Name: Carol Todreas

Title: Consultant

Company Name: Todreas Hanley Associates 

Years in real estate: Decades

Real estate associations or organizations you’re a member of: MACP, MIT Venture Mentoring Services

Who or what has been the strongest influence on your career and why? I was born a city-lovers daughter. We shopped, dined, saw movies, operas, plays and walked. Always exciting, even if it was Cleveland, USA. My love affair with retail and downtowns began. Fast-forward years to worn-out soles traipsing around Paris and Berlin and I was fully smitten. Mission set: To bring life to American towns and cities. How to? Refit the old buildings with stores, restaurants, cafes and theaters. City planning, followed by shopping center industry work under some of the leading innovators in the business gave me a tool box for rebuilding and creating diverse retail centers.