2022 Women in Commercial Real Estate: Josie Cerbone, J. Garland Enterprises LLC

In the past year, what project, transaction or accomplishment are you most proud of? One thing that makes me extremely proud is achieving my master’s degree and starting work at an amazing firm where I love the work and what I do on a day-to-day basis. I became passionate about architecture in 2012 when I was given the opportunity to take introductory and pre-college architecture courses throughout high school. I never looked back. Getting my master’s and becoming a practicing architect was a culmination of 10 years of learning and being inspired by others in the field. Being able to use and directly apply what I’ve learned about design and construction and contribute to design has been such a rewarding experience.

Who is a woman leader you find to be inspiring and why? I am particularly inspired by renowned leaders in design such as Jeanne Gang and Nathalie de Vries, but am also inspired by my own coworkers and female design leaders at my firm. Seeing women thrive in both creating a business and creating beautiful iconic architecture (and directing multiple complex projects at a time) is the proof I need that if you have a passion and drive for architecture, you can do almost anything with it. I have the ability to create a legacy; and create meaningful and contributive buildings; and work with amazing clients without feeling limited to what I can achieve.