Veronica Stumpf, a broker associate at Stumpf and Company in Fresno, has earned the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation. This distinction is held by fewer than 1% of real estate professionals globally. According to findaccim.com, Stumpf is one of only five people in Fresno with this credential and the only woman within a 100-mile radius to have achieved it.
The CCIM Institute, established in 1967, describes its designees as “proven leaders in commercial real estate who care as much about the expertise, ethical responsibility, and quality of their service, as they do about the result.” Earning the CCIM requires completing a series of courses that begin with CI 101: Financial Analysis for Commercial Investment Real Estate. Candidates must also undergo eight hours of negotiation training based on The CCIM Institute Interest-Based Negotiations Model before advancing to higher-level coursework.
Stumpf compared attaining the designation to earning a PhD. She said, “It feels surreal that I have made this accomplishment. I mean, being the only woman within 100 miles of Fresno to achieve this accomplishment feels surreal. But I think it also highlights how much further we have in the local commercial real estate industry to go in regards to representation.”
She expressed optimism about increasing gender diversity in Central Valley commercial real estate and mentioned her connection with Sirena Sosa, owner of W Group and a Visalia broker who is also pursuing the CCIM designation. “I was able to network with other Central Valley agents and brokers who are pursuing the CCIM designation, including Sirena Sosa,” Stumpf said. “It was very exciting to connect with her and know that she’s very close to pursuing a CCIM as well.”
Sosa remarked on Stumpf’s achievement: “It’s super inspiring. It will encourage other women in the industry to also obtain the designation. It’s definitely not easy — the courses are really rigorous and the exams are really hard — so it’s really awesome to see her accomplish it.”
Stumpf noted that completing all requirements for CCIM certification took less than a year but demanded significant time and support from her family, including her father Ron Stumpf—founder of Stumpf and Company—and her sister Alex. She recalled advice from her father: “My father took CCIM courses over 40 years ago, so he understood the amount of work that it required,” she said. “He told me, ‘Promote this, own this. This is something you worked really hard to do.’ That encouragement meant everything.”
Founded in 1977, Stumpf and Company is nearing its 50th anniversary. Stumpf sees earning the CCIM as part of evolving the firm’s services beyond traditional brokerage toward more advisory roles. “We’re not here to change the foundation of what my father built nearly 50 years ago,” she said. “But this is a way to evolve with the market — expanding beyond the traditional brokerage model to offer more advisory, analytical and consulting services.”
A Fresno State economics graduate from 2011, Stumpf has long supported downtown Fresno revitalization efforts and observed increased investment interest since starting her career over a decade ago.
“When I started, barely any of my colleagues wanted to focus on downtown,” Stumpf said. “Now, you see a lot of outside investors who are priced out of their current markets taking a closer eye on downtown Fresno, Chinatown and the surrounding area.”
She hopes persistence and continued education can serve as examples for newcomers entering commercial real estate—especially young women facing imposter syndrome.
