Houston Women Leading Real Estate

As Managing Director for JLL’s Houston’s Property Management service line, Connie drives growth for the region and oversees operations for our office, industrial, and healthcare clients. Her proven skills include strong financial acumen, strategy development and implementation, innovative best practices, and team leadership. Connie also leads our national medical office building property management platform. Connie brings over 30 years of commercial real estate experience, with a diverse background covering Class A & B office, healthcare, industrial, retail, residential, and mixed-use properties. Her relationship-based, hands-on approach to developing high performing teams has resulted in enhanced client satisfaction and exceptional performance by vendor partners and contractors. She has been with JLL for over 15 years, most recently as the National Director of Healthcare Property Management.

Allen leads the project leasing team to provide consulting, marketing, merchandising and leasing services to landlords and developers. Her profound expertise covers a range of asset classes including traditional neighborhood, regional and super-regional shopping centers, mixed-use developments, lifestyle centers, and entertainment venues. Allen also provides tenant representation services and market strategy for local, regional and national retailers and restaurants looking to expand their concepts. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Prior to joining Transwestern in 2012, Allen worked as a senior leasing agent for Brixmor Property Group (formerly Centro Properties Group), the second largest owner of open air neighborhood and regional shopping centers in the nation. With an assigned portfolio of more than 2.5 million square feet, she correlated the marketing, negotiation, construction coordination, budgeting and overall execution of transactions with new and existing tenants. She also played an integral role in multiple redevelopment projects. Throughout her tenure she was consistently a top producer not only within the Southwest region but nationally, and she executed more than 2 million square feet of lease transactions alone. Today, Allen has built a leasing portfolio of more than 3 million square feet of existing and new developments, and, in the last 12 months has executed transactions that created over $100 million in value. Crystal Allen currently leases many of the largest, most high profile projects within the country, and is consistently requested by the company’s premier clients to represent projects. She is a top producer within the firm, is considered a leader within the retail industry and a mentor to her team members. Her clients include Brookfield, Oliver McMillan, DC Partners, LNR Partners, Patrinely Group, CDC, Xenia Lodging, Imperial Development, Skanska, 4M Investments, Woodridge Capital, Walton Street Capital and Ley/Wilson Development as well as multiple tenants including Amorino Gelato, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Star Furniture, Voicebox Karaoke, Gigi’s Cupcakes and TF Supplements. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS/RECOGNITION: Crystal is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the states of Texas and Colorado, a member of ICSC and a member of Transwestern’s Women’s Leadership Council. In 2015 Crystal was recognized as one of Globe Street’s Top Ten Emerging Retail Leaders and has recently been named one of Real Estate Forum’s 2016 top 50 under 40. EDUCATION: Crystal graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

Debbie is a Principal with EDGE Realty Partners in Houston and was instrumental in forming the Houston office and brokerage team in 2011. She takes great pride in building relationships with her clients and helping young brokers learn the business and achieve their goals. Debbie advises both retailers and landlords on their property strategies and expansion goals. Some of Debbie’s key clients are L&B Realty Advisors, Provident Realty Advisors, Pei Wei, Baker Street, Local Pour, Roti Mediterranean Grill, Cotton Patch, Round Top Collection, Toni & Guy, Village Green and Motion Stretch Studios among others. Prior to joining EDGE, Debbie was with Gulf Coast Commercial Group where she managed the project leasing team and implemented all of the marketing strategy for their retail portfolio and company branding. Debbie is a graduated of Texas Tech University. She spends her free time with family and friends and volunteers for several local charities.

Jennifer Campbell leads Houston as a Director for IPA Texas. Ms. Campbell has closed more than $3 billion representing over 30,000 units in multifamily transactions across the state of Texas. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Campbell worked for a Houston boutique firm specializing in multifamily transactions. She also interned with Trammel Crow and CBRE debt and equity group while completing an MBA in real estate finance. Ms. Campbell is also a graduate from Tulane and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, where she earned degrees in music and dance. She enjoyed a 13-year career singing opera professionally, prior to entering the real estate profession. She currently is active with Urban Land Institute and is pursuing her CCIM designation.

