Alumnus Spotlight on Stephanie Moumen, MS Real Estate Development ’16
Twelve years ago, Stephanie Moumen, MS Real Estate Development ’16 was a real estate professional in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, working for a medium-size construction management firm. Her job was narrowly focused on construction management for boutique buildings around the Nation’s Capital. While raising four elementary school kids, Moumen found the time to evaluate her career: she was in a highly specialized box with little mobility. She needed to broaden her real estate skills beyond construction management to development.
Changing a Career Trajectory
But it could take years to make such a transition. Perhaps a graduate degree in real estate development could be a career accelerant. She saw an ad on LinkedIn for the Costello College of Business's Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MRED) program at George Mason University and attended an introductory session. She liked the curriculum which covered the entire development process rather than specialized areas like finance or law. She didn’t want to be trapped in another narrow box. Plus, as a state school with an Arlington, Virginia campus, it was convenient and fairly priced.
Moumen applied and was accepted. There followed six consecutive semesters of intense effort: Grad student by night, real estate professional by day, and mother of four full-time. The MRED program was particularly intense. In addition to standard coursework, there were complex team exercises, case study project visits, CREE-sponsored networking events with the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia real estate community, and valuable mentoring through professional associations like NAIOP, ULI, and NVBIA. Moumen’s plan worked.
Becoming a Real Estate Development Professional
Shortly after the MRED graduation, Moumen was able to achieve the goal of broadening her career trajectory from construction management into development, securing a senior position with Orr Partners that leveraged both disciplines. Her comprehensive expertise across site planning, construction management and development led to her promotion to Vice President. Goal achieved, but it doesn’t end there.
A Fortune 5 Corporation Comes Calling
Amazon is a Fortune 5 company, an ecommerce behemoth, but its most profitable division is Amazon Web Services (AWS) which generated over $107 billion in net sales in 2024. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs.
Moumen now works among an expanded team of AWS land development managers. Using her MRED training, she navigates the complex phases needed to transform a raw piece of land into a data center; cultivating new relationships with jurisdictions, building community partnerships, and adapting to changing economic trends. Each project presents unique challenges, but she must always work cross-functionally with other internal and external teams to secure all entitlements/permits/easements, which are crucial to support not only the data center itself, but also the robust utility and road infrastructure required for operations.
Moumen stated she feels fortunate to be part of this dynamic industry. Just as she previously juggled work, grad school, and parenting; now at any one time she is working on multiple sites in various stages of development, all with an exciting sense of urgency.
Advice to Would-Be Grad Students
Moumen’s advice is “do it”! If you are a mid-career real estate professional in a low-ceiling job, don’t fear the challenge of earning a master’s in development. It’s hard and time-consuming, but also worth it. She points out that if she could earn the degree at night while working full-time and raising four children, then anyone could find the time.