Association of Real Estate Women selects the top 50 women real estate leaders of the past 50 years.

The Association of Real Estate Women, as the industry's most steadfast supporter of professional women in real estate, is pleased by having been selected by Real Estate Weekly, in conjunction with their 50th Anniversary, to name 50 women who are Pioneers, Current Leaders and Rising Stars.

AREW: Moving with the times

A MESSAGE FROM MICHELE MEDAGLIA PRESIDENT, AREW, 2004-05 PRESIDENT, ACC CONSTRUCTION CORP.

Look around you and you'll see women real estate professionals in virtually every company, in every profession, in every position. In the 26 years since AREW's founding, women in the industry have persevered and prospered. From a handful in the 1970's to many thousands today, real estate women have changed both the industry and the landscape.

AREW has, of course, also changed with the times. But there is much that hasn't changed. It still takes courage and commitment, strength and intelligence to be a woman real estate professional. And that is where AREW plays a major role.

We, as an association, have been opening minds and doors for women real estate professionals for almost three decades. We were founded and grew up in a time when women in real estate were a minority and few and far between. We flourished by providing something rare and exceptional for women--the opportunity to meet, network with, be mentored by, and do business with other women in an environment of learning, genuine supportiveness and sharing.

As one of the most prominent women professionals in New York City recently said, "At AREW, it's not just about passing a business card; it's the spirit in which the card is passed."

It's about nurturing. About building relationships, skills and self-esteem. About being supportive of each other. Are those women's words? They are at AREW. They are also powerful thought-processes that provide the foundation of AREW's ongoing success such that our presence in the real estate industry as a top-tier organization is unparalleled.

On behalf of AREW's officers and board, I invite all real estate men and women to join our ranks, benefit from our cutting edge programs and tremendous networking opportunities and experience the unique difference in associations that is AREW.

We are proud to have been selected by Real Estate Weekly to name the Top 50 Women Real Estate Professionals of the Past 50 Years in tandem with the publication's half-century anniversary.

These 50 women, in the categories of Pioneers, Current Leaders and Rising Stars, are among the best and brightest in the industry. Honoring them is much more than a list. It is an endorsement of these high-achieving women, as well as for all women in the real estate industry. How far we have come! How far we can go!

Pioneers

Adrienne Albert

Adrienne Albert, a licensed real estate broker in NYS, is nationally recognized as a marketing and sales expert in residential real estate and property development. Through her firm, The Marketing Directors, Inc., Ms. Albert has been responsible for the marketing and sales of over $10 billion in properties. Over the past 20 years, The Marketing Directors has served a wide range of projects, from single-family homes to high-density multi-use development, from NY to CA, and from Toronto to Florida. After graduating from Simmons College, Ms. Albert earned a Master of Architecture from MIT. Though she never formally practiced architecture, her knowledge of (and love for) the field has been of enormous help to countless developers in choosing layouts, amenities and other vital aspects of their projects. A leader in the industry, Ms. Albert pioneered site selling through the use of miniature models, vignettes, electronic media and full size recreations of condominium homes. In addition, she has instituted training programs across the country to raise the standards for other real estate sales professionals. Her success is evident in the large volume of repeat business from top developers throughout country, as well as the many awards she has received over the years, including the Associated Builders and Owners' Woman of the Year Award. She has also been named the National Sales and Marketing Council Marketing Director of the Year, and has been awarded hundreds of gold and silver awards for marketing and sales excellence. Ms. Albert is an approved IRM Course II instructor and an adjunct faculty member at New York University's Real Estate Institute. She is also a member of many professional trade organizations, including the Appointed Board of Governors of the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York (ABO) and the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

Elisa J. Baudanza

Elisa Baudanza has been actively involved in real estate since 1980. In 1990 she joined Citibank/Citigroup as Vice President. From 1990 to 1996 she worked in Citibank's Technical Services/Appraisal Group as the Northeast Regional Manager. As manager she was responsible for staff supervision and management of the Northeast real estate appraisal/valuation services. Valuation services were provided to Citibank business managers within the Private Bank, Commercial Real Estate Group and the Consumer Bank.

Since 1997, Elisa has been with Citigroup Corporate Realty Services as part of the Strategic Planning Group.

As Relationship Manager and Strategic Planner she works with Citigroup Corporate Center, Corporate Staff Groups, the Private Bank and the Corporate Investment Bank on long-term real estate/space strategies within the New York City/Tri-State area. She also worked on the relocation of Citigroup Corporate Center into 399 Park Avenue.

Prior to joining Citigroup Elisa worked for a New York City real estate appraisal and valuation company.

Elisa has been a member of AREW since 1982 and served as AREW President in 1987-88. In 1990 she received the MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute and holds a commercial real estate license in New York State.

Deborah B. Beck

Deborah Beck began her real estate career in the early 1970s as an owner's representative and construction consultant. Later in the decade, while completing her MBA, she took a job at the Real Estate Board of New York, rising through the ranks to become Executive Vice President in 1988, a position she held until her retirement in May 2003. Perhaps it was Mrs. Beck's first career as a psychotherapist that prepared her to deal with a diverse group of public figures and politicians locally and in Washington who were heavily regulating the real estate industry for the first time. She took on these issues from a common sense point of view. If the proposals would make buildings and their occupants safer, she ensured that the proposed changes were cost-effective and could be implemented by a responsible owner-builder.

Upon her retirement from REBNY, Mrs. Beck formed Beck Creative Strategies L.L.C. which is devoted to organizational development and problem solving for real estate entities as well as environmentally sound building and maintenance practices.

While at REBNY, she served on the Commissioner's Advisory Councils at the Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) as well as the Buildings and Fire Departments of the City of New York. She also co-chaired the Citizens Advisory Committee on Water Quality for the NYCDEP. She is currently on the board of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, Betances Health Center an affiliate of Beth Israel Hospital, Treasurer of the Seaview Association of Fire Island and, continues as a member of the Council on Transportation as well as the Bar of the City of New York's committee on Lower Manhattan. Mrs. Beck is listed in The World Who's Who of Women, Who's Who of American Women and West's Who's Who in Executives.

Peggy Carnegie

Peggy Carnegie was truly a lady of distinction. The beautiful bows in her hair said it all! Born March 26, 1916 and raised in Manhattan, a place she dearly loved, she was a true pioneer in the male-dominated world of real estate. She once brokered a sale of the Woolworth Building downtown and was on a "first name basis" with the City's biggest owners and developers, from Harry Helmsley to Donald Trump.

Peggy started her own real estate brokerage firm and, after many good years there, concluded her career in the Commercial Real Estate Division of Simon Rudd & Associates. She was the first woman ever made a director of the Real Estate Board of New York. At the time of her death, in December of 2002, she was, as usual, in the forefront of the industry, brokering "brownfields" for commercial and residential development. She had a very good memory for addresses, square footage and who had bought and sold what in the New York real estate market.

Peggy maintained a cabin in Chappaqua and a residence in New York on Park Avenue. She was a true gourmet and savored everything from Lobster Bisque to Chicken Paprikash. She once told a New York apartment purchaser (purported to be Stanley Winston--Harry's Brother) that her dream was to eat through a bathtub filled with caviar ... and after she won a bet with him, he presented her with a kilogram of the best caviar available--apologizing that a bathtub full was beyond his means!!! She is fondly missed by her dear friends who fortunately have great memories of Peggy's joie de vivre', and we remember well that Peggy could tell a joke with the perfect lead up to the punch line. A rare talent indeed! We miss you Peggy!

Barbara Corcoran

Barbara Corcoran's amazing rise to the top has become the stuff of legend and inspiration. Her credentials include straight D's in high school and college and over twenty jobs by the time she turned twenty-three. It was her next job that would make her one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country--when she borrowed $1000 from her boyfriend and quit her job as a waitress to start a tiny real estate company in New York City. Over the next twenty-five years, she'd parlay that $1000 loan into The Corcoran Group, New York City's leading real estate company with over $5 billion in revenue. Barbara now leads over 800 agents in 11 New York City offices and an additional 200 agents in Palm Beach, The Hamptons, North Fork, and Shelter Island. How'd she do it? She listened to her mother.

