Meet 20 Women Driving Deals And Development In South Florida

As the director of development for Aria Development Group, Andrea Gourdine has helped shepherd the construction of projects across Miami, including 501 First Residences, 600 Miami Worldcenter, 2200 Brickell Ave. and Yotel Miami.

The experience has opened doors that Gourdine never thought were possible, and she tries to share her story as a woman of color from a nontraditional background who has not only found success in the industry but excelled. 

Gourdine was previously a senior development manager at Douglas Development Corp. in Washington, D.C., where she managed more than 20 historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse projects. She loves music, whether going to concerts or listening to vinyl, traveling and being engrossed in a good book.

Mindy McIlroy first joined Terranova in 1997 as an executive assistant. Today, she’s a president at the development firm. 

She now oversees all the day-to-day operations of Terranova’s retail portfolio and has led the company’s push into mixed-use and high street retail. Her more than $1B in leasing deals span suburban shopping centers to urban mixed-use projects.

McIlroy co-founded the Lincoln Road Property Owners Association in Miami Beach, now the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District. In that role, she has brought together neighborhood businesses in an area where Terranova owns an expansive retail portfolio to advance a range of initiatives and investments to boost the appeal of Lincoln Road.  

McIlroy said she is proud to work with a tightknit team, and in her off time, she draws inspiration from travel and a sense of accomplishment from gardening.

Monica Vazquez spearheaded Spanish bank Abanca’s launch in the United States five years ago, deftly navigating the pandemic’s impact on lending and building the firm's reputation as one of the leading corporate banks in Miami. 

She is proud that the bank's Miami rollout included Abanca’s commitment to making a positive community impact, with the firm supporting several civic organizations. Vazquez is focused on mentoring the next generation of leaders. 

Vazquez, a native of Spain, arrived in Miami in 2018 and continues exploring the city and world with her four daughters and creating shared memories of adventures.

Danielle Naftali studied psychology in college and had no plans to go into real estate until she discovered a passion for marketing that eventually led her to Naftali Group. 

As the New York-based firm’s executive vice president of marketing, she has helped deliver more than $1B in combined sales at 200 East 83rd, The Bellemont and The Benson in New York. She has now turned her attention to South Florida, where she has played a key role in launching Naftali’s presence and oversees a 3M SF development pipeline.

She brings a passion for wellness and design to each project, weighing in on project amenities and finishes and combining deep experience in new development marketing with precise attention to detail.

Iris Escarra has built a reputation as a deft navigator of the project approval process, having shepherded dozens of projects through South Florida’s notorious red tape and winning tough votes at city meetings.

As the co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s land use practice, Escarra and her team help clients through the entire process, from entitlements to zoning, regulations to exception requests.

She has helped get some of South Florida’s highest-profile projects out of the ground and goes to the mat for her clients when necessary. Escarra navigated the discovery of an ancient civilization at a development site on behalf of her client Related Group, which eventually won full approval to build two towers. 

As a Miami native who says she will never leave, Escarra is proud to see her work and the work of her team reflected in the Miami skyline.

Aida Sanchez-Gomez has helped create some of Miami’s most iconic public landmarks as senior architect at Stantec, including Downtown Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

She has a deep commitment to public service, having worked on the design and construction of a new headquarters for Camillus House, a Miami homeless shelter and advocacy organization. Sanchez-Gomez is also trying to help Ukranians through the Norman Foster Foundation’s Kharkiv Housing Challenge, an architecture competition that aims to find innovative solutions in a city torn apart by war. 

She is a participant in Stantec’s mentorship program because sharing knowledge is her way to help shape the industry’s future. Sanchez-Gomez said that working with young people and spending time with her two daughters, who both recently graduated college, helps her keep a fresh perspective and youthful optimism. 

“It’s a beautiful balance of learning and teaching, giving and receiving, which enriches the lives of all involved,” she said.

Catalina Arango is at the cutting edge of technology in the workplace as the leader of Blackstone’s artificial intelligence transformation initiatives. 