Nancy Almodovar, President and CEO of Nan and Company Properties, defines her success by helping others find their happy. Named the #2 Luxury Agent in Houston in 2023,She thrives in the world of luxury real estate, teaching and mentoring others and breaking old stereotypes. Nancy is a loyal supporter and promoter of Houston, its culture and fellow community businesses and she is an ambitious entrepreneur with a data-driven process for business growth. She has been recognized as Houston Agent Magazine’s Managing Broker of the Year in 2020; was named one of Houston’s Most Influential Women by Houston Women Magazine in 2022; elected Houston Area Women’s Center Leadership Campaign Chair in 2021; and was a 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 Honoree by Houston Business Journal. This past year and in years prior, Houston Business Journal has named Nan and Company Properties as one of the best places to work in Houston, a distinction that she views as more important than any personal recognition. With more than fourteen years of experience, Almodovar has soared to the top of the industry with a company driven by customer service and client satisfaction, making her the trusted agent for multimillion dollar properties, such as this River Oaks home previously owned by royals, the second most expensive home sold in Houston this year, and a socialite's estate which houses a world-famous closet. Almodovar launched Nan and Company Properties in 2014 from her kitchen table and has since filled a gap in the Houston marketplace for premier luxury real estate services including leasing, sales, and buying. She has grown the company over 40 percent each year since its inception and continues to foster an environment in which Nan and Co. agents grow their businesses as well. Almodovar is an alumnus of the University of Houston Bauer College of Business and continued her personal development and business education with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program. Purpose is central to how Nan & Co. operates. Their mission is to help everyone find their happy, and they interpret that with their commitments to their employees, clients, developers, the community, and the real estate industry at large. Nancy personally volunteers and gives back to several organizations such as the Houston Ballet and St. Anne Catholic School. She launched the Nan Cares Toy Drive in 2016, an annual campaign to collect toy donations for students at Brookline Elementary, and is the Chair for the HAR Communications Advisory Board. In addition to being a CEO, she is a loving wife and mother of two, and a mentor to young men and women coming up in entrepreneurship, business and real estate.

Carolyn Wolff Dorros is currently Executive Vice President of Wolff Companies, a real estate development company based in Houston, TX. She works on the oversight and management of the company’s financial asset portfolios as well as land development, strategic planning, marketing and communications. Ms. Dorros graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1997 and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she earned honors in her second year. She has served as President of the Harvard Business School Club of Houston and as Chair of her class’s 10 and 15 year reunions. Prior to joining Wolff Companies, Ms. Dorros was the Administrative Director of Neurosciences at Stanford Medical Center, where she also served as Director of Business Development. She also worked at Medsite, Inc., as a Product Manager and as APM/CSC Healthcare as a Research Associate. Ms. Dorros serves on the Boards of Texas Children’s Hospital, St. John’s School, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, New Hope Housing and the West Houston Association. She is also the past Chair of Breakthrough Houston. Ms. Dorros and her husband, Chris, have a daughter and a son.

Catherine Lee is the Chief Operating Officer and In-House Counsel for Douglas Elliman Texas. In addition to legal counsel, Catherine is charged with driving the company’s growth and managing financial operations as well as all day-to-day operations including marketing, human resources, recruiting, accounting, and business development. Prior to this position, Catherine served as Chief Operating Officer and Partner of Sudhoff Companies, until Douglas Elliman formed a joint venture with Sudhoff Companies creating Douglas Elliman Texas. She has been a strategic family investor with Sudhoff Companies since 2010, becoming a major influencer in the company’s luxury real estate development across retail, multifamily, and residential with projects ranging from value-add repositioning to ground-up construction. Before capitalizing in real estate, Catherine owned operated, and franchised 22 Applebee’s statewide and managed a 70-manager team with 1,300 employees. She was the only female franchisee for the global restaurant brand. Prior to the restaurant business, Catherine previously served as an Associate with Vinson & Elkins in their finance section. Born and raised in Houston, Catherine graduated with honors from Rice University and holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Huyen is a self-driven strategic thinker with 15 years in corporate oil and gas industry and 8 years in real estate acquisition and management. I have extensive experience in new business development, process integrator, process design and process safety. Excellent stakeholder management, collaboration skills, and strong personal drive to deliver. Combining her diverse experiences, Huyen passion is to help her investors reach their financial freedom.

