In 1998, at the mid-point of her career, Joan Woodard had the courage to put it all on hold and take a two-year sabbatical to indulge her desire to write the Great American Novel. Today as president and CEO of a development company, the novelist looks back at her intriguing journey in commercial real estate and shares lessons learned along the way. Woodard, the first woman to serve as NAIOP's Chairman of the Board, has worked with prestigious names such as Portman, Rockefeller and Disney, but finds her greatest fulfillment in leading a firm with 18 on staff and a focus on quality, not quantity. In this intimate session, Woodard will divulge how she came to realize that measures of success have to come from within and quality of life is non-negotiable. Woodard will address her passion for creating living legacies in the structures she develops. Her belief that developers have a sacred trust to interpret our spaces for society for generations to come guides her and the work of her company. Woodard will discuss her philosophy of growing talent internally and expound upon her unique concepts for succession planning.