Greater Washington region. In addition, Sullivan co-founded Badass Real Estate Women (BREW), a grassroots networking organization that connects and empowers bold women in real estate.

Caroline Sullivan

Amanda Spangler

Savills assistant director Tomi Sargent has closed more than 
154 deals and nearly one million square feet due to a client-
centric approach and an unwavering dedication to her work. 
As a tenant representation broker, she guides clients through 
the complexities of leasing transactions, including the entire 
process from initial consultation to lease negotiation and 
execution. She conducts comprehensive market analyses to 
identify optimal leasing opportunities that align with her 
clients’ strategic goals and financial objectives and negotiates 
favorable lease terms and concessions. She provides expert guidance on market trends, lease negotiations and portfolio optimization strategies. In the past year, Sargent has achieved several notable milestones, including facilitating the relocation and establishment of a finance technology company’s first office in Washington D.C. and securing a below-market deal as well as collaborating with a nonprofit client on a restructuring and extension that resulted in $4.1 million in savings. Sargent mentors young professionals in CRE through her participation in the CREW Now & Next committee. She has served on the silent auction committee for Lombardi Women, contributing to raising more than $4 million for breast cancer research, and she participated in the JDRF Real Estate Games planning committee, which helped raise $1.4 million for Type 1 Diabetes research.

Tomi Sargent

In 2017, Greystar tapped Caitlin Russell to institutionalize 
its investor relations function, which today includes 25 
members worldwide. She wore many hats when she first 
joined the company and supported a lean team, but under 
her guidance, the team has grown to 25 members worldwide, 
which she leads as senior director of investor relations. When 
she joined the company, Greystar’s AUM was $20 billion. 
Today it is more than $76 billion. Russell is responsible for 
delivering the Greystar platform to institutional investors with 
a focus on capital formation and business development and providing execution support for the investment management team across Greystar’s North American ventures. She played a key role in developing a strategy for Greystar’s Essential Housing initiative which aims to deliver high-quality attainable housing to underserved essential workers while targeting attractive return potential for investors. Russell is described by her team as an eloquent speaker who has top-notch presentation skills, can command a room and knows what it takes to thoughtfully deliver the message of Greystar’s platform to investors.

Caitlin Russell

Shayna Platt has played a significant role in differentiating 
BioMed Realty’s portfolio through ESG initiatives, responding 
to investor and tenant appetite for sustainable buildings. As 
senior director of ESG, Platt established a standardized 
portfolio approach to ESG data collection, process 
improvement and achieving healthy green building 
certifications. She also led entity-level ESG reporting in 
alignment with sustainability frameworks and provided ESG-
related training across the company. Her accomplishments 
include the creation of BioMed Realty’s first ESG materiality assessment followed by the organization of proper ESG governance throughout departments by establishing and leading taskforces focused on sustainable buildings, sustainable development, energy and climate, and DEI. Platt guided BioMed Realty through its GRESB submission, a collaborative effort that involved virtually every department within the company, showcasing her leadership. The company secured 4-star ratings in standing investments and a 5-star rating in development. Since moving to San Diego for her career at BioMed Realty, Platt has involved herself with organizations like the Young Professional Network San Diego as a way to network. She is also a member of the ULI Greenprint community to collaborate and advance sustainability efforts at an industry level.

Shayna Platt

Anita R Chen 

As senior director of enterprise solutions at ATTOM, Jennifer 
Carrillo manages aspects of customer service, technical 
support and sales operations, and she supported 62% of all 
of the company’s sale transactions during the past year. Her 
responsibilities include providing guidance and mentorship to 
customer service representatives, data fulfillment engineers 
and sales engineers. In her concurrent role as a sales 
engineer, Carrillo is tasked with selling complex technical 
products and services leveraging her comprehensive 
understanding of the technical aspects, functionalities and benefits of ATTOM’s offerings to communicate their value to potential customers. She collaborated with the product team to create a groundbreaking new product that benefitted from her deep understanding of client needs and perspectives. Her commitment extends into civic engagement through her regular attendance at city meetings where she serves as an advocate for policies, practices and initiatives aimed at fostering a safe, inclusive and fiscally sound city. Her proactive involvement in local governance showcases her leadership and dedication to shaping a community that prioritizes the well-being of its residents.