Ms. Goldfine is Chief Digital Strategy Officer and is responsible for new digital strategy initiatives throughout the company. She oversees the Global Digital Strategy Office, which uses technology and data to empower Hines employees, engage clients and partners, optimize operations and continuously transform our products and services. Previously she served as head of the Business Technology Group after having worked on several of the firm’s investment funds and in the financial/accounting function across the firm. Goldfine earned her BBA in Accounting from the University of Michigan, and her MBA from the University of Detroit-Mercy. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Dr. Ishnella co-founded 5Rivers CRE 26 years ago with her father. When the company became more successful than expected she left her medical career to join and learn every aspect the real estate company. Starting with being the sole property manager for the entire portfolio to learning all other roles in the company. She has been running operations for the last several years as the COO. In addition to daily operations, she raises capital and equity for new acquisitions and manages investor relations. As a Sikh, charity has been a fundamental part of her life. She currently serves as a national board member to the US chapter of the United Sikhs, a UN organization. She does seva for the Sikh National Center in Houston. She is interested in crypto and finding new green technologies. She also runs several social groups in Houston and loves her dogs and cat.

Kelli Walter is a Partner at Partners’ Capital Group, In this role, Kelli is responsible for executing Capital Groups’ business plan for every Investment Fund asset, and plays a major role in the ongoing growth of the company’s Fund portfolios and the execution of its investment strategy as it continues to generate value for its investors. Kelli was previously at Voss Capital, where she served concurrently as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. While at Voss, Kelli oversaw fund operations, treasury, investor relations and compliance, and led many transformational efforts to institutionalize Voss. Kelli also has many years of experience in corporate finance from her tenure at multiple publicly traded oil and gas firms. Kelli has a Master of Science degree in Finance from Texas A&M – Mays Business School, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Texas A&M.

Geraldine Pacheco has more than 25 years of experience in finance roles for private enterprise and 15 years of experience in the commercial construction industry. With a bachelor of science degree in accounting, she is also a certified public accountant and a certified commercial construction industry finance professional. Pacheco is experienced in both the general and specialty construction sectors and manages a structured, process-driven finance team, which standardizes functions that provide effective operations support to the entire organization. As CFO, she oversees the finance, human resource and insurance/risk management functions for the firm. Since joining Arch-Con in 2010, Pacheco has received the Houston Business Journal CFO of the Year Award three times in the small, medium and large private companies’ categories, as well as the HBJ 2014 Community Impact Award and the HBJ 2017 Executive of the Year Award. She currently serves as President of CREW Houston and is on the board of directors for the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Houston CPA Society. Pacheco has served as director for Keep Kids Connected, a nonprofit organization that donates computers to children with life-threatening illnesses.

Prolific interior design practice specializes in developing originative and fully integrated designs for F+B & hospitality concepts.

Micki is a registered Architect and Interior Designer in Texas, who serves as the Regional Leader of WorkPlace for Texas and bordering states based out of HOK’s Houston office. Over her 20+ years in the design industry, she has extensive experience with large-scale corporate headquarters buildings, managing project teams to deliver next-generation workplaces. She works with major corporate clients and headquarters projects for clients in the Oil & Gas, Technology, IT, Higher Education and Manufacturing. She also brings past expertise with healthcare, hospitality and civic buildings. In her role, Micki focuses on collaborating with large corporate workplace clients and connecting with leadership across HOK’s global workplace practice, focusing on helping companies streamline communication efforts as their Account Manager, between their decision-making teams and HOK’s design support. With Micki’s years of design experience in the corporate market, she has expertise in all aspects of the project and construction design process, project management, business development, quality control and client relationship building. Her project experience ranges from large scale corporate headquarters interiors build-outs to small office suite renovations, and everything in between. Attachments area

PJ is a talented healthcare planner and designer who has worked with many of the nation’s top healthcare institutions to create landmark facilities. Her designs have enhanced the campuses of several institutions, including Texas Children’s Hospital, Harris Health System, the University of Texas Medical Branch and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. PJ is a past chair of the Houston chapter of the AIA Committee on Architecture for Health and has presented at national industry conferences for several years. PJ has been previously recognized in the “40 Under 40” program of Building Design and Construction as well as by the Houston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and Engineering News-Record’s “20 Under 40” for the Texas and Louisiana Region.

