Lisa Benjamin

Lisa Benjamin is a Senior Managing Director in Newmark’s Washington, DC office where she is responsible for investment sales and commercial leasing transactions. Benjamin provides real estate advisory and acquisition/disposition services for a variety of non–profit, corporate and public sector clients including The American Institute of Architects, The Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital, First Group America, Sunrise Senior Living and the General Services Administration. Her investment sales experience focuses on unlocking value through alternate development schemes. Developer clients include Trammell Crow Residential, Altus Realty, MRP, Hekemian & Company, Foulger-Pratt, Lerner Enterprises and The Wilkes Companies. She represents both buyers and sellers of land and income-producing properties. Her strong market research and finance background enables her to analyze the best alternative for any client, matching their business goals with real estate strategy.

Prior to joining Newmark, Benjamin was Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Marketing for Rocky Gorge Communities. In that role, she was instrumental in securing land entitlements, financing, product development and all phases of marketing and advertising. Previously, Benjamin was Vice President of Product Development for Western Development Corporation, a national retail developer whose Washington projects include Georgetown Park and Potomac Mills.

In 2009, Benjamin was named a “Woman to Watch” by the New York Real Estate Journal. Two years earlier, she had been honored as one of the top real estate investment sales professionals by the Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS® (now the Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Association of Greater Washington, DC). In 2020, Benjamin was honored by Newmark for her embodiment of the firm’s guiding principles of character, collaboration, passion, innovation and community. In 2021, Benjamin was recognized for her leadership in volunteer work in the community as a finalist for the March of Dimes Heroines of Washington Awards.

Benjamin is actively involved in the Washington District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and chaired its Workforce Housing Committee. She is also a mentor for ULI’s Young Leaders Group and a participant in Urban Plan, a program that educates high school students on the real estate development process. Additionally, Benjamin serves on the Community Action Committee for Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW).

Active within her community, Benjamin is a founding member of Hadley’s Park, an organization that provides accessible playgrounds for children with disabilities across the country. For the past 15 years, she has served as a team leader for COMPASS, an organization of 500 volunteers that provides pro bono business consulting services to nonprofits and in the Washington metropolitan area. Benjamin is also a member of the Wharton Club of Washington.

Education
Benjamin earned a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in real estate and marketing from The Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.