Jennifer Carrillo

Rayelle Calvert began with Crexi as an account manager and 
has been promoted five times throughout her tenure to her 
current role as senior regional sales director running a team 
of 20. She is responsible for meeting and exceeding company 
sales goals across the central and mid-America markets. Her 
day-to-day responsibilities consist of developing and 
implementing plans and procedures to meet these goals; 
coaching, mentoring, and motivating her team; and recruiting 
and training new talent. She also travels across the country 
meeting with commercial real estate brokerages to present Crexi’s vision, value proposition and product. Calvert holds the highest sales volume in the company’s history and finished 2023 as a top-five salesperson at Crexi. She also set a personal goal to attain her real estate license which she earned last year. Calvert has represented Crexi at numerous events, including ICSC, SIOR and NAI regional and global conferences. She is passionate about animals and in her personal time volunteers at a local animal rescue, Best Friends Animal Society. She also dedicates her spare time to volunteering at her church, working at its food bank and giving back to the local Inglewood community weekly.

Rayelle Calvert

Since she was a teenager, Noelani Brannon has been 
interested in the built environment and inspired to creatively 
transform spaces. She attended the University of Central 
Florida, earning a BA in communications followed by a Master 
of Art in interior design from the Savannah College of Art and 
Design. She then spent three years at Nehmer and HVS 
Design, where she rose to senior designer. Brannon joined 
//3877 as an interior designer collaborating on interior design 
and branding projects spanning the hospitality, retail and 
healthcare sectors. Specific to hospitality, she has had her hand in various projects — from 60-key boutique hotels to 370-key branded properties. Currently, Brannon is working on the renovation of Salt Lake City Marriott’s public spaces, including the convention center. She focuses on leading projects from initial concept through design and construction, working onsite to carefully curate the space’s materials, finishes and products including furniture and fixtures. Throughout each project, she leads teams through each step of the design process, guiding them along the way to facilitate their own professional development.

Noelani C. Brannon

Stephanie Ascher started her career as a receptionist at KBS 
nearly 15 years ago. Her strong drive to achieve results caught 
the attention of the executive team, which moved her to an 
investment analyst role. She ascended the ranks as an 
investment associate and senior investment associate before 
reaching her current executive role as AVP of asset 
management and portfolio operations. Her career path also 
has taken her across the country, giving her experience in the 
Mid-Atlantic, Southwest and Southeast managing 4.7 million 
square feet of properties. Colleagues say she is warm and down-to-earth and leads with grace and intelligence. She wears many hats in her current role, from asset management to interdepartmental coordination and data analysis. She remains up to date on changing market conditions, performs due diligence and manages accounting, budgeting and underwriting for all projects related to commercial real estate. She also provides initial and ongoing training to acquisition/asset management analysts and collaborates with regional presidents and the C-suite on special projects. Ascher recently graduated from NAIOP’s Young Professionals Group leadership program and is involved with the Orange County Chapter of CREW most recently helping with the chapter’s SPIRE Awards gala.

Stephanie Ascher

Linda White drives the development, management and 
implementation of Colliers360 Analytics, a business 
intelligence system that features dashboards and portfolio 
analytics to provide tailored insights for real estate and 
facilities management needs. She established an industry-
leading lease administration services platform, has 
championed AI/CDP within the lease abstraction process and 
is currently working on defining other AI solutions that will 
bring value to Colliers’ clients. White is head of lease 
administration and technology services as well as SVP of occupier services for the Americas at Colliers, where she oversees intricate system integration solutions, including B2B procurement and SAP implementation, for the business partner channel. Under her guidance, two teams provide lease management and technology services to more than 225 clients and have experienced consistent year-over-year growth. Joining Colliers in 2015, White brought more than 20 years of experience in solution development, platform management and system integration. Having held progressive roles at IBM as a program manager and executive consultant, her technical expertise extends to the integration of advanced technology platforms, including Qlik Sense, showcasing her understanding of how analytics can impact daily operations and align corporate real estate portfolio management with overall business strategy and objectives.

Linda White

As chief product officer at Berkadia, Eglae Recchia has 
leveraged technology and data-driven insights, including 
enabling an artificial intelligence strategy, to streamline 
processes, reduce risks and drive better outcomes for clients. 
She sees a slow market as an opportunity to redefine 
Berkadia’s digital product strategies that help producers find 
stability and growth amid uncertainty. Recchia is committed 
to driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of what is 
possible at the intersection of technology and CRE. Originally 
from Argentina, she brings a diverse perspective to her work and believes strongly in the power of diversity and empowerment. “Eglae helps connect the dots across Berkadia’s organization and helps define the digital product strategy that Berkadia looks to deliver,” says EVP and chief of information and innovation officer Damu Bashyam. “She’s responsible for leading product and design teams that work with the business, understands the problems, looks for solutions, designs, and partners within the company to bring them to life.” Beyond internal product development, Recchia collaborates with cross-functional teams, including investment sales, marketing and business development, to ensure a cohesive and integrated approach to product strategy.

