After graduating from college, I wanted to start my career in marketing and I actually fell into commercial real estate by chance. I was hired at ORION in a temporary position as an executive assistant to Jay Carnahan, ORION's founder and president. I then transitioned into a marketing position and held that position for a year and a half. During that time, I caught the “broker bug” and pursued my license. I started learning from Bob Thagard, and was really impressed with how ORION does business. I was able to take on more responsibility and have now transitioned into brokerage.

I have an entrepreneurial spirit. I love building relationships, learning from others, and being able to engage with other professionals from a variety of industries, so this career is a perfect fit for me. I like that my day consists of working on multiple projects as well as participating in and solving challenging transactions. The risks and opportunities are exciting and I can control my own destiny.

GlobeSt.com: What is it like being a woman in commercial real estate?

Being that there are not a lot of young women in this industry, I feel that I have a definite opportunity. I often enter a situation underestimated, which I like because I can then prove people wrong. In corporate America, more and more of the big decision makers are women. I think it's better to have a diverse brokerage team because we can relate to the client on many more levels. I am still learning and growing, but I work for a great company and with great mentors and I am making the most of it.

GlobeSt.com: Can you give some advice to other young brokers trying to make it in the business?

There are two things my partner, Bob Thagard, has said that really resonate with me: first: “Don't confuse effort with results” and second: “Make the most of your work hours … it's not about how long you work, it's how efficiently you perform the work.”

It's really important, for young brokers especially, to network and get involved in industry organizations like NAIOP, NAIOP's YPG (Young Professionals Group) and CREW. Don't just sign up and pay the dues to be a member. You get what you put into it. For example, my YPG class final project challenged us with the task of proposing a plan for a local developer to determine the feasibility of a real estate development on a particular site in the Inland Empire. Each group was paired with a mentor from the real estate community to assist with the project and ideas. The goal was for the developer to use the recommendations or solutions from the winning team. My team came up with the winning development idea; however, the real “win” was the knowledge and relationships that I took away from the experience. Working on the final project not only exposed me to different aspects the industry, it also tested my leadership skills and ability to work cohesively with others who have different specializations within the commercial real estate arena.

Being an active member of these real estate organizations has made it easier for me to learn more about commercial real estate, gain advice from top industry leaders, build relationships and challenge myself.

GlobeSt.com: Can you tell me about the OC office market environment right now?

Despite a less than robust economy during the past three years, the Orange County office market is in a stage of slow but steady recovery. At ORION, we call it “the good, the bad and the ugly.” Almost 90% of Class A Tier I & Tier II office buildings in the Airport Area submarket are over 90% leased and rates in the Tier I office buildings are rising. The choices are few for tenants requiring 20,000 square feet or more for best-in-class office buildings, but there are still many great opportunities in Class A Airport Area buildings for tenants needing between 2,500 and 10,000 square feet. You just have to know where to look!

The Tier II Class A buildings are competing heavily to increase occupancy. In an effort to rise above the competition, many landlords are still allowing tenants to use a portion of their unused tenant improvement allowance to offset rent, offering parking concessions and broker bonuses/incentives. Other submarkets, such as South Coast Metro Area, South County, Anaheim, Orange and Tustin have several existing and upcoming vacancies that will need to be absorbed. These submarkets offer excellent opportunities to negotiate attractive lease terms.

GlobeSt.com: What trends are you seeing in office leasing?

The majority of the growth in Orange County has been organic. In other words, companies that are already here are expanding. The finance, tech and healthcare sectors are all growing and are choosing to stay and grow in Orange County. A prime example of this is Pimco, one of the largest global fixed income investment managers in the world. Pimco could locate their headquarters anywhere. However, when they needed more space, rather than moving out of Orange County (or out of the state for that matter), they had the Irvine Company build a new Class A, 20-story 380,000-square-foot building in Newport Beach.

Bottom line: people want to live and work in Orange County because the lifestyle here is so desirable and the amenities seem nearly endless. The highly educated workforce, exceptional educational institutions and an outstanding quality of life, are second to none.

Ali Hawthorne, 26, joined ORION Property Partners, Inc. as a marketing coordinator in 2010 where she assisted ORION's senior principals in the leasing, acquisition and disposition of office properties for both owners and occupiers of real estate throughout Orange County. In January this year, Ali was promoted to associate real estate agent and is now partnered with one of the top office brokers in Orange County, Bob Thagard, a principal with ORION. As a member of Bob's team, Ali is marketing more than 3 million square feet of office properties for lease throughout the county. Ali is a Purdue University graduate and is actively involved in: National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), NAIOP's Young Professionals Group (YPG) class of 2013, NAIOP's YPG Alumni Committee, Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) and the Junior League of Orange County.