WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate (WX) hosted its annual 2019 Woman of the Year Gala on Thursday, November 14 at The Pierre Hotel.
The sold-out gala honored Clarion Partners LLC’s Senior Vice President Paula Schaefer (pictured at center) for her accomplishments as a leader in the real estate and financial industries as well as her contributions to WX.
Schaefer has been active in commercial real estate for more than 25 years as a former Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, before joining Clarion Partners LLC in 2013 as the Chief Operating Officer of the Client Capital Management Group. She has been a member of WX Inc. since 2005. She was President of WX from 2014 to 2016, served on both the WX Board and the Charitable Fund Board, is a school liaison for the WX Scholars Program and has been a mentor in the WX mentoring program.
In Schaefer’s remarks, she shared five lessons that continue to shape her career: 1) Choose your sponsor well, 2) Make your own destiny, 3) Relationships matter, 4) Be a champion for change, and 5) Find your community.
Paula concluded that many people in the real estate industry say there aren’t “enough qualified female candidates” in the industry, but after scanning the room that evening, she noted it is difficult for her to believe that is true.
She closed with an appeal to the audience to become a champion for change in the organization and in the real estate industry. Proceeds from the fundraising event support the WX scholars and mentoring programs which aid women in their pursuit of careers in real estate.
