The ULI Health Leaders Network is empowering real estate and land use professionals with the skills, knowledge, and networks to improve health outcomes in their professional practice and communities. Participants gain valuable skills and connections that will help them advance their careers, as well as practical knowledge about the intersection between health, social equity, and the built environment.

Applications for Cohort 4 are now closed, and a link to participant profiles can be found below. Future opportunities to participate will be announced in Fall 2021.

The ULI Health Leaders Network facilitates creative collaborations within the fields of public health, planning and design, and development, and beyond, and empowers participants with actionable knowledge on development and design strategies that improve health, well-being, and social equity.

Meet the ULI Health Leaders: Cohort 4
Meet the ULI Health Leaders: Cohort 3
Meet the ULI Health Leaders: Cohort 2
Meet the ULI Health Leaders: Cohort 1

ULI is grateful to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and ULI Trustee Randall Lewis for their support of this program.

Program Benefits and Goals:

1- Learn: Cultivate leadership skills to advance careers as well as learn about best practices, research, and actionable approaches to advance public health and social equity with built environment strategies.

2- Network: Be part of a robust cross-sector network of real estate and land use professionals with knowledge about connections between real estate, planning, and health.

3- Make a Difference: By advancing a culture of health in real estate and land use decision making, equitably improve health and wellness for all people.

Candidate Criteria

• Education: Undergraduate or higher degree.
• Work Experience and Background: ULI Health Leaders are a diverse group of emerging and established leaders, from a range of career stages and disciplines, including real estate development, public leadership, urban planning and design, infrastructure, law, healthcare, finance and public health. It is recommended that applicants have at least five to seven years of professional experience.
• Location: Applications are open to all regions of the globe, including ULI Europe and ULI Asia Pacific. All participants are required to attend live programming (refer to the schedule below for specific times and time zones).
• Language: All program content and communications will be in English.
• Commitment: Participants must commit to attend the monthly webinars, complete individual assignments, participate in Affinity Group work, and attend the three forums (see below Timeline and Key Dates). If accepted to this program, you are pledging in good faith to be fully engaged and involved. Please be sure that you have approval from your organization or supervisor to participate in this program.
• Interest in Health and Social Equity: Ideal candidates will have a demonstrated interest in and commitment to improving health and social equity through their professional work.

Both ULI members and non-members are eligible to participate as Health Leaders. Non-ULI members will be expected to become Associate Members for the duration of the program. There will be a small number of membership scholarships available. If the membership fees are a hardship, please indicate this within your application.

It is the policy of ULI to provide equal opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual preference, age, or disability.

Health Leader Experience

Participating in ULI Health Leaders Network has been a source of inspiration and motivation for collaboration. I’ve enjoyed working with alumni from my Cohort – and from others – to leverage our collective voice to promote health equity. – Kristen Fulmer, Cohort 2

Being part of the Healthy Leaders cohort has been a great learning and networking experience. The collaboration expanded my knowledge on being a better healthy design advocate – the opportunity to share real world data, experiences, and case studies was quite valuable. It was also motivating and inspiring to be working together towards a common goal of improved health benefits and outcomes in our design and development work. I’d highly recommend this program! – Todd Kohli, Cohort 2

ULI’s Health Leaders Network provided a safe space for honest and open dialogue about planning and design in our nation. The variety of careers and perspectives represented led to rich discussion.  I am both a better person and a better professional for having participated. – Leslie Meehan, Cohort 3

The ULI Health Leaders Network has provided me with the opportunity to connect with other real estate and land use professionals that are striving to improve health and equity in their communities. Through the past three years, I have had the opportunity to learn from some of the best minds in the industry about how to create healthier and more equitable spaces. The ULI Health Leaders Network was discussing the importance of diversity and equity three years before they became national topics of conversation. As a person of color working in a very white profession, I am thankful for the support provided by ULI staff and my peers during the past three years. – Luiz Nieves-Ruiz, Cohort 1

Out of many remarkable educational experiences I have been privileged to have, being a member of Cohort 1 of the ULI Health Leaders Network really stands out. One of the outstanding examples of ULI’s ability to see over the horizon, the Health Leaders Network began as a cutting-edge peripheral area of real estate study of likely long-term importance but, amid the Covid-19 crisis, has rapidly become central to both real estate and healthcare: not merely life-enhancing but life-preserving.  I have moved what I have learned from the Health Leaders Network into the core of the curriculum I teach my graduate real estate students. – Chuck Schilke, Cohort 1

Health Leaders Network has given us a unique opportunity within a safe and encouraging environment to have deeper conversations on race, justice, diversity, and inclusion. We’ve heard from colleagues in different professions and in different cities on ways to facilitate community engagement, build on existing cross-sector initiatives to embed equity, and how to create more equitable systems and developments aimed to dismantle systemic racism and segregation, celebrating our commonalities and diversity. Underlying all our discourse is the inherent belief that it takes real time and commitment from many different stakeholders, over the long term, to initiate and create lasting change. – Ashley Disher Spinks, Cohort 3

HLN opened doors for me.  One speaking engagement has led to three others and the momentum continues to build. Also, without HLN, as a small business owner in the niche industry of affordable housing development consulting, I would not have had the opportunity to learn about building healthy places around the country and networking with like-minded land use professionals.  I am enriched and grateful for the opportunities afforded to me by the generous donors of the HLN program.  Onward to expand the intersection of health and the built environment! – Ayako Utsumi, Cohort 1

I am proud to be the first Canadian cohort member of the ULI Health Leaders Network.  It has been an extraordinary opportunity to learn from, and collaborate with, this exceptional group of community health thought leaders, knowing that they will influence our world for the better. – Rob Voigt, Cohort 3

The ULI Health Leader Network has allowed me to expand my view and understanding of the role real estate plays in the health of our communities. This network is full of dedicated individuals committed to working together to make health access for all. – Debra Wyatte, Cohort 2

Timeline and Key Dates

Cohort 4 of the Health Leaders Network will run from March to November 2021. Timelines and key dates for future cohorts will be announced at a later date.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION

November 17, 2020	Cohort 4 Health Leaders Network applications open
Friday, January 8, 2021	Applications due by 11:59 p.m. ET
January 19-January 29, 2021	Cohort 4 candidate interviews
By Friday, February 5, 2021	Health Leaders Cohort 4 participants notified of selection
Late February 2021	Program orientation calls with small groups of Health Leaders
March 2, 2021	Official kickoff call of Cohort 4 Health Leaders Network

KEY PROGRAM DATES

Forums:

April 19-21, 2021	Virtual Cohort 4 Intro Forum (if held in person, location TBD)
July 27, 2021	Virtual Cohort 4 Mid-Year Forum
November 15-17, 2021	Virtual Cohort 4 Closing Forum (if held in person, we will meet in Detroit)

Monthly Webinars:

Health Leaders will participate in up to two monthly webinars.
The second Tuesday of the month (dates below) from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET is reserved for cohort-based communications (in full and small groups)

Dates for 2021 monthly Health Leaders calls: March 2 (*note- first Tuesday of March), April 13, June 8, July 13, August 10, September 14, and November 9.

The fourth Tuesday of the month (dates below) from 2:00-3:15 p.m. ET is reserved for webinars with experts in the health, social equity, and built environment field.

Dates for 2021 monthly expert webinars: March 23, May 25, June 22, July 27, August 24, September 28, October 26. 2021 topics and speakers TBD. Past topics have included:

• Partnerships for Health Equity & Opportunity
• The Business Case for Healthy Buildings
• The Impact of Identity & Culture on Health and Social Ties in the Built Environment
• Increasing Inclusivity and Diversity to Make Cities, Communities, and Developments for All
• Leveraging Healthcare Institutions to Strengthen Communities and Combat Social Inequities
• Parks and Public Space: The Impact on Health and Equity in our Communities
• Anti-Displacement and Gentrification

Optional Quarterly Healthy Happy Hour Webinars:

Health Leaders will be invited to join their cohort and alumni in quarterly virtual happy hours. Dates and times below.

Dates for 2021 quarterly Health Leaders Healthy Happy Hour webinars: March 30 and August 17 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET & June 15 and November 2 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET.

Learn More

Please be in touch at health@uli.org with any questions or comments.