Ashley is a Senior Project Manager at Kimley-Horn whose focus is land development, primarily for private sector clients. She has over 19 years of experience and offers extensive project management and engineering design experience on a variety of retail, commercial, multi-family, residential, and office developments.

Julie Kleine is responsible for marketing, brand management, advertising, and public relations. She has more than 15 years of management experience in the publicly traded real estate industry, including global sales and marketing, trade show development, digital and traditional media, and multilingual communications for international, commercial, and land information management consulting firms.

Ms. Michelle Johnson, MBA is a commercial real estate professional, specializing in retail and industrial properties. Johnson has a wealth of experience with commercial deals, corporate real estate logistics and contracts negotiations. She has closed over $20 million dollars worth of transactions throughout her career. Johnson is a proud veteran of the United States Army and a member of the Houston Black Real Estate Association

A real estate veteran with over 15 year of experience, Bedinger has a strong background in media relations, media buying, corporate brand development and marketing strategy. She most recently served as Vice President of Marketing at Transwestern, where she was responsible for overseeing the development of national communication and marketing plans for global clientele, key executives and internal campaigns;strategic influence for high-end development projects and executive leadership initiatives; spearheading annual brand planning processes; and leading national philanthropic partnerships. Bedinger’s career achievements stem from her ability to manage with creativity and collaboration. She is results driven, innovative and articulate, adaptable and able to lead a team to success.

Alison Dimick Malkhassian is a 30-year veteran of the real estate industry with more than 25 years exclusively dedicated to all facets of multifamily investments. Her experience runs across a variety of capital platforms, including investment banking, pension fund advisory, public REIT and private equity. Over the course of her career as a multifamily specialist, she has overseen or completed the acquisition of over $1.1 billion in assets, $725 million of dispositions, $300 million in structured finance transactions, and $2 billion in M&A transactions. In 2012, Malkhassian formed Alara Ventures to focus on investing exclusively in multifamily opportunities offering high risk-adjusted returns. Alara achieves this by utilizing moderate levels of leverage; investing in highly desirable or unique locations; in assets especially well-suited to a definable demand in the renter market within that specific location; and, offering multiple exit opportunities. The firm invests with its high net-worth investor partners and to date has acquired approximately 1,500 units valued at over $165 million. Prior to forming Alara Ventures, she served as an Officer and Senior Vice President of Camden Property Trust where she led acquisitions, dispositions, and research for the company between 1997 and 2003. In her capacity as a company Officer, she sat on the Investment Committee and approved in excess of $1 billion in development activity during her tenure. Malkhassian has served as the Director of Multifamily Investments for The Lionstone Group where she was responsible for all aspects of the firm’s multifamily platform including the development of its multifamily investment strategy, research, acquisitions and dispositions. Prior to that she served as President of U.S. Residential, a subsidiary of U.S. Advisors, where she was responsible for the Company’s multifamily investments. Before joining US Advisors, Malkhassian served as EVP and Chief Investment Officer for WMC/Walden Investment Partners, a subsidiary of Olympus Real Estate Partners. She is a long-time member of National Multi-Housing Counsel and has been featured in articles in London Financial Times, Barron’s and other publications regarding investment strategy and structured transactions. She graduated from The University of California at Davis and lives in Houston with her husband and son.