Eglae Recchia

As a broker in New York and Florida for more than two 
decades, Dawn Pfaff observed challenges with the local 
multiple listing service structure and founded MyStateMLS 
to provide an alternative MLS solution. She designed, built 
and developed a platform that provides the same core 
features of a local MLS but adds sales strategies, marketing 
tools and features to help real estate professionals succeed 
during uncertain times. As inventory decreased and the 
industry got tougher during the past few years, Pfaff has built 
tools and focused on aspects of the MLS that help agents save time and earn more money. She developed a novel buyer agreement form designed to establish agency between real estate sales associates and buyers and spearheaded the introduction of a marketing assets feature within the MLS infrastructure. This feature empowers members to access and download more than 500 diverse and customizable marketing materials, significantly easing brand promotion efforts for real estate professionals. MyStateMLS has more than 100,000 members across the country.

Dawn H. Pfaff

Throughout her 20-year career, Newmark senior managing 
director Robin Fisher has closed hundreds of millions of 
dollars in leasing deals and helped the company navigate 
through significant periods of growth. She specializes in 
tenant representation and advises on asset optimization and 
site selection strategies. In addition, with an innovative spirit 
and commitment to sustainability and efficient space 
utilization, Fisher founded PropTech company BLACE, a 
vendor booking platform that activates vacant and 
underutilized spaces. Blace.com features more than 100 unique event venues across New York City and Los Angeles, with more than 40 venues in its exclusive portfolio unavailable elsewhere. The platform supports short-term bookings, from corporate gatherings and large-scale productions to milestone celebrations and film/TV shoots. Under her leadership as CEO, BLACE has garnered top-tier press coverage, expanded its operations in Los Angeles, and secured the iconic US Bank Tower in Los Angeles as an exclusive venue. Beyond her professional responsibilities, Fisher is dedicated to mentoring younger talent at Newmark and BLACE, guiding the next generation of professionals with her extensive experience and insights. Her dual roles and mentorship efforts highlight her leadership and influence across industries and her significant impact on real estate and tech.

Robin Fisher

Carly Stevenson started her career as a leasing consultant 
and now is EVP of property management at Avanath Capital 
Management LLC. She brings more than 20 years of 
experience to her role where she is responsible for ensuring 
the quality of property management across Avanath’s 77 
managed communities. In partnership with her team and 
other key leaders at the firm, she manages all aspects of 
operations including financial viability and sustainability, 
product performance and marketing. She also identifies and 
improves existing policies and procedures to maximize apartment communities’ performance. She is skilled at ensuring the execution of all corporate policies and procedures while identifying opportunities to enhance operations, and challenging processes for continual evolution and improvement. She relocated to Milwaukee from California to join the executive team at the firm’s corporate headquarters when she accepted her current role. Her career also spans high-level positions with companies in the property management and multifamily space, from entrepreneurial organizations to institutional investors, including Mandel Group, McCaffery Inc., Trilogy Real Estate Group, AMLI Residential and Waterton. Colleagues say she has a positive attitude and inviting energy with a sincere sense of curiosity.

Carly Stevenson

Darcy Rutzen, SVP of property management for M & J Wilkow, 
showed exceptional leadership last year when the Outlets of 
Maui, an oceanfront shopping center in Lahaina owned and 
managed by the firm, was lost in Maui’s wildfire. Rutzen and 
her team responded swiftly, communicating with tenants and 
the government to address imminent needs. While 
simultaneously dealing with the business matters of such a 
substantial loss, Rutzen launched a campaign to help raise 
money and supplies for Outlets of Maui employees, 
customers and area residents who lost their homes. Rutzen also worked to consolidate the company’s office property management platform with its higher-performing retail platform to create economies of scale in staffing and reduce costs in response to the recent challenging office sector. Rutzen oversees the operations, marketing and people management of 96 retail and office properties throughout the U.S. In addition to her core responsibilities as the national head of property management, Rutzen is a member of the company’s business development team, supporting acquisition and third-party business development efforts. Rutzen has outstanding communication skills and is known for creativity that has resulted in award-winning marketing campaigns and unique redevelopment efforts.

