Twin Cities Women Leading Real Estate

Kara Frank, owner of Twin Realty Investment Company, is an experienced real estate professional who delivers superior personal attention, flexibility and customization to her clients. Kara combines her work of managing a successful portfolio of multifamily and commercial properties with strategic partnerships with other industry professionals to provide flexible commercial and multifamily real estate services. About Kara Professional Experience  A proven track record of property and asset management and leasing.   Extensive experience with neighborhood retail, suburban office and office-industrial properties.    Broad base of real estate knowledge and active member of real estate industry associations (CPM designation; ULI, IREM, MNCAR and MHA member)   Possess wide range of functional building knowledge and extensive network of vendors helping clients to solve issues quickly and make informed decisions. Education  The Blake School  Graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in Housing Studies and Business Administration  Mini Masters in Real Estate Development from the University of St. Thomas  Licensed real estate broker  Affiliations  Minnesota Commercial Association of Realtors (MNCAR)  Minnesota Multihousing Association (MHA)  Urban Land Institute (ULI)  Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) CPM Designation When she's not at work Kara is busy chasing her two active children! She and her husband love to run the lakes, Peloton, walk the neighborhood with their two furry children, Punky and Stanley and take bike rides on one of Minneapolis' amazing trails.  Kara also serves on the board of directors for both Oak Ridge Country club and Herzl Camp. Kara is an active member of the steering committee for the ADL (Anti Defamation League) and is the former Co-Chair and current volunteer for the Urban Land Institute’s Real Estate Development Diversity initiative program.

Anne M. Olson, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Ms. Olson was appointed the Chief Operating Officer in June 2018 after joining Centerspace as General Counsel in April 2017. She leads the operations, asset management, technology, legal, and internal audit functions for the Company. Since joining Centerspace, Ms. Olson has overseen more than $800 million of dispositions and the expansion of Centerspace’s market presence in Denver, Colorado. Ms. Olson is an active member of ULI and NMHC, and is a member of NMHC’s Innovation Committee. Prior to joining Centerspace, Ms. Olson had been in the private practice of law, most recently as a Partner in Dorsey & Whitney LLP's Real Estate Practice Group, where she focused on development and investment real estate for publicly traded and publicly registered REITs, including Centerspace, as well as private equity funds and national developers and owners. Prior to 2011, Ms. Olson served as Director of Investment Operations and in-house counsel for Welsh Companies, LLC and its affiliates, including providing leadership in the growth of its asset portfolio and development of a successful capital markets strategy. Ms. Olson holds a B.A in English from Drake University and earned her J.D. with highest honors from Drake University Law School.

As an Executive Director of Cushman & Wakefield’s MSP Advisory Services Team, Jaclyn May is an expert on providing local and global real estate advisory services for businesses, nonprofits, and education organizations. The MSP Advisory Services Team spends much of its time listening to clients, integrating the vast platform of resources within Cushman & Wakefield – workplace planning / site selection / transaction management, facility management / cost reductions, property sales / purchases, financing, and project management services. Jaclyn is consistently one of the top producers in the Minneapolis office.

As Regional Director for the U.S. Green Building Council, Sheri oversees market transformation and development activities across the Midwest. Sheri is an experienced senior leader in sustainability with a focus on the built environment, strategic partnerships, stakeholder engagement and organizational management. She is a resource to policy makers at the state and local level, and raises awareness about the USGBC’s work through public speaking and serving on stakeholder groups. Prior to this role, Sheri was appointed Executive Director of the U.S. Green Building Council Minnesota Chapter in February 2009. As Executive Director, she worked with the Board of Directors to strengthen and expand the organization. Before joining USGBC as staff, Sheri was actively involved with the organization as a volunteer leader when she helped form the USGBC Minnesota group in 2002. Her volunteer roles with USGBC MN included serving on the board of directors as secretary, vice chair and chair. With a background in the construction industry, Sheri brings over 25 years of experience in the building industry. In her previous positions as Director of Marketing for Weis Builders, Inc. and Adolfson & Peterson Construction, she developed and led the general contractor’s sustainability programs. Sheri holds a B.S. Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Angela Ledding joined PLG in 2021 as a Managing Director and Head of Underwriting. Angela has over 15 years of experience in commercial real estate lending, having financed CRE projects with manufacturers, retailers, builders, developers, and multifamily property owners. Angela’s experience includes progressively senior underwriting and portfolio management roles at four different regional banks. Angela graduated at the top of her class at both Bemidji State University and Madison Graduate School of Banking.