The vice president and product manager enjoys working at the cusp of a technological turning point, leveraging the resources and impact of Blackstone to find novel solutions. 

She has a deep passion for innovation and education. Prior to her career in financial services, she started the first data science boot camp in South Florida, a program that empowered professionals with data science tools and machine learning skills they could apply in their jobs. 

Jessica Melendez has spent more than a decade with Related Group, helping to source new deals and shepherd projects for one of South Florida’s most prolific developers from idea to execution. 

She views her success as creating a path for more women to climb the ranks of the commercial real estate sector, an industry where women are still pushing for parity from associates to senior leaders. 

“When I first entered this industry, I was often met with skepticism and doubt simply because of my gender,” Melendez said. “However, through hard work, dedication and an unwavering belief in my capabilities, I have not only survived but thrived.” 

Prior to joining Related in 2012, Melendez spent 15 years at Dayco Group, overseeing acquisitions and development for the South Florida-based firm. She hopes her success in the industry can serve as a road map for other women to navigate a challenging industry.

Billion-dollar projects come across Stacy Bercun Bohm’s desk relatively frequently as an Akerman partner based in Fort Lauderdale. 

She represented MSC Cruises in its cruise terminal expansion at Port Miami, helped refinance the Boca Resort & Club for more than $1B while providing counsel on a $900M expansion of the property, and provided advisory services on the $1.4B expansion of Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club. 

Her longtime clients rely on her to negotiate complex contracts for everything from office towers to stadiums, and she has experience litigating in state and federal courts. 

Her dedication to mentorship and bringing up the next generation has helped several lawyers achieve partner status at their firms. The diehard Florida Gators fan is also a Peloton enthusiast and hockey mom whose son spent 12 years in a travel league.

Nicole Kaiser already has more than 1.4M SF of office leasing experience under her belt as an associate vice president at Blanca Commercial Real Estate, where she is a key player on the firm’s landlord agency team. 

Kaiser came to Miami from Washington, D.C., where she worked as a project manager for Bognet Construction and Lincoln Property Co. prior to joining Blanca. 

Brokerage helps Kaiser see and feel her impact as she advises clients on space that will position them to grow their business and allow ideas to flourish. 

“From a tech startup to an industry-leading law firm, the opportunity to connect with leaders and provide strategy and recommendations for a successful implementation of their real estate portfolio brings me true joy,” she said.

Jessica Browdy founded J. Kelly Advisors in 2015 as a boutique, woman-led property management firm. In less than a decade, she said the firm has grown into a thriving business with high-profile clients and a phenomenal team.

Her firm has built a reputation for being an integral partner at every stage of the development cycle, from site selection to grand opening. She expects that mission, along with the dedication of her team, will continue to propel J. Kelly Advisors to even greater heights. 

Browdy, an aspiring author who loves riding horses, believes deeply in advocating for women in the real estate industry. She tries to be a mentor whenever possible, and her firm sits on the YWCA’s property committee, helping advance the nonprofit’s mission to promote empowerment and dignity for all.

Nicole Ryzuk has climbed the ranks at Robert Derector Associates, joining the engineering firm in 2015 before eventually being promoted to director in December 2023. She was first promoted to associate in 2021 after six years working with a focus on commercial interior spaces, including for LEED design projects. 

Stephanie Rodriguez, Colliers' national director of industrial services, leads the brokerage’s business development from data centers to distribution hubs. Over her 25-year career, Rodriguez has led firms through acquisitions, lease transactions, asset management and development. 

She’s proud to be a voice for women in the male-dominated world of industrial real estate and to offer mentorship to young women joining the industry. Rodriguez spends as much free time as possible with her teenage daughter and loves to travel, provided it’s not to an aviary because she’s deathly afraid of birds.

Mabelle Perez, the director of Berkadia’s hotels and hospitality group, is an up-and-coming real estate professional focused on hotel investment sales. In the last five years, she has been involved in more than 20 deals totaling more than $250M. 

