WALTHAM, MA—Boston Real Estate Times, the region’s largest print, online and video real estate magazine, has announced its list of the Outstanding Women of 2022. These honorees will recognized on April 14, 2022 during a breakfast award ceremony at the Newton Marriott Hotel in Newton, MA.
“We’re excited to honor these amazing professionals who are changing the face commercial real estate industry in each of their own ways—from architecture and construction to real estate brokerage and development,” said Upendra Mishra, publisher of the Boston Real Estate Times and its sister publication the Life Sciences Times. “After going virtual during the pandemic, we so happy to host this year’s event in-person in April. We’re looking forward to honoring these outstanding real estate pioneers.”
Boston Real Estate Times will also publish a special glossy print edition that will highlight the contribution and achievements of this group.
The breakfast award ceremony will be held on April 14 from 7:00 am to 10:30 am at Newton Marriott Hotel in Newton, MA. To purchase a ticket, please click here. For sponsorship opportunities, please email [email protected] .
Here are the Boston Real Estate Times’ Outstanding Women of 2022 in alphabetical order:
Ellen Anselone
Principal, Vice President
Finegold Alexander Architects
Over the course of her 30+ year tenure at Finegold Alexander Architects, Ms. Anselone has risen through the ranks to her current role as Principal and Vice President at the firm. She is a dedicated leader of the Finegold Alexander team, motivating teams to deliver design excellence that exceeds client goals with projects that are often transformative in terms of placemaking, identity, brand and the user experience.
Ms. Anselone has designed some of Boston’s most significant residential, commercial, hospitality, academic, and civic adaptive reuse projects, such as The Lucas, an award-winning redevelopment of a historic South End church into beautiful condominiums. In each of her projects, Ms. Anselone is a champion of existing and future architecture, utilizing expertise in historic preservation and a passionate dedication to sustainability to create something new and artful from the old. A creative problem solver, Ms. Anselone has made her mark in the field; and was part of the leadership transformation in May 2018 which saw the firm become a WBE certified firm as she and three peers lead the firm into the next era.
Ms. Anselone is a key player in the industry, including her involvement with CREW Boston, Urban Land Institute (ULI), the WULI Women’s Leadership Initiative Council, and is a member of the AIA and BSA. Additionally, Ms. Anselone is an active member of her community, serving as a board member of the Milton Historical Commission. She has participated in speaking engagements over the years with Architect’s Newspaper, Urban Land Institute, and ABX conferences. Ellen is the recipient of the 2018 Preservation Massachusetts Tsongas Award and the 2019 Banking New England and American Business Media Women of Fire Award.
Ann Beha, FAIA
Principal
Ann Beha Architects
Ms. Beha has devoted 40 years to building and leading a design practice based in Boston, working nationally and internationally. Her focus is the revitalization of existing buildings and the introduction of contemporary architecture in historic settings. Ms. Beha have been a thought leader and advocate for this combination of the old and the new.
With a staff of 65% minority and women, Ann Beha Architects has been cited for its mentoring and outreach, and decades of community service. Ms. Beha’s projects expand the design dialogue between tradition and innovation. Marked by strong historical, cultural, and educational content, her planning and design work advocates for innovative contemporary expression, the sustainable renewal of historic resources, and a progressive approach to planning for the arts, the community, and the campus. Clients include the US Department of State, Yale University, and MIT, as well as other leading academic, civic, and cultural organizations.
A graduate of Wellesley College, Ms. Beha received a Master of Architecture degree from MIT and was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She has been a trustee and past president of Historic New England, has served on Visiting Committees at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Architecture at the City College of New York, and is a member of Harvard University’s Design Advisory Panel. In 2018, Ann received the Award of Honor from the Boston Society of Architects, and in 2019, she was the inaugural recipient of the US Department of State’s OBO Industry Advisory Group Honor Award.
Kristin Blount
Executive Vice President
Colliers Boston
Ms. Blount has been a long-time leader in the real estate community in Boston. He expansive knowledge of Boston and large urban properties is ever-evolving, much like the city itself. Known for her expertise on market dynamics, Ms. Blount has become the best in the business for supporting companies large and small, guiding them through the Boston landscape, and selecting outstanding properties that best fit their needs. She has solidified herself as a leader in the industry, approaching each client relationship with creativity, tenacity, and drive. With an intimate understanding of her clients’ strategy and goals, Ms. Blount is able to find tremendous success again and again on behalf of her clients.
