New York Power Women

Laurie, an accomplished deal maker, is partner and co-chair of the firm’s global real estate practice. She takes a client-focused approach to her real estate practice, often acting as in-house counsel for her clients and becoming a trusted member of their businesses. She has a long list of clients who have been with her since the beginning of her practice and appreciate her ability to adeptly and efficiently handle any type of real estate deal. She is recognized as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA 2021, noting that she is “a strong negotiator” and “she has a great business sense combined with legal knowledge.” Most recently, for the second year in a row, Commercial Observer included her in their elite “Power 100” list, which recognizes the most powerful players in real estate. Laurie represents real estate private equity funds, companies, institutional REITs, investors and other property owners in structuring and closing real estate transactions such as acquisitions and dispositions, developments, financings, portfolio transactions, preferred equity investments, leasing and real estate joint ventures. Her work touches all asset classes, including office, multifamily, affordable housing, workforce housing, mixed-use, life sciences, hospitality, retail and condominium. She also maintains an active capital markets and fund practice, representing investors in joint venture transactions and sophisticated fund and tax structures. Laurie is also well-versed in the Opportunity Zone program and helps clients through the process of structuring and investing in qualified properties and vehicles. Laurie is involved in a number of non-profit and charitable organizations focusing on increasing diversity in real estate. She serves on the Advisory Board and spearheads the firm’s legal partnership with Project Destined, an organization dedicated to transforming minority youth into owners in the communities in which they live, work and play. She also serves as co-chair for Rebuilding New York’s “She Builds” program, where she organizes an annual renovation day, rehabilitating a New York City community center in need.

Farah Ahmed focuses her practice on real estate and real estate finance transactions. She has a broad range of local, national and cross-border experience representing investors, operators, lenders, and developers in the acquisition, disposition, development and financing of various classes of commercial real estate, including office, hospitality, retail, health care, industrial, multifamily, and mixed use properties. Farah’s real estate capital markets experience includes representation of real estate private equity funds, investment managers, institutional investors, and REITs in the capitalization and financing of real estate through debt or equity at all levels in the capital stack. She regularly handles joint ventures and preferred equity investments, the origination of permanent, bridge or construction mortgage and mezzanine loans, the purchase and sale of loans, and the negotiation of intercreditor, participation, and co-lender relationships.

Lauren Kaufman joins JLL as a Managing Director in the Capital Markets group in New York. Lauren advises clients seeking to raise debt and equity spanning a variety of asset classes, including multifamily, retail, office, industrial, and self-storage, for permanent, bridge, construction, acquisition and refinancing solutions. Over the past four years, Lauren has structured and placed over $5 billion of fixed and floating-rate debt with diverse capital sources, including mortgage REITs, commercial and regional banks, insurance companies, pension funds, debt funds and hedge funds. Lauren brings over 15 years of experience in originating, negotiating, structuring and syndicating first mortgages, B-notes, mezzanine loans and preferred equity real estate transactions. Lauren began her real estate career at Alston & Bird where she represented commercial banks and other institutional lenders on the origination of commercial loans for balance sheet and capital market execution, as well as loan sales, loan modifications, warehouse facilities and subordinate financing transactions. From 2015 through 2020 Lauren worked in Deutsche Bank’s commercial real estate group where she was responsible for syndicating subordinate debt and originating loans for balance sheet and CMBS execution. Lauren has a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from New York University’s Stern Business School.

Wesley LePatner is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and the Global Head of Core+ Real Estate, based in New York. Ms. LePatner is a member of Blackstone Real Estate’s Investment Committee. She currently serves as a Director and the Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) and has been appointed the Chief Executive Officer as of January 1, 2025. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2014, Ms. LePatner spent over a decade at Goldman Sachs. Ms. LePatner received a BA in History from Yale University, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and serves on the boards of The Abraham Joshua Heschel School and Yale University Library Council.

