2021 Rising Stars

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  Amy English

  Principal, Director of Interiors

  HOK

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  Anna Deans

  Prior to joining Midway, Deans developed mixed-use properties for Thor Equities and earlier in her career was a design architect for Gensler. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Texas, Austin and is a LEED accredited licensed architect in the state of Texas.

  Midway

  VP, Investment and Development

  Anna Deans

  VP, Investment and Development

  Midway

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  Bijal Patel

  Bijal Patel, RID, is the Founder and Creative Director at LAUNCH, a cutting-edge Interior Design and Graphics firm for CRE, which specializes in creating experience-rich, authentic spaces & graphics that help reflect their client's brand, strategy and end-users. She has a reputation for being a change maker who can deliver while taking the whole team along the journey. She is often called in to completely re- envision a market segment, brand or space. With her fresh design & ROI-focused work, she has received multiple Design and Business awards from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Texas / Oklahoma Chapter, Hotel World Competition, Houston Business Journal’s Landmark Award, and J.D. Power & Associates. The firm’s attitude is entrepreneurial, positive, and tenacious with a dash of humor. Patel got her Master’s in Interior Design from the prestigious Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), has a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from the University of Florida and has lived / practiced design in Florida, Georgia, Washington D.C., New Jersey, and various parts of Texas. Her clients include: JLABS of Johnson & Johnson, Southwestern Energy, Central Houston, Trammell Crow, CBRE, Hines, BBVA Compass Stadium, Targa Resources, BMC Software, Kavi Properties and many more!

  LAUNCH

  Founder & Creative Director

  Bijal Patel

  Founder & Creative Director

  LAUNCH

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  Christen Vestal

  Christen joined Provident Realty Advisors in 2022 as the Director of Development & Acquisitions. She is the first women Development Partner at Provident and one of the only women developers in the industrial sector of Houston. Christen has developed over 8 million sqft of Class A Institutional industrial facilities. She is a career industrial developer with experience in projects that range from extremely specialized manufacturing facilities to Speculative big box developments. Career highlights include a build-to-suit project for one of the largest e-commerce companies in the country, speculative distributions projects ranging from 100,000 sf to as large as 1,000,000 sf buildings under one roof. Her career consists of development of over 700 acres and $1B worth of transaction value. Christen is the 2022 RedNews Emerging Leader of the Year, RedNews Finalist for Woman of the Year and Bisnow Developing leader for 2021. She holds an MBA from the Freeman School of Business, Tulane University. Christen is a mother of two and wife to a successful real estate entrepreneur. Her and her family are members at Second Baptist Church. Christen is dedicated to giving to Sky High for Children, a very special charity that raises money to fund cancer treatments for kids.

  Provident Realty Advisors

  Director of Development & Acquisitions

  Christen Vestal

  Director of Development & Acquisitions

  Provident Realty Advisors

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  Crissy Nolen

  Chief Marketing Officer

  Colliers Int.

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  Elizabeth Huff

  As the Director of Economic Development, Elizabeth directs the City’s comprehensive and proactive economic development strategy and annual business plan; oversees the Primary Employment, Public Private Partnerships, Cultural Arts and Visit Sugar Land divisions; and coordinates with various local and regional organizations and partners. Elizabeth has over 10 years of direct Economic Development experience including 4 years with the Greater Houston Partnership and working for the City of Lubbock EDC. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Louisiana State University.

  Sugar Land

  Economic Development Director

  Elizabeth Huff

  Economic Development Director

  Sugar Land

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  Katy Gragg

  Senior Vice President

  Transwestern

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  Lacee Jacobs

  Lacee Jacobs began her career at Midway and she now returns as Vice President of Strategic Leasing and Advisory. Lacee is responsible for the development and implementation of commercial leasing and merchandising strategies to create value and ensure the success of Midway’s commercial developments. Drawing on nearly a decade of industry experience, she specializes in merchandising and advising national, regional, first-to-market, and experiential brands. Previously, Lacee worked with CBRE, strengthening their urban leasing team in Houston with her local and global perspective of the real estate market, translating to strategic and lasting real estate decisions for her clients. Prior to CBRE Lacee worked with EDGE Realty and Waterman Steele. Her extensive owner/developer client list includes Clarion Partners, Greystar, HINES, Mill Creek, Stonelake Capital, Riverway Properties, Newform, SFT Investments, Skanska, Provident Realty and SUBEA USA. Lacee has helped imple- ment growth strategies for best-in-class brands such as Fox Restaurant Group (North Italia, Flower Child, Culinary Dropout, The Henry and Doughbird ), CAMP, Ballard Designs, Run On by Jack Rabbit, Lazy Dog Restaurants, The Max Challenge, BRG Hospitality (Eunice), and Tenfold Coffee. Lacee graduated from The University of Houston with a Bachelor of Business Administra- tion in Marketing and a minor in Finance. She is an active volunteer with youth focused organizations including House of Tiny Treasures, as well as personal

