Her Story
About Sara
I'm currently working in what I call my retirement job, and it's the best job I've ever had. I work as an independent contractor, which is perfect because I make my own schedule. When I moved to California, I worked in a field called Redevelopment for redevelopment agencies, doing public-private projects including affordable housing, shopping centers, and other projects that benefited the community. Redevelopment ended in 2011, and I then went to the County of San Diego as a commercial realtor, retiring in 2020. Now I work for a real estate brokerage firm where we specialize in public-private projects. I work with developers, and our firm also works with cities to sell surplus land in our brokerage division, mainly for affordable housing and workforce housing. We also have a division that issues bonds for multifamily residential and provides alternative financing to developers that can't get traditional debt and equity. The reason I love what I'm doing is that my whole career I've been making a difference. I use the Jewish values that I grew up with, of giving back to society, in my job. I can earn money for myself, but I also make a difference because of the type of work I do. I have a master's in land use planning and do entitlement work for my clients, getting the local government approval so they can build and obtain all the permits, which is not what a normal broker agent does. When I worked as a redevelopment director, I had to shepherd approvals through local government, so I understand it all. I also know a lot of elected officials in my job that I have relationships with. I was hired to expand the business in San Diego for my LA-based company, and I oversee San Diego for the firm.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sara
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
When I entered the field, I had to work for government because brokerages were hiring men and not women back then. It was a very male-oriented field, and that's why I went to work for government, because they would hire me as a female. In all my negotiations with developers, I was always the only female in the room. Now it's a different story. Women have more opportunity in the field than when I entered the field. I would say, go for it. Don't feel restricted because you're a female.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges right now are tariff costs and our economy. My clients' construction costs have increased because of the tariffs, and the more they have to spend, the harder it is to pencil out projects. The other challenge is high interest rates. It's hard to get traditional debt and equity, which is why my company has an alternative financing program for developers. Our business has actually increased as a result because we can provide financing for market rate residential when developers can't get it from traditional equity and debt sources. So while these are challenges for the industry, they've created opportunities for us because we're getting more work.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Making a difference is the most important value to me. When I work on affordable housing projects and get all the approvals done, and it gets built and I go to the grand opening, I feel I've made a difference. I'm helping people who couldn't otherwise afford a place to live. Right now, I'm working on a conversion from office to residential where the owner of the property lost their office tenant and it would either go back to the bank or we convert it to residential. I'm working on getting the financing so the residential builder can convert it and open by the end of the year to save the property from foreclosure. That's the kind of projects I work on. Throughout my whole career I've been making a difference. I use the Jewish values that I grew up with, of giving back to society, in my job. I can earn money for myself, but I also make a difference because of the type of work I do.
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