Nancy Chin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and started her career with one of the largest heavy civil contractors in New York. There, she worked on transportation and infrastructure projects. She then decided to make the switch to the booming interiors market to experience a larger volume of projects with shorter schedules. Nancy spent many years as a senior estimator with a strong talent in pre- construction. She provided detailed budgets with solid value engineering opportunities to the clients. In 2012, Nancy joined Clune Construction, where she helped start the company’s New York office. She has been a significant part of the company’s growth and success in the region. Nancy was instrumental in growing the new office from just a few projects with existing national clients, to a prominent New York City general contractor. She has been integral in training new talent and establishing Clune’s reputation for client satisfaction. Nancy helped implement Clune culture by doubling her duties of running projects as a Senior Project Manager and serving as a Team Leader, overseeing a team of PMs and APMs. Nancy currently serves as Executive Vice President, co-leading Clune’s New York office. Nancy is well-known and respected throughout the New York construction community, with subcontractors, architects, and engineers often reaching out to her for advice. She has become a go-to person in the industry, particularly for her estimating skills. She has a unique ability to produce complete and detailed budgets for Clune’s clients with little information to go on. Nancy is very involved with the continuous improvement of Clune. She is part of the firm’s New York Training Committee and Mentoring Program. All of this makes Nancy an exceptional role model for Clune’s newer employees.

Sonya Dufner is a Principal and Director of Workplace Strategy at Gensler. She works with fortune 100 clients to conceptualize strategy for the future of hybrid work that aligns with their company culture and business strategy. With over three decades of experience, Sonya leads transformative projects for a diverse range of industry-leading clients, including Christies, L’Oreal USA, United Nations, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Thomson Reuters, Fidelity Investments, Paramount Global, Verizon, and Warner Music Group. She is sought after as a long-term strategic partner, helping clients to make decisions about not only their real estate portfolios, but how to best support talent through new policy language, as well as work-point analysis to redefine the physical space and support productivity when employees come into the office. Her design choices inform new service design strategies, rethinking amenities that make employees lives better, and location strategies to deliver impact to the business. Sonya has been featured in various prominent articles and platforms. Her work has been featured in FastCo Design, Entrepreneur, and The Huffington Post, and she has been quoted in Forbes, Bisnow, and HR Outlook. She also frequently speaks at high-profile conferences such as Microsoft's "The Future of Work and Play" and the 2024 “Future of Work Summit”. She has also been involved in industry boards, such as CoreNet NYC, where she serves as Strategic Planning Chair.

Sabrina Gleizer is a Managing Director at BDT & MSD Partners and the Chief Operating Officer of the Real Estate Equity team. She joined the firm in 2019 from Ian Schrager Company, where she was an Executive Vice President. Prior to that, she served as a Managing Director at the Witkoff Group, a Director at Equinox, and a Vice President at iStar Financial. Sabrina earned a B.S. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Brooklyn Heights with her husband and daughter.

Elizabeth (Liz) Hart serves as President of Leasing for North America, overseeing the Company’s operating businesses in the U.S. and Canada. She is responsible for driving the strategy of Newmark’s leasing business and serving leasing advisors and clients across the company. Hart is a member of Newmark’s Executive Committee, an internal corporate management steering committee, and reports to Chief Executive Officer Barry Gosin. In her current role, Hart works closely with the Company’s professionals to identify and leverage cross-platform synergies, improve efficiencies and drive Newmark’s leasing revenue growth while helping to recruit and retain industry-leading talent. Additionally, Hart works alongside Newmark’s Chief Information Officer to leverage the Company’s sophisticated technology infrastructure and identify opportunities for and solutions to benefit advisors and clients. Hart’s experience representing technology companies, from single entrepreneurs to members of the Fortune 50, enables her to anticipate the specific real estate challenges a company faces at each stage of its growth cycle and the type of workplace culture that companies seek to cultivate. Hart is also well-versed in zoning and entitlement processes, giving her insights on the urban future that she shares with Newmark’s clients. She has represented numerous large-block developments and helped reposition large-scale projects that have transformed skylines. Hart also served on the leadership team spearheading Newmark’s Technology & Innovation Practice Group, a group of specialized advisors focused on the Technology, Advertising, Media and Information (TAMI)/Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) sector. She has worked with numerous tenants in the sector to resolve their complex real estate issues and with landlords to redevelop their buildings to attract innovation tenants. Since joining Newmark in 2005, Hart rose to one of the top-ranked women nationally in the commercial real estate brokerage industry and is a champion for the benefit and value of working with diverse and inclusive teams. In her previous role as Vice Chairman, she completed transactions totaling close to 35 million square feet and over $4.2 billion in value on behalf of owners and tenants, was a regular Top Five Producers in Newmark’s San Francisco office and ranked among the Top Producers in the Bay Area.

