“Under budget” isn't what you'd expect for a four-year, $200M mixed-use project in the middle of bustling Arlington. But Mary Beth Avedesian did that in 2010, overseeing development of Clarendon Center. It stretched across two city blocks straddling Clarendon Boulevard, with Metro running down the middle. (She’s at the top of the tower crane, looking down on the project.) It was among her most memorable projects in a 33-year construction career that included Reston Town Center, acquiring 53 commercial properties worth $864M, and overseeing a $200M upgrade for Route 28 in Loudoun and Fairfax counties. 

Mary Beth always pined for big city living as a kid growing up in Ludington, Mich., she tells us. So she studied hard, was class valedictorian, and headed to Michigan State. (Her parents never went to college.) After studying engineering, she moved to Boston, got a Harvard MBA, met her husband, and moved to DC in 1990. Now she’s bringing an extended-stay hotel to the old Colony House site and is reevaluating property B.F. Saul owns in Loudoun. Her best lesson: Remain calm in the face of adversity, and avoid chest-thumping forcefulness. (What's the saying... you catch more air rights with honey than you do vinegar?)