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Speakers and Panels

2023 WOMEN LEADING REAL ESTATE HONOREES: WOMEN IN FINANCE

Anar Shah

Anar Shah

VP

Lionstone

Anna Pawlik

Anna Pawlik

EVP; Commercial Real Estate Banking

Frost Bank

Ashley Arano

Ashley Arano

Founder

Prosperity Enterprise Funding

Ashley Grigsby

Ashley Grigsby

Managing Director - Capital Markets

Transwestern Development

Aura Malpica

Aura Malpica

Houston VP of Development

Lincoln Property Company

Caroline Petersen

Caroline Petersen

Senior Vice President, Investments

Brookfield Asset Management

Chace Henke

Chace Henke

Principal, Capital Markets

EDGE Realty Capital Markets

Cindy Davies

Cindy Davies

Senior Vice President Commercial Lending

Stellar Bank

Emily Zarcaro, CCIM

Emily Zarcaro, CCIM

Vice President

Northmarq

Ifeoma Harper

Ifeoma Harper

Senior Vice President

Bank of America

Jamie Safier

Jamie Safier

Managing Director, Capital Markets

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation

Janie Cuevas Franco

Janie Cuevas Franco

SVP of Accounting & Finance

Wan Bridge

Jennifer Ray

Jennifer Ray

Managing Director

Walker & Dunlop

Kristi Conway

Kristi Conway

Executive Vice President

PlainsCapital Bank

Lauren Sparks

Lauren Sparks

Founder, President and CEO

Agility Bank

Marilynne Clark

Marilynne Clark

Director, Financial Analytics

Colliers

Marion Green

Marion Green

Managing Director - Debt & Equity Finance

CBRE

Mary Trevino

Mary Trevino

Managing Director - Multifamily Development

Hines

Miranda Hadamik

Miranda Hadamik

Executive Vice President, Commercial Investment

Caldwell Companies

Sidney Whaley

Sidney Whaley

Director

Radom Capital

Stephanie Swaim

Stephanie Swaim

Vice President - Acquisitions & Asset Management

Nitya Capital

Anar Shah

VP

Lionstone

As a member of Lionstone’s capital formation team, Anar Shah supports investor relations, institutional and retail business development, and strategic planning and development of new fund vehicles across the firm’s investment programs. Ms. Shah has over 20 years of experience in institutional investment management. Prior to joining Lionstone in 2020, Ms. Shah was a senior vice president on the alternative investment sales team at Citi Private Bank. She received a B.S. in Finance from Louisiana State University and holds the FINRA Series 6, 7, 31, 63, and 66 registrations.

Ashley Grigsby

Managing Director - Capital Markets

Transwestern Development

Ashley serves as Managing Director of Transwestern Development

Company (TDC), which develops commercial real estate for itself, its

partners and clients throughout the United States. She leads the

execution of lending and financial placement for projects across

logistics, multifamily, office and mixed-use properties, and plays a

key role in cultivating and strengthening the firm’s commercial

lending relationships.

Aura Malpica

Houston VP of Development

Lincoln Property Company

Aura Malpica is an accomplished real estate development executive and currently serves as Vice President of Development at Lincoln Property Company in Houston. In this role, she is responsible for expanding Lincoln’s mixed-use development platform, driving strategic growth across the region through site acquisitions, entitlements, and comprehensive project execution. With a career spanning over a decade, she has been instrumental in the development of more than 2,500 multifamily units across Texas. Her areas of expertise include land acquisition, financial underwriting, capital structuring, design coordination, and construction management.

Before joining Lincoln, Aura held the role of Senior Investment Associate at AOG Living, where she led all aspects of multifamily development and investment from project origination through disposition. Aura’s professional journey began in Venezuela, where she served as Chief Operating Officer for a general contracting firm. After relocating to the United States, she brought her financial expertise to the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as Assistant to the CFO.

In recognition of her leadership and contributions to the industry, Aura was named one of Bisnow’s Houston Women Leading Real Estate in 2023. Beyond her professional endeavors, she finds joy and balance in her family life. She is married to her husband, David, and together they are proud parents to two children, Damian and Anabella. Aura is passionate about creating meaningful memories with her family—whether it’s relaxing on beach vacations, exploring new places, or simply enjoying time together at home. She also enjoys staying active, supporting community initiatives, and mentoring young professionals who are beginning their careers in real estate.

