PBN Business Women Awards 2026
WOMAN TO WATCH | REAL ESTATE:
Christina Rouse, Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal director of marketing and operations
Christina Rouse has spent 14 years at Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal doing two things simultaneously: helping one of Rhode Island’s top commercial real estate firms grow, while quietly boosting the infrastructure of the industry itself.
“Throughout her career, Christina has demonstrated a commitment to advancing the commercial real estate profession while strengthening Rhode Island’s broader business community,” said Eric Schultheis, a salesperson at Sweeney Real Estate who nominated Rouse for the award.
As broker associate and director of marketing and operations at the Warwick-based firm, Rouse oversees business development, brand strategy and operations while also supporting brokerage activity across office, industrial and retail properties throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. She is a 2011 graduate of the University of Maine.
Her industry influence extends well beyond her firm. In 2023, Rouse served as president of the Rhode Island Commercial & Appraisal Board of Realtors, known as RICABOR, where she guided professional development initiatives, advocacy efforts and industry programming for the state’s commercial real estate community.
One of her signature contributions in that role was helping expand Commercial Day, Rhode Island’s premier commercial real estate conference, into a broader forum for brokers, developers, lenders and public officials to engage on market trends and economic development.
That work earned her RICABOR’s 2024 Commercial Realtor of the Year award, one of the highest honors in the state’s commercial real estate profession.
Rouse also serves as director of operations for the New England chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, where she oversees governance, sponsorship and large-scale programming that connects brokers, developers and investors across the Northeast.
“Christina continues to elevate the role that commercial real estate plays in the region’s economic development,” Schultheis said.
Her community engagement runs equally deep. In 2022, Rouse chaired the Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraising committee for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island, helping raise money in support of youth mentorship programs across the region.