PRE Class of 2013 Composed of the Most Women in Program’s History

Cornell’s newest class in the Program in Real Estate includes seven women, the most in the Program’s history. Composing nearly 30% of the class of 2013, these women bring a host of unique perspectives to the Program and originate from five different countries around the world.
The new students bring a broad array of experience from many different areas of the real estate industry, including architecture, asset management, brokerage, business development and market analysis. A brief highlight of the women of class of 2013:

Chutinart “Aim” Ongkosit, Bangkok, Thailand
Aim earned her undergraduate degree in Economics at Mills College in California. Upon graduating, she returned to Thailand and furthered her experience at KCE Electronics, PLC, with roles involving planning, budgeting and production. After graduating with her MPS in Real Estate, Aim intends to expand upon her real estate education, gaining experience in the U.S. before returning to Thailand to expand the real estate holdings of KCE Electronics, PLC.

Crystal Wilson, Dallas, Texas
Crystal earned her Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Tennessee. Upon graduating, she joined Centex, a Dallas-based national homebuilding firm where she led sales and marketing efforts multi- and single-family development projects as well as nationwide sales and training initiatives for the firm. Subsequently, she worked for The Shopping Center Group, a commercial brokerage firm, where she worked in a leasing and market analysis role. Most recently, she worked for a boutique market research firm in Dallas, overseeing market analysis of commercial development projects for clients across the Southeast. Upon completion of her MPS in Real Estate, Crystal plans to pursue a career in real estate finance and investment.

Jessica Coulson, Chicago, Illinois
Jessica earned her Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, majoring in Hotel Administration with a concentration in Real Estate Finance. Upon graduating, she returned to Chicago and enhanced her real estate background, joining Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels (JLLH). Her role at JLLH included extensive underwriting of hotel assets as well as supporting the Investment Sales team on a range of transaction assignments across the country, selling over $305 million of hotel assets as well as $35.5 million of hotel notes through both the traditional call-for-offers process and auction-based platforms. Upon completion of her MPS in Real Estate, she intends to pursue a career in international real estate development and investment.

Kanika Saxena, Delhi, India
Kanika graduated from the Amity International Business School in India, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Master’s in Business Administration, majoring in International Business and Finance. Upon graduation, she joined her family business of import and export of home furnishings, expanding the global reach of the business and successfully negotiating and reducing costs in a competitive environment. Upon completion of her MPS in Real Estate, she plans to develop progressive real estate products for the emerging economies using innovative finance techniques.

Nana Akowuah, Rochester, New York
Nana graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art and Architecture. Upon graduation, she joined the Urban Planning team of Perkins Eastman Architects where she played a central role in writing, designing and executing competition briefs for the Shanghai 2010 World Expo as well as feasibility assessments for local development projects. She then joined the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), where she managed the launch of an intensive certificate program that prepares contractors for every stage of the project cycle. Subsequently, she took on the role of Senior Account Manager at the SBS where she oversaw a portfolio of prominent City agencies, analyzing budgets and identifying market opportunities for local businesses seeking to contact with the City. Upon completing her MPS in Real Estate, Nana plans to pursue opportunities in urban infill development and asset management.

Soo Hyun Baik, Seoul, South Korea
Soo Hyun graduated from Yonsei University in Korea with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering. Upon graduation, she joined an architecture firm in Korea, gaining broad experience in designing a variety of mixed-use, commercial and residential projects. She then worked for Korea National Housing Corporation (KNHC), the largest public housing developer in Korea. She developed apartment housing projects for 13-5 housing complex projects (30,000 units) per year and over 70 display homes for three and half years. She also pursued graduate studies in Design Management at Yonsei University, developing marketing strategies with the sales department at KNHC. Upon graduating with her MPS in Real Estate, she plans to pursue a career in real estate development and investment.

Victoria Zoghbi, Los Angeles, California & Caracas, Venezuela
Victoria earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Economics from California State University, Los Angeles. Upon graduating, she joined the real estate development firm, Atelier L.A. where she gained experience in the various phases of the real estate development process across residential, commercial and government projects. As a licensed real estate agent and an active member of both the National and the California Association of Realtors, she worked at the brokerage firm Vonkeith Properties, and handled acquisition, leasing and disposition of assets in all primary Los Angeles markets. After graduating with her MPS in Real Estate, she intends to pursue a career in real estate investment. 

The Class of 2013 is eager to build upon the legacy developed by their female predecessors in the program, who forged a relationship with Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network. In 2010, the Program in Real Estate partnered with CREW to research and report on the advances of women in the commercial real estate industry. The 2010 report “Women in Commercial Real Estate: 2010” was spearheaded by PRE students Khari Buck (PRE ’11) and Sarah Brown (PRE/MBA ’10) and provided valuable insights and updates to the previous study conducted in 2005. Relevant topics addressed in the most recent study included compensation, experience as well as career achievement.

The Class of 2013 looks forward to strengthening the Program’s unique partnership with CREW as well as continuing to focus on the advancement of fair and equitable progress with respect to females in the real estate industry.