Barbara's National Bestseller, "Use What You've Got and Other Business Lessons I Learned From My Mom," reveals that her secret to success has been to steadfastly apply her mom's kitchen table wisdom. The paperback edition is titled, "If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons in Your Pigtails." All of Barbara's profits from the book fund the specialized education of dyslexic children.

Motivational, inspirational, and sometimes outrageous, Barbara Corcoran's tell-it-like-it-is attitude is a fresh approach to success. According to CNN, Barbara is "the most sought after broker" in the city and is considered one of the most powerful brokers in the country.

Diane B. Diamondstein

Following her graduation from Cornell University in 1973, Ms. Diamondstein began her career in real estate by working for privately held real estate firms and joined Chase Manhattan Bank in 1980. In 1986 she was named Division Manager for the Real Estate Valuation unit responsible for New York State. As a member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI) and Real Estate Board of New York she served on various committees. She also lectured at the NYU Real Estate Institute.

Upon completing her term as President of AREW 1988/89, she served as Dinner Chairperson for AREW's first fundraising event, which established the initial endowment for the AREW Charitable Fund.

At the invitation of President Rhodes, she served on the first President's Council of Cornell Women, whose mission is to advance the involvement and leadership of women students, faculty and alumnae.

In recognition for her work done on behalf of the Path to Peace Foundation, she was awarded a Papal Silver medal and a Proclamation from Pope John Paul prior to his 1995 New York City visit.

She retired in 1996 to pursue other interests.

Patricia Goldstein

In 2001, Patricia Goldstein joined Milstein Brothers to run a new venture in acquisitions and development. Prior to joining Milstein Brothers Realty Investors, she founded a real estate investment banking firm, providing advisory services that included raising capital for owners and developers.

Goldstein also served as Division Executive of Citicorp Global Real Estate, with responsibility for investment decisions on new real estate business opportunities, including CMBS worldwide and loan syndication, as well as workouts and OREO portfolios. She developed extensive experience with all asset classes for both investment and direct real estate owned properties. She also managed sales/ leasebacks, emerging market financing transactions and real estate transactions with large global customers. She managed a global real estate organization with offices in eight countries and had responsibility for management of a substantial bank owned portfolio in Mexico. She started Citibank's Capital Markets and Securitization programs in Europe, which was recognized as #2 in global securitization in 1997.

Goldstein was Executive VP and COO at M.J. Raynes from 1988-1990. Before that, she was Senior Vice President and Treasurer for Olympia & York Companies (USA) from 1983-1988. While in this job, she was voted "Treasurer of the Year for Swaps" by Euromoney and was responsible for billions in financing.

Presently, Ms. Goldstein is trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and a member of the Real Estate Roundtable. She is a former Chairman of the Real Estate Advisory Committee of the New York Retirement Fund (the second largest pension fund in the US). She was selected YWCA "Woman Achiever of the Year" in 1994; was named as Commercial Real Estate Woman Achiever of the year by CREW in 1995, and was the honoree at the 1996 Real Estate and Construction Council gala benefit at Lincoln Center, the first woman ever to be so honored.

Joan Gordon

Beginning as a property manager at Tewkesbury Management, Inc., a family-owned real estate company where she managed apartment buildings and professional offices, Joan Gordon spent time as a high school guidance counselor before rising to become one of the most influential women in real estate as Director of the NYU Real Estate Institute from 1978 to 1996. She developed and administered courses for the Real Estate Institute, provided counseling and job referrals for students and served as liaison to the Real Estate Institute's Advisory Board and Real Estate Round Table.

Along the way she married Donald J. Gordon, a partner in Digby Management, and had two children, Debbie Fechter and Larry Gordon, who both work for Digby Management acquiring, leasing and managing residential and commercial properties.

Ms. Gordon served as one of the first presidents of the Association of Real Estate Women in 1982 and was president of the League of Women Voters of New Rochelle in 1971. Upon her retirement, NYU established the Joan Gordon Scholarship, awarded annually to an outstanding student in the Master of Science Real Estate Program.

Joan currently volunteers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, still takes continuing education courses, enjoys Pilates, water aerobics and travel, when she's not spending time with her "five wonderful grandchildren."

Merle I. Gross-Ginsburg

Beginning with the renovation of a rooming house on the Upper West Side into a seven-unit apartment building where she and her family would live, Merle Gross-Ginsburg soon became involved in the community, starting a block association, planting trees, engaging city agencies in starting local self-help organizations. From 1969 to 1972, she renovated four other properties from SRO's into multi-unit co-ops, among the first to be converted in the city. In 1972 she joined L.B. Kaye Associates, then a small independent residential brokerage selling co-ops and brownstones. Two years later, she was recruited by Edward Gordon as his assistant, the beginning of her career in commercial management. From a small office of six professionals, ESG grew rapidly into one of Manhattan's most successful commercial real estate firms. Merle started ESG's management division in 1976. Named a partner of the firm in 1978, the first woman partner in a commercial real estate firm in the city, she built a department originally managing 500,000 square feet to one managing 7 million square feet by 1980.

In 1975, after attending a Real Estate Board dinner where there were only two other professional women in attendance, it appeared there was a dearth of women in the commercial sector of real estate. But when asked by the Board in 1976 to participate in a seminar for women in the field, 100 women showed up. Merle realized there were no professional networking availabilities for women and decided to try to create something, and so the Association of Real Estate Women was created. Merle served as its first President from 1978 to 1980. From its' beginning, the Association's goals have been to support women in their professional lives through networking opportunities, educational seminars, and professional development. The organization is now celebrating its' 26th Anniversary.

Constance J. Milstein

Constance J. Milstein is an attorney and a Principal of Ogden CAP Properties, LLC, a property management and development company in NYC. In 2003, Crain's included Ms. Milstein among the top 100 women real estate executives. In recognition of her support for the homeless, Ms. Milstein was honored in 2004 by the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter (NCS), one of the largest homeless shelters in New York.

From 1992 to 2003 Ms. Milstein served as Director of Emigrant Savings Bank, New York's fourth largest savings bank. From 1992-1999 she also served as Co-Chairman of Douglas Elliman Inc., New York's largest residential real estate brokerage. Under her direction, the firm sold $2 billion worth of property in 1998. Douglas Elliman was sold in July, 1999.

Previously, she served as an attorney in the General Counsel's office of the Federal Department of Transportation and practiced law at the Washington law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Kampelman.

Ms. Milstein is a philanthropist and patron of sciences, arts, and education. She is a Board member/Trustee of the New York Presbyterian Hospital, and a Member/Governor of the New York Presbyterian Foundation, Inc. Ms. Mi/stein is also a Board Member of the American Hospital of Paris, where the nursing services have been named in her honor. In addition she is a Board Member of the New York City Parks Foundation, Director of the New York City Opera, a Director of the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation, and a Trustee of the Democratic Leadership Council. Ms. Mi/stein supports various projects and programs at Columbia University (the Milstein Library), New York Presbyterian Hospital (the Milstein Hospital Building), the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Opera, the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the American Jewish Committee (AJC), and the United Jewish Appeal (UJA).

Carol Nelson

Carol Nelson, recently retired vice chairman of Insignia Real Estate, a New York Stock Exchange Company, has been the trailblazer for women in commercial real estate. She has been an inspiration and role model for women brokers throughout the industry and has mentored other women who have achieved major success in their own careers.

During a 28-year career she has been widely recognized for her involvement in many of the nation's largest real estate transactions valued in the billions of dollars. Her achievements include: Sony's 900,000 square foot net lease of the AT&T Building, 550 Madison Avenue; the Random House 450,000 square foot transaction, 250 East 50th Street; the disposition of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield's headquarters, 622 Third Avenue; the IRS headquarters, 1133 Avenue of the Americas; IBM's sale of 590 Madison Avenue; and the Conde Nast headquarters transaction, 4 Times Square, which jump-started the Times Square redevelopment.

Carol was honored by the Real Estate Board of New York with Ingenious Broker Awards on three separate occasions and her transactions were featured in The New York Times, The New York Daily News and Crain's New York Business, among others.

Currently she is chairman and CEO of CSN Equities, her own company specializing in acquisitions, and acts as consultant for various corporations. She is an owner of two successful restaurants, Baldoria, New York City, and Cafe Blue, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Carol has served on the boards of American Women's Economic Corporation, American Red Cross. Women's Project & Productions, Washington Scholarship Committee and New Milford, Columbia Presbyterian Hospitals.

