Lea co-founded and manages the Southern California office of Edge Realty Partners. Her real estate career spans over 25 years specializing in strategic planning and execution of national and multi-regional store expansions. She has provided site selection and transaction services to many Fortune 500 companies such as Disney, Barnes & Noble, Office Depot and Toys “R” Us throughout the southwestern United States. Lea has extensive experience in all aspects of the real estate development and acquisition process, and she often collaborates with and reports to senior management.
Lea’s experience in providing third-party development for CAL Teachers, Citi and Ahmanson early in her career is invaluable, enabling her to understand all facets of a given transaction and craft creative deal structures. Lea develops whole-market approaches to maximize market share within a given trade area and leverages her superior relationships with development executives to ensure that her clients secure key locations at competitive rates.
Following a successful association with Los Angeles-based developer and pension fund advisor, Lowe Enterprises, Lea began her tenant representation career at the Staubach Company. Lea spent seven years at Staubach where she was the youngest person in the retail division to receive the title of Vice President and was named Broker of the Year by the Irvine Company in 1999. In 2002, Lea joined Colliers International as a Senior Vice President and founding member of the Retail Tenant Services Group. While at Colliers, Lea was a member of the Circle of Excellence, served on the National Steering Committee, was named a Broker of the Year by OPUS. In 2005, Lea was honored for originating the largest system wide retail referral. Following the purchase of Colliers International’s southern California operations by CMN, Lea joined Studley in 2009 as a member of the Irvine-based National Tenant Services Group. Lea left Studley in 2012 to form the Southern California office of Edge Realty Partners with two long-time partners. Since the inception of Edge, Lea and her team have overseen the roll-out of Hobby Lobby’s expansion throughout the State of California and she has been active with Sprouts and Dollar Tree among others. Lea will continue to focus on providing state-of-the-art tenant representation to retailers in the western United States.
Lea is a licensed real estate broker in the State of California and has been a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) since 1991. She is active in National Charity League with her daughter Kate and volunteers at the Butterfly Farms conservation center in Encinitas, CA.