DENVER—Since Centerline Capital Group SVP Suzanne Cope entered the industry, the number of women involved in real estate has significantly grown, as has their overall level of responsibility. According to the locally based Cope, who was recently one of Real Estate Forum's Women of Influence candidates, when she started, she would find herself in the room with 20 men. Today, at least half of the team is now female, and the number of senior positions held by women—and the number of women developers—has grown as well.

She tells Forum that the importance of the change is that women bring a different perspective to deals. “They care deeply about the service component and are passionate about developing new programs at various properties to benefit the women and children, and families at large, to help them live well and grow.”

Early in her career, Cope spent eight years on the agency side working at Fannie Mae and then transitioned that knowledge and moved to the lender side of the business. This has been a huge asset as she is able to successfully apply her agency knowledge to serve clients nationwide. Cope is adept at complex transactions and leverages her experience on all sides of transactions to facilitate a smooth and quick closing, despite multiple challenges and issues to be addressed.