Real Estate Women’s Forum California

October 6, 2016 — The Ebell of Los Angeles

8:00 am – Registration & Networking Breakfast

8:45 am – Opening Remarks

8:50 am – General Session

The Executive Branch: Power Players in California Real Estate

Sometimes it takes extra effort as a woman to be part of the good ole boys club, but this panel of women is shattering all stereotypes. These women are breaking ground, literally and figuratively, from multifamily to commercial. Is it par for the course when you get to the executive level that there won’t be women?

  • Women changing the literal and metaphorical landscape: what is next for California’s real estate industry?
  • Women making deals: updates in new construction and development
  • She who controls the money: women who investment
  • Challenges faced and strides made: building the workforce with women

Speakers Include:

Pamela Westhoff

Pamela Westhoff
Partner
Sheppard Mullin
MODERATOR

Clare DeBriere

Clare De Briere
COO & EVP
The Ratkovich Company

Lorna Auerbach

Lorna Auerbach
President & CEO
Auerbach Realty Holdings

Constance Moore

Constance Moore
Former President & CEO
BRE Properties

Maria Stamolis

Maria Stamolis
Co-Head of Real Estate &
Director – Asset Management

Canyon Partners Real Estate

9:45 am – General Session

Breaking Ground: Building and Development

With increased cost of land, resistant neighborhood councils, a complicated tax structure, environmental regulations and high construction costs, it is a miracle that any development occurs at all. With the highest levels of development being in and around central business districts and areas with transportation networks, it is no wonder that the evolving demographics are driving certain decisions. With so many moving parts and limited resources to consider, can California continue on the growth trajectory?

  • Central Business Districts (CBD): the impact of growth on tertiary gentrification
  • Advent of transportation network: how do transportation lines change development strategy?
  • Neighborhood councils, nimbyism and building density disputes: how to negotiate the human nature side of development
  • Cost and availability of land: has ground up development hit its limit?

Speakers Include:

Clare Bronowski

Clare Bronowski
Partner
Glaser Weil
MODERATOR

Laura Archuleta

Laura Archuleta
President
Jamboree Housing

Kaitlin Arduino

Kaitlin Murphy Arduino
EVP & Partner
Murphy Development

Sonnet Hui

Sonnet Hui
Head of Design & Development
Hazens Group

Jane Vaughan

Jane Vaughan
Partner – Development
Menlo Equities

Sarah Shaw

Sarah Shaw
VP – Development & Operations
Constellation Place

10:40 am – Morning Networking Break

11:35 am – Concurrent Session  A

The Custodians of Real Estate: Managers and Operators

Depending on your target tenant group, whether they are apartment or office tenants, retail or industrial, your amenities and upgraded features may matter more than a net zero energy building, or vice versa. Rent and leasing rates are rising; this is great news for real estate, but how can you convince your prospective tenants that your product is best or current tenants that they won’t find better?

  • Credit and Leasing Requirements: What should you be looking for?
  • Rising prices of rents: how do you justify the price and provide a quality product?
  • Exploring Fundamentals of Employment: what does job growth mean for your product stock?
  • Class A Amenities, what counts?
  • Creative Solutions: CA water shortage and grounds maintenance

Speakers Include:

Julie Brawn-Whitesides

Julie Brawn-Whitesides
EVP – Property Management
ConAm

Tiffany Griego

Tiffany Griego
Managing Director – Asset Management
Stanford Real Estate

Pamela Huning

Pamela Huning
President
IREM LA

Allison Lynch

Allison Lynch
VP – Asset Management
Watt Properties

Melody Akhtari

Melody Akhtari
Director – Marketing & Communications
Luxer One

11:35 am – Concurrent Session  B

No Status Quo Here: Design and Innovation

Technology changes in commercial real estate are happening at an unprecedented speed. From solar powered buildings and fiber optics to creative re-use and unique amenity design, real estate owners and operators are integrating new tools, strategies, and design innovations into their portfolios. What tools are most useful to landlords and tenants as ways of managing their space?

  • Activating real estate through technology: exploring fiber optics, solar energy and more
  • Adaptive-reuse (i.e. LA Creative Arts District): how to think outside of the box
  • Smart Buildings and Internet of Things: is this a thing of the future or relevant now?
  • Unique amenity design (barn doors, roof top areas with conversational space, communal tables for meetings/dining): and tenant acquisition and retention
  • Flexible design space: understanding how tenants are using their space

Speakers Include:

Renee Dake Wilson

Renee Dake Wilson
Vice President
Los Angeles City Planning Commission
MODERATOR

Deborah Acosta

Deborah Acosta
Chief Innovation Officer
City of San Leandro

Aliza Guren

Aliza Guren
Chief Executive Officer
Karney Management Company

Wei Huang

Wei Huang
VP – Acquisition & Asset Management
LT Global Investment

Lucy Rumantir

Lucy Rumantir
President & CEO
OUE

12:25 pm – Concurrent Session  A

Money Makes the World Go Around: Debt, Financing and Investing

California is in a sweet spot when it comes to equity chasing deals, injections of foreign capital, and low CAP rates. However, with economic cycles coming in 7 year increments, it is only a matter of time before the market corrects itself. How do you move forward when the interest rates go back up? Where will the equity sources come from? Is crowdfunding really viable?

  • The Shift of Power: from Wall Street big banks to hedge and pension funds
  • Debt: what is the cost and how easy is it to get it?
  • Diversification in lending: what does this mean for certain product types?
  • Creative debt: where you should be looking
  • Investment strategies and opportunities: where are they?
  • Conservative: The new position of banks

Speakers Include:

Mana Bolourchi

Mana Bolourchi
Secretary
CREW-LA

Pamela Day

Pamela Day
Managing Partner
Crimson Holdings

Lynn Owen
Chief Operations Officer
TruAmerica Multifamily

Cynthia Parker

Cynthia Parker
President & CEO
BRIDGE Housing

Kirsten Chen

Kirsten Chen
VP – Real Estate Finance
CIT Bank

Michelle Lord

Michelle Lord
SVP – Capital Markets
Fairfield Residential Company

12:25 pm – Concurrent Session  B

Onwards and Upwards: Career Development and Leadership

While it’s safe to say that the real estate industry is an interdependent ecosystem, the vast majority of its key players are still men, especially in fields such as development and investment. And yet, women are increasingly succeeding at taking on leadership roles. What are women doing today that gives them greater opportunities for career development and industry leadership?

  • The circle of mentorship: receiving help and paying it forward
  • Relative advantage: networking strategies that work
  • Barriers to entry: how to break through into entrenched organizations
  • Work/life balance: the changing global culture of “work from anywhere”
  • By choice: best opportunities for advancement in the real estate industry

Speakers Include:

Fiona McCarthy

Fiona McCarthy
President
Crew – LA
MODERATOR

Fran Inman

Fran Inman
Senior Vice President
Majestic Realty

Amy Price

Amy Price
President & COO
Bentall Kennedy

Leslie Walling

Leslie Walling
Director
AEW Capital Management

Sandy Yavitz

Sandy Yavitz
Owner
Yavitz Companies