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2026 Ones to Watch - Rising Stars: Charlotte Bell, Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester
June 30, 2026
What accomplishment or project so far in your career are you most proud of? Throughout my career, whether in tenant organizing, community development, or cooperative preservation, my focus has remained the same: helping people stay in their homes and communities. One accomplishment I am particularly proud of is helping expand Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester’s post-purchase and preservation work.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Michael Vulpis, H2M architects + engineers
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? Playing with Legos was an early creative outlet for me. I never followed the instructions on the kits, instead opting to design my own structures.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Saadia Ghazi, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? I was initially drawn to transactional law for its pace and problem‑solving, but I gravitated toward commercial real estate finance because of how directly legal structuring impacts deal outcomes.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Freddy Souid, KSR
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? My journey into commercial real estate began the summer before my senior year of high school. When I secured an internship at a well-established and highly respected brokerage firm my father recommended.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Christopher Moyer, NYC Public Housing Preservation Trust
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? My career path began with a lifelong fascination with cities, shaped by growing up between New York and Tokyo. I’ve always loved riding transit, walking around neighborhoods
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Rob Page, Highcap Group
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? Real estate provides a frictionless, flexible barrier to entry, with virtually limitless potential that surrounds you with hungry people who have a leverageable capacity for creative investment that surpasses people who like to day trade.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Marissa Heater, USI Insurance Services
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? I didn’t intend to land in insurance, but it was the way things worked out for me. What I thought would be a corporate stepping stone to get in as a receptionist, turned into an insurance career almost 15 years since then.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Erik Moloney, Ariel Property Advisors
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? I’ve always believed the universe responds to effort. I was drawn to commercial real estate because it’s an industry where there are no shortcuts—success is dependent on your willingness to learn and your work ethic.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Corey McCluskey, SBLM Architects PC
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? My passion for architecture fostered itself in the most organic way possible. Before I could fully speak, my parents recall my fascination with building structures from wooden blocks.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Michelle Roveto, LMJ Management & Construction Inc.
June 30, 2026
What accomplishment or project so far in your career are you most proud of? My proudest achievement at LMJ is my work on the Ares project, the largest contract our firm has ever secured. When you break it down
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Margaret Hom, Findigs
June 30, 2026
What accomplishment or project so far in your career are you most proud of? I’m most proud of building Findigs’ finance function from scratch. When I first joined the company, there was a lot to juggle, such as reporting infrastructure, financial models, and forecasting processes
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Emily Garbacki, Grassi
June 30, 2026
What trends or opportunities do you see shaping the future of your industry? The construction industry is being shaped by increasing project complexity, rising material costs, and ongoing cash flow pressures stemming from billing and collection delays.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Mike Esquivel-Lieb, CM&B
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? My father was a carpenter when I was growing up, and he’d always show me the projects he was most proud of. I could see how much each one meant to him. I was fascinated by the work and always wanted to understand how everything came together.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Joseph Donato, DeSimone Consulting Engineering
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? Growing up in New York, I always had a love for the Twin Towers — something so simple but of such an impressively large scale — you could see them from almost anywhere.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Justin Geffner, RTL
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? My passion for real estate took root at an early age, confirmed by a residential internship at Corcoran in 2023 where I gained firsthand exposure to the industry.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Melisa Yepes-Schaefer, Goldman Copeland
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? Growing up in New York City, I was naturally exposed to the construction industry, which offers many opportunities for mechanical engineers.
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Jordana Garellek, Nutter
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? My path to law began early, inspired by my grandfather, who served as an acting NYS Supreme
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Natalie McIntosh, Herman Katz, LLP
June 30, 2026
What accomplishment or project so far in your career are you most proud of? My first encounter with Tax Certiorari law was during the summer of my second year of law school as an intern for Herman Katz, LLP. Having no prior experience in property tax,
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Joe Siegfried, Eastern Union
June 30, 2026
What trends or opportunities do you see shaping the future of your industry? With changing interest rates, tighter regulations, and evolving market conditions, borrowers
2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Desi Avidane, IPRG Retail Leasing
June 30, 2026
What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role? My inspiration for retail leasing came directly from NYC itself. Few places are defined so