Darcy K. Rutzen

Sarah Schwarzschild joined Mavik Capital Management last 
year as COO and in just a few months has played a crucial 
role in setting the firm’s short- and long-term strategic vision 
while also overseeing its day-to-day operations and investment 
decision-making. She dedicates a significant amount of time 
to mentoring younger women across the firm and industry. 
She views effective mentoring as a combination of providing 
mentees with three different elements depending on their 
unique needs, from situational advice and problem-solving to 
support for broader career development and skill-building, as well as sponsorship to advance mentees’ careers. Last year, Schwarzschild led the relaunch of the New York Women in Real Estate networking organization for women in the private equity real estate sector. The New York chapter has grown to 110 members under her leadership. She is also involved with Arche Women’s Network, a professional organization that supports young real estate professionals in the first 10 years of their careers. She recently was featured as the keynote speaker for the organization’s 2024 kickoff event. Schwarzschild serves on the mentorship committee of WX, an invitation-only executive organization that promotes the advancement of women in the real estate industry, where she helps pair interns with meaningful mentors.

Sarah Schwarzschild

In addition to navigating complex financial matters for Anchin, 
Block, and Anchin LLP as an audit director, Rebecca Long is 
a mentor who provides guidance and support to team 
members. She collaborates closely with junior staff, fostering 
their professional development, and actively engages in the 
firm’s mentorship program where she shares her expertise to 
guide career growth. Long was selected to participate in 
Anchin’s rainmaker business development program, a 
leadership and thought leadership program for accounting 
professionals. She is also the co-chair of the Anchin Women’s Initiative Network, through which she coordinates and participates in firm events, networking, mentoring and professional development training with other women in the industry. She is an active member of Girl Gang and CREW NY. “Rebecca’s leadership and mentorship are the cornerstone of our real estate team,” says Anchin partner and real estate group lead Rob Gilman. “Her extensive industry knowledge, hands-on approach, and unwavering commitment to mentoring the team make her an invaluable asset, adding significant value to every aspect of our firm.”

Rebecca Long

Laura Klein’s dedication to cultivating leaders goes beyond 
the traditional scope of mentorship. As COO of Casoro Group, 
Klein is a key member of the senior executive team that 
structures, develops and manages the multifamily real estate 
investment firm. Recognizing the long-term value of investing 
time in personal and professional development, she 
implemented a program to elevate team members’ ability to 
communicate and manage challenges. The leadership 
development program has become a cornerstone of the firm’s 
commitment to talent development, attracting and retaining top candidates while enhancing the overall effectiveness of its leadership team. Klein’s engagement with the Bastrop Education Foundation underscores her commitment to educational initiatives and community development, and she contributes her expertise and resources to support educational programs, fostering a positive impact on the local community’s learning environment. In addition, as a member of Executive Blackbelt, Klein aligns herself with a network of professionals dedicated to advancing their careers through leadership development and networking. Her involvement in this organization demonstrates her commitment to continuous learning, professional growth and the exchange of insights with other accomplished executives.

Luxury Living co-founder and CEO Amy Galvin leads the 
company with an empathetic, compassionate and service-
centered approach. Her background as a certified professional 
coach and a trained facilitator of The Fair Play Method, 
coupled with her experience as a working mother, has laid 
the groundwork for her unique leadership approach that 
focuses on coaching real estate agents rather than a directive 
management style. Previously, she was the company’s chief 
culture officer, a role that continues to influence her 
leadership methods. Aside from Luxury Living, Galvin produced a conference in Chicago for International Women’s Day, hosted several workshops throughout the year to support women in business, and produces a podcast that supports working moms. She strongly advocates for mentoring women in business and is a mentor with the JCC’s Women inPower program, a fellowship program pairing seasoned and experienced Chicago area female leaders in professional sectors with mid-career participants to provide peer support, mentorship, training and coaching. She also mentors with the Goldie Initiative, which prepares women for senior leadership roles in commercial real estate by providing scholarship support for graduate study, mentorship and networking opportunities to women with high potential who are committed to becoming leaders in the industry.