Carol D. Nicols

Nichols often professed that she didn't work well with intangibles. She likes ideas to eventually become "concrete," deriving pleasure from working on projects that altered a city's skyline. Before her recent retirement, she was Senior Managing Director Insignia/ESG's Capital Advisors Group (CAG), where she managed contacts with all major institutional clients. The group assists national and international clients with acquisitions and dispositions, debt placement, securitization advice and restructuring, and provides expertise in sale/ leasebacks for investment grade and sub-investment grade credits and financing for build-to-suits. Among her most prominent transactions with which she was involved were NationsBank Tower in Miami, 757 Third Avenue in New York and a 1.6 million square-foot portfolio of office buildings in suburban Detroit. Nichols joined CAG in 1997 after her retirement from Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, where she was managing director in the Mortgage and Real Estate Division. This top-performing professional considered the greatest achievement of her 30-year career to be survival. She expresses concern regarding the potential of e-commerce to dramatically alter the commercial real estate industry.

Korea A. Phillips

In 2002, Karen Phillips was the NYC Public Advocate appointment to the NYC Planning Commission. She also provides consulting services in community development to private planning and development firms, community development corporations and municipalities. She's often a participant in discussions about urban issues with graduate educational programs and community development professionals. She was 2002-03 Mid-Career Community Development Fellow of the Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at the New School University. In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg appointed her to the Board of Directors of the Studio Museum in Harlem.

She was previously a founder, president and CEO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC), a community-based not-for-profit organization initiated in 1986 by volunteers from Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church, one of NY's oldest African-American congregations. Upon her appointed as City Planning Commissioner, ADC had invested almost $200 million in the Harlem community, employed 55 people, created over 1,000 units of housing and fostered proposals for the redevelopment of four large properties containing over 500,000 square feet of commercial space.

Phillips was initially trained as a landscape architect at the School of Environmental Design, University of Georgia, and in 1982 graduated with a Master's from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, with a concentration in real estate development and urban planning. A resident of Harlem, she is a member of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the NY Women's Forum and the American Society of Landscape Architects, and serves on the Board of Directors for New Yorkers for Parks and the Manhattan Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Karen also serves on the Fannie Mae North East Regional Office Housing and Community Development Advisory Board, the State Farm Bank Community Reinvestment Advisory Board, and is on the coordinating committee of New York 2050, a participatory visioning process for the region.

Janet Levy Rivkin

Janet Levy Rivkin spent 35 years in real estate areas ranging from regulatory agency work to management, brokerage, construction and building inspection. She has a Masters from Columbia University and was the first woman named an Assistant Professor at the NYU Real Estate Institute.

She spent 10 years at the Rent Stabilization Association as Membership Director. Her years after RSA included building and project management for Starrett Housing, and the development of her own full service real estate firm. Janet Levy Associates focused on small and mid-sized property management, consulting work for institutions such as hospitals with large blocks of housing, building sales and quality control services. She continues to work on special projects for owners and is an investor as well.

Over the years she has been have involved with numerous business organizations, including the Real Estate Board of New York, Associated Builders and Owners, and has served on many of their boards and committees. She was a founding member of AREW and was on the very first six-member Steering Committee. During her year as President of AREW, she stressed the importance not only of professional life, but the health and well being of each woman member. Her friendships with so many of these and other real estate women have been her greatest rewards.

She would like to acknowledge the support and teachings of several men. Firstly, her Dad, Bill Levy, who took her as a child to building and construction sites for Saturdays together. Special thanks to mentor Don Gordon, the "not in the book teaching" of Barry Levites, and the master of "how to build it," the late Sid Silverstein. Special admiration goes to her husband and real estate lawyer, Larry Rivkin. "Meeting him at a Real Estate Board dinner was the best deal I ever made."

Marilyn Kramer Weitzman, MAI, CRE 

Since 1981, Marilyn Kramer Weitzman has been a principal of The Weitzman Group, Inc., real estate specialists providing advice and counsel to those engaged in evaluation, buying, selling, leasing, financing or developing real estate. The firm provides acquisition and disposition counseling, regional economic analysis, market research, due diligence, development planning, appraisals and expert testimony. Prior to that, she was a principal of Korpacz and Weitzman, Inc., real estate consultants and appraisers providing market and investment analyses and property valuation services from 1977 to 1981. She spent five years prior to that as Assistant Vice President of Investment Services Division of Landauer Associates Inc., after a short stint as a regional economist at the American City Corporation in the early Seventies.

She received her MBA from New York University's Graduate School of Business Administration in 1980, 11 years after completing her Masters and undergraduate degrees at the University of Pennsylvania.

A frequent lecturer and adjunct professor at NYU's Real Estate Institute, Marilyn is a member of the Appraisal Institute, Urban Land Institute, Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association, Real Estate Board of New York, Association of Real Estate Women and is a licensed salesperson in the State of New York.

Current Leaders

Ruth A. Agnese, MAI

Ruth A. Agnese is Senior Vice President of Appraisers and Planners, Inc. a full service appraisal and real estate consulting firm based in New York City. She has been involved in commercial real estate valuation for over 20 years and holds the MAI designation. Her clients include major law firms, developers, financial and non-for profit institutions. Over her career, she has been involved in major New York City commercial projects valued in excess of a billion dollars. Notable office buildings appraised include the Empire State Building and Crown Building among others. She is frequently sought after to serve as an expert in arbitration and litigation matters.

Ms. Agnese is a certified general appraiser in the State of New York and State of Connecticut. Ms. Agnese is very active in the Appraisal Institute on a national, regional and local level. She is the Past President of the Metropolitan Chapter of the New York Appraisal Institute. She is a frequent lecturer for the Appraisal Institute and Real Estate Board of New York.

Highlights of past and current professional accomplishments: Past President of the Association of Real Estate Women (AREW); Past President of Metropolitan New York Chapter of the Appraisal Institute; Recognized as one of the 100 Women Real Estate Leaders for the 21st Century by Real Estate Weekly; Awarded the Galaxy Award, Woman of the Future in 2000 by the New York Women's Agenda; Presently serves on the Appraisal Advisory Council of New York University's Real Estate Masters Program; Past Chair of the Appraisal Committee of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY); Appointed to the board of REAC, (Real Estate Advisory Coalition), a non-profit established to assist tenants affected by the 9/11 tragedy.

Susan Boyle, AIA, IIDA, ASID 

Susan Boyle is Managing Partner at HLW, an international architecture, interior design, engineering, planning, and consulting firm. In 1994 Susan was promoted to Partner--the first female partner in HLW's 118-year history. Within three years she was promoted to Senior Partner, and soon after to her current position as one of four Managing Partners in the 250-employee firm. As part of her responsibilities, Susan is involved in the establishment of HLW's business practices and operational structure. Recently, she was instrumental in the roll-out of a firm-wide restructuring, as well as a new mission, vision, goals and values initiative.

Susan actively participates in development and management of design projects for HLW. She is partner-in-charge for the interior design of Dechert's new 200,000 sf law offices in Philadelphia. Susan is also involved with the Millennium HS, a progressive learning environment that fits into Governor Pataki's plan for the revitalization of Downtown Manhattan. Her projects have received many awards, including the Business Week/Architectural Record Award for SAP's Global Marketing Headquarters in 2001, and Interior Magazine Awards in 1999 and 2000 for Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and La Palestra Center for Preventative Medicine.

As a registered architect and licensed interior designer, Susan is very active in professional organizations for the built community. She is a member of the American Institute of Architects and American Society of Interior Designers, and a board member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). She has also served as chairwoman for the IIDA Commercial Design Forum, which hosts the annual Pioneers of the Industry series celebrating innovators in the interior design profession. AREW honored Susan in 1999 as one of the 100 most influential women in real estate.

Susan balances her career with an active family life, raising two boys, Jack (12) and Connor (6) with her husband John.

Aine Brazil, P.E.

Aine Brazil is a Managing Principal at Thornton-Tomasetti Engineers. Throughout her 24 years experience she has been responsible for the design and construction of high-rise offices, hotels, air-rights projects with long span transfer systems, hospitals and parking garages. High on the list of her accomplishments is the role she played in leading the structural engineering team for the design of the 850,000 square feet expansion of New York Hospital spanning over the FDR highway. Other notable projects include the Embassy Suites Hotel in Battery Park City, 5 Times Square, Times Square Tower and the new New York Times Headquarters Building in New York City.

