porate Center Four that combined three
separate offices in Tampa. She currently
serves as the first female president of the
Westshore Alliance.
Her View: “The commercial real estate
industry has seen the evolution of women’s roles and now recognizes their new
level of participation. Women are no
longer only hired as leasing agents but
are taking the lead as managing brokers,
owners, developers, architects and asset
managers. As more young women enter
the industry, we will see many more
women recognized as leaders as we have
seen over the past decade.”
KELLY BUSH
CFO
Coldwell Banker Com-
mercial Benchmark
Jacksonville
Bush has been instrumental in building
CBC Benchmark over the past 11 years,
starting as a receptionist when the firm was
known as Nichols Properties Inc. When
she wasn’t working days as the firm’s operations manager, she was earning her MBA
from the University of North Florida at
night for four years. She has been an active
member of CBC’s Marketing and Administrators Council for the past five years.
Her View: “The need to be flexible and consistently diversify the revenue stream will
be paramount in the next year while maintaining the highest level of professionalism
and ethical integrity. Attitude and perseverance will equal success when joined with
clearly stated, attainable goals.”
TERESA CLARK
Regional Portfolio
Manager
Adler Realty
Services LLC
Tampa
Clark oversees a portfolio of retail, office,
industrial and service center developments
in the Tampa, Orlando and Naples/Fort
Myers markets totaling 1.3 million square
feet. Over the past year, she completed
nearly 800,000 square feet of acquisitions
and leases, including the purchase of the
334,300-square-foot Breckenridge Park development in Tampa. She has been with
Adler for the past 12 years.
Her View: “Our industry’s immediate future depends on the role of government in
the commercial real estate market to avoid
the crash that many believe is coming. Private firms that did not participate in the
out-of-control market of the past few years
are ready to start acquisitions and release
money into the market. We will start to see
action soon and the industry will clean up
from its past mistakes.”
TERRI ECHARTE
Regional Managing
Director
Douglas Wilson Cos.
Miami
Echarte oversees Florida
and Southeast regional operations for
Douglas Wilson Cos., managing business development and marketing for the
firm’s East Coast ventures. Her goal is
to expand the company’s presence and
continue to increase receivership assignments in Florida, the Southeast and along
the Eastern Seaboard.
Her View: “Lenders continue to battle the
current lack of debt. Refinancing options
are unavailable to most borrowers. Loan
maturities loom and lenders are faced
with loans that are out of balance due to
increasing vacancies, rent relief and an
overall devaluation in assets. Lenders are
compelled to extend loans, even in cases
where the borrowers are desirous to simply walk away as they realize their equity
may be gone.”
KAREN
JOHNSON-
CROWTHER
Director of Retail
Colliers Arnold
Fort Myers
Johnson-Crowther is responsible for landlord and tenant representation at retail
properties throughout Southwest Florida.
She began her career in 1987 and has
worked with a wide range of local, regional
and national companies. Her career goals
include mentoring younger brokers and
writing a book.
Her View: “In today’s difficult economic
climate, it becomes very apparent that
those who will continue to succeed in
commercial real estate are those who have
learned the value of relationship-based
business practices. We must work harder
and smarter to continue to provide quality
services to our clients. I see women emerging as a significant force in the commercial
arena. Further, they bring a fresh new perspective to dealmaking and have earned a
higher respect amongst their peers.”
MARGERY
JOHNSON
Senior Director
Cushman & Wakefield
Orlando
Johnson is known as one of the top land
and investment brokerage professionals
in Central Florida, yet she is also involved
in non-core property types such as mobile
home parks. She is a founding director of
the Central Florida Commercial Association of Realtors and served as the group’s
president in 1999.
Her View: “Women have played an increasingly significant role since I started over
20 years ago, but we still have a long way
to go in becoming leaders in this industry. The economic and social challenges
facing our country may bring change to
the business. Greater collaboration and
cooperation among professionals will be
one result of downsizing—we need to
work together to foster the best possible
outcome for investors and users.”
COURTNEY
KOWALCHUK
Senior Associate
Crossman & Co.
Orlando
Kowalchuk currently orchestrates project
leasing, budgeting and marketing for two
million square feet of retail, office and industrial properties in Central Florida. She
consistently delivers strategic analysis by
identifying local, regional and national retailers to develop and implement efficient
and effective commercial leasing plans. In
the past year, she has signed 35 new leases
totaling over $9 million in gross revenue.
Her View: “With all the negativity in today’s
commercial real estate market, the positives are that leases are being signed, small
businesses are finding equity to move forward and discount retailers are making a
big comeback allowing vacant big-box units