Heather Nguyen is NewQuest Properties Development Partner. With over 23 years of diverse real estate experience, Nguyen spearheads development opportunities and the re-positioning of retail assets – creating ‘internet-proof’, regional destination of unmatched values. Nguyen’s impressive development portfolio includes: The Shops at Pearland Parkway, Carrollton Town Center, Frisco Ranch Shopping Center, Marketplace at Ninety-Six, The Shops at Katy Grand, and most recently – Chandler Ranch Shopping Center located in Chandler, Arizona. Carrying through a philosophy of persistence, tenacity, and patience, Nguyen brings a unique combination of client focused development and leasing knowledge. Her work and expertise proves to deliver the highest level of results. Over Nguyen’s career, she has produced more than $6.5 billion in real estate transactional value. Nguyen joined NewQuest Properties in 2000 and has since won multiple accolades: Top Producer Awards at NewQuest Properties, H Texas Magazine Women in Business Award, 2018 Women in Real Estate, and routinely named to Houston Business Journal’s Heavy Hitter list. Nguyen served on the board of Commercial Gateway, Midtown Redevelopment Board, and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers. Nguyen, along with her husband Dr. Shawn Taher, are involved in a number of charity organizations. Through The Body Balance Foundation, their efforts range from delivering Christmas toys to the children of Houston to organizing fundraisers, benefiting Texas Children’s Hospital.

Lauri Goodman Lampson is a business visionary who challenges executives to rethink their approach to work and place. As PDR’s President and CEO, she is the mastermind behind the firm’s innovative business model and integrated approach to consulting, design, and brand services. PDR guides organizations to leverage the boundless opportunities in front of them to move forward faster. They work to simplify the complexity of workplace decisions— creating places and experiences that make people, businesses, ideas, and decisions BETTER. As a designer, workplace strategist, and business advisor, Lauri has built PDR into the thought leadership platform and creative powerhouse it is today.

As Corporate Managing Director in Savills Houston office, Lesa Nickelson French helps clients achieve their business goals through customized real estate solutions. She draws on her expertise from both her legal training and extensive experience in commercial real estate to serve tenants in lease transactions ranging from 2,500 to more than 500,000 square feet. Specializing in tenant representation, leasing, acquisitions and dispositions, she works strategically with her clients to understand their unique needs, regardless of size. Lesa helps companies of all sizes achieve their business goals by synthesizing her negotiation and contract skills with in-depth market knowledge, skillfully representing clients in finding the right space to thrive. Lesa joined Savills in 2019, after eight years as Senior Vice President with JLL, where she was a top performer in office tenant representation. Before that, she worked at CBRE for six years, representing mid- to large-size tenants. Before entering commercial real estate, Lesa practiced law for ten years. She was a commercial litigator and then spent six years at Service Corporation International, successfully supervising the firm’s U.S. and Canadian litigation. Lesa earned recognition as a “Heavy Hitter in Office Leasing” from the Houston Business Journal, and several awards for achievement at JLL, including Top Gun Designation, Gold Achiever Designation and Top Achiever Designation. She served as a Board Member and Client Relations Chair on the JLL Houston Women’s Network. She is also a member of several community organizations, including the Women’s Energy Network; the Houston Area Women’s Center, where she served as a Board Member from 2016-2018 and as Facilities Committee Chair in 2018; and as Board Co-Chair for the American Lung Association from 2015-2016.

Emily began her career in the Houston office of Gensler, a global architecture and design firm, where she gained over a decade of experience managing and developing strategies for work environments that uniquely reflected each client's corporate culture, vision and business objectives. Prior to joining Fritsche Anderson Realty Partners in 2022, Emily honed her commercial real estate expertise at Cushman & Wakefield, where she specialized in office tenant representation. Today, Emily has the privilege of representing tenants in their commercial real estate endeavors by identifying and evaluating buildings, structuring transactions, and negotiating the necessary documents to memorialize agreements. In serving her client’s best interests, her responsibilities may also include negotiating buyouts, subleasing space, and buying/selling property. Now with over 18 years of experience in the industry, Emily brings a versatile background and an end-user perspective to every transaction. Her clients value her passion for delivering creative solutions and her thoughtful, detail-oriented approach. An active deacon at South Main Baptist Church, Emily serves in many leadership roles, including the most recent historic restoration of the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall. Emily is also active in Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), the Women's Auxiliary of The Salvation Army, and the Dean's Leadership Council at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design. She is a proud graduate of The Honors College at the University of Houston; Summa Cum Laude. She and her husband have two children.