Chace Henke

Principal, Capital Markets

EDGE Realty Capital Markets

Chace Henke serves a Principal at Edge Capital Markets. She specializes in the representation of owners in the disposition of their income-producing assets with an emphasis on multi-tenant retail and office.

Prior to joining Edge, she was a Vice President at Transwestern for seven years where she was actively engaged in the stabilization and disposition of retail assets throughout Texas and Louisiana. During her career, Chace has been instrumental in the sale of over half a billion in investment real estate transactions. Chace brings a unique knowledge base and perspective to the investment sales platform, having previously leased a portfolio comprised of over 1 million sf of retail space, thus allowing her to fully understand the fundamentals of the assets she is selling. Chace’s leasing efforts alone have generated over $75 million in value for her clients. Prior to that, Chace was a member of the Page Partners retail brokerage team where she honed her skills by facilitating dispositions of distressed and REO assets for the nation’s largest special servicers. Chace received her BBA in finance with a concentration in real estate from the Red McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

Jamie Safier

Managing Director, Capital Markets

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation

Jamie Safier is a Managing Director, Capital Markets with Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation based in Houston. Mrs. Safier is primarily responsible for sourcing debt and equity for commercial real estate transactions of all asset types including multifamily, retail, office, and self-storage. She joins MMCC from LMI Capital, where she was a Senior Director and served her clients for 10 years. Over the course of her career, she has placed hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions of all types and established prosperous, enduring relationships with multiple lenders and property owners across the country. She began her career as an investment banking analyst where she worked in the Financial Institutions Group.

Mrs. Safier received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.

Janie Cuevas Franco

SVP of Accounting & Finance

Wan Bridge

Janie Franco leads our Accounting & Finance teams to support all aspects of “money operations” for our Company. She has worked in the accounting field since graduating from The University of Texas at Austin and has worked specifically for the Real Estate industry in commercial, multi-family and single-family development, construction, operations, acquisitions, and development. At Wan Bridge, Janie splits her time between overseeing our Property Accounting team, Finance, Development and Corporate Accounting while creating systems to integrate our construction & partnership accounting, 3rd party and investor reporting and ongoing compliance audits.

She recently was awarded the 2023 REDNews Real Estate Awards CPA of the Year for her work in aiding Wan Bridge’s growth.

Janie is an integral part of our business who knew she wanted to work with numbers since she was six years old when she helped her father, who was a small business owner, prepare his cash deposits. Janie’s favorite phrase, often heard in the accounting department is “We have a spreadsheet for that,” showing her comprehensive commitment with a smile. When she is not working, she spends time with her husband of almost 20 years and two children.

Jennifer Ray

Managing Director

Walker & Dunlop

Jennifer Ray, Managing Director, works within the Investment Sales team of Walker & Dunlop’s Houston, Texas office. She has extensive knowledge in the disposition of multifamily assets in Texas with over 14 years of transactional experience totaling $6.3 billion.

Prior to joining Walker & Dunlop, Ms. Ray worked at Berkadia as a Senior Director on the Houston Investment Sales team for 5 years. Prior to her role at Berkadia, she served as an Associate Director at CBRE.

Ms. Ray earned her Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, as well as her Master’s degree in Real Estate Land Development.

Lauren Sparks

Founder, President and CEO

Agility Bank

Lauren Sparks founded Agility 2020, Inc., the entity that proposed a federally chartered bank, primarily owned and led by women. Today, Agility Bank is open and operating in Houston as the first women-owned and led Minority Depository Institution founded for its purpose in the country. With over three decades of community banking and risk management experience, Lauren is uniquely qualified to foster the growth of digital-forward community bank.

As a business owner herself, Lauren executed exceptional opportunities for entrepreneurs, especially women. In 2009, she formed Third Party Resources, Inc. (3PR Inc.), a woman-owned consulting firm specializing in community banks and financial service firms. 3PR serves more than 30 community banks at any given time and has become a preferred vendor for one of the world’s largest software providers.

Lauren was also recently honored as one of the Houston Business Journal’s Texas 100 influential professionals to watch in 2023.

