The Robert M. O’Donnell Award is presented by the Advisory Services program in recognition of outstanding contributions by a ULI member to the success of the program. The award is conferred in remembrance of Bob O’Donnell, a stalwart contributor to the success of ULI. Lyneir Richardson is the 33rd recipient of the O’Donnell Award.

Richardson, co-founder and CEO of the Chicago TREND Corporation in Chicago, is an experienced commercial and residential real estate developer with years of experience in urban retail development.

Throughout his career, he has been particularly interested in how local land economics can be leveraged in providing guidance to communities and how market forces can be put to work in cooperation with local entrepreneurs rather than relying on outside resources. Chicago TREND has perfected this approach, catalyzing, accelerating, and financing strategic retail development to drive neighborhood transformation. This approach has always manifested itself in his work on ULI Advisory Services panels.

Richardson has carried out many ULI Advisory Services assignments spanning all property types and geographies. His contributions and knowledge of urban mixed uses and retail has been invaluable. Most recently, Richardson chaired two panels that have special importance to ULI. The first was for the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota, which explored strategies to reconnect a majority African American community that was cut off by an interstate highway in the early 1960s. The second was a panel for Shaw University, a historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina, that was looking for advice on how to position its real estate assets. More recently, Richardson and Chicago TREND have been working with ULI to look at investment in communities of color in Rochester, New York.

The Rising Star Award is a tribute to newer volunteers who have provided extraordinary services on panels and demonstrated incredible enthusiasm for and commitment to the Advisory Services program.

Tyrone Rachal is president of Urban Key Capital Partners and Red Rock Global in Atlanta. He has served on four Advisory Services panels—Howard University in Washington, D.C.; Charity Hospital in New Orleans; Hemisfair in San Antonio; and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Rachal’s critical problem solving in collaborative groups leaves a lasting impression, and he is a leader in his community as well as in ULI Atlanta. His time away from his community and family in service with the national program is extremely valued. The program looks forward to Rachal’s leadership as an Advisory Services panel chair in the future.

The Rising Star Award is a tribute to newer volunteers who have provided extraordinary services on panels and demonstrated incredible enthusiasm for and commitment to the Advisory Services program.

Allison Schapker is senior director of capital projects at the Fairmount Park Conservancy in Philadelphia. Schapker has quickly become a friend to the Advisory Services program. She brought her extensive expertise to two panels in late 2019—a national study visit in Camden, New Jersey, and a full five-day Advisory Services panel in Kansas City. She then became a panel sponsor, working with the Fairmount Park Conservancy to bring a panel to her own community.

As a leader in her organization and in ULI Philadelphia, Schapker has earned ULI’s appreciation for all the time and energy she has given to the program.