During a business meeting full of men, Roberta Sydney was not shy about setting them straight, especially when they assumed she was there to get coffee and take notes. It was her name on the door of the real estate development company, she firmly explained. “There are always opportunities to be miscast when you look different than people expect,” she said. Her directness, combined with compassion and a willingness to work on learning skills such as board leadership, has helped her succeed in not one, but two male-dominated industries: financial services and real estate/construction. [...]