In 1999 Ms. Brazil was named one of "New York's 100 Most Influential Women in Business" by Crain's New York Business. She was also featured in a New York Times article entitled "More Engineers in Hard Hats and Heels," which explored the hurdles she overcame as a woman in the construction industry. In May 2001, Ms. Brazil was honored by Professional Women in Construction (PWC) in their Salute to Women of Achievement. Ms. Brazil has authored numerous technical papers and lectured in Universities throughout the country including Cornell and Princeton. She is an active member in the American Concrete Institute (ACI), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Institute of Engineers in Ireland. Ms. Brazil holds a B.S. degree in Engineering from the University College in Galway, Ireland and a M.S. degree in Engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London.

Midge Brogan

Marguerite M. (Midge) Brogan is a Managing Director in Lehman Brothers' Global Commercial Real Estate Finance Group and is in her 13th year with the firm. Ms. Brogan's responsibilities have included the valuation, purchase, restructuring / resolution, sale and structured financings of all types of commercial real estate assets. Principal transactions activities in which she has been involved include the financing and acquisition of various property types across the country including land, office, regional malls, hotels, multi family properties and condominium conversions as well as the acquisition of commercial real estate loans and REO from: Bank of America, Sumitomo Bank, Fuji Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Westinghouse Credit, Fleet Financial Group, Chase Manhattan Bank, NationsBank, the FDIC, HUD and the RTC. Ms. Brogan was previously responsible for underwriting both performing and non-performing commercial real estate assets in Lehman's Contract Finance Department.

Prior to joining Lehman Ms. Brogan consulted to corporate clients in maximizing the value of their surplus and underutilized real estate assets and advising private sector and not-for-profit clients in real estate investments. She started her real estate career in Metropolitan Life's Real Estate Investment Group where she had direct responsibility for underwriting, structuring and closing debt and equity investments in the development, financing, acquisition, and management of commercial real estate.

Ms. Brogan earned an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from George Washington University and graduated cum laude from Boston College with a BS in Business Management with a concentration in Accounting. She has over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry.

Stephanie Butler

Stephanie Butler is a Senior Vice President of First American Title Insurance Company of New York. Having more than 25 years of experience in all phases of the title insurance industry, she currently works with clients (attorneys, lenders, developers etc) facilitating transactions in New York City and throughout the country from the inception of the title order through its closing. She joined First American in 1998 as the Manager of the New York City office in which 140 people were employed.

Prior to joining First American, she opened and managed the New York City Office for Lawyers Title where she realized the highest net incomes and best expense ratios of all offices throughout the country for most of the eight years that she managed the office. Prior to joining Lawyers Title, she managed the National Division for LTIC Assoc Inc.

Vivian Chuvez

As a Senior Partner of HLW International, LLP, and President of HLW Design/Build, LLC, Ms. Chavez is responsible for developing and maintaining the philosophy and management of the design/build group. Her expertise in directing a project delivery methodology to meet client's goals is a result of having over 24 years of integrated experience in design and construction. Highly responsive to diverse client expectations, Vivian has crafted HLW's "design-led approach" to the design/build practice. By focusing on the special needs of the industry and providing superior management skills, she ensures the success of complex, quolily projects.

Ms. Chavez is a Member of the American Institute of Architect (AIA), and the Design Building Institute of America (DBIA); Board of Directors of the DBIA Tri-State Metro Chapter; Business Week/Architectural Record Award--"Good Design's Good Business", 2001; DBIA Design/Build Excellence Award--2001; Skyscraper Museum Making NY History Award--2001; Articles featuring her work or carrying her by-line have appeared in Interior Design, DBIA The New York Times, Design/Build Magazine, Interiors and various other publications; Honored in 1999 and 2003 as one of the 100 most influential women in Real Estate in New York by the Association of Real Estate Women; Speaker at the Notional DBIA Conference, the Construction Summit and various industry events.

Faith Hope Consolo

Faith Hope Console is one of the most prominent retail brokers and consultants in the country, not only because of the volume, size and distinction of transactions, but also because of her extraordinary knowledge of NYC. She has advised many retailers as they emerged as major players in NYC and has worked on transforming troubled neighborhoods into sought-after shopping districts.

Consolo says successful retail brokerage is more than just site selection and negotiation. It is also involvement in community creation. She has served as consultant on the transformation of areas such as Times Square and Penn Station, and is credited among those who made possible Fifth Avenue's return as "Luxury Walk" and Madison Avenue's emergence as the "Golden Mile." Consolo has brought key retailers to Manhattan, and also created her firm's international division, Garrick-Aug Worldwide, Ltd.

Consolo served as an instructor at NYU, Wharton Business School and Parsons School of Design, and lectured before many prestigious organizations. Her memberships, affiliations and executive appointments in many industry, civic and philanthropic organizations include: International Council of Shopping Centers, National Broker's Network, The Junior League, The Young Men's/ Women's Real Estate Association, The English Speaking Union, Women's National Republican Club, and National Association for the Arts. Consolo is on the Board of Directors of Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York. She is past president of the Association of Real Estate Women and former board member of AREW's Charitable Fund. Consolo created The Founder's Award of AREW for outstanding achievement in the real estate industry. She served as an advisor for The Mayor's Council on the Aging/Related Issues

Prior to joining Garrick-Aug in 1985, Ms. Consolo owned a modeling agency in Los Angeles and developed a commercial interior design business in San Francisco, which she later sold to a major architectural firm.

Sherry Frankel

Sherry Frankel, principal and president of Caran Properties, also serves as vice president of AFA Asset Services, a real estate investment and asset management firm, where she focuses on analysis, acquisitions, financings and management of real estate investments. Sherry is asset manager of a real estate portfolio of residential and commercial properties in Manhattan, Miami and Maryland. She has spent her entire career with AFA, beginning in 1979 in addition to managing AFA's client porfolios, she converted two buildings to cooperative and condominium ownership, helping create the offering plans and managing the successful marketing and sales programs.

In 1988, Sherry found the need to improve the management and financial controls of AFA's client buildings. From that experience, she founded Caran Properties. This relationship between the asset management and property management interests resulted in Caran's trademark intelligent and aggressive style of management. By managing the property with an owner's perspective, the buildings are more closely monitored and expediently serviced.

The Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York honored Caran Properties as "Management Company of the Year" in 2000. Sherry has twice been the recipient of the ABO's Emma Lazarus Award for her contributions to the real estate industry and NY business environment and was chosen by the Association of Real Estate Women as one of the Women Real Estate Leaders for the 21st Century.

She is a member of the Real Estate Board of NY and serves on its Residential Council and Inter-firm Forum, the board of directors of the Rent Stabilization Association and the Neighborhood Preservation Political Action Fund. Sherry is secretary of the ABO and is on the executive committee of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center. She's also a consultant for NYU Cancer Institute and board member of the AREW Charitable Fund.

Jane Gladstein

Jane Gladstein is a principal of Metropolitan Housing Partners (MHP), responsible for oversight of the firm's development projects. MHP is an urban housing company specializing in development of multifamily condominium and rental properties in downtown neighborhoods, including the metropolitan areas of New York and Philadelphia. With institutional part ners, MHP is currently developing more than 1,000 units in projects valued at more than $60 million.

Previously, Gladstein was head of Jane Gladstein Real Estate, focusing on residential and retail properties. She has provided development consulting, asset management, owner's representation, marketing consulting and/or sales services for more than $6 billion of residential property.

Prior to managing her eponymous firm, Gladstein was a Vice President and the Director of the Residential Asset Management Group for North America for Citicorp Real Estate, where she created and led their marketing consultancy for the US-based asset management teams. Prior to joining Citicorp, Gladstein managed the Development Consulting Group of MJ Raynes Incorporated, where she led a team of 50 product development, marketing and sales professionals who provided strategic consulting services for over $1 billion in new housing. She previously was Senior Project Manager for The Marketing Directors.