Onay Payne is a Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Manulife Investment Management (“Manulife IM”). Ms. Payne is responsible for driving the strategy and development of Impact investment capabilities across the Manulife IM platform. Ms. Payne partners with Manulife IM’s investment, asset management and investor relations teams in screening investments; identifying risks and opportunities with respect to Impact; optimizing portfolio construction; enhancing asset performance; maximizing returns; and establishing performance benchmarking for Impact. Ms. Payne serves on Manulife IM’s Global Real Estate Leadership Team. Prior to joining Manulife, Ms. Payne was the Managing Director of Real Estate at Lafayette Square, a national investment platform focused on achieving risk-adjusted returns for investors while positively supporting people and communities in overlooked places and underserved markets. Prior to joining Lafayette, Ms. Payne was an equity owner and Managing Director of Clarion Partners. As a Portfolio Manager, she was responsible for close to ten billion dollars in assets under management over the course of her 19-year tenure, having overseen several separate account and co-mingled investment mandates covering all major property types and markets throughout the United States. She also oversaw Clarion’s Mexico platform and served on the firm’s Investment and Career Management Committees. Ms. Payne began working in the real estate and finance industries in 1997. Ms. Payne is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, from which she received an A.B. in 1997. She received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School in 2003, where she was a Robert Toigo Foundation (“Toigo”) Fellow. Ms. Payne is fluent in Spanish. Ms. Payne currently serves as Chair of the Toigo Alumni Endowment Board and Chair of the Audit, Finance & Investment Committee of the Mark Morris Dance Group board of directors. She is also a member of the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”), where she serves as a Global Governing Trustee, a Vice Chair of the national Technology and Real Estate Council, and a ULI NY Advisory Board Member; the Real Estate Executive Council (“REEC”); the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board; WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate; and the Advisory Board of Building Cyber Security. Ms. Payne was recognized on the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 lists in 2024 and 2023. In 2023, Ms. Payne was also featured in Bloomberg Markets Magazine and in Commercial Property Executive’s Female Leaders in CRE. Previously, she was a featured contributor to Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2023, selected as a member of the Commercial Observer’s 2021 Power Finance 50 list, featured in the Pace Common Ground Campaign for Gender Equality in 2017, inducted into the Toigo Foundation’s inaugural “40 Under 40” in 2013, and featured in Real Estate Forum Magazine’s “Women of Influence 2010.”

Lisa Silverstein is Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Silverstein Properties, and oversees the firm’s capital, existing assets, new initiatives and corporate strategy. From acquisitions to new development, she has worked beside her father, the founder and Chairman for over 25 years. A graduate of NYU, with two degrees, Lisa sits on the Board of Trustees of New York University, UJA and Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, as well as several other philanthropic and financial organizations and institutions from the United States to Israel. She lives with her husband in Tribeca and has three children.

President & CEO of M To-Pros Development Inc., stands at the helm of a pioneering Minority and Women Owned project management company. With a prominent presence at 1441 Broadway, New York, and satellite offices in NJ and TX, M To-Pros is ideally positioned to deliver exceptional results. Backed by over 20 years of comprehensive project management experience, Mildred champions excellence in managing a diverse range of projects.

Robin Zeigler is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of MURAL. Prior to founding MURAL, Robin was Chief Operating Officer for Cedar Realty Trust responsible for the creation and implementation of their urban mixed-use development platform and the operations of the 9.0 million SF grocery anchored shopping center portfolio. In this capacity, she successfully launched the master plan for the developments known as Northeast Heights, South Quarter Crossing and Revelry as well as many Value-Add Renovations of existing shopping centers. Before Cedar, Robin was the Mid-Atlantic Region Chief Operating Officer for Federal Realty Investment Trust where she was responsible for overseeing the strategy, development, construction and operations of five transformative mixed-use developments (Bethesda Row, Pike & Rose, Rockville Town Square, Village at Shirlington and Westpost) as well as the 40 grocery-anchored shopping center portfolio representing approximately 7.3 million SF. Robin currently serves on a number of boards: JLL Income Property Trust, RLJ Lodging Trust and NETSTREIT. She is also an ICSC Trustee and ICSC Foundation Board Member. She is on the awards jury panel for the ULI NY Annual Awards for Excellence in Development as well as a member of the ULI NY Advisory Board. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Miami Dade College Foundation.