An executive vice president at Colliers, Ms. Blount has been recognized by a number of organizations and publications for her leadership, contributions, and achievements within the Boston real estate industry, spanning her 20+ year career. A dedicated member of many industry networks and organizations, Ms. Blount has sat on the board of directors of the CREW Network, the Commercial Brokers Association, serving as CREW’s North American president in 2010 and CBA’s president in 2011.
When not achieving on behalf of her clients, Ms. Blount has worked to make waves within the commercial real estate industry. A true champion for women in an industry that has not always made room for women leaders, Ms. Blount has effortlessly harnessed her influence, establishing herself as a mentor, a resource, and a voice that raises other women leaders up to help them succeed in the business.
Laura Brink Pisinski
Vice President, University Real Estate and Facilities Management
Simmons University
Since 2013, Simmons University has been developing a plan called “One Simmons” to fund the consolidation and revitalization of its real estate on its academic campus located at 300 the Fenway by leasing its residential campus along Brookline Avenue for 99 years. This plan called for the partial to full renovation of all buildings at 300 the Fenway, the creation of new science facilities and the development of a new Living and Learning Center on the site of the old science facilities.
In 2018, Ms. Brink Pisinski joined this effort full time and has carried senior level responsibility for this project, which may be the largest project of its kind in the City of Boston developed and executed by an organization led by women. This project enables Simmons to offer first class facilities to the only women-centered academic and residential undergraduate program in Boston as well as to its nationally competitive graduate programs delivered on campus and online.
Ms. Brink Pisinski serves as Vice President of University Real Estate Development and Facilities Management. Her teams are responsible for facilities and auxiliary services, conferences and events and public safety. During 16 years of service to Simmons, Ms. Brink Pisinski has held positions of increasing responsibility and scope. She started as a front-line fundraiser and over 11 years advanced ultimately to the position of Associate Vice President of Advancement. Following a successful career in fundraising, she served as the Chief of Staff to President of Simmons, and was appointed to lead the One Simmons campus plan. She continues to oversee that $450 million initiative, the biggest real estate and master planning project in Simmons’ history.
Smriti Choudhury
Associate
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Ms. Choudhury’s colleagues at the Boston law firm of Seyfarth Shaw call her incredibly hardworking and excellent real estate associate. “Clients love her, partners all want her to work with them,” wrote one of the Seyfarth Partners.
In commercial real estate, clients need to move quickly in dynamic environments for acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, and M&A transactions to manage an array of issues, including corporate structuring, due diligence, and financing. Ms. Choudhury collaborates with her clients to navigate these various transactions and offer practical legal, strategic, and operational solutions.
Ms. Choudhury practice involves a range of acquisitions, dispositions, and leasing focused on office, life science, and industrial space. She has focused on both seller and buyer-sided acquisitions and landlord and tenant leasing, which provides her a unique perspective to provide curated strategies for her clients.
Prior to joining Seyfarth, Smriti served as counsel for a major life science REIT and several life science and technology companies, handling various leases and acquisitions in the life science and office space.
Joelle Denham
Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President
The Bulfinch Companies
As the first-ever SVP, CFO of The Bulfinch Companies, Inc., Ms. Denham oversees the firm’s financial operations. Since joining Bulfinch, she has led the strategic planning and redevelopment of Bulfinch’s financial reporting team and business planning for the firm’s portfolio of more than $3.6 Billion in assets.
As a member of Bulfinch’s Senior Leadership Team, Ms. Denham is a strong female role model and serves as a mentor to young professionals. She is a member of Bulfinch’s Investment Committee, Valuation Committee, Asset Management Committee and Technology Committee where she was selected as the Co-chair. In her new role as Co-Chair, Ms. Denham directs the evaluation and implementation of new technology integrations. Ms. Denham successfully helped lead the implementation of Yardi, a property management software that has transformed Bulfinch’s business operations while supporting the company’s commitment to environmental responsibility through paperless operations. The Yardi launch allowed Bulfinch to conduct business as usual with a distributed workforce during the pandemic, which played a key role in Bulfinch’s being honored with the Robert S. Swain Award at the 2021 REFA Gala.