Perez started her career at Marcus & Millichap in 2018 before joining Berkadia a year later and being promoted to director in 2020. A digital native, Perez leverages social media to get her clients’ offerings in front of potential buyers and is tuned in to emerging trends like cryptocurrency and cannabis and how they impact commercial real estate.

As the director of retail leasing at Comras Co., Karen Maerovitz spearheads the firm’s tenant and landlord representation with a focus on Miami-Dade and Broward counties. 

Her clients include institutional owners like Starwood, BlackRock and Morgan Stanley, alongside retail chains like Great Clips and Vitamin Shoppe. 

She was also a pandemic-era trendsetter, launching Brokers Who Zoom in 2020 as a networking alternative that spread across the East Coast. 

Maerovitz spends her free time creating memories with her fiancé and her 3-year-old daughter, who she describes as a miracle.

Christine Martinez de Castro has spent the last several years bringing luxury to life in Miami as the vice president of sales and marketing for Ugo Colombo’s CMC Group.

She helped bring Onda Residences to market and has been a key part of the planning and marketing for the under-construction Vita at Grove Isle. She is now leveraging that experience for CMC Group’s latest venture, the Four Seasons Coconut Grove. 

Martinez de Castro spends her time with her three daughters. An avid sports fan, she has taught them each how to throw a football spiral but has also been keen to offer the guidance and mentorship she sees as crucial for them as they are about to become young professionals. 

“Advocating for other women and young girls and presenting them leadership opportunities are some of the most effective things we can do to help them grow in the workplace,” she said.

Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos touches everything Flag Luxury Group does as the firm’s president, including site sourcing, financing, project design, hotel programming and zoning, construction and asset management. 

Her broad skillset has been applied up and down the East Coast, from the creation of The Ritz-Carlton New York Nomad with Rafael Viñoly to advancing a branded Ritz-Carlton residences project in South Beach. 

A believer in placemaking and public advocacy, de Kanavos founded the inaugural Women Shaping Miami Power Breakfast and Panel and guided a $12M Lincoln Road revitalization project through the Miami Beach City Commission that includes $4M in private investment.

De Kanavos’ ability to work on everything from countertop finishes to road repaving fits with her hyperactive mind and her rambunctious childhood, she said. But it’s her high tolerance for risk, which she says every successful developer needs, that has gotten her where she is today. 

Lucia Hedke started all over to get where she is today. The Orlando-based managing director of JLL’s healthcare segment in Florida spent two decades building a reputation and real estate career in Washington, D.C., before moving to the Sunshine State.

Hedke leads the statewide team and specializes as an investment sales broker and works in tenant representation. Her most recent role before joining JLL was at Cresa, the occupier-only real estate company, where she helped craft the firm’s strategy and competitiveness in the marketplace.  

An avid sports fan, Hedke plays basketball, golf and enjoys skiing, all activities she enjoys more when she is able to do them with her adult children.

Sara Barli Herald operates at the intersection of business and government as a Bilzin Sumberg partner specializing in public-private partnerships and affordable housing. She also has a deep well of experience with commercial transactions, mergers and corporate reorganizations.

Her specialty is being the connective tissue between real estate, corporate and government relations to get projects out of the ground, leveraging two decades working in executive suites to better understand and respond to her clients’ needs. 

A proud foster parent for 13 years, Barli Herald fights for marginalized children through pro bono work addressing systems of care for social services and child welfare. 

As the director of communications for CP Group, Giana Pacinelli manages the developer’s image across both its real estate and operations, including its flexible workspaces platform worCPlaces. She started at the firm in 2018 as its first marketing director before broadening her duties to include internal and external communications, overseeing the tenant experience department, events, and special projects.

Pacinelli has helped reposition the Boca Raton Innovation Campus as a community destination, helping to open the development's 25K SF of event space to the public earlier this year. 

In a past life, the massive NFL fan used to write a weekly fantasy football column.