Doing Deals, Pushing For Progress: Meet 23 Women Leading D.C.’s CRE Industry

Office, flex and industrial broker Kate Jordan understands the power of harnessing each individual’s strengths via collaboration. At the same time, she said, that means knowing your weaknesses and when to ask for help. 

Jordan, a principal at Lee & Associates, is helping to pave the way for women in commercial real estate. She was the third woman to serve as president of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors for the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region. She was one of three women among the 48 presidents across all chapters at the time.

Jordan said her greatest passion is being a mother. She takes inspiration from her own mother, who raised three kids as a single parent while working as an attorney.

Anitra Androh is involved in nearly every aspect of commercial real estate negotiations, from acquisition to financing and disposition, in her new role as a partner attorney at law firm Polsinelli. 

Androh said she is most passionate about financial literacy and generational wealth-building and wants to see more women of color attorneys represented in the industry. 

She is excited to be working on the 534K SF redevelopment of the Reeves Center, which is planned to feature a new headquarters for the NAACP and other uses at the prime intersection of 14th and U streets NW.

Ashley Atwater, founder of property management company MBB Affiliates, makes it her mission to be intimately involved in every aspect of the company that she grew from concept to multimillion-dollar generator. 

She said it is crucial for her to ensure employees know exactly how their roles fit within the greater vision and mission at MBB and work with them collaboratively toward shared goals. 

Atwater wants to ensure that she is using her leadership role at MBB to lift up individuals who may have been overlooked in the industry in the past. 

Outside of work, she is passionate about fitness, especially high-intensity activities, and she is a certified yoga instructor.

Amy Marsden knows what it’s like to be knocked down and get back on your feet. Now a senior director for the D.C. region at alternative management company The RMR Group, she said that as a young professional in a prior career, she made a mistake that initially seemed insurmountable. But she refused to give up on herself. Marsden now uses the story to teach other young women how to recover and persevere. 

“A mistake is only a mistake if we don't somehow grow from it and help others avoid making those same mistakes,” Marsden said. 

At The RMR Group, she is pushing ahead on her company’s goal to become carbon-neutral by 2050. One of her ongoing projects involves working with industrial tenants to install rooftop solar panels. 

In her free time, Marsden is engaged with various anti-bullying and mental health nonprofits, because her daughter, now a freshman in high school, was impacted by bullying at school. With her daughter’s permission, she now shares her story as she advocates for mental health awareness, especially among youths.

Stacy Silber, a principal at law firm Lerch, Early & Brewer, said she believes that “in order to lead, one must listen.”

That philosophy was put to the test when her firm was attempting to get approval for a 180-foot-tall transit-oriented development that was initially met with community opposition. Silber said her firm was able to work with the residents to address their concerns, resulting in the community withdrawing their appeal and the project being approved.

After 30 years of practicing law, Silber still loves what she does, and her goal is to continue loving her work and helping clients reach their own goals.  

She is working on Roadside Development’s plans for a 300-foot-tall mixed-use property at the location of Tastee Diner in Silver Spring. The project is one of the first to implement the recommendations of the Silver Spring Sector Plan, and it involves relocating the historic diner and including 15% moderately priced dwelling units.

“Firm with flair” is how Katie Yanushonis, a senior vice president at The Meridian Group, describes her style. She wants those she interacts with to know that she knows her stuff but also leans into inserting humor when necessary. 

Among Yanushonis’ accomplishments is securing three of the largest deals of 2021. She is now working on “two very large [lease] renewals” at Tysons mixed-use project The Boro. 

Yanushonis said there is still a ways to go for women in the real estate industry, but she is grateful for the women who are by her side. 

“I still find myself to be the only woman in the room on many occasions, but I always think about the amazing network of women in real estate outside of that room,” she said.

Fallon Williams is invested in rewriting the narrative of who has a voice in the commercial real estate industry. 

As a woman in construction, she said she has experienced times of “practically begging” to thrive and advance in her career — obstacles she hopes the next generation won’t have to experience. 

In that vein, Williams is involved with Project Pipeline, a program that introduces youth to construction and architecture. As an architecture territory manager at The Garland Co., Williams is working to educate firms about a sustainable roofing technology that uses recycled materials and reduces smog. 

The proudest moment of her career came from helping a young woman who was frustrated with her model overcome the challenge. 

“Witnessing her sheer pride in the final result was incredibly fulfilling,” she said.

Melissa Parrish used to believe she could find happiness and fulfillment by jumping from one career goal to the next. Now, she knows fulfillment in her career can only come through making time to live her life as well: traveling and spending time with friends and family, including her two young daughters. 

As regional director at BECO Management, Parrish is proud of leasing 75K SF of offices at Owings Mills this year, many of which were startup firms opening their first offices.

“A lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into every deal, and I am very proud of each and every transaction,” she said. 

Today, leasing over 1M SF of office and flex space in suburban Maryland and Virginia keeps her busy, she said.

