In honor of Mother’s Day, ORION is highlighting the impactful and accomplished retail team of Mary Nollenberger and Nicole Ridberg. This mother-daughter duo prides itself on building trustworthy, long-term relationships with clients by providing exceptional customer service.

While Mary and Nicole now specialize in retail leasing and investment sales at ORION, both began their careers in medical-related fields. Nicole kicked off her career 23 years ago in medical office leasing, and Mary was a practicing nurse before starting her commercial real estate (CRE) career 23 years ago.

“Before CRE, I worked in many diversified careers, which has given me a well-rounded perspective when it comes to work and customer service,” said Mary. “I’ve always done volunteer counseling outside of work, and I was involved with Phoenix Children’s Hospital for many years.”

With more than 45 years of combined experience in the industry, Mary and Nicole officially teamed up about 10 years ago while each was seeking a career pivot. They credit their successful collaboration to a list of expectations they developed together:

• We never expect the other to do what we wouldn’t do ourselves — we are a team

• We review our week ahead and touch base every morning to tackle the day

• We respect each other’s life demands and step in without hesitation — we have a flow that works, and as a result, we don’t get stressed with each other.

• We don’t take each other too seriously — we laugh every day and miss each other when we’re not together. We know how to prioritize and manage our workload effectively.

“Everything is just more fun working with my daughter,” said Mary. “Once a month, we have our strategy meeting at a coffee shop or lunch spot. We believe in stepping out of the office periodically for a change of scenery to connect and plan together.”

Among the many deals they’ve worked on, one stands out to Nicole.

“One of my favorite deals we worked on is the Cobblestone shopping center, which is directly across from where I grew up,” said Nicole. “My mom and I shopped there from my kindergarten year through high school. Working on that deal together was so full circle and incredibly rewarding.”

When not closing deals, Mary and Nicole are often found organizing birthday celebrations for their ORION colleagues. Mary brings in a birthday cake and gathers the office members to sing Happy Birthday — a longstanding tradition she started.

“I can’t think of a birthday or special occasion in the office where they’re not front and center,” said Ari Spiro, founding principal of ORION. “Their genuine and caring nature makes them well-liked and highly regarded — not just in the industry, but also here in our office. No one brings the ‘family and friend’ culture we aim to build at ORION like Mary and Nicole.”