DANA POINT, CA—“Finance and healthcare has been a largely male-dominated industry in the past, but we've turned a corner with more women CEOs and operators now making key decisions,” Kathryn Burton-Gray, senior managing director of RED Capital Group, a locally based firm that focuses on senior housing, tells GlobeSt.com's sister publication Real Estate Forum. Burton-Gray, one of Forum's Women of Influence for 2014, has spent 28 years in commercial real estate finance and is known for her keen ability to anticipate issues before they arise in even the most complex financial transactions.

“Women provide a different perspective to the industry and various issues, which results in more compassionate care for our seniors,” Burton-Gray adds. “With regard to women, who are entering this market, do not focus on being a woman in the industry; focus on being a trailblazer and performing at a consistently high level of excellence. Regardless of male or female, do a great job!”

Following a triple major at the University of Arizona, Burton-Gray went into banking and specialized in lending in the entertainment, high-tech and healthcare industries. After experiencing firsthand her grandmother's struggle with early-onset dementia, her compassion for senior care grew. In the late 1990s, she led financing in the senior-housing marketplace, which contributed to the expansion of many regional and national providers. She continued her commitment to this industry by contributing to the IPO of a public healthcare REIT.

Burton-Gray's career goal is to create the next generation of leaders in the senior-housing and healthcare industry, regardless of sex. She is focused on lending to areas of the industry that have not yet been funded or met with capitalization in the past to improve quality of care and housing for seniors.

Burton-Gray is lauded for her ability to connect with people from all levels of the organization, and her forthright demeanor makes her a sought-after and respected expert in the industry. She is currently responsible for overseeing RED's financing and private-placement activities in the senior housing and healthcare sector, including real estate proprietary bridge lending, Fannie Mae and FHA loans. She has spent the past year rebuilding and branding RED as a premier provider of senior housing and healthcare, and she has built the firm's proprietary-lending program from the ground up.