I enjoy working with the men and women in commercial real estate. Most are focused performance driven individuals that have a burning desire to get a deal over the finish line. The friends and clients that I have made in the industry make all of the challenges in our business truly worth it.

One of the things that I enjoy most about working in this field is that every single deal is different. The properties, location, type of financing desired and seeking out the best options for our client make it exciting and a new day every day. It is an exciting arena to be involved in especially after all of the changes that we have seen over the last five years. Opportunities abound.

Globest: What challenges have you faced as a woman in the industry? How did you overcome them?

There have been challenges. When I became involved in commercial real estate in the late 1980s, there were not many women in the field, particularly in investment sales and mortgage banking. Now there are many women involved in all aspects of the industry. In overcoming my obstacles, I always found it useful to stay focused, do my research, and prepare, prepare and prepare!

This past April, I attended Transwestern's National Recognition Conference in California. The women that attended held a meeting at the conference to discuss what we as women leaders in commercial real estate could do to encourage high quality professional women to join our field. It was an empowering meeting and discussed how we will go about reaching out and extending our hands as mentors to foster women in the commercial real estate arena. Often times we find ourselves giving our all to our own careers and our clients, and we must embrace the opportunities to reach out and mentor up-and-coming females within our industry.

Globest: Please describe a major highlight of your career.

A major highlight of my career was arranging the financing of the Austonian residential skyscraper in Austin, TX. It is the largest residential high-rise in America, west of the Mississippi. It was a tough transaction and the competition was fierce. Many times I thought that the deal might have fizzled but I refused to give up and ultimately our creativity definitely paid off.

Globest: How have attitudes towards women changed during your tenure in the commercial real estate industry?

Women have definitely become more respected in our industry. Most of the women in our industry have great deal making abilities, great analytical abilities and will stop at nothing to do a job well done.

Globest: What advice can you offer to women just starting out on how to be a success?

Prepare and do your homework. Never take anything personally even if it might be hard. Organize, plan and develop your people skills. Real estate may be made of sticks and bricks, but our industry is made of people. That's what makes it great.