What was your most notable project, deal or transaction in 2015? I closed an industrial sale in Newark, which was environmentally challenged for over 50 years. How do you contribute to your company and/or the industry? My primary position is to bring in new business, whether as a listing of an office/commercial property/ for sale or lease, or to bring in a requirement/need for a purchase or lease of office/ industrial property and to close that transaction. How do you manage the work/life balance? The work/life balance is easy because the two complement each other. Who or what has been the strongest influence on your career? Vincent La Greca, Sr. Vice President Feist & Feist Realty Corp. My Husband. Tell us how and when you began your career in the profession you are in, about your current position and why you chose the field/profession you are in today. After teaching school 10 years in a junior high school, and having a science background, I discovered commercial real estate. New Jersey began to attract many Pharmaceutical/Bio Tech companies needing facilities, and I wanted to be part of that search. What were some of your early goals and did anything happen in you career/profession to change them? My early goals were to succeed in the industry to a level that my fellow professionals would want to work with me. The success came, and I realized I loved the work, not as work but as a legacy. The many transplant foundation facility searches we closed, gave opportunities to humanity at a time when the life sustaining knowledge of the medical professionals, chemists, surgeons, doctors, nurses, & researchers, could provide a level of quality of life never seen before. I was honored to be part of that new science/industry in N.J. Over many years, we participated in the search for facilities which would serve the medical world and provide quality of life for people otherwise injured or suffering. What qualities and/or personality traits do you feel make you most successful in your profession? The challenge to one’s imagination, to find facilities for companies or represent, sell, or lease properties, is invigorating. Finding the match. What was the most defining moment for you in the profession you are currently in? The most defining moment was to realize every transaction has a rhythm and when that rhythm isn’t there or is lost, it is almost impossible to regroup. Do you feel being a woman is an advantage, disadvantage or no advantage in today’s business world? Why? Why not? I feel being a woman is an advantage in the world, not only in the business world. My Mother taught us “to yourself be true”. If you respect yourself and have proven yourself, a woman can be successful and insightful. The business world can see your level of commitment to a project. Women can nurture a project with instinct, and our industry requires patience, insight, and originality. I believe a woman is willing to wait a little longer to make the decision to abandon a project, which just may close. Tell us about your family. My Parents were blue collar workers who sent their three children to fine colleges. I am the youngest at 66 years of age. My parents purchased a home in Weehawken in 1939, it had a view of New York City. It was a multi-cultural place to live and learn about, life in a great society. I was partner and wife to the late, Vincent La Greca, SIOR, Sr. VP. Feist & Feist Realty Corp., deceased, 2007. We have a daughter, Victoria Moribaldi., an amazing young woman and wife. What word of advice would you give to a woman about to go into your allied field? Know your profession, prepare for meetings, listen with your eyes, see with your ears.