For the past 48 years, Mike Doran has watched El Dorado County evolve— slowly. He recalls the days when the county was a peaceful, low-density community — long before the Home Depot came to Placerville, before the Dollar General  got the greenlight for Georgetown, back when Highway 50 was nothing but a two-lane road.

Women have made huge strides in corporate America. But they continue to encounter hurdles far higher than those faced by their male counterparts, particularly in fields still dominated by men. Women remain vastly underrepresented at virtually every level of the corporate ladder.

Effective leaders don’t come from one mold. The women featured below have excelled in nontraditional industries due to their talent, vision, perseverance and the (sometimes unlikely) mentors who guided their trajectory. They shared their stories with us — where they started, their rise to leadership and their thoughts on mentoring the next generation of powerful women.

One of SacMod’s most popular events, the Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour, is back for 2016 and takes place just once every three years.

Millennials are the cusp of their prime spending years. But will they spend those dollars on home ownership? 

“What makes these revitalization projects so exciting is the creative new ways we are bringing these historic buildings back to life; it makes it great to get up each day,” says Bay Miry, vice president of development for D&S Development and a well-known Sacramento developer whose project at 700 K Street is just one example of a number of regenesis efforts springing up in the Capital Region.

The Jade apartments are empty. The demolition crews are ready. But before the low-rent apartment building is razed to make way for a downtown Hyatt Place hotel, this 95-year-old will have one last chance to shake off a little rust. The Art Hotel is coming. 

For the past four years, Star Academy in Natomas didn’t look like a regular school. Due to overcrowding,  elementary kids went to class in a commercial building that faced a major street and had warehouse space in the back. Last year, when the moratorium was lifted, the district considered building the new charter school through a lease-leaseback deal. But the method, once a popular way for struggling districts to acquire new facilities, has come under legal fire in recent years.

For decades, single women played an important role in the U.S. housing market, buying more homes than single men. But after the housing crisis, lenders made it harder to qualify for mortgages, and the percentage of single female buyers dropped from 21 percent of purchasers in 2009 to 15 percent this year. Now, they may be poised to make a comeback.

A new business park is coming to Davis — but maybe don’t call it a “business park” if you’re talking to project manager Dan Ramos.