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In commercial real estate, women provide a powerful source of camaraderie and support for one another.
Networking events like NAR’s C5 + CCIM Global Summit, plus local and state association opportunities, empower women to succeed as business leaders. The 2024 summit in Hollywood, Fla., for example, offered a women’s leadership breakfast panel focusing on the benefits of mentorship and innovative approaches to work-life balance.
It featured three CCIM designees, Stephanie Colman, vice president at JLL in Stamford, Conn.; D’Etta Casto-DeLeon, 2024 global president of the CCIM Institute and director at CBRE Loan Services in Houston; and Cynthia Shelton, senior managing director with LQ Commercial in Orlando. Danielle Blake, chief of commercial for Miami REALTORS®, was the moderator.
external affairs for Royal Caribbean Group and Holly Cohen, CREW Miami 2024 president.
“By building a strong network of like-minded individuals, we can increase our competence, enhance our confidence, and make meaningful connections that will help us achieve our goals,” Casto-DeLeon says.
“One of the most memorable moments of my career came during a visit to a CCIM chapter on the East Coast. While in the area, I took the opportunity to meet with an existing client in person, which led to a major deal that increased our loan count by 450 new loans and added $13 billion to our portfolio. This experience was a testament to the value of building relationships and being proactive in the industry.”
NAR affiliate Women’s Council of REALTORS® brings together 13,000 professionals in more than 250 local and state networks that offer women a chance to grow as business leaders, access training, and gain insights for winning the next deal.
“Women are so crucial to the real estate industry and community,” says Amanda Stinton, CEO of WCR. “Our members thrive on developing leaders for the industry, creating impact, being an influential voice in the industry and building relationships within and around organized real estate.”
A Multidisciplinary Approach
Some NAR members also participate in the Commercial Real Estate Women Network, better known as CREW Network. It gives professionals across a range of disciplines—including law, architecture, accounting, sales, management and appraisal—an opportunity to connect and grow together. We asked three CREW members, a real estate agent from Miami, a civil engineer from Austin, Texas, and an architect from Chicago to talk about what networking with other women has meant to their career.
Karley Chynces is a commercial real estate agent with ONE Sotheby’s International in Coral Gables, Fla., and a 2023 REALTOR® Magazine 30 Under 30 honoree. An active member of the Miami REALTORS®, Chynces joined the CREW Miami network in January 2024 after a few members reached out to her directly. “I’ve always struggled to find a group of women, and CREW gives me that. It’s a very safe and open-minded space.”
During a lunch outing with another CREW member, Chynces learned about financial and lending structures that could apply to commercial leases. “This information allows me to better serve my clients and gives me room to say yes in so many ways that I didn’t know were available,” she says.
Jennifer Paisley, a civil engineer from Austin, Texas, served as 2024 president of CREW Austin. Her first CREW event in Houston included an offsite tour explaining the development of the MetroRail to NRG Park, home of the Houston Texans and Houston Rodeo. “As a civil engineer, I’m all about that nerdy stuff,” she says.
The energy of the event might have captivated Paisley, but the connections she’s made and the leadership opportunities she’s cultivated keep her engaged. “When I need something, I can call anyone that I’ve met through CREW. There’s a database and we can search for someone in a specific area or city where we might need to do business.”
Architect Sophie Bidek CREW Chicago’s 2024 president and a partner at Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, was looking to widen her sphere. In 2011 when she was first promoted to a leadership role, she had three goals in mind: expand her network in the commercial space, access the programming and education that CREW Chicago provided, and find a space to support other women in the industry. She dove in and dedicated herself to the network, and it paid dividends, she says. “Since then, I have had the opportunity to both give and receive business with fellow members, speak on panels, lead tours of my projects, teach young women about careers in real estate and travel to various leadership trainings and conventions.”
Having a strong network helps women find success and power in their work and ultimately benefits the commercial real estate industry. Bidek likes being able to further this mission through her work in leadership and by taking what she learns back to the office.
The network is powerful, she says, and she’s seen it work in real time. “I can’t count the number of times members have lifted each other up to broadcast promotions, make introductions, or refer business. For example, on one project, a developer member hired me to design a building, another [CREW] member to insure it, another member did the legal work, and a fourth handled the accounting.”
