Her Story
About Bernadette
I've been in my field for 20-plus years. I started out in property valuation and then moved into corporate mobility. From there, I went into the supplier end, and then back to corporate. I kind of started out as a supplier, went into corporate, became a supplier again, and then corporate for the rest of my career. In my current role, I'm responsible for our corporate real estate portfolio as well as our mobility services. Day-to-day, I handle site acquisition for the real estate piece, economic development incentive review, and lease administration. On the mobility side, it's global mobility, and I'm the liaison to any local governments for the corporate real estate piece. I manage the entire portfolio. I'm currently the president of the New Jersey Relocation Council, and I served on my hometown's village council for 10 years, which gave me government experience.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Bernadette
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say my base foundation was my parents, who were influential in everything that I did, my career, my morals, my integrity. And then, you know, I kind of followed through my career with that base. Honesty and integrity are the values most important to me. If you have to give bad news, just give the bad news. You can't do anything unless people find you trustworthy.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say, because I have a daughter, and I've talked to her all the time about this - never think that your ideas are not important. Trust in yourself, and always, again, be honest and truthful, because people will pick up on it, and they'll understand who you are. Even women my age don't always have a voice, and it's silly because it's important. You always have a voice.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
From a real estate perspective, there's not many women in the field. Not many women hold the role that I hold. It's male-dominated. And I'd say just, you know, negotiating with cities and states where dollars are tight, in terms of getting economic incentives. I think that we still are hitting a glass ceiling, and I don't know how to, as an individual, fix that. I always support other women, but I just don't know how we get past it. People talk about it all the time, but there's still hurdles. I talk about it with my daughter and her peers, in my own company and these other groups that I'm part of, but it just still seems like a challenge.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty and integrity are most important to me. If you have to give bad news, just give the bad news. You can't do anything unless people find you trustworthy. My base foundation was my parents, who were influential in everything that I did, my career, my morals, my integrity, and I followed through my career with that base.
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