There are nearly 300 profiles of smart, accomplished and high-achieving women in commercial real estate on the following pages. And those are just the ones we selected. We received far more applications for the nominations, and as we do every year, we had to go through the painful process of selecting the winning candidates. We say painful, because it is: nearly all of these applications could have made the cut and choosing one over the other were difficult decisions. We hope you enjoy their stories of accomplishments as much as we did.

ARCHITECT / DESIGN PROFESSIONAL

NANCY BASTIAN Nancy Bastian's philosophy about architecture is that good design should be a central part of every project, whether for a high-end development or subsidized low-income housing. Bastian, who is a managing partner at Cecil Baker + Partners Architects, has a special affinity for projects that serve the most vulnerable populations, including at-risk children and teenagers, single mothers and aging adults. Bastian's expertise in the intricacies of designing for clients and guiding them through the process of obtaining low-income housing tax credits for the development of affordable housing has been pivotal in making Cecil Baker + Partners a specialist in the space. Bastian has overseen multiple multimillion-dollar construction projects in the greater Philadelphia area, resulting in 779 completed affordable housing units, 84 units currently under construction and 161 additional units to start construction by the end of the year. Bastian strongly advocates for thoughtful and contemporary architecture in all of her projects and she understands the power that good design and carefully considered, beautiful architecture has to allow residents to feel supported, respected and heard.

CATHERINE MCCAULEY BELLSHAW Since joining Inventure, Catherine McCauley Bellshaw has worked her way up to become the first female shareholder of the company and the only female owner out of three owners. Bellshaw is additionally the first female director of operations for the firm's Houston office. Among her biggest professional accomplishments was creating a new company identity while navigating an ownership transition, including developing new verbal and visual identities, a new website, new marketing collateral and new email domains for multiple offices. In addition, through her project work, Bellshaw successfully brought in more than $1 million in revenue to Inventure in the past year. In addition to winning numerous accolades for her work throughout her career, Bellshaw strives for Inventure to become a place where interior designers and architects can flourish in their careers. She prioritizes leadership development and spends time mentoring young designers through portfolio reviews and mock interviews.