Rachel Rosenfeld, 24
Associate at Avison Young
Rachel Rosenfeld always thought the purpose of education was to challenge yourself, which drove her to initially consider a career in investment banking. However, an internship at commercial real estate lender Signature Bank while studying at the University of Maryland got her interested in the stories she was hearing from the other side of the table.
“I got to sit in on a lot of meetings with real estate developers,” the native of Setauket on Long Island recalled. “Through observing underwriting, I saw the financial side of the industry, and I thought ‘Damn, finance is boring. But I’m really interested in what these developers are doing.’”
After another internship with a developer, she landed her first job with Avison Young after she graduated in 2020. Now there for two and a half years, Rosenfeld is an associate for office leasing — and, boy, did she get more than what she bargained for.
Having jumped in while the pandemic was raging, Rosenfeld — like other office leasing brokers — has been forced to confront realities like hybrid work schedules and persistently higher vacancy rates, never mind a renewed focus on ESG and amenities.
“I used to say it can only go up from here,” she said. “It builds character. It builds strength as a broker. If I could get through these hard years now, then hopefully the rest of my career will come pretty easy, when it’s in a good market.”
Brokers as new as Rosenfeld have no working memory of the pre-pandemic market, which, she said, gives them “the opportunity to reimagine the market, and come up with creative solutions to the hybrid model that we’re seeing.” —D.M.L.