Lauren Crowley Corrinet is a Vice Chairman in CBRE’s Consulting Group, where she has been a member since 2006. Lauren has been involved in the negotiation and structuring of complex lease and sales transactions for a wide range of corporate and nonprofit clients in the Tri-State area and around the world with a special focus on the technology and creative industries. Lauren analyzes real estate strategies for major corporations and non-profit entities across the country especially high growth entities with a need for ongoing flexibility. In addition, she brings a wealth of market knowledge and experience to the development of unique, strategic occupancy scenarios and the pursuit of real estate strategies that focus on new construction and redevelopment. Lauren has been engaged to consult on new development projects throughout New York City, including Brooklyn. Key projects include the anchor leases/joint ventures at new developments including Coach at 10 Hudson Yards, GroupM at 3 World Trade Center, Young & Rubicam at 3 Columbus Circle, Shiseido Americas Corporation at 390 Madison Avenue and L’Oreal at 10 Hudson Yards; significant lease relocations, recasts and expansions on behalf of LinkedIn (twice) at 350 Fifth Avenue (for which Lauren won REBNY’s Robert T. Lawrence Award for Most Ingenious Deal), Hudson’s Bay Company at 225 Liberty Street and 250 Vesey Street, HarperCollins Publishers at 195 Broadway, Casper at 3 World Trade Center, Sony at 25 Madison Avenue, Moet Hennessy at 7 World Trade Center and New York and Company at 330 West 34th Street; and finally purchases, sales and joint ventures on behalf of Young & Rubicam at both 3 Columbus Circle and 285 Madison Avenue (including the leaseback of 3 Columbus Circle), Largavista Companies at 300 Lafayette and the China Institute at 40 Rector Street. Lauren’s breadth of experience also extends to retail, where she has completed work on behalf of MM.LaFleur, L’Oreal, Shiseido and 21st Century Fox.

Laura Jackson serves as Senior Vice President, Tax Director of the Company, overseeing tax compliance, tax structuring, and all REIT matters. Prior to joining SL Green, Laura spent 20 years at FTI Consulting, as a leader in the REIT and tax practice serving public and private real estate companies in all types of tax matters. Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Laura started her career at Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche primarily focused on the lodging/gaming, banking, and retail industries. Laura currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for Rebuilding Together NYC, a non-profit organization for safe and healthy housing. She also founded the She Builds initiative empowering women in real estate to give back to the communities they serve. In 2022, Laura received the Young Real Estate Professional of the Year award from REBNY. Laura graduated summa cum laude and first in her class from Monmouth University with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and received a Master of Science in Taxation from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Ms. Jones has more than 24 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, investing and lending on CRE assets her entire career on behalf of large pension funds and institutional investors including Equitable Real Estate (largest pension fund advisor and investment management firm at the time), GMACCM (one of the largest CRE lenders, owned by GM) and CWCapital (the U.S. debt investment platform owned by Caisse de dépôt , one of the largest pension fund managers in Quebec). Ms. Jones is a seasoned veteran in CRE investments, capital markets, and structured finance. Since 2009, Ms. Jones has served as both Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Basis Investment Group (Basis), a multi-strategy commercial real estate investment platform she founded with JEMB Realty Corporation that acquires and originates a variety of senior and subordinated loans, preferred equity and joint venture equity positions on behalf of its investors. Under her leadership, Basis has succeeded in closing nearly $2.7 billion in commercial real estate debt and structured equity related investments across the United States. Prior to joining Basis, Ms. Jones worked at CWCapital LLC (“CW”) from 2004 to 2009, serving as head of CW’s fixed and floating rate Capital Markets Lending Division and closing approximately $6B in investments. Between 1997 and 2004, Ms. Jones was a Senior Vice President of Commercial Capital Initiatives, Inc., a GMACCM subsidiary (now Berkadia) (“GMAC”) and part of the leadership team responsible for creating GMAC’s Capital Markets lending division. Prior to her seven years with GMAC, she held various positions on the equity and asset management side of the business at commercial real estate investment companies including Equitable Real Estate and AMRESCO Management, Inc. Ms. Jones currently sits on the Board of Directors as an Independent Director for Monogram Residential Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MORE). Ms. Jones also sits on the Board of Directors for the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC), is a member of the President’s Council of Cornell Women (PCCW) and formerly served as a board member and Treasurer for The New Agenda, a leadership organization for women. Ms. Jones holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Finance from Georgia State University.

Nicole Mesard is Deputy Presiding Partner of the firm and a partner in the Real Estate Group, where she advises clients on all aspects of real estate law, including acquisitions and sales of retail and commercial properties, sophisticated financings, joint ventures, infrastructure transactions and restructurings of commercial real estate loans, including in bankruptcy. Ms. Mesard also serves as Chair of the Hiring Committee and Co-Chair of the Global Talent Initiative, and is a member of the firm’s Special Situations team. Previously, she served as Deputy Chair of the firm’s Corporate Department and a member of the Management Committee.