Gladstein was honored as Developer of the Year (1992) by the Associated Builders and Owners of NY and recently was the recipient of their Emma Lazarus Award for her contribution to the real estate industry. Gladstein holds Registered Apartment Manager and Institute of Residential Marketing designations from the National Association of Home Builders and was a founding Governor/Director on the NY-based boards of these organizations on behalf of NAHB. Gladstein is a founding member and served for five years on the Board of Directors of AREW, and has served on the Housing Committee of the REBNY, where she is currently a Broker A member.

Veronica W. Hackett

Veronica W. Hackett is Co-Managing Partner of The Clarett Group, a NY based real estate company that develops high-rise properties in urban areas and provides development advisory services to a select group of clients. Since its founding in 1999, Clarett has completed three luxury Manhattan residential towers. Clarett Capital, formed with Prudential Real Estate Investors, has acquired two Manhattan properties. OPUS, a 22-story luxury condominium is currently under construction and 207 East 57th Street is in the design stage. Prior to founding Clarett, Mrs. Hackett and co-founder Neil Klarfeld were executive vice presidents of a major NYC development firm where they developed a myriad of real estate projects exceeding 12 million square feet. In addition to her work as a private sector developer, Mrs. Hackett has been a corporate real estate executive in the U.S. and Europe, a real estate pension fund asset manager and a real estate lender. She received her MBA in Finance from New York University and a BA in History and Economics from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. She is married and the mother of one son.

Leslie Wohlman Himmel

Leslie Wohlman Himmel has been called "the highest ranking female landlord in Manhattan's commercial property market," recognized as one of NYC's most successful business leaders and listed among the "100 Most Influential Women in Business." She's also made AREW's list of "100 Women Real Estate Leaders for the 21st Century."

Himmel has been Managing Partner of Himmel + Meringoff Properties since 1985. She and partner Stephen Meringoff own and control a portfolio of over 2,400,000 sf, with an asset value over $485 million. Their acquisition strategy has been to purchase well-located properties with an opportunity to create value through repositioning, renovation and re-tenanting. The company is vertically integrated with its own management, leasing and construction staff.

Previously, Himmel served as Assistant VP with the Acquisitions Division of Integrated Resources, involved in the acquisition of over $500 million in commercial properties and working on corporate saleleasebacks nationwide.

Himmel's board memberships include the REBNY's Executive Committee and Board of Governors. She has co-chaired their Economic Development Committee since 1995. She was elected to the Trustees Council of Penn Women (University of Pennsylvania) and the Wharton School Zell Lurie Real Estate Center, and is a member of the board of the NY Metro Young Presidents' Organization. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Association for a Better New York, the Harvard Business School Club of NY, the Harvard Business School Network of Women Alumnae, Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association and Young Mortgage Bankers Association. She is a frequent guest speaker and panelist.

Himmel graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cure Laude from the University of Pennsylvania. She received her MBA with high honors from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. She lives in NYC with her husband of 20 years and their two children.

Meredith J. Kane A Partner in the Real Estate Department of the NY office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP, Meredith Kane regularly represents developers, equity investors, institutional and entrepreneurial owners and government agencies in all aspects of development, finance, acquisitions and sales, leasing and securitization of real estate. She has special expertise in the finance and development of complex public/private joint venture projects, including the long-term lease acquisition of the World Trade Center complex, the development of the proposed new stadium for the NY Jets on Manhattan's West Side, the retail redevelopment and restoration of Grand Central Terminal, the redevelopment of historic theaters in the 42nd Street Development Project, the development and financing of a huge office and hotel complex in downtown Brooklyn, the development and financing of a new arena for the Miami Heat, the development and financing of Trump World Tower, and the development and financing of numerous office, residential and mixed-use complexes.

Kane was recently named to the WTC Memorial Center Advisory Committee by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, where she is a member of the Residential Advisory Council. She was formerly lead official of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development in charge of the development of 8,000 new housing units, and a former City Planning official for the City of New Haven in charge of mixed-use retail and commercial districts.

She is a regular speaker on real estate development and finance, including stadium and housing finance. Kane is a commissioner of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (Economic Development and Real Estate Finance Committees), Urban Land Institute and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She is chair of the Executive Committee of the Avenue of the Americas Association.

Suzanne Kliegerman

Suzanne Kliegerman has been Senior Vice President of Commerce Bank's New York Real Estate Lending Division since 2001. She has 19 years experience in the industry working for EAB, Bank of Tokyo Trust Company, and Chemical Bank.

She currently sits on the boards of the Association of Real Estate Women and the Real Estate Lenders Association and is a former President of both organizations. Kliegerman is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York and is a licensed New York State real estate broker. She has been a guest speaker at NYU's Real Estate Institute, Columbia University's Master of Science in Real Estate Development and RENBY. Kliegerman is a recipient of the 2004 Galaxy Award presented by the New York Women's Agenda. Kliegerman graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, and lives in Westchester with her husband and three sons.

Susan J. Kurland

Susan Kurland is executive director of Cushman & Wakefield's Retail Services Group, recognized as one of the top retail real estate brokers in the industry. She has consistently achieved honors as the firm's #1 retail broker in the nation, and is the firm's senior most retail brokerage professional.

Kurland has twice been the recipient of the REBNY's prestigious Retail Deal of the Year Award; first in 2000 for bringing apparel giant H&M to the U.S. with its flagship Fifth Avenue store, and again in 2002 for finding Mattel's American Girl Place a home on Fifth Avenue for its second U.S. location.

Kurland has more than 15 years real estate experience specializing in developing local, national and international retail projects, providing retail consulting and advisory services to a number of property owners and national retailers. Her extensive experience includes working with owners of retail sites to direct marketing and leasing efforts, as well as with national and international retail tenants and users seeking entry into major U.S. markets. She is particularly skilled at representing retailers in their efforts to locate suitable premises in some of NYC's most prestigious neighborhoods.

Kurland's assignments include both major roll-outs and unique site acquisitions. Retailers she represents include: Timberland, Camper Shoes, Benetton and H&M. Kurland created a 90,000 square foot space at Rockefeller Center for Sports Club/LA--one of Rockefeller Center's most significant leases in its ongoing efforts to reposition the property. Her 2002 award-winning American Girl Place deal at 609 Fifth Ave. constituted 45,200 square feet and she recently closed the MacKenzie-Childs lease for 15,000 square feet on West 57th. As an Executive Director of Cushman & Wakefield's Retail Services Group, Kurland takes the lead in developing new business for the company's agency and tenant representation assignments.

Patricia J. Lancaster, FAIA 

After six years in the private and non-for-profit sectors, Patricia Lancaster has returned to municipal service. In 2002 she became Commissioner of the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), the agency responsible for setting local construction standards, enforcing related laws and regulating the construction trades.

Commissioner Lancaster is a NYS Registered Architect with more than 20 years experience in construction, teaching and government. She is well-suited to bringing positive change to DOB. Lancaster has taken on the challenges of creating a structure for the agency that deters corruption and improves services to property owners and the building community. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, she is seeking revisions to the Building Code to enhance building performance under catastrophic conditions.

Lancaster previously owned the Lancaster Group, offering owners" representation and project management, primarily for not-for-profits.

As a member of LCOR, Inc., she was in charge of public/private development for the northeast region with a portfolio of more than $2 billion.

She was Assistant VP for the Department of Planning, Design and Construction at Columbia University, where she headed up an $850 million capital program. Under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, she was Deputy Commissioner for Design and Construction, where she managed a staff of 600 with an annual budget of $600 million.

Her other experience includes the re-development of Penn Station, the Foley Square Office building and a mixed-use building for Rutgers University for LCOR, Inc., as well as associations with top architectural firms such as Perkins and Will and Michael Lynn.

In 2003, Lancaster was named "Woman of the Year" by ABO.

In 2000, Real Estate Weekly named her one of the top 100 Women in Real Estate. In 1996, Professional Women in Construction named her Woman of the Year.

Patricia Van B. Madsen

Patricia Madsen is a partner in Winston & Strawn LLP's real estate department concentrating her practice in project development, investment, acquisition, sale, financing and leasing matters, including sale-leaseback and lease-leaseback transactions. She has extensive experience representing a broad range of domestic and foreign commercial real estate developers, investors, buyers, sellers and lenders, as well as landlords, tenants, not-for-profit institutions and governmental agencies.

