The best careers often start with one simple belief. For Gita Sankano, that belief has always been that knowledge should be used to help others. Her path has taken her from the Nation’s capital to navigating complex issues of her real estate clients, big law firms, and complex real estate transactions across the country. Along the way, she has built a career focused on solving problems that have a lasting impact on communities.
She has worked on everything from multifamily housing finance to commercial real estate transactions involving some of the nation’s largest lenders. Today, she continues that work by helping guide affordable housing projects while also bringing deep experience in transactional law and commercial real estate.
“The definition of success is subjective,” Gita says. “However, for me, it’s giving back to my community and pouring in whatever knowledge I have to transfer to the youth.”
How Gita Sankano Built a Career in Real Estate and Transactional Law
Gita Sankano was born in Harlem, New York, and raised in the Bronx. She became the first person in her family to attend college. That milestone shaped both her education and her career.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration from CUNY John Jay College. While completing graduate school, she worked as an auditor at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Headquarters on Wall Street. That experience introduced her to large organizations, financial systems, and detailed analysis.
Those early years taught her discipline. They also showed her that opportunity often comes from being willing to learn something new.
“Being the first in my family to attend college was an obstacle,” she says. “However, I was able to find mentors to help me navigate my way.”
That lesson stayed with her throughout her career.
Why Education Opened the Door to Complex Legal Work
Gita continued her education at the University of Maryland School of Law. She graduated Cum Laude and finished in the top 20 percent of her class.
She served as Associate Symposium Editor for the Business & Technology Law Journal and Staff Editor for The Authority National Affordable Housing Law Digest. Her academic work earned the Dean’s Fellow scholarship for outstanding performance, along with first place in the Paul Cardish Writing Competition.
These experiences sharpened both her legal writing and analytical thinking. They also prepared her for work involving highly detailed commercial transactions.
What Does a Commercial Real Estate Attorney Actually Do?
After law school, Gita clerked for the Honorable Michael W. Reed at the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. The clerkship gave her an inside view of how legal arguments are evaluated and how careful preparation influences outcomes.
She later joined a large law firm where she spent about five years representing the nation’s largest lenders.
Her work covered the origination, sale, and servicing of loans that were sold to secondary market investors, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. She represented lenders participating in Fannie Mae’s Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS) program and Freddie Mac’s Capital Markets Execution (CME) program.
She also coordinated financing closings across the United States for multifamily housing developments and health care facilities using FHA insurance programs.
Many of these projects involved multiple funding sources. Some combined Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, tax-exempt bonds, bridge loans, state and local financing, Section 8 contracts, Section 202 and Section 236 Use Agreements, and mezzanine financing into a single transaction.
Each closing required careful coordination between lenders, agencies, investors, developers, and legal teams.
Why Affordable Housing Transactions Require Strong Leadership
Today, Gita represents the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development in complex affordable housing finance transactions.
Her work includes advising the agency on housing policies and community development initiatives. She also reviews and drafts legal documents that support programs designed to expand housing opportunities throughout Washington, D.C.
Although affordable housing is an important part of her practice, her experience reaches far beyond a single area. Years of handling sophisticated commercial real estate and financing transactions have given her a broad understanding of how large projects move from planning to closing.
That perspective allows her to navigate transactions where every document and every deadline matters.
The Leadership Lessons That Continue to Guide Gita Sankano
Technical knowledge has played an important role in Gita’s career. So have confidence and persistence.
“Believing in yourself and believing that you have control over your destiny,” she says, is one of the most important lessons she has learned.
She credits much of that mindset to someone close to home.
“My mother has been my biggest influence,” Gita says. “She is a hard working woman who never gives up and keeps going forward.”
Those values continue to shape how she approaches both her profession and her community.
Outside of work, Gita enjoys traveling, hiking, painting, art, and Pilates. These interests provide balance while keeping her curiosity alive.
She also remains committed to sharing her experience with others. As a keynote speaker at the Smiling Coast Women Conference, she has encouraged others to pursue education, seek mentors, and create opportunities for the next generation.
For Gita Sankano, leadership is not measured only by the complexity of the transactions she handles. It is measured by the people she helps along the way. From becoming the first in her family to attend college to advising on major real estate transactions, her career reflects steady growth, careful preparation, and a commitment to creating lasting value for both clients and communities.
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