Amy Galvin

As a veteran of the CRE industry and a woman of color, 
Collete English Dixon strives to help students maneuver 
being diverse participants in an industry that she says is still 
not very diverse. English Dixon is the executive director of the 
Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt 
University in Chicago. She is the first woman of color to lead 
a university-based real estate education program in the 
country. Prior to this role, English Dixon spent two decades 
at PGIM Real Estate working on acquisitions, development, 
dispositions, debt on joint venture properties and asset management, completing more than $12 billion in real estate transactions. Numerous students credit English Dixon’s mentorship and guidance as a key reason for their success. For example, a May 2023 MSRE graduate recently says the amazing support system she had at MBIRE helped her attain her CMCP certification and earn a promotion. English Dixon hosted a two-week summer immersion program where diverse high school students learned about careers in commercial real estate, toured properties in Chicago and worked in teams on development proposals that were presented to local industry professionals.

Collete English Dixon

Drawing on lessons she learned both as a mentee and a 
mentor throughout her career, Leslie Cohen has created and 
implemented a strong mentorship infrastructure at the Davis 
Cos., where she is COO. During an uncertain time for the 
commercial real estate industry, Cohen emphasized the firm’s 
culture, mission and employee expertise more than a focus on 
the bottom line. Early in her career, she often found herself 
the only woman in the room, which motivated her to seek 
opportunities to connect with other women in the CRE space. 
She worked tirelessly to overcome misperceptions about her talent and abilities, to establish her own network and to earn the respect of her peers and colleagues. Cohen created a DEI Committee that introduced a unique program at Davis that cultivates an environment for mentors and mentees to thrive through meaningful connections and collaboration. The six-month rotating mentor program encourages senior staff to invest in the growth and success of those at the junior level as part of efforts to support recruitment and retention at the firm. The program focuses on cross-department collaboration, professional development and networking.

Leslie Cohen

Bonnie Boden

Holly Yang has extensive experience strengthening brands for 
large corporate real estate companies, identifying and 
nurturing marketing talent and advocating for a strong team 
culture to achieve success. She joined Grubb Properties in 
2020, bringing decades of international institutional 
experience and has been instrumental in repositioning the 
firm as a national force in multifamily real estate investment 
and development. Since joining Grubb Properties, Yang has 
fully rebranded the company while leading the investor 
marketing strategy for the launch and close of its Fund VII and the Link Apartments Opportunity Zone REIT, a consolidation of three previous Opportunity Zone REIT funds. In addition, she has synergized the Grubb Properties and Link Apartments brand identities, creating a more unified company and powering the company’s go-to-market presence. She has been promoted to the senior level of managing director, is part of the 12-person executive committee and presents periodically to the board on marketing results. Before joining Grubb Properties, Yang lived in Singapore and worked across the Asia Pacific and globally for more than 20 years, serving as CMO, Asia Pacific, for Cushman & Wakefield and international director at JLL.

After leading the development of Avison Young’s new brand 
and visual identity in 2020, managing internal stakeholders 
and external agency partners, global director of corporate 
marketing Katie Woodside founded Avison Young’s Brand 
Hub. The Brand Hub is the firm’s global brand and corporate 
marketing team, which focuses on the continual development 
and application of Avison Young’s visual identity and brand 
positioning, as well as the development of global campaigns 
and go-to-market materials. The Brand Hub delivered several 
brand-elevating projects in 2023, including Avison Young’s 2023 impact report “Portraits of Progress,” which included a partnership with Women Photograph, a nonprofit whose mission is to elevate the voices of women and nonbinary visual journalists across the globe. The project won seven Platinum MarCom Awards, including recognition for outstanding achievements in content, design and photography. Woodside also spearheaded a new branding strategy for the firm’s employee resource groups, creating brand alignment, consistency and positioning to enable talent attraction and retention. She has dedicated her career to Avison Young, from her early days as part of the Washington D.C. marketing team to her current leadership position. In recognition of her tenure with the firm and her brand-elevating achievements, she was named principal in 2023.

Katie Woodside

In 2023, Vanessa Williams’ team completed 12,744 projects, 
collaborated on 901 property marketing brands, authored 
more than 700 comprehensive research reports and produced 
445 team pieces. In addition, they crafted 764 press 
releases, 216 advertisements and 1,073 social media posts. 
Williams is senior director of business development and 
marketing for Colliers’ West region responsible for 
orchestrating the efforts of a team of more than 60 marketing 
and research professionals as well as seasoned business 
development professionals who serve as strategic advisors to both Colliers’ brokers and clients. This team collaborates closely with national marketing and research leaders to implement region-specific initiatives, leveraging cutting-edge technology and best-in-class marketing methodologies. She lends her expertise to advancing technology within Colliers’ operations by serving on the national technology advisory committee, where her insights contribute to shaping the organization’s technological landscape and strategic direction. Williams is a member of NAIOP, where she serves on the communications committee. In addition, she is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of professionals through her role as a mentor in Colliers’ national mentorship program.

