DANA POINT, CA—“Finance andhealthcare has been a largely male-dominatedindustry in the past, but we've turned a corner with more womenCEOs and operators now making key decisions,” KathrynBurton-Gray, senior managing director of REDCapital Group, a locally based firm that focuses on seniorhousing, tells GlobeSt.com's sister publication Real EstateForum. Burton-Gray, one of Forum's Women of Influence for 2014, has spent 28 years incommercial real estate finance and is known forher keen ability to anticipate issues before they arise in even themost complex financial transactions.

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

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