Marion Green

Managing Director - Debt & Equity Finance

CBRE

Ms. Green has extensive experience in the servicing, portfolio management and closing of commercial real estate debt for life insurance companies, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Wall Street conduits. As Managing Director of the Conduit and Agency Group (CAG), Ms. Green’s primary responsibility is the management, coordination and closing of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans. Since joining CAG in 2001, Ms. Green has been instrumental in closing over 1,900 Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae transactions totaling $41 billion.

Prior to joining CBRE, Ms. Green was a vice president in portfolio management at WMF Washington Mortgage/Prudential, and a senior portfolio manager at Holliday Fenoglio, Inc. In addition to managing multiple servicing portfolios, Ms. Green was responsible for supervising a staff of closers and servicers, and was instrumental in establishing and documenting policies and procedures. Ms. Green began her career in the mortgage banking industry in 1983.

Miranda Hadamik

Executive Vice President, Commercial Investment

Caldwell Companies

Miranda joined Caldwell Companies in 2010 and now serves as Vice President – Investments. Miranda is responsible for the due diligence process of underwriting the financial feasibility and development viability of potential investment opportunities in order to grow our commercial and residential portfolios. She participates in evaluating development and disposition strategies for portfolio assets along with assisting in the sourcing of debt and equity capital.

Miranda began her career with Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, LLC as a real estate analyst in 2008. While with Deloitte Miranda performed appraisals, site inspections, audit support appraisal reviews, market studies, rent studies, lease abstracts, and leasehold interest valuations for property types including retail, office, industrial, land and multi-family properties.

Miranda graduated from Texas A&M University, earning her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing in 2006 and her Master of Real Estate in 2008. She was a member of the Aggie Women’s golf team and she still enjoys playing.

Miranda and her husband Brad are members of Houston’s First Baptist Church. They both served on the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Gate Keepers Committee and participated in the MS150. In her spare time she enjoys spending time cooking, traveling, fishing, cycling and watching Aggie football with her husband.

PANEL DISCUSSION

Breaking Barriers: Women Pioneering the Path in Commercial Real Estate Finance

Rhonda Sands

Rhonda Sands

SVP

Frost Banking, Investments

Cortney Cole
HONOREE

Cortney Cole

Senior Managing Director

JLL Capital Markets

Danielle Davis
HONOREE

Danielle Davis

Vice President, Southwest Head of Diverse Businesses

JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking

Kristin Burton
HONOREE

Kristin Burton

Managing Director of Finance

Greystar

Anne Marie Rogers
Panelist

Anne Marie Rogers

Vice President of Sales and Business Development

Quest Trust Co

Summer Carter
Moderator

Summer Carter

Business Development Executive

WC Construction

Rhonda Sands

SVP

Frost Banking, Investments

Rhonda J. Sands is a Frost senior vice president and relationship manager serving customers in the

Houston region. Rhonda has 39 years of industry experience. Her wealth of knowledge coupled with her

expertise help build strong banking relationships with her customers and colleagues.

A proud graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA and an MBA, Rhonda’s commitment to

continued learning and leadership development is evident through her involvement with Commercial

Real Estate Women (CREW) Network, both as a member and by serving on the board. Her community

involvement includes the Advisory Board for Women’s Resource of Greater Houston, and Treasurer of

St. Philip Presbyterian Church.

In addition to helping Frost grow and prosper through her strong interpersonal skills and her vast

product knowledge, Rhonda enjoys spending time playing golf and summertime hiking in the mountains.

Kristin Burton

HONOREE

Greystar

Kristin Burton is a Managing Director of Finance for Greystar. She serves as co-lead for the North American Development project finance team overseeing the company’s capital execution for development assets in the Central and West regions of the United States and Canada. Kristin has been active in the multifamily industry since 2005.

Prior to joining Greystar in 2015, she worked for JP Morgan in the company’s commercial real estate group, serving in various roles, including multifamily project underwriting, loan structuring and syndicated finance, legal documentation, and relationship management.

Kristin holds a master’s degree in Land Economics and Real Estate, as well as a bachelor’s of science degree, both from Texas A&M University.

