Lisa Vogel

I would tell them that commercial real estate is a great field for women to really grow and excel, depending on which avenue, but if they're going to get into property management and leasing. I don't want it in writing, but I think women are kind of better at certain parts of it, and we can juggle, because you have to be able to juggle. You can't always just say, I'm not doing anything till I finish this task. I've just seen that women really excel, and basically, if you're running a building, it's kind of like being the mayor of a small town. You are responsible soup to nuts for everything within those walls, from engineering, and financials, and budgets, and CAMRECs. I would highly recommend to really reach out to other women in the industry and try and set up meetings and really work the network, get involved with real estate organizations as well. Get on, become part of a committee, and network, network, network, because especially in San Francisco and the Bay Area, people are really happy to help and meet with you. I'm a mentor for Crew as well. Unlike some markets where people kind of hold everything back and keep it tight to their chest, San Francisco Bay area is really, really not like that. I think it's just a great way to excel a career and really take on, you know, grow fast within an industry.

For me, what really makes me tick is philanthropy. That's really at the heart of everything I do outside of work. I really enjoy people, and I enjoy building long-term relationships. What I love most about my job is the immense variety of what I get to deal with on a daily basis, whether it's financial issues, construction, leasing, tenants, working with my staff, working with my client. It's really packed with a variety. You get to wear a lot of different hats every day.