Recent real estate projects in which Ms. Madsen has been involved include the development of apartment buildings on Roosevelt Island for Cornell University; the development of a mixed-use 40-story tower by Vornado Realty Trust; the leasing of properties across the country for the Rosa Mexicano restaurant; and the sale and development of Colgate Center in Jersey City, NJ.

Ms. Madsen received an A.B. in government from Harvard University in 1980 and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1984.

She served as president of the Association of Real Estate Women from 2000-2001 and is a member of the advisory board of Stewart Title Insurance Company and the editorial advisory board of Real Estate New York.

In the spring of 2004, she taught advanced leasing topics in a Real Estate Board of New York Continuing Education course and restaurant leasing in a restaurant management course offered by the French Culinary Institute.

Louise M. Matthews

As Vice President of Global Real Estate for Avon Products, Matthews is responsible for developing and implementing plans for purchase and lease of real estate assets to support Avon's business needs around the world. Avon is the world's leading direct seller of beauty and related products, with $6.8 billion in annual revenues. Avon markets to women around the world through 4.4 million independent sales Representatives in over 100 countries.

Working with the senior leadership and the real estate community, Louise is assessing short- and long-term real estate needs and identifying opportunities to optimize Avon's investments. She is also responsible for the team constructing Avon's $100 million research and development facility in Suffern, NY. Overseas, she is involved in a new development project in Romania, as well as the sale of surplus properties in the United Kingdom, Mexico City and Como, Italy.

Matthews was the 1997-1998 President of the Association of Real Estate Women, was awarded the New York Women's Agenda "Woman of the Future" Galaxy Star, was named one of the "100 Women Real Estate Leaders for the 21st Century" by Real Estate Weekly, and received the Women of Outstanding Achievement Award for Corporate Real Estate in honor of AREW's 25th Anniversary.

She currently serves on the Board of CoreNet Global, and was a board member of Habitat for Humanity from 1994 to 1997.

Prior to joining Avon in 2004, she was Director of Corporate Real Estate at Colgate-Palmolive Company, where she was responsible for the sale of 13 sites at Colgate Center in Jersey City, a former manufacturing site, which will be developed into a total of 7 million square feet of office, residential and retail buildings.

Prior to joining Colgate, she was a principal in The Praedium Group.

She has a degree in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University.

Carol J. Patterson

Carol J. Patterson is a senior partner in the law firm of Zetlin & De Chiara LLP, where her practice addresses the needs of clients in real estate, construction and the design professions. Zetlin & De Chiara specializes in complex construction and design industry matters for a national and international clientele, and Ms. Patterson represents clients on a variety of projects such as the design and construction of major office and residential buildings, performing arts centers, museums, hospitals, educational institutions, transportation facilities and other public buildings. Ms. Patterson advises clients on the diverse legal issues involved in planning and executing such large-scale construction projects. Since her practice often focuses on solving problems that may arise during or after construction, she represents her clients in arbitration, mediation or court proceedings.

Ms. Patterson frequently lectures on issues affecting the construction industry and design professions and has taught at the New York University Real Estate Institute. She is also a past President of the Association of Real Estate Women in New York City, is an affiliate member of the New York Chapter of American Institute of Architects, and serves as Counsel to the Metropolitan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. She is active in the legal community as a member of the Forum on the Construction Industry of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She received her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, a Master's Degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from Bryn Mawr College.

Rita Pierre

Rita Pierre is a partner in Berdon LLP, a top-20 CPA firm widely regarded as one of the premier real estate accounting firms in the Northeast. A specialist in auditing and accounting, Rita works with many of New York's most prominent real estate owners, investors and developers, dealing with sales and acquisitions, special-purpose financial statements, cash flow allocations, and related matters. In addition, she performs internal audit services for institutional investors and family real estate owners. Rita was named one of Real Estate Weekly's top 100 women and has received the New York Women's Agenda Galaxy Award. Rita also serves in state and national accounting organizations. In addition, Rita works with law firms and other professional services businesses, advising them on partnership agreements, mergers and acquisitions, financing and related internal control issues.

Rita is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is also a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, where she has served on various committees including Real Estate, Hospitality, Advertising and the Future of the Profession. She serves on the board of directors of the Association of Real Estate Women.

A magna cam laude graduate of Bernard M. Baruch College, Rita Pierre received her license as a certified public accountant in New York in 1984.

Amy Rose

Amy Rose is Executive Vice President of Rose Associates, Inc., an 80-year old real estate developer and manager of commercial, retail and residential properties throughout the Eastern Seaboard with projects in New York City, Connecticut and the greater Boston area. The company manages 30,000 residential units and four million square feet of commercial space, and is one of the largest managers of street-level retail space in Manhattan.

Ms. Rose has been employed for the past 15 years and is a member of the firm's New York City residential leasing, management and development operation. She also supervises all aspects of Rose Associates' corporate marketing program and human resources. For the past eight years, Ms. Rose has been a key member of the firm's consulting group, which provides real estate advisory and asset management services to financial institutions and professional investors. Her responsibilities include market studies, business plans, project administration and implementation of sales and marketing programs. Ms. Rose graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science degree. She is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association of New York, the Real Estate Board of New York, Urban Land Institute and the Women's Forum Inc. Ms. Rose also serves on the Dean's Advisory Council of LSA for the University of Michigan, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the 92nd Street Y and Central Synagogue.

Ms. Rose lives in New York City with her husband Jeffrey and their three children.

Sylvia Smith

Architect Sylvia Smith, named a principal of Fox & Fowle in 1996, directs the firm's educational and cultural work, which has won numerous awards for design excellence. Since joining the firm in 1982, she has been responsible for program intensive projects of varying scope and size. Some of her current work includes the new School of Management for Syracuse University, the redesign of the Lincoln Center public spaces (with Diller Scofidio and Renfro), the adaptive reuse of the Lion House at The Bronx Zoo, and renovations of the Spence School and the Calhoun School in Manhattan. Architecture organizations and others have honored several Fox & Fowle projects led by Sylvia for their design excellence and other attributes. She is a registered architect and an active member of the AIA.

Darcy Stacom

Darcy Stacom, who serves as Executive Vice President and Partner in the Investment Properties Institutional Group (IPIG), joined CB Richard Ellis in 2002. She has over 23 years of real estate experience and specializes in advisory and disposition services, acquisitions, development transactions and real estate finance. In each of the previous five years, advisory and sales transactions have exceeded $1 billion, predominantly in New York City. Ms. Stacom and her partner are responsible for the sale and advisory of over $10 billion of commercial real estate in New York and the restructuring of over $2 billion of mortgage and ownership positions. In 2002 and 2003, she closed advisory and sales transactions of $1 billion, including 222 East 41st Street, 150 Fifth Avenue, 420 West 42nd Street, 360 Lexington Avenue, and the Simkowitz and Cosmopolitan portfolios. Areas of specialization include the sale of commercial office buildings, residential apartment houses, development deals and hotels, including joint ventures and recapitalizations. Through the course of her career, she has participated in over two million square feet of leases and five million square feet of agency business. Her professional affiliations/accreditations include: Governor of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY); member of the Academy of Woman Achievers of the YWCA; Big Brothers and Big Sisters of New York; and the Lincoln Center Real Estate and Construction Council.

Louise M. Sunshine

Louise M. Sunshine is President and CEO of The Sunshine Group, Ltd. The Sunshine Group is recognized as the nation's premier marketing and sales company for residential real estate and hotel condominiums in the luxury market and is committed to creating value for its clients through a unique understanding of residential real estate, innovative marketing and a commitment to integrity and service. Ms. Sunshine has managed the sales and marketing of over 50 residential developments, completing more than $7 billion in sales over the past decade. The Sunshine Group is active in major markets throughout the United States including New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Las Vegas, San Diego and Philadelphia. The Sunshine Group is the exclusive sales and marketing agent for One Central Park @ Time Warner Center, One Beacon Court, The Hubert, 165 Charles Street designed by Richard Meier, DOWNTOWN by Philippe Starck, Spring and Riverlofts in New York City and The Brazilian Court in West Palm Beach.

On June 26, 2002 NRT, Inc., a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation and the nation's largest residential real estate brokerage company, acquired The Sunshine Group, Ltd. This affiliation, which has a strong platform throughout the nation, has helped The Sunshine Group continue its growth and expansion.