Vanessa Williams

Christina Twidale leads the Kidder Mathews marketing 
department, including the corporate marketing group and 
regional brokerage marketing and operations across 19 
offices in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and 
Nevada. Twidale started her career at Kidder Mathews nearly 
18 years ago in Seattle working as a marketing assistant and 
graphic designer on the corporate marketing team. As Kidder 
Mathews experienced growth down the West Coast, her role 
evolved from marketing director to VP of marketing and now 
SVP of marketing. She played a pivotal role in shaping the overall branding and marketing strategy at Kidder Mathews, including helping build and lead the design team responsible for shaping Kidder Mathews’ current image by establishing clear brand standards, designing templates and developing brokerage marketing training programs across the company. She also has helped lead the company through four unique rebrands, with the most recent in 2019 celebrating the firm’s 50-year anniversary. In addition, Twidale oversaw the day-to-day production of high-level and custom brokerage marketing projects including pitches, proposals, presentations, listing materials and collateral. Under her leadership, the team established a benchmark for creating top-quality materials in the market, with brokers consistently pointing to the marketing department as a major driver of their success.

Christina Twidale

Missy Teague

Nicole Stenclik has been a member of Akrete’s leadership 
team and its executive committee for the past six years as 
both a VP and managing consultant. She was recently named 
as the agency’s first president in January 2024 to lead the 
national public relations agency’s client service and 
operations as well as media relations functions. Specializing 
in real estate, finance and professional services, the 
30-person Akrete team achieves national business and trade 
media exposure, writes complex content and provides strategic 
marketing and public relations advisory services. Stenclik works behind the scenes providing communications counsel to CEOs and other C-suite executives as they navigate messaging in times of change and when announcing major transactions and initiatives. She is known for her approachability and for prioritizing open communication channels with her teams and clients. Stenclik brings deep experience in steering notable national and global brands toward top-tier media attention, both at Akrete and earlier in her career when she held prominent B2B public relations roles in New York and Boston. She also leads the formation of new client partnerships and serves as one of the firm’s top experts responsible for Akrete maintaining its leading industry status, particularly in commercial real estate.

Nicole Stenclik

Avison Young U.S. media relations manager Sandra Hill seeks 
to identify key trends and significant opportunities for earned 
media that build national brand exposure for the company 
while empowering her regional media relations team with 
responsibility for a variety of local and regional markets in 
multiple geographies. She is responsible for securing national 
mainstream, business and trade media coverage and goes 
above and beyond to make long-standing connections with 
reporters, study trends and strategize with Avison Young’s 
market insight experts, business sector leaders and the global communications team to provide information that will be of interest to the greater real estate community. She has led successful media campaigns showcasing the firm’s technology capabilities, milestone acquisitions and business sector/community impact storylines that have earned media placements across trades, business and mainstream publications and broadcast outlets. Hill began her career with Avison Young in the firm’s Houston office where she led public relations initiatives and external communications efforts in the greater Houston area. Prior to Avison Young, she had a diverse media and government relations career that included communication roles in the U.S. government with U.S. Senator Phil Gramm and later with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Sandra Hill

Crexi CMO Courtney Ettus leverages 25 years of marketing 
expertise in Fortune 500 companies and startups to bring a 
unique perspective to the commercial real estate industry. 
She plays a pivotal role in leading Crexi’s marketing efforts 
and advancing the company’s mission to modernize the CRE 
industry and streamline the transaction process through 
innovative technology solutions. Ettus oversees all national 
brand and acquisition marketing to bring new markets, 
brokers, buyers and tenants to its technology platform and 
help solidify Crexi as a household name within the industry. Her team is responsible for brand activations, product activations, advertising, sales collateral and creative vision. Ettus also continues to adjust the company’s strategic efforts across departments to stay relevant in the current cultural landscape. She supports the company’s fundraising and talent acquisition efforts and has made a positive impact on company culture that has translated into talent retention, business growth and overall company success. She has a history of leading integrated marketing and strategy teams and has helped grow the Crexi team to more than 300 people. Ettus regularly mentors start-up companies, including the Grid 110 accelerator companies, on start-up marketing, helping them navigate the marketing landscape with few resources and by providing general counsel for their businesses.

