Vice Chairman, Global Wealth Management and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley Appointed by President Barack Obama Chair of the National Women’s Business Council

Carla Harris

From Wall Street powerhouse to selling out Carnegie Hall five times, critically-acclaimed author and speaker Carla Harris is a Renaissance woman. She details her journey through the competitive professional environment and her experience as a new mother, sharing the importance of family in her life and delineating the way a person can steer their career through dedication and perception.

NAWRB: Who has inspired you most throughout your life? How important do you believe having a mentor or supporter is to women professionals?

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NAWRB Founder and CEO

Desiree Patno

Desirée Patno, NAWRB founder and CEO, is a leading advocate for women in the housing ecosystem with over 25 years of experience. A trailblazer in several aspects of her life, Patno has always fought for a seat at the table and the right to compete and work alongside men. We showcase her, from her passion as the only girl in an all-male water polo league to her travels around the nation conquering her fears.

NAWRB: How did you get involved in the real estate industry? To what do you attribute your professional success?

Desirée Patno: Growing up, my parents were always designing and adding to their mini Hearst Castle. Most children do normal chores. Mine were helping my mother build her legacy. She started out with a 1,700 square foot home, yet  before it burned down it measured over 14,000 square feet. It was an incredible undertaking lasting more than three decades! The majority of their windows and skylights were all hand beveled and beautiful pieces of art. They put a dollar down payment on the home and after living in it for a full year, they purchased it for $30,000. Times were tough back in 1960. Multiple times their home was featured in local newspapers for a variety of reasons. My mother had hot pink satin couches completely wrapped in clear plastic and she painted several murals on the walls of Roman Revival architecture. It was not your typical home, it was my mother’s miniature showpiece carved out of the side of a mountain. 

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President & Chief Executive Officer of Real Estate Brokerage Howard Hanna Real Estate Services

Helen Hanna Casey 

Helen Hanna Casey details her life as a leading woman in business, from her dedication to her family, agents and employees to producing Broadway plays. She chronicles the process of growing a business and delineates what to do, and what not to do, as the member of a family business and a woman entrepreneur.

NAWRB: What does family mean to you and what is your advice to entrepreneurs thinking of going into business with their families?

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President and CEO of Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Dottie Herman

A self-described Cinderella story, Dottie Herman’s path to creating the fourth largest real estate company in the country is replete with hard work and determination. The President and CEO of Douglas Elliman chronicles her journey to success in one of America’s most ruthless cities, from hosting her weekly radio show to taking a $75 million loan she had no way of paying back.

NAWRB: How did you get to where you are today, head of one of the largest real-estate companies in America?

Dottie Herman: About 15 years ago, I was running a 40-office company on Long Island and the Hamptons. I saw the evolution of public companies and thought, “I’m not going to be able to compete with that without a partner.” My attorney then introduced me to Howard M. Lorber, who became my partner. Within a year, we were offered a substantial amount of money for the company.

I told Howard I didn’t want to sell. He asked me, “Are you crazy?” I said, “No, I really feel we should expand into the City because there are no companies from Manhattan to Montauk and I feel strongly about creating that.” He looked at me and said, “Well, I think that’s nuts, but if you really want to do this, and you really want to put it all on the table and open up in the City, then I’ll go along with you.”
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President and Co-founder of New American Funding

Patricia Arvielo

With over 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry, Patty Arvielo has helped create one of the fastest growing mortgage bankers in America, New American Funding. From running around the streets of Tijuana to walking the Great Wall of China, she recounts her formative experiences and describes how she is the American Dream.

NAWRB: What inspired you to enter the mortgage industry at the age of 16, and at that time, what did you envision being your lifelong career? Are you interested in any other professional fields, and did you ever consider career paths outside the mortgage industry?