Ms. Denham has over 20 years of experience, previously serving as VP of AEW Capital Management L.P. where she participated in AEW’s Real Estate Technology Counsel and as a judge for the Chris Kazantis Real Estate Challenge Board. She received the AEW Distinguished Service Award in 2020 and 2014 in recognition of exceptional work and great attitude. Ms. Denham is deeply committed to giving back to her profession and community. She is an active participant on the REFA Programs Committee, recently completed the KPMG Executive Leadership Institute for Women and serves as a judge for Suffolk University’s ENT 101 Business Foundations Course.
Jennifer Francis
President and CEO, Diversified Healthcare Trust (Nasdq: DHC)
Executive Vice President, The RMR Group
Ms. Francis has been Managing Trustee, President and CEO of DHC since 2021. She was President and Chief Operating Officer from 2018 to 2021. In addition, she serves as Executive Vice President of The RMR Group LLC and is also responsible for asset management and leasing activities at all RMR managed properties.
Prior to joining RMR in 2006, Ms. Francis was a Partner at CBRE/NE Partners, where she performed brokerage and corporate advisory services for a number of large corporate clients on their national commercial real estate portfolios. Previously, Ms. Francis was a Vice President at The Gunwyn Company where she was responsible for the asset management of a portfolio of commercial, retail and residential assets.
Ms. Francis has over 30 years of experience working in the commercial real estate industry. She is on the Executive Board of the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA), a member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and a member of the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW).
Deborah Hauser
Executive Director, Residential Brokerage
Senné
Ms. Hauser is the Executive Director of Residential Brokerage at Senné. She has played an integral role in the shaping and strategy of Senné’s residential real estate business. She directs and oversees all initiatives for the Residential Brokerage team, including office expansion, innovation, high-caliber associate recruitment, and all strategic improvement plans for the company.
Ms. Hauser works with company leadership on growth initiatives: opening new branches and mergers and acquisitions in Greater Boston and beyond. She also actively supports selling and securing new business while implementing a strategic plan, organizational development of new programs, and building collaborative partnerships.
Ms. Hauser previously served as Chief Operating Officer for Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, where she had also managed the company’s number one office for eight years and was responsible for co-managing the relationship with sales managers and agents. She is a licensed real estate broker in Massachusetts and New York. She is growing and enhancing the company with talent, expanding their residential team with the addition of a new Wayland, Mass. MetroWest office and more to come. Ms. Hauser is also a mother, an active member of the GBAR Membership Committee as well as the MAR Charitable Foundation.
Marci Griffith Loeber
Managing Principal
Griffith Properties
Ms. Loeber, Managing Principal of Griffith Properties, is a trailblazing leader in the Massachusetts real estate industry who has left an indelible imprint on this region for three decades. One of the few women operating as a manager in the transactions space, Ms. Loeber has been leading her company since 2010. As a testament to her prowess, she has been involved in 525+ transactions representing $26 billion of assets. Known as a visionary, her work has had a demonstrated impact on the Massachusetts economy. Years before the pandemic accelerated growth in lab space, she transitioned her business from primarily office space to life science properties, evidenced most recently by 580 Pleasant Street, Watertown, an industrial property undergoing a gut renovation conversion into a Class A laboratory building.
A well-respected industry leader, she is the only woman to have served as president of both the NAIOP Massachusetts and REFA Boards, each with distinction. She also is an active member of the ULI. Ms. Loeber has dedicated countless hours to providing industry professionals with the highest quality networking and educational opportunities. She is a recipient of the Robert Swain Distinguished Service Award from REFA for her contributions to our industry and our community.
Notably, Ms. Loeber prioritizes giving back to her community. Since its inception in 1997, she has served on the Champions for Children’s Committee for Boston Children’s Hospital, over which time $71 million was raised. She has also served on the Real Estate Committee for the Archdiocese of Boston, overseeing the purchasing, sale, leasing, and construction of real estate, for 10+ years. She also is a member of the Board of Trustees, and Chair of the Building Committee, of Noble and Greenough School.
Chrystal Kornegay
Executive Director
MassHousing
Ms. Kornegay serves as Executive Director of MassHousing which lends over $1 billion annually to produce and preserve affordable rental housing and create homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income borrowers. Under Ms. Kornegay’s leadership, MassHousing launched a highly successful Down Payment Assistance program; secured over $80 million to expand its Workforce Housing initiative; and developed a nationally recognized program for homeownership production in communities of color.
