The ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative is pleased to announce the four winners of Urban Innovation Grants. Open to all district and national councils, the grant program intends to support the creation of innovative programs that raise the visibility and number of women in ULI and the real estate industry. With nine applicants requesting a total of $47,450, a jury of WLI Steering Committee members selected four winning projects with grants ranging from $1,200 to $3,500 and totaling $9,950

The recipients of the FY18 Women’s Leadership Initiative Grants are:

ULI Hong Kong: Increasing the Number and Quality of Women Speakers at Industry Conferences via Speaker Training

Women represent a large amount of Hong Kong’s property and urban development industry, but many high-profile conferences and events lack gender balance in their speaker lineups. ULI Hong Kong is developing speaker training sessions to encourage women to participate on panels and improve their performance and confidence on stage at conferences. The training will provide guidance and practice on presenting in seminars, conferences, and panel discussions; tips on preparation, managing microphones, and time management; and some practice with group and individual feedback.

ULI Nashville: Studio-after-Dark

ULI Nashville is launching a Studio-after-Dark series and will bring small groups of women members together to discuss topics central to ULI Nashville’s women leaders. Each session will feature a woman leader representing different fields and disciplines. Within the year, there will be six Studio-after-Dark sessions. The outcome of the sessions will be a deeper connection to ULI Nashville and greater participation from the participating women members.

ULI North Florida: Boardroom-after-Dark Dinner Series

Through an intimate dinner series, ULI North Florida will bring together small groups of men and women ULI members to have conversations and