Patricia Arvielo: I don’t know that anybody that I’ve ever spoken to in almost 35 years of being a mortgage banker has had the dream of being a mortgage banker. I fell upon an entry-level job because even though I was very young, I was inspired by earning the almighty dollar. TransUnion Credit happened to be the highest paid hourly job I could find. I got that job when I was 16 and I was a data entry clerk for thecompany, whereby I would input derogatory credit on mortgage factual reports. At that point I would take the calls from the people ordering the reports and I would ask them questions like, “Why do you need these reports?” and they said, “Because we do mortgage loans.” So I asked, “What’s that take? How much do you make?” They made more than I did so of course I went and looked for an entry-level job at a mortgage company. Again, being very young, my motivation and inspiration was to make more money and become independent so I could buy a new car and wear the clothes I wanted; as you can imagine, being a 16 or 17-year-old girl, that was important.
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Servicing and Secondary Markets Program Manager

Office of Research, Markets & Regulations

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Laurie A. Maggiano

From being a theater major in college to becoming the Program Manager for Servicing and Secondary Markets at the CFPB, she details her illustrious professional journey and expounds on her personal life and the ideologies that have helped her rise to where she is today.

NAWRB: In 2011, the Five Star Institute recognized you with a Lifetime Achievement Award for your contributions to the mortgage industry, and in 2012 and 2013, HousingWire Magazine featured you as a Woman of Influence. Throughout your prolific career, is there a specific moment or project that is particularly special to you, that you are the most proud of?
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Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) at the FHFA

Sharron P.A. Levine

With an extensive background working in law firms, corporate legal departments, the Fannie Mae General Counsel’s office, and in multiple roles at the FHFA, Sharron P. A. Levine has proven that hard work and perseverance can guide you to success. But behind all of her professional roles, Levine is a mother and wife with a friendly demeanor and warm personality. NAWRB reveals the woman beyond the professional titles: a woman who emigrated from Jamaica, studied Romance Languages, and is a budding expert at home renovations.  

NAWRB: What was your experience leaving your home country of Jamaica to attend New York University? Prior to that, did you travel internationally with frequency?
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Founding Partner and President of Artemis Holdings Group, LLC

Sheri Orlowitz

With over two decades of experience in developing, acquiring and divesting a myriad of companies, Sheri Orlowitz has proven to be a powerhouse woman entrepreneur in male-dominated fields. She reveals to NAWRB her entrepreneurial experience abroad as a delegate for the State Department, strategies for women entrepreneurs to expand globally, and the story of her newest exciting venture, Artemis Holdings Group, a private investment and international advisory firm dedicated to helping businesses acquire, expand, finance, or successfully sell their businesses.

NAWRB: Let’s start off by talking about Artemis Holdings Group. Your company is highly successful and helps a great deal of businesses prosper. What inspired you to create the company?
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The 24th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

Maria Contreras-Sweet

From founding ProAmérica Bank to her appointment by President Obama as the 24th. Administrator of the SBA, Maria Contreras-Sweet has made incredible strides in her career. She divulges to NAWRB her personal role models, journey to the SBA, and what she’s doing to champion for small businesses.  

NAWRB: You have an extensive background working in government with your first introduction as a secretary for the Speaker of the California State Assembly. Was it a long-time goal of yours to work in government?

Maria Contreras-Sweet: I always believed in public service but my career path took me into business. My time in government has been some of the most rewarding work of my life. Before I started my own bank, I spent five years running a large government agency back in California that had jurisdiction over Business, Transportation and Housing. When I say “large” – we had 44,000 employees, 14 departments and a $14 billion budget. We were able to do a lot of important things, such as creating the Department of Managed Health Care and its Office of Patient Advocate, passing a $2.1 billion bond for affordable housing, and initiating construction on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge – one of the largest infrastructure projects.
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Broker-Associates of the Record-Breaking Jills Team

The Jills

Named the #1 Coldwell Banker team in the world, Jill Hertzberg and Jill Eber have used their passion and innovative marketing skills to become the leading luxury real estate agents in South Florida. They reveal their advice for business success and the power of devoted relationships in both business and family life.

NAWRB: Your personalities balance each other out incredibly well to form such a strong and cohesive business team. How did you two meet and what led to the creation of The Jills?

Jill Hertzberg: Jill was working at a company and I happened to hang my license at the same firm. The company, at the time, had a big open room with tables. They assigned me to a shared table with Jill Eber. Each day, we would say hello and goodbye to each other. Then, after some time and many hellos and goodbyes later, we started working together.
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