As Senior Vice President of Senior Housing Development, Shannon is responsible for developing and maintaining client relationships with an emphasis in strategic real estate planning. Shannon is the lead developer of Oppidan’s Senior Housing portfolio, including The Pillars Senior Living Communities throughout Minnesota and multiple developments in California. Prior to joining Oppidan in 2005, Shannon amassed extensive real estate experience through her work in the corporate real estate division of Cushman & Wakefield LaSalle Partners in Chicago, IL, as well as Trammell Crow Company in St. Louis, MO. In these roles, she represented several major corporations throughout their corporate relocations across the country. Prior to this, she was an engineer for IBM Corporation. Shannon founded Oppidan’s Women Lead Empowerment series and is a regular speaker for industry events including the Minnesota Real Estate Journal Housing Summit, MNCrew Senior Housing panel and MNCrew Women in Business panel. She’s the Secretary of the Campfire Minnesota Board and she created Senior Camp Days at Tanadoona, in which residents in Oppidan’s senior housing communities take day trips to experience the outdoors. Her prior board memberships include Children’s Cancer Research Fund, Teach for America and Junior League. In 2020, Shannon was named one of the Women in Business Honorees by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and named to the Twin Cities Business Notable Women in CRE list. Shannon received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Minnesota. Shannon is a member of ASHA, NIC, MNCAR and ULI. In her free time, Shannon stays active running, biking, yoga, golf and more.

Emily Nicoll is a Senior Vice President in the Downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota office of CBRE, where she focuses exclusively on providing real estate solutions to corporate occupiers. Emily and her team collaborate to develop and implement strategic real estate initiatives to maximize value for Minneapolis tenants. Emily works together with both clients and colleagues to identify unique market opportunities and applies her in depth market knowledge, coupled with strong energy and business acumen, to capture the highest value for the client. She assists clients through proactive transaction management services from project initiation through completion. Her responsibilities include process management, financial analysis, multi-million dollar negotiations, sustainability cost savings initiatives, and occupancy cost reduction strategies. Emily contributes value to each transaction through her creative problem-solving¬ and maintains professionalism and integrity through conflict and negotiation.

Jessica L. Welk serves as the General Counsel for Schafer Richardson. She leads the company’s legal team and supports Schafer Richardson’s Development, Asset Management, Property Management, Construction, Leasing, Accounting and SR Realty Trust teams. She focuses on the legal aspects of development projects, from origination to closing, and provides legal guidance to the company. She brings more than 13 years of legal experience: prior to joining Schafer Richardson, Welk served as Senior Assistant General Counsel for Sherman Associates for over 5 years, and worked for law firms before moving in-house. Welk holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Middlebury College and a Juris Doctor from the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

Amanda Leathers has over twelve years of experience working in net lease sales with a highly motivated and successful team. As an Investment Sales Associate, she has contributed in the completion of over 450 transactions, totaling in excess of $950 million in investment sales nationally. Amanda attended St. Cloud State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate from the Herberger Business School. Most of her professional career has been at Upland, giving her a unique opportunity to grow strong team bonds, as well as create long-term client relationships. Being part of a small net lease sales team gives Amanda the ability to see transactions through from start to finish, working on behalf of buyers, sellers, and tenants that she represents. In this relationship-based industry, her clients are her most important asset. Amanda’s main responsibility is to maintain client relationships, while researching and building new ones.

As Vice President of Development, Maureen works with the Company’s Principals to source new development opportunities, negotiate and structure joint-venture partnerships and initiate new developments. She is responsible for leading Schafer Richardson’s Development Team and oversight of the development pipeline. Maureen has been with Schafer Richardson since 2008 as an integral player in many high profile development projects. Maureen has nearly two decades of experience in multifamily and commercial real estate development. She began her career in affordable housing development, working on projects with multiple, complex layers of public and private financing. Maureen is adept at leading teams through all aspects of the development process from feasibility analysis and financial modeling to construction management and marketing & lease-up. She strives for practical resolutions that are wise and responsible in delivering projects and programs that meet multiple stakeholder needs.

Bringing a fresh perspective to Avison Young’s Minneapolis office, Tate Krosschell joined the firm as Principal and Managing Director in 2021. With a focus on client service excellence through relationship building and strengthening, Krosschell achieves success by employing a precise and methodological approach to commercial real estate solutions. Known for operational excellence and data-based decision making, Krosschell leverages statistical analytics to generate insights that maximize value for Avison Young clients. In her role as Managing Director, she is instrumental in growing the office through recruiting and business development. Krosschell has over 10 years of real estate experience, primarily in office brokerage, having represented office portfolios of over 4 million square feet. Prior to joining Avison Young, Krosschell was a Vice President at Transwestern and a Director at Cushman & Wakefield.

With approximately 15 years of experience in brokerage, Larissa specializes in landlord representation, asset repositioning, and leasing & sale advisory. She joined CBRE in 2015 and is currently working on a portfolio of Minneapolis urban office buildings totaling approximately 4,000,000 square feet. Since joining CBRE, Larissa has completed over 150 transactions totaling approximately 2.5 million square feet in office leasing. Larissa enjoys working with a variety of clients ranging from local developers to large institutional owners. She has a passion for property repositioning & placemaking. Larissa graduated from Augsburg College with degrees in both Finance and Business Management. In her free time, Larissa enjoys travel, yoga, and spending time with her husband and 1-year old daughter. She is a Green Bay, Wisconsin native and avid Packer fan.

Carole Mette brings more than a decade of commercial real estate experience to Sherman-Associates and will drive all aspects of development projects, including deal structuring, acquisition, the design entitlement process, tracking market data, and negotiating financial terms with stakeholders. At Sherman Associates she provides owner representation throughout the entire development process, and her responsibilities include pre-development activities, project financing, managing the project financial closing process, and overseeing the construction process. Mette is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Business Administration.