Having grown up in a real estate family, Stefanie Lavelle was introduced to the industry at a young age. “While exploring career choices, my father introduced me to a well-known Chicago developer who encouraged me to get my real estate license and took a chance on me” she remembers. “I was managing multimillion-dollar high-rise development sales in my late 20s — it was wild and hard work, but I was super dedicated. I feel very fortunate to have been given some amazing opportunities from my mentor, who believed and trusted in me.”

Lavelle has been named an @properties top producer by volume and units every year since 2003. But real estate isn’t her only area of expertise. She has a degree in interior architecture from Miami University in Ohio, an asset she puts to use when helping clients envision how to use their space in different ways. She also has taken courses in HVAC, plumbing, electrical safety and structure, so she really understands how properties are built and knows when construction is done well.

Lavelle says it’s her job to shelter her clients from the drama that goes on so they can enjoy the process of buying or selling. “I don’t get overly emotional about the transaction,” she says. “I also don’t overreact or get emotional with the other agents … I’m all about working in a collaboration to make the process great and, frankly, as enjoyable as possible for everyone involved.”

In her free time, she enjoys spending as much time as she can with her husband and three children, helping at her children’s school, working out, baking and playing with her miniature Bernedoodle.