Before joining MassHousing, Ms. Kornegay served as the Baker-Polito Administration’s Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development where she successfully advocated to increase state capital dollars for affordable housing by almost 18%; partnered to increase rental subsidies for low income families by 42%; and collaborated to dramatically reduce the number of homeless families in motels.
Prior to her work as Undersecretary, Ms. Kornegay was President and Chief Executive Officer at Urban Edge, one of New England’s largest community development corporations. She is credited with leading the organization’s financial transformation, resulting in a $3 million increase in the Agency’s net asset position. Ms. Kornegay serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, the National Housing Trust, the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) and is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Advisory Committee. She holds a Master’s in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. from Hunter College.
Colleen O’Connor
Senior Vice President of Leasing for the East Coast and U.K. Markets
BioMed Realty
As BioMed Realty’s Senior Vice President of Leasing for the East Coast and U.K. Markets, Colleen manages more than six million square feet of life science and technology space across two continents. This includes driving BioMed’s portfolio strategy for these regions, identifying growth opportunities for the platform, spearheading leasing activity for existing assets and new developments, and establishing key relationships with stakeholders across the industry. In her eight years with BioMed Realty, Colleen has sharpened her expertise in life science laboratory and office real estate, one of the fastest-growing real estate sectors across the country, in one of the fastest-growing lab office submarkets in the country.
Since joining BioMed Realty, Colleen has elevated the Blackstone portfolio company by establishing trusted relationships with high-profile names in the real estate, venture capital and life science communities. With the rapid growth of the life science market, Colleen’s responsibilities have grown too. She has a keen understanding of the unique needs of tenants in an industry that is simultaneously flush with investments and constricted by accelerated drug development timelines. Thanks to Colleen’s efforts, BioMed is able to help identify high-quality, strategic spaces from its portfolio and deliver reliable services from its platform so tenants can focus on their expertise: delivering life-saving therapies.
Prior to her time at BioMed Realty, Colleen worked in finance and accounting roles, most recently at Fidelity Investments in Boston, MA. Colleen holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Stonehill College, her Master of Accounting Degree from Boston College Carroll School of Management, and her Master of Business Administration Degree from Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. Colleen is also a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Massachusetts.
Colleen is a member of several real estate industry groups including REFA and CREW. She is also a member of the United Way real estate fundraising group and is serving as a co-chair for the 2021 fundraising event.
Jane Kaplan Peck, LEED AP
Chief Operating Officer
Kaplan Construction
As chief operating officer and majority owner of Kaplan Construction, Ms. Kaplan Peck is responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations, ensuring Kaplan’s financial security and viability.
As the second generation of the Kaplan Construction family, Ms. Kaplan Peck has been immersed in the construction industry since a young age and has acquired a deep understanding of the business. Her previous roles at Kaplan include project manager and financial and administrative manager. Before joining Kaplan in 2006, she served as an assistant project manager at Shawmut Design & Construction and as a project assistant/analyst at Leggat McCall Properties.
Ms. Kaplan Peck is an officer on the board of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) Workers’ Compensation Self-Insurance Group (SIG). She is a member of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Boston and a board member of the Brookline Community Mental Health Center. Jane also serves as director and coach of Brookline Girls Youth Lacrosse.
Maureen Rystrom
Vice President of Marketing and Partner
Calnan & Associates, Inc.
As Vice President of Marketing and Partner at J. Calnan & Associates, Inc., Ms. Rystrom has 20 years of marketing experience in the A/E/C industry. She is responsible for planning, developing and implementing marketing strategies and communications around brand management; internal and external public relations; industry awards and recognition programs; events; and philanthropic initiatives.
Ms. Rystrom also works closely with the senior leadership team at JC&A on the business development efforts as well as JC&A’s strategic initiatives including employee training and development, strategic relationships, technology tools and overall processes and procedures. She is extremely active as a leader in numerous industry organizations. She serves on the Executive Committee as President-Elect for CoreNet Global New England Chapter and on the Executive Committee for the Commercial Brokers Association. She is also involved in NAIOP, where she was an active member of the Charitable Events Committee and former VP of the Marketing and Membership Committee. Ms. Rystrom is also the Co-Founder of an all women’s networking group, PLA!, which has gained tremendous traction for its emphasis on mentoring and philanthropy.
Ms. Rystrom gives back to the community in positive ways as a proud supporter of Team IMPACT whose mission is to connect and cultivate meaningful relationships between college athletic teams and children diagnosed with life-threatening diseases.