Anne Marie Rogers

Panelist

Quest Trust Co

Anne Marie Rogers is the Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Quest Trust Company. After joining the company in 2013, Anne Marie has played a pivotal role in growing Quest and identifying new business opportunities. She has extensive knowledge of retirement planning through alternative investing and more than a decade of sales and marketing experience. As an investor herself, Anne Marie understands both the conceptual and practical uses of Self-Directed IRAs, with much of her investment experience in private lending and other passive investment opportunities. As one of the lead female public speakers at Quest Trust Company, Anne Marie is passionate about educating Americans on the benefits of Self-Direction. She has been featured in the media on KHOU Great Day Houston, and on the cover of Think Realty Magazine as a Woman to Watch in the industry. Anne Marie received her Bachelor of Arts from St. Edward’s University and holds the designation of CISP and SDIP.

Summer Carter

Moderator

WC Construction

Summer Carter is the Business Development Executive for commercial general contracting

firm, WC Construction based in The Woodlands, TX. Summer entered commercial real

estate after obtaining her bachelor’s degree at the University of Houston in 2019. Summer

was presented with an opportunity, not realizing the pathway ahead held a potentially

long-term future. She joined WC Construction in the role of Assistant Project Manager and

continued to excel ahead within the company. Within a year, she took on the role of

Superintendent, where she led the firm’s construction projects onsite. Her first assignment

was a 435,000 square feet demolition project for Developer James Warmack and Avison

Young in Research Forest Lakeside. Summer completed projects across the Greater

Houston area covering a region as far north as College Station and as far east as Beaumont.

The following year, Summer was immersed within the company and created a new division

to serve as the Business Development Executive to expand the company’s client portfolio

and maximize the company’s profit. She has elevated company awareness and opportunities

through outlets such as sponsorships, partnerships, panelist opportunities, spotlights, and

much more. She was recently invited to speak on the AIA (The American Institute of

Architects) panel on “Navigating the Ropes” where she advised career guidance for students

and peers in the AEC (Architectural, Engineering, and Construction) industry.

Summer is a committed advocate of the commercial real estate industry and is involved in

numerous committees and programs. During her term serving Leadership Montgomery

County, she assisted the local nonprofit Community Assistance Center. Summer was

elected to the Board of Directors for The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce where she

is highly involved. She has served as the Sponsorship Team Lead for the Annual Economic

Outlook Conference, Annual Chairman’s Ball, and currently serves as a member of the

Executive Leadership Council and represents WC Construction as a Corporate Partner.

Additionally, she has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Commercial Real Estate

Association of Montgomery County representing WC Construction as a Gold Sponsor

partner. She is an incoming Board Member of CoreNet Global Houston Chapter and is

incoming Chairman for it’s Emerging Leaders committee. Due to her role and initiatives,

WC Construction is partnered with many other Corporate Real Estate committees and

organizations in the Houston area including NAIOP as a Gold Sponsor, Urban Land

Institute where she was a past ULI Next Generation committee member, Bisnow past

panelist and partner, and an advocate for CREMM. Summer focuses on enriching the

development of WC Construction by working alongside the firm’s clientele in the pre-

construction phase of the projects, engaging in networking events, attending conference

seminars, actively building new and nurturing current relationships within the community

and in the surrounding areas. Summer continues to seize new opportunities for WC

Construction and continually stays actively involved in multiple assets of the community to

enhance the economic viability.

Recognizing Women Leaders in Houston Commercial Real Estate Finance & Capital Markets

Bisnow is excited to host our fourth annual Houston Women Leading Real Estate (WLRE) awards. This year we are celebrating the remarkable women in finance who have shown unwavering perseverance during particularly challenging times for the capital markets. In a year marked by unprecedented trials, we are on a quest to recognize and celebrate those women who have not only excelled in the finance sector but have also exhibited resilience, creativity, determination and steadfast commitment to their goals.
  

Our award ceremony seeks to spotlight individuals whose inspiring stories and dedication have not only inspired their peers but have also propelled the real estate finance industry forward. Join us in applauding and honoring these exceptional women as we come together to acknowledge their outstanding contributions and perseverance in shaping the future of finance in the real estate realm.
 

Agenda

Time Activity
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
Coffee, Breakfast and Networking
4:00 PM
5:00 PM
Panel Discussion

Breaking Barriers: Women Pioneering the Path in Commercial Real Estate Finance

5:00 PM
5:30 PM
Award Ceremony: Women In Finance
5:30 PM
6:00 PM
Closing Networking