  Midway

  VP

  Lacee Jacobs

  VP

  Midway

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  Laura Denkler

  Managing Director

  Hines

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  Morgan Relyea Colt

  Morgan Relyea Colt represents tenants in the acquisition and disposition of office space. Taking into consideration her clients’ long- and short-term objectives, with proper attention to “exit strategy,” she develops strategic plans based on current and future market conditions, identifying cost savings and flexibility using qualitative site analysis, detailed financial analyses, and maximizing negotiation leverage. Ms. Colt specializes in transactions that include leases, expansions, renewals/extensions, subleasing, build-to-suits, sales and sale/leasebacks. Ms. Colt has nine years of tenant representation experience at Cushman & Wakefield, where she initially began working in its Client Services Group, surveying markets and space opportunities for clients, which allowed her the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of the Houston office space market. She transitioned into brokerage and quickly worked her way up to Executive Managing Director applying her extensive marketing, research expertise and tactical negotiating skills to assist her clients in making informed and objective decisions on their office space needs.

  Cushman & Wakefield

  Executive Managing Director

  Morgan Relyea Colt

  Executive Managing Director

  Cushman & Wakefield

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  Natali Juarbe

  Property Manager

  Granite Properties

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  Natalie Garza

  Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate

  Amegy Bank

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  Nora Casanova

  Logistics Manager

  Karsten Interior Services

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  Rebekah Gandy

  As Gensler’s South Central Sciences Practice Area Leader, Rebekah utilizes her more than 15 years of experience to create innovative spaces in the science and technology fields. Having touched more than 4.2 million square feet of laboratory real estate in her work, Rebekah is an expert in navigating the intricacies involved with designing labs for both institutional and private organizations, including high-tech environments, CGMP clean rooms and large biopharmaceutical headquarters. Rebekah actively incorporates new ideas and strategies into her clients’ projects and is involved in the process from early schematic design to post occupancy. A firm believer in collaborative design, Rebekah has been successful in delivering technically complicated projects in an efficient manner while taking purposeful actions to facilitate the involvement of all team members. As a leader in the industry, Rebekah was recognized as a 2021 Bisnow Houston Power Women Rising Star and is often called upon to speak at life science conferences, webinars, and events. In her free time, Rebekah dedicates herself to furthering Gensler’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts, and she has also served as an ACE mentor and has chaired various positions for AIA Houston.

  Gensler

  Sciences Practice Area Leader, South Central

  Rebekah Gandy

  Sciences Practice Area Leader, South Central

  Gensler

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  Rima Soroka

  Director of Leasing Rima Soroka specializes in the leasing and marketing of the company’s nearly nine million square foot Houston portfolio. Soroka brings creativity, tenacity and responsiveness, along with more than 14 years of prior experience working with the highest level of institutional clients and top quality assets in Houston and New York City, to her role. Before Parkway, she was a First Vice President with CBRE for over a decade. Through new development and the repositioning of undervalued assets, she created more than $650 million in value for her clients, which ranged from institutional investors to local developers. Before relocating to Houston, Soroka was a senior financial analyst with CBRE’s Manhattan Agency Group, working with landlords such as the Trump Organization and the Kushner Companies. She is active in National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), Urban Land Institute (ULI), the Jewish Federation’s Commercial Real Estate Society and Preservation Houston. Soroka is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. Her awards include 2020 HBJ Heavy Hitter, Connect Media’s Next Generation Award 2018 and CBRE Rookie of the Year 2012.

  Parkway

  Director of Leasing

  Rima Soroka

  Director of Leasing

  Parkway

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  Sarah Starry

  Sarah Starry is the Director of Leasing for Radom Capital, where she maintains up-to-date knowledge of retail trends, develops and executes creative leasing strategies, and cultivates new relationships with prospective tenants and members of the brokerage community. In addition to canvasing and targeting local and first-to-market fashion, food, fitness and beauty concepts, she also actively participates in the site planning, design processes, and marketing materials. Sarah was previously with Streetwise Retail Advisors where she gained experience representing tenants, landlords, and transacting on behalf of buyers and sellers of commercial property. Here she uncovered her passion for urban mixed-use development, particularly those that push the envelope, and a desire to make relationships with tenants seeking spaces of that type. A resident of the Heights since graduating from Texas A&M University, Sarah is a Vice Chair on the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Parade Committee, sits on the Young Professionals Board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, and is the founder and designer of the recognized “bed. no breakfast”, Starry’s Studio, in her hometown of Fredericksburg, Texas.