Courtney Ettus

Tricia Baker

Jenny Zhan founded alternative investment management firm 
Beyond Global Management and leads all areas of the 
business and operations as its CEO. She brings more than 
20 years of investment experience focused on institutional 
investing and managing multi-asset strategies to her role. As 
a CFA, she specializes in international wealth management 
and has managed investments in real estate assets and global 
equities markets for large institutional investors. Zhan 
founded Beyond to make professionally managed real estate 
investments accessible to a broader range of investors. The firm currently manages $350 million in assets across 18 private equity/credit funds, which includes diverse, well-structured investments in real estate equity and credit products. Through her involvement and expertise in the EB-5 programs and investment migration, Zhan has helped her clients get involved in U.S. projects targeting rural and urban high-unemployment areas, where opportunities for housing and job creation qualify for investment through the program and offer a path to legal U.S. residency. For example, Beyond is currently working with a developer designing micro-unit apartments in a desirable neighborhood in the downtown Los Angeles area.

After joining Hudson Valley Property Group in 2019 as 
director of portfolio management, Laura Yanushpolsky 
developed processes and implemented structured oversight 
for the firm’s portfolio. With an ability to discern overarching 
trends within the portfolio, she quickly identified 
opportunities to increase asset value and enhance investment 
performance. Her success led to a promotion to director of 
asset management in 2023, assuming responsibility for 
overseeing an affordable housing portfolio that experienced 
significant growth despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. With oversight of a portfolio comprising 10,650 units across 75 properties spanning eight states, Yanushpolsky ensures the effective execution of business plans tailored to each property, including management of asset performance and financial outcomes and implementing value-add strategies. She also supervises property valuations and communicates performance metrics to stakeholders, fostering transparency and informed decision-making. She has played a pivotal role in securing $292 million in capital commitments for the firm’s second fund, which closed in 2022. Yanushpolsky has scaled and executed the delivery of impactful resident services across HVPG’s portfolio including providing free or reduced-cost WiFi and credit score enhancement opportunities for residents through programs such as Esusu and Pinata.

Laura Yanushpolsky

Pamela West and her team at Nuveen Real Estate have 
doubled the firm’s portfolio of affordable housing assets to 
$6.4 billion under management in the past year. The group 
now manages 161 affordable housing assets including 
32,000 apartments in 24 states. West is a managing director 
who leads the real estate impact investment strategy at 
Nuveen, bringing 25 years of experience to her role, including 
the execution of more than $15 billion of transactions in 
acquisitions, dispositions, financing and asset management. 
At Nuveen, West oversees the sourcing, execution and portfolio management of the firm’s impact-investing housing platform and is heavily involved in community-focused organizations. Previously, she was the regional head of acquisitions and asset management for TH Real Estate, a Nuveen subsidiary, where she managed more than $2.8 billion of class A/B multifamily assets. West is a board member of the Real Estate Executive Council, Bold Charter Schools in the Bronx, Veritas Impact Partners and the City Parks Foundation in New York. Alongside these organizations, she serves on real estate advisory boards for the Leonard W. Wood Center for Real Estate Studies and the Cooper Housing Institute.

Pamela West

Carly Tripp’s leadership was recognized in 2021 when she 
was promoted to global chief investment officer at Nuveen 
Real Estate, a role in which she oversees and expands the 
firm’s global real estate portfolio. During the past three years, 
she has grown the portfolio to $150 billion from $133 billion 
in assets under management. Tripp leads a team of more than 
350 investment professionals responsible for all transactional 
and asset management functions. She is accountable for 
sourcing, investment performance, strategic investments, 
partner relationships and representing Nuveen Real Estate with global clients, consultants and the industry. She has expanded the firm’s presence in key market sectors, including medical office, multifamily, and most recently affordable housing and self-storage. Last year, Tripp and her team completed an acquisition of a large portfolio of affordable housing assets that increased the value of Nuveen’s affordable AUM by $6.4 billion. Prior to her current position, she served as the CIO of the Americas at Nuveen Real Estate. As one of the few female C-suite executives in commercial real estate today, Tripp is a member of the LEAD Network, an industry affinity organization that has more than 1,200 members worldwide creating networking opportunities, career sponsorships and growth for professional women at all levels.

