Women from YM/WREA discuss their careers: Merrie Frankel

Name: Merrie Frankel Title: Vice President-Senior Credit Officer (REIT Analyst) Company/firm: Moody's Investors Service Years with company/firm: 11 Years in field:11 Years in real estate industry: 26 Address: 7 World Trade Center/250 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10007 Telephone: 212-553-3652 work/917-601-3100 cell Email: [email protected] Responsibilities include: As a REIT Analyst at Moody's Investors Service --responsible for a ratings portfolio of real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate operating companies (REOCs) in the United States and Canada. In this capacity, I interact daily with senior management at issuers, institutional investors, and investment bankers. I have extensive experience in real estate portfolio management, commercial real estate and mortgage transactions, real estate law, and strategic consulting and am a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on real estate capital markets, net lease transactions, and retail real estate. Real estate organizations / affiliations: * Urban Land Institute (ULI) - Trustee; Chairperson of New York District Council- July 2006-Dec 2009 (2,500 members and 48 person board); Council Counselor; Chair of Urban Development Mixed-Use (UDMUC/Gold) Council, May 2001-04; former Chair of Education Committee for NY District Council -- started UrbanPlan real estate course in New York high schools * Adjunct Associate Professor, New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate - teach graduate course in Real Estate Capital Markets; member of Advisory Board * Adjunct Assistant Professor of Real Estate Development, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation - teach capital markets * University of Pennsylvania-Trustees' Council Penn Women; Pres-Bd of Gov-Sphinx Honor Society * Real Estate New York - selected to be one of 50 "Women of Influence" for 2008 * Net Lease Forum, member of Editorial Advisory Board * IRETO (International Real Estate Trade Organization), member of Board of Experts * New York Women Executives in Real Estate (WX) - Secretary/Board of Dirs 1996-99; Scholarship Committee 2002 - Present * Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association of New York (YM/WREA) - Treasurer/ Board of Governors 1998 * Financial Women's Assoc of NY (FWA) - Secretary, Exec.Comm. and Board of Directors (1995-97); Co-Chair, High School Mentoring Comm (1993-95) and mentor (1992-2005) * Listed in Who's Who * Admitted to the New York Bar and Licensed real estate broker * Publications: articles in NAREIT Portfolio, Real Estate Forum, National Real Estate Investor, UrbanLand, Wall Street Transcript, The Handbook of Inflation Hedging Investments - Chap. 8 "Real Estate as an Investment: Overview of Alternative Vehicles," and other journals. What award or recognition has been the most meaningful to you and why? I was honored by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) NY District Council in June 2005 for having started UrbanPlan, a real estate course, in N.Y.C. high schools. UrbanPlan is an academically challenging classroom-based, web-supported program in which high school students learn the roles, issues, trade-offs, and economics involved in urban development and balancing public/private interests. ULI NY members have contributed over 4,500 hours of professional volunteers' time and raised educational funds from the real estate community to maintain UrbanPlan, which has reached nine schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx and over 3,500 high school students. How do you stay ahead of the curve? Although I'm not sure anyone can truly stay ahead of the curve in this environment of 24/7 news and rapidly changing capital markets -- reading, watching and listening to all facets of the business provides insights. What advice would you give to a woman just starting a career in your field? I tell women starting in the real estate business that education is truly important, their first job may not be perfect, careers are evolutionary, and they will learn and meet people wherever they are that will be helpful in their future pursuits.