  Radom Capital

  Director, Leasing

  Sarah Starry

  Director, Leasing

  Radom Capital

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  Simran Khurana

  Project Manager

  Cadence McShane Construction

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  Sobi Qazi

  Associate Advisor

  SVN | J.Beard Real Estate - Greater Houston

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  Tiffany Ryland

  Associate Director

  ARVO Realty Advisors

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  Yewande Fapohunda

  As a Senior Vice President, Yewande is responsible for sourcing, shaping and executing new Multifamily development opportunities throughout the Houston area under TCC’s “High Street Residential” brand. She has extensive industry experience in Multifamily development and operations, having worked previously with AvalonBay Communities and Greystar Real Estate Partners. Yewande is skilled in site selection, due diligence, financial analysis and project feasibility, governmental entitlements, design, and management of development teams. She also has prior capital markets experience with Goldman Sachs in New York. Yewande has a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

  High Street Residential

  SVP

  Yewande Fapohunda

  SVP

  High Street Residential

Panel Discussion: The Women Transforming Houston Real Estate

What trends are market leaders seeing shape the industry?

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  Susan Hill

  Ms. Hill is a Senior Managing Director in the Houston office of HFF with more than 29 years of experience in commercial real estate. She is primarily responsible for originating debt and equity placement transactions throughout the southern United States across all property types. During the course of her career, Ms. Hill has completed in excess of $8 billion in commercial real estate transactions.

  JLL

  Senior Managing Director

  Susan Hill

  Senior Managing Director

  JLL

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  Kristen Rabel

  Kristen began her real estate career in 1996. Within twelve months in the business, she focused her efforts on Landlord representation, marketing office space and negotiating leases. In 1999, Kristen was named Grubb & Ellis’ “Rookie of the Year” and in 2001, was awarded NAIOP’s prestigious “Rising Star” award for office leasing brokers. In 2005, she made the strategic move to Trammell Crow Company, now CBRE, to take the next stop in her career. Since joining CBRE, Kristen continues to be a top producer from year to year among the Houston office. Currently, Kristen is responsible for leasing office space throughout the greater Houston area. Her strengths include actively marketing properties, financial lease analysis, negotiating lease structure, and executing leases for a wide range of owners, all with different goal sets for their respective properties. She is currently responsible for leasing over 5 million square feet of space in 20 different properties in Houston. Kristen’s attention to detail allows her to complete over 90 transactions a year. In 2013 Kristen was awarded the HOLBA Landlord Representative of the Year.

  CBRE

  Senior Vice President

  Kristen Rabel

  Senior Vice President

  CBRE

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  PJ Glasco

  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.

  CannonDesign

  Houston Health Leader

  PJ Glasco

  Houston Health Leader

  CannonDesign

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  Susan Pohl

  Experienced Vice President, Acquisitions with a demonstrated history, working for over twenty five years in the multi-family investment industry purchasing over 30,000 units valued at over $3B nationally. Skilled in Real Estate Acquisitions, Finance, Dispositions, Asset Management and Development. Strong real estate professional with a BA in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin.

  Barvin

  SVP, Acquisitions

  Susan Pohl

  SVP, Acquisitions

  Barvin

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  Catherine Lee

  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.

  Douglas Elliman Texas

  President

  Catherine Lee

  President

  Douglas Elliman Texas

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  Dichelle Burrus

  Dichelle Burrus, Senior Project Manager Dichelle has 12-years of healthcare and life science building experience and serves as Senior Project Manager for DPR Construction’s projects in Houston. She has vast experience in overseeing completion of over 2 million square feet of healthcare and life science projects, valued at over $428 million. She has a proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with a reputation of detailed, goal-focused decision making. Dichelle is skilled in pre-construction services, team building, and operational management with a track record of high-quality projects delivered on time resulting in exemplary customer satisfaction. Additionally, Dichelle has served as an Owner’s Representative and is accomplished in construction phase services. Her previous experience as a Sr. Project Manager for MD Anderson Cancer Center gives her a unique perspective when bidding and managing projects as she can better understand and identify Owner’s issues and pain points on projects and provide solutions that work best for the project team and the facility. Dichelle is active in several community organizations including National Association of Women in Construction and The Construction Owners Association of America. Dichelle holds a Bachelor of Science in both Architectural and Civil Engineering from The University of Missouri-Rolla.

  DPR Construction

  Project Executive - Business Unit Leadership Team.

  Moderator

  Dichelle Burrus

  Project Executive - Business Unit Leadership Team.

  DPR Construction