Carly Tripp

Amy Stavin

Avrio Real Estate Credit CEO Vicky Schiff is a career 
entrepreneur, having founded or co-founded successful firms 
in the real estate and finance sectors since 1996. Her 
ventures have included an institutionally supported $400 
million real estate fund that also supported women and 
minority emerging real estate firms; a national boutique 
investment banking firm that raised more than $6 billion 
from institutional investors; an investment platform formed 
in 2009 to create value for investors by acquiring commercial 
real estate debt and distressed assets; and MREC Management and its co-mingled debt fund, Mosaic Real Estate Credit, which originated $3 billion in various asset classes across the U.S. Her newest venture is Avrio, which offers short-term, first mortgage debt and other structured finance products including B notes, mezzanine debt and preferred equity for the acquisition, refinancing and recapitalization of commercial real estate assets, with loans ranging from $25 million to $150 million. Under her direction, Avrio is nearing the close of its first fund. Schiff was exposed to the real estate business at an early age as her father, Jim Schiff, was a hotel and industrial developer in Las Vegas and she was on the job site of Circus-Circus Hotel as a toddler. Schiff started her first business in 1996 at the age of 30.

Vicky Schiff

Under the guidance of CEO Ellie Perlman, Blue Lake Capital 
LLC has become one of Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing 
companies. Colleagues describe her as bold and 
entrepreneurial with an ability to foster a culture of 
empowerment and growth. She has led the company through 
uncertainty and pressure within the multifamily sector, 
demonstrating resilience, adaptability and strategic foresight 
to navigate challenges transparently and decisively. She 
manages the entire team, handling recruitment and the 
ongoing expansion of personnel, overseeing portfolio growth and the myriad challenges that accompany it, while also driving overall improvements in operational efficiency. Her responsibilities span financial management, marketing and maintaining investor relations, and she maintains a comprehensive understanding of every facet of the business, ensuring its smooth operation and development. She is a mentor and role model to many, sharing her knowledge and experiences to uplift and inspire the next generation of women leaders. Her dedication to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion within the workplace has set a new standard for leadership and made a significant impact on the industry.

Ellie Perlman

Throughout Uma Moriarity’s 7-year tenure at CenterSquare 
Investment Management, she has led the charge in r
evolutionizing the firm’s thought leadership platform. As 
senior investment strategist, she is a core member of 
CenterSquare’s listed real estate investment team, 
conducting strategic research into public markets and 
making investment recommendations for the firm’s $14 
billion in assets under management. Moriarity crafts thought 
leadership pieces on the current macroeconomic environment, 
real estate valuations in the public and private sectors, and outlooks by specific property sectors. Her popular quarterly REIT Cap-Rate perspective and white papers produced throughout the year solidify her reputation as a trusted industry expert who is frequently sought after to provide industry commentary within the media. Moriarity’s overarching sector expertise also contributed to the launch of CenterSquare’s 2024 Outlook series, which covered key sector updates across listed real estate, private equity real estate and private real estate debt. In addition, as senior investment strategist and global ESG lead, Moriarity drives strategic initiatives across multiple investment teams and is in charge of structuring the firm’s ESG program, all while still playing a significant role in leading CenterSquare’s brand development. She was also recently appointed to CenterSquare’s debt investment committee and is currently the youngest partner at the firm.

Uma Moriarity

Jaime Lee is the CEO of the Jamison group of companies, a 
privately held, family-run commercial real estate enterprise 
with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion that 
operates 13 million square feet of office, multifamily and 
retail properties throughout Southern California. Lee manages 
the firm’s portfolio of 100 buildings and led the push to 
rebrand the company and its properties by positioning them 
to capitalize on a burgeoning tech scene in and around 
downtown. Lee and her brothers also saw the growing need 
for housing in Los Angeles 10 years ago and converted one-third of the firm’s existing office buildings into residential properties, propelling the firm to one of the largest apartment owners in Los Angeles. She began her career in 2008 during the Global Financial Crisis, which taught Lee to be nimble in the face of constantly changing market conditions. She previously served the City of Los Angeles for four years as president of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System Board of Administration, which oversees the city’s $17 billion employee pension fund, and on the boards for the Industrial Development Authority and the Quality and Productivity Commission.

Jaime Lee