“As one building leases up, it is inevitable another building needs attention,” Parrish said.

Parrish said she is still pushing to create work-life balance for herself as she seeks to advocate for working moms who are told they need to be everything and do everything all at once.

Michelle Tierce is driven by working toward a vision, even if that vision requires a massive undertaking. As an executive vice president for JBG Smith, Tierce is fundamental in transitioning JBG Smith into a multifamily-focused REIT. 

Among her accomplishments, Tierce was in charge of overseeing the REIT’s 5,302-room hotel portfolio, including $1B of dispositions. She then moved on to the office portfolio, leading dispositions and recapitalizations totaling $3.6B in assets and spanning 6.7M SF. 

To this day, she continues to work on the REIT’s capital recycling program, an especially challenging task amid the volatile capital markets environment. 

As for leading others, Tierce is invested in empowering her team members to think and act for themselves but also being there for them as they navigate challenges and celebrate accomplishments. By instilling confidence in her team to tackle challenges and come up with creative solutions, Tierce said she positions her team members to be resilient, have ownership over their work and continue to grow with the company.

Nicole Miller said not only does she see more women with seats at the real estate table, but they are also being given the opportunities to leave bigger marks. 

When she isn't brokering office leases as a senior managing director for Savills, Miller said she spends much of her free time mentoring the next generation of real estate professionals.

“I get to share the ins and outs of what I've learned over the years, offering insights that you can only know firsthand,” she said. “It’s about sparking their curiosity, encouraging them to think outside the box and helping them get ready for the exciting and sometimes tricky world of real estate.”

Michelle Giannini makes it a priority to eat lunch with her team, taking the time to talk — sometimes about work, she said, sometimes about their lives. 

“I find this brings the team closer and creates a cohesive connection,” she said. 

An executive vice president at Hoffman Realty and Hoffman & Associates, Giannini is involved in every aspect of the company’s residential leasing and sales. Some of her greatest accomplishments include managing sales of over 15 new condo buildings across the D.C. metro area, including at The Wharf’s Amaris building, where a $12.7M penthouse was the most expensive condo ever sold in D.C. She also spearheaded the launch of the company's refresh and expansion into resale services. 

Giannini is passionate about creating more affordable housing and has taught housing courses at local nonprofit Calvary Women’s Services, which seeks to lift women out of homelessness.

Anne Rosenau believes that it is up to the commercial real estate industry to show women that the opportunities are there. 

Rosenau, a managing director at Cushman & Wakefield, said that while it is encouraging to see more women joining C-suites, the industry must do more. 

“We continue to need to attract more women into the business, and unless they see opportunity for meaningful advancement, they will look to other industries,” she said. 

She is closing a “large regional HQ relocation” and is working on several site acquisitions for data center clients. Leading her team, Rosenau believes that it is vital to get the entire team’s input.

"Sometimes the newest member of a group may contribute the best or freshest ideas,” she said, adding that she is also an advocate for decisiveness.

Carmen Romero, CEO of Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, sees her organization as one that isn't in the business of real estate but in the business of uplifting the individual.

Romero said APAH has made significant moves in the last few years, even amid the pandemic and macroeconomic headwinds, expanding its reach past Arlington’s boundaries and broadening resident services. 

This year, APAH acquired a property in Maryland, broke ground on projects in D.C. and Arlington, and is preparing to start construction this month on its largest project to date: a 516-unit affordable development in Tysons called Dominion Square.

Romero sees her role at APAH as a key cog in a larger effort to take on the country’s affordable housing crisis. She is engaged with organizations in various regions nationally to create tools to deal with the massive gap in affordability for so many residents.

Pedal Retail founder Abby Davids Rocha found her brokerage’s niche in helping small, independent retailers, often from systemically marginalized communities. 

Pedal is all-female-operated, and Davids Rocha said its clients tend to be part of communities that fall outside of the mainstream of the white, straight-male-dominated industry. 

“We are broadening the scope of a system that is too often discriminatory — even when it is unintentional — and we’re creating paths to wealth and successful, visible business ownership for a broad population historically left out,” she said. 

She is proud of the results Pedal has delivered for those clients. She said the brokerage’s work saves $115K on average per lease, and it has negotiated over $1M in tenant improvement allowances. Now, with the company on a growth trajectory, she is determined to make Pedal a household name in real estate.

Four months into her role as executive vice president of business development at proptech company RCKRBX, Kris Broder is deeply aware of the unique position she holds at the nexus of two male-dominated industries. 

Demand-side data intelligence platform RCKRBX launched in the Dallas-Fort Worth market last month and is preparing to expand to myriad new states starting in the coming year, Broder said. She is working to ensure each new market is primed for lasting success. 

As she enters this new chapter, now pairing technology with her 30 years of experience in commercial real estate, Broder said it is important that women are not just factored into these industries but are given the space to thrive and lead.

Above all else, Wendy Feldman Block wants to be known for being true to her word, believing trust is the cornerstone of collaboration and good relationships. 

An executive managing director at Savills, Feldman Block “unexpectedly” found herself becoming a wellness thought leader. She recently worked on a lease in which she was able to factor in her client’s sustainability and wellness goals. 

Outside the CRE world, Feldman Block has become involved in raising awareness about ALK-positive lung cancer after a colleague, Savills Executive Managing Director David Cornbrooks, was diagnosed with the disease a year ago.

What drives Jessica Miller, an executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield, is the prospect of creating a regionally dominant and sustainable real estate advisory team. She imagines each member becoming their best self and bringing their unique skill sets to the fore while thriving on their collaborative successes. 

She said one of her proudest transactional accomplishments was helping a client terminate a long-term lease in an obsolete building to make way for a mixed-use redevelopment while saving her client $60M by transitioning to a new workspace that better supported its needs.

Though Miller said she has seen a concerted effort to break down gender barriers in commercial real estate, she has seen some setbacks for women in brokerage, especially since the pandemic. And for a sector that relies on years of on-the-job training to hone skills, Miller sees a talent gap.

Danielle Schline, a senior vice president at Prologis, is committed to thinking about her customers’ individual needs and curating solutions tailored to those needs. 

She said in recent years, that approach has become even more necessary as the REIT’s industrial clients have attempted to navigate the uncertain waters of pandemic-led supply chain disruptions. 

Schline is responsible for Prologis’ entire D.C. and Baltimore-area portfolio and the team that leads it. She said her team is recognized in the company for its role in initiating new strategies and driving companywide improvements. 

Some of her biggest accomplishments to date include leading 81 deals totaling 3.1M SF during 2022, conceptualizing two build-to-suit last-mile facilities and playing a significant role in launching a data-driven forecasting model, which is now implemented across all of the REIT’s U.S. markets.

When Autumn Leatham started out in commercial real estate, she was typically the only woman at the table.

Now, as a senior vice president for City First Bank, she said she is not only joined by more women but also sees them leading the rooms, steering strategy and propelling their teams to success. She said she is invested in making room for even more women at the table. 

Leatham is proud of her work to launch a correspondent agency platform program for City First Bank, with a mission of giving CFB clients, often minority developers, access to funding for which they may have been historically overlooked. 

“Now they have a dedicated team with whom they have a current banking relationship that can now help them navigate the process,” she said.

Kendra Plummer founded her private equity firm, Elise Capital, with the mission of helping to close gender and racial wealth gaps, one hotel acquisition at a time. 

She founded the company in 2019, focused on unlocking ownership for those who have been historically excluded from real estate opportunities and the ability to build wealth. 

Her proudest moment was when the firm sealed its first deal.

“In this deal, we were able to redefine what hotel ownership looks like for many by having one of the most diverse investor pools in the industry,” she said.

Rachel Salerno is grateful for the female mentors she had early in her career who instilled in her lessons that she carries to this day. 

Salerno, a senior vice president at Artemis Real Estate Partners, said she learned how to believe in herself and others and about the importance of being passionate about your career from her first boss, Capricia Marshall, chief of protocol at the State Department. 

Then, when she started her commercial real estate career 10 years ago at Artemis Real Estate Partners, Salerno worked under Artemis co-founder Deborah Harmon, who taught her the importance of attention to detail and the value of uplifting those around you. 

“Even in my first year, she referred to me as her partner, which is something I will never forget,” she said. “I learned from her not to take anything for granted and that chance favors the prepared.”

At Artemis, Salerno has worked on Artemis Fund IV, which closed with $2.2B raised this spring, an accomplishment she is especially proud of during a difficult time for capital markets.

If she had one item at the top of her career wishlist, she said it would be to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Italy.

“It would be the honor of a lifetime to serve my country in this way in the nation of my heritage,” she said.

Jahsmine Victor has knocked down barrier after barrier in her journey to become an associate vice president at Civitas. 

She had to swim against the current as a woman of color climbing the ranks of a brokerage. But belief in herself has gotten her to where she is today, she said. 

She is proud to have taken part in a comprehensive portfolio review and disposition of Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church’s holdings along Rhode Island Avenue NE. The firm is taking on a similar process for the church’s assets in Boston. 

For Corinne Brady, teamwork makes the dream work. 

“Blame my sports background for my cheesy outlook, but I do believe that we win as a team and lose as a team, and a leader is only as good as the team alongside her (or him),” said Brady, a vice president for project management at Cresa. 

Brady, CoreNet 2022’s Young Leader of The Year, manages projects throughout their lifetime — with clients like the Infectious Disease Society of America, BlockOne and The Reinforced Earth Co.

She said she is proudest of the work she has done for a client in the area who comes back to her time and time again to assist with increasingly complex projects at its headquarters. That trust has given her the confidence to take on other endeavors and quash moments of self-doubt.