MIAMI-CREW-Miami is cultivating a “get involved to get in the game” mentality lately—and it’s working. Despite a tumultuous commercial real estate market, CREW-Miami gained 40 new members, had an 80% member retention rate, and saw male attendance at its events more than double last year. At the same time, CREW-Miami reports a multitude of member-to-member business transactions in 2010, a number of which exceeded $2 million in value.

GlobeSt.com caught up with Lyan Fernandez, chief operating officer of TotalBank and CREW-Miami’s 2011 president, to discuss how CREW is encouraging member-to-member transactions, as well as her goals for CREW in 2011, and what she sees as the biggest challenges for women in commercial real estate in the year ahead.

LeClaire: Member-to-member transactions exceeded $2 million in 2010. Are member-to-member transactions emphasized? How do you encourage that?

Fernandez: We had a number of member-to-member transactions that each exceeded $2 million in 2010, along with many other smaller member-to-member transactions.

While gathering the information is sometimes a challenge, as some members or their clients prefer confidentiality, we do use the podium at our events to highlight the transactions as they are shared with us. At the end of each year, our annual awards program recognizes both small and large transactions.

By highlighting these deals, we not only honor members who have done business with each other, but also reinforce the importance of using CREW-Miami as an opportunity to get deals done. By keeping it top of mind, members are more conscious about maximizing the full potential of membership by using it as a business development tool.

LeClaire: What are your goals for 2011?

Fernandez: My goals for 2011 are to provide our members with added value to their membership to promote membership retention and growth; to leverage our chapter’s affiliation with CREW Network, our national organization with more than 80 chapters to strengthen our infrastructure and the opportunities available to members; and to promote CREW-Miami as the premier commercial real estate organization in Miami.

Our overarching mission, of course, is to provide the opportunities for women to advance their careers in commercial real estate. To pursue that mission in this economic environment, as deal flow slowly begins to return, CREW-Miami is crafting our 2011 programs, platforms, events, and offerings to help our members expand their networks and connections, as well as stay at the leading edge of the industry to be ready to get in the game when business comes back.

LeClaire: What do you see as the biggest challenges for women in real estate in 2011 and how will CREW help them overcome?

Fernandez: The greatest challenges for women in real estate in 2011 are going to be the same challenges as for men, only women are still going to have to work harder to surmount them. A recent CREW Network study found that while the wage gap in this industry is narrowing, it’s still significant. What’s more, many women in real estate are still looking up at a “glass ceiling” in their companies, as C-suite positions are majority male. Only 9% of the female respondents to the study held C-suite positions, while 22% of the male respondents held C-suite positions.

Despite these challenges, I’m confident that women are going to rise to the occasion and find success in achieving their goals. During my time with CREW-Miami, and especially now as president of the organization, meeting the many ambitious, driven, intelligent women among our membership who are at the forefront of our industry shows me that the outlook for women in CRE in 2011 is bright.

I’m determined that CREW-Miami will play a leading role in women’s ascension in commercial real estate. This year’s programs will focus on helping members identify the various niche markets that are ripe for growth this year, while our new roster of members-only networking events will help our members develop the relationships necessary to do business with one another.