Prior to starting the Sunshine Group, Ms. Sunshine was Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, where she was instrumental in the development of many high profile properties.

She has served on the board of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Real Estate Development Advisory Board of Columbia University and was a commissioner for the New York City Commission on Women's Issues.

She is currently a member of Urban land Institute, Economic Club of NY, Real Estate Board of New York and International Real Estate Federation.

Marilyn Jordan Taylor, FAIA

Recently serving as SOM's Chairman, Marilyn Jordan Taylor joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) in 1971. Marilyn is a world-renowned architect and urban designer, and has gained international acclaim for her passionate involvement in the design of urban projects and civic improvements. She has been a major contributor to such City-shaping projects as the new Penn Station, Columbus Centre, Riverside South, JFK's International Arrivals Terminal and the East River Waterfront Masterplan. Ms. Taylor has been a major force on issues surrounding the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan. Educated at Radcliffe, MIT and the University of California at Berkeley, Ms. Taylor has served as President of the AIA's New York City Chapter, and as Chairman of the national AIA's Regional and Urban Design Committee. She currently serves as Chairman of the New York Building Congress, sits on the boards of the Urban Land Institute, WX (Women Executives in Real Estate) and the Institute for Urban Design. She has been a visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a David Rockefeller Fellow of The Partnership for New York City. She remains deeply committed to the role architects must play in the public realm and to the extraordinary value the real estate and construction industry creates for New York.

Mary Ann Tighe

During 19 years in real estate, Mary Ann Tighe has been responsible for over 44 million sf of commercial transactions. She has conceived. structured and negotiated virtually every form of deal, including ground leases, air rights acquisitions/dispositions, net and gross leases, government incentive packages, and a range of equity transfers from partnership and condominium interests through fee simple sales. Her deals have anchored more than 5.5 million sf of new construction in the NY region. Most significantly, Mary Ann has enjoyed unbroken, long-term relationships with a number of public and private companies and non-profit organizations, shaping and implementing their real estate strategies.

Tighe was named CEO of CBRE's NY Tri-State Region in 2002 and is a member of the Company's Board of Directors. She began her real estate career as a broker at Edward S. Gordon Company, ultimately rising to Vice Chairman of Insignia/ESG, where she was regularly recognized among the firm's top producers. Prior to entering the real estate, Tighe served as a Vice President of ABC, where she launched the A&E cable channel.

Recognized nationally for her expertise in the arts, Tighe was formerly Deputy Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Advisor to Vice President Walter Mondale, and a staff member of the Smithsonian Institution.

She was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of REBNY in 2001; won REBNY's 2002 Most Creative Retail Deal of the Year Award; received REBNY's 2002 and 1997 Henry Hart Rice Achievement awards; received REBNY's 1998 and 1992 Robert T. Lawrence Memorial awards; and NAIOP's 2002 New Jersey Deal of the Year award and 2003 New York Deal of the Year award. She is a Board member of The New 42nd Street, the NYC Ballet and Joan's Legacy: The Joan Scarangello Foundation to Conquer Lung Cancer.

Rising Stars

Amy Applebaum

Amy Applebaum is the Vice President of the Real Estate Development group of the New York City Economic Development Corporation ("NYCEDC"). During her nearly 5-years at NYCEDC, Ms. Applebaum has been involved in numerous redevelopment projects including Times Square / 42nd Street, the Atlantic and Court Street Garage and the Hub in the Bronx. In addition, she oversees the real estate requests for proposal ("RFP") process, represents NYCEDC on all New York City Empire Zone Boards and is responsible for overseeing all property appraisals.

Prior to NYCEDC, Ms. Applebaum spent nine years in commercial real estate lending for international banks. Ms. Applebaum is a graduate of Cornell University and received a Master's in Business Administration from NYU Stern School of Business.

Marie-Claire Cunningham

Marie-Claire Cunningham is a Managing Director in the Corporate Services Practice Group at GVA Williams which provides strategic planning, transaction management, project management, lease administration, facilities management and real estate consultancy to Fortune 500 companies. At GVA Williams, she has been involved in global acquisitions and dispositions for clients totaling more than two million square feet, as well as developing and implementing a global strategic plan for a corporate client's real estate portfolio totaling more than six million square feet.

Prior to joining GVA Williams, Cunningham was Real Estate Manager at Colgate-Palmolive Company, where her responsibilities included disposing of surplus space.

Significant accomplishments included the disposition of eight million square feet of development rights in Jersey City, NJ and restructuring of the company's world headquarters lease at 300 Park Avenue.

Cunningham spent 13 years at Corporate Property Investors (CPI), now Simon Property Group, in the asset management department, where she was assistant vice president. Her accomplishments include expanding and renovating several shopping centers including Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, NY, one of the top ranked malls in the country.

In addition, she was responsible for managing CPI's annual appraisal of its multi-billion dollar portfolio. Cunningham is President of the Association of Real Estate Women (AREW).

Founded in 1978, AREW is the foremost industry association dedicated to the advancement of women real estate professionals by providing mentoring, networking and career development opportunities.

She has participated as a panelist at Columbia University's Real Estate Roundtable programs and at NYU's Real Estate Institute.

In addition, she has been a volunteer at New York City Ballet since 1993. Ms. Cunningham earned a BS in Finance and International Business from NYU and is a licensed New York salesperson.

MaryAnne Gilmartin

MaryAnne Gilmartin is Executive VP--Commercial Development and Director of Corporate Leasing & Business Development at Forest City Ratner Companies, where she heads the development of the New York Times Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan and directs leasing of all Forest City Ratner's commercial space at MetroTech Center in Brooklyn.

Gilmartin is responsible for the development of several major hotel, entertainment and retail projects, including the $220 million, 650,000 square-foot 42nd Street mixed-use project that includes a Hilton hotel, Madame Tussauds, an AMC movie complex and HMV Records. Gilmartin also managed the development of the $155 million, 600,000 square-foot Battery Park City complex. She is also responsible for corporate leasing and business development for Forest City Ratner's NYC office portfolio.

Prior to joining Forest City Ratner, Gilmartin was Managing Director for consulting services at Grubb & Ellis, where she advised corporations and developers on real estate and relocation needs. Previously, she served as Assistant Vice President for Commercial Development at the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) during the Koch and Dinkins administrations. During her tenure at EDC, she managed the City's multi-million dollar corporate retention program, which played a key role in retaining companies considering relocation from New York City.

A native New Yorker, Gilmartin graduated Summa Cum Laude from Fordham University, where she also completed her Masters Degree. She is a licensed Real Estate Broker and has held memberships in the NYC Partnership International Business Committee and the Real Estate Board of New York's Economic Development Committee. She is a former board member and current member of Commercial Real Estate Women, a prior board member of Urban Pathways and current member of the Association of Real Estate Women, the National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives and the NYC Ballet Advisory Committee.

Leslie Horned 

Leslie Harwood joined Newmark & Company in 1993 as managing director specializing in tenant representation. In her tenure as a real estate professional, Ms. Harwood has received numerous honors and awards for her contributions to the industry. Among the most prestigious include the esteemed Emma Lazarus Award for "Dynamic Women in Business" in 1996 from the Associated Builders & Owners of Greater New York; the Max Feld Industry Achievement Award in 1995 awarded by Israel Bonds to salute service towards Israel's economic development; and the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association Young Real Estate Person of the Year Award in 1993 for integrity, knowledge and accomplishments in the field of real estate.

Additionally, Ms. Harwood was the guest of honor at the 1994 Inaugural Luncheon of the New Leadership Real Estate Cabinet of Israel Bonds for her dedication and commitment to raising money for Israel. She is a member, and on the Scholarship Committee, of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women, New York). In 2001, she was appointed to be member of the Board of Directors of the Women's Executive Committee of the UJA and now heads the new Start Loan Fun, a micro lending mechanism helping women in need. Ms. Harwood is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association of New York and former Co-Chairman of the Economic Development Committee of the Real Estate Board of New York, Inc.

She is Co-Chairman Emeritus of the Real Estate New Leadership Division of the Development Corporation of Israel. She is active with Planned Parenthood as well as the Pencil Principal-for-a-Day Project that brings private corporations into the public schools. Ms. Harwood is involved with the re-development of Times Square, concentrating on a residential development on 8th Avenue.

Dorothy "Dottie" Herman

Starting as a financial planner and part-time sales broker, today Dottie Herman owns and directs a real estate empire that last year generated $200 million in revenues, $6.5 billion in sales volume, has over 50 offices stretching from Manhattan to Montauk, and is recognized as one of the fastest growing full service residential real estate companies in the US.

She acquired Prudential Long Island Realty from Merrill Lynch Realty in 1989. In the early 1990's, Dottie overcame the challenges of a sluggish real estate market to steadily grow her firm into the largest privately-owned real estate company on Long Island. In 2001, Dottie expanded her vision into Manhattan, opening a Prudential Manhattan Realty office on the Lower East Side. Then, in March 2003, Dottie and her partners acquired Douglas Elliman, a legendary 92-year-old real estate company with 850 sales associates and nine Manhattan offices. In one fell swoop, she created the largest residential brokerage firm in the metropolitan NY marketplace, with 2,050 sales agents and offices stretching from Lower Manhattan to the tip of Long Island. Moreover, as part of that transaction, she also acquired Insignia Residential Group, Manhattan's largest property manager with over 800 buildings and 60,000 residential units located throughout NYC, New Jersey and Westchester County.

Today, Dottie Herman's growing real estate empire is an extraordinary blend of interrelated and complimentary services and opportunities for the real estate consumer. In addition to sales brokerage and management, there's also a title company, Liberty Land Title, and a growing mortgage finance firm, Preferred Empire Mortgage Company, which achieved $500 million in originated loan volume in 2002 and is currently ranked as one of New York's and the country's largest mortgage brokers.

Rebecca M. May

Rebecca M. May has an impressive understanding of real estate, the market, sales and people. As Executive Director of the residential brokerage division of Caran Properties, Rebecca is responsible for the group's management, marketing, business development and listing activities.

She joined Caran Properties in 1993 and served as Caran's Special Projects Manager, focusing on asset management, and has supervised more than $8 million in construction projects.

As a result, Rebecca can help prospective buyers quickly estimate renovation costs. Rebecca has been involved in mortgage refinancing, negotiating commercial and retail leases and overseeing tenant improvements.

Rebecca is a licensed real estate broker. She is active in industry associations and serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Real Estate Women and is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

Michele Medaglia

Since taking the helm as president of ACC Construction in 1995, Michele Medaglia has tripled the staff and dramatically diversified her company's client base. Moreover, her efforts have helped to establish ACC as the leading WBE (Woman-Owned Business) general contracting and construction management firm in the greater New York metro area with service lines covering everything from interior fit-outs to new construction. During Ms. Medaglia's tenure, annual revenues for the firm, which celebrated its 20th year in March, have increased tenfold.

The consummate executive, she never shies from challenges. Early on, she made it her mission to hire topflight executives and established a training program to encourage promotions from within the company. She also moved the firm in September 2002 from Long Island City to expansive offices in midtown Manhattan to better service her clientele, which include Commerce Bank, Columbia University and Vornado.

The mother of toddler twins, she has kept her company a family business, working in tandem with husband John Bennardo and sister Danielle Medaglia. The newly elected president of AREW, Michele Medaglia is recognized for her unfailing energy, generosity and passion for fine work.

Jodi Pulice

Jodi Pulice, an innovative business leader with over 24 years of experience in the commercial real estate sector, is Founder and President of JRT Realty Group. Ms. Pulice directs all activities of the organization, including transaction management and implementation; strategic consulting and project planning; property management; and leasing. She also spearheads the company's strategic alliance with Cushman & Wakefield, which permits JRT access to Cushman & Wakefield's vast brokerage, research and property management capabilities, both in New York and nationally. To date, Ms. Pulice has personally negotiated leasing and sales transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $1 billion. She is presently responsible for exclusive assignments totaling approximately 6 million square feet of commercial space.

Current high-profile clients include AOL, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association. In addition to her activities in the New York Metropolitan area, Ms. Pulice is currently involved in new leasing and management assignments in Florida, California, Washington, and Illinois. She was instrumental in arranging and closing the sale of more than $500 million in real estate, most notably the world famous Seagram Building for $370 million in December 2000.

Ms. Pulice earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Wagner College. She is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York and is an outspoken leader on behalf of women-owned businesses. Her views on commercial real estate have appeared in several local and national publications, including The New York Times, Crain's New York Business, Real Estate Weekly, Real Estate Forum, The Law Journal, The Mann Report and Accounting Today. Most recently, Ms. Pulice was awarded the 2002 Minority/ Woman Business of the year award given by The National Minority Business Council.

Pamela Samuels

Ms. Samuels has brought her extensive experience in the acquisition, finance and development of multi-family luxury residential properties to The Clarett Group. She joined the firm in October 2003 and was promoted from her position as Vice President to Managing Director. In this position she focuses on new acquisitions as well as the development of The Clarett Group's next luxury residential condominium, a $75mm project on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Ms. Samuels worked as an executive at Rockrose Development Corp. for several years where she acquired, planned and developed urban projects as part of a team. These include Queens West in Long Island City, a 20-acre waterfront development with seven luxury towers totaling nearly 3,000 rental units as well as 2 Gold Street, a 50-story, 650-unit luxury rental in Lower Manhattan. Previously, Ms. Samuels developed luxury residential condominiums throughout Manhattan with developers Tamarkin & Co, and Hamlin Ventures. As an architectural designer, Ms. Samuels worked with TsAO & McKown Architects, and Gensler Worldwide. At Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Architects, she worked on special projects including the Windows on the World Restaurant Complex, and The New Amsterdam Theater. Ms. Samuels began her career at Sotheby's auction house where she worked for several years in 20th Century Decorative Arts, and Business Management.

Ms. Samuels received a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors from the University of Chicago, a professional degree in Architecture from Rice University and completed post-professional studies in Real Estate Finance from New York University. She was an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture and is an active visiting critic at Harvard, Yale and Columbia Universities. She serves on the Economic Development Committee at REBNY, and is active within the Real Estate Division at UJA.

Marcy M. Stein

As the person who directs the marketing and business development for Gardiner & Theobald Inc., Marcy M. Stein is responsible for creating project and cost management opportunities for one of the world's leading project management firms. It is a job in which she confers with many influential developers, tenants, brokers and architects on a daily basis.

She also oversees Gardiner & Theobald's corporate positioning in the New York and Washington, DC offices, guiding its public relations and advertising programs. Her keen marketing expertise has been garnered through a diverse, 12-year career in which she has evaluated and processed commercial construction loans, implemented retail build-outs and project managed major office fit-outs. She was on the team that prepared the damage calculations and capital redevelopment plan for The World Trade Center after the 1993 bombing. Just prior to assuming her current position, she project managed the 400,000-square-foot build-out for Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. at 140 Broadway.

Ms. Stein holds a Masters of Science Degree in Construction Management from Pratt Institute School of Architecture. The mother of two, she is married to Jason Cohen, Senior Director, Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Congratulations

This is a celebration for AREW and Real Estate Weekly. Honoring the Top 50 Women in Real Estate is a fitting tribute to the recipients, who have distinguished themselves in our industry.

In the last few months, I have reviewed past editions of our publication to understand its growth. Certainly, by any measure, real estate in the tri-state region is the center of the world, both by virtue of its design and its quantity.

In the early years, there was an obvious absent of women in the industry and in our pages.

Oh, yes, there was one prominent exception in those early years, Leona Hemsley, whom Real Estate Weekly named in 1962 ... as the Man of the Year. (An embarrassment.)

As times have changed, so has Real Estate Weekly. In the 60s and 70s, we published an annual "satire" edition, Real Estate Weakly, to poke fun at industry leaders by superimposing their faces on photographs from movie stills. Lew Rudin was pictured on a couch caressing Marilyn Monroe. (The guys loved it!)

Okay, we've matured with the rest of the industry and corporate America.

Ladies, you have not come a long way, as the commercial said, you've distinguished yourself in far greater degrees than your numbers represent.

How things have changed--for the better!

The honorees of AREW's Top 50 Women in Real Estate are executives, top producers and leaders in firms that themselves are a who's who in our industry. Their contribution to the real estate industry is important, significant and meaningful.

I extend my congratulations to all the honorees on behalf of Real Estate Weekly.

Christopher Hagedorn Publisher