Alice Connell, a highly regarded and leading member of ULI, passed away from a brain tumor on Friday, February 24. She was 70.

Ms. Connell joined ULI in 1991, and she remained highly engaged as a 20-year member of the Urban Development/Mixed Use Council, a founding member of ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, and a three-term ULI trustee. She served on ULI’s audit committee and the Women’s Leadership Initiative Steering Committee, and she chaired the District Council Chairmen’s Advisory Group. At the local level, she chaired ULI New York from 1999-2001, and she served as on ULI New York’s Women’s Leadership Initiative Committee, Communications Committee, Advisory Board and Governance Committee.

During Ms. Connell’s nearly 40 years of service leading the commercial mortgage lending practice and real estate equity group at TIAA-CREF, she developed the company’s private equity portfolio and helped construct the first strategic plan for its commercial debt portfolio. In addition to her involvement in ULI, she served on the board of Empire State Realty Trust, the Real Estate Advisory Board of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the Investment Advisory Board of CBRE Global Investors, the board of RREEF America III, the Investment Committee of QS REP, and the Advisory Committees of Parmenter Realty Partners and Park Madison Partners. She was a past board member of the Pension Real Estate Association and WX (New York Women Executives in Real Estate). She is a past member of the executive committee of the Zell-Lurie Real Estate Center of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2003, she was honored by WX as its Real Estate Woman of the Year.

“Alice’s distinguished career was marked by her thoughtful, strategic approach and her unwavering commitment to excellence. She rose to prominence as a sought-after expert on capital markets and real estate trends, and she set a fine example of visionary leadership for today’s young real estate professionals. She will be missed,” said ULI Global Chief Executive Officer Patrick L. Phillips.

Ms. Connell’s family is requesting that her memory be honored with donations to the American Brain Tumor Association, 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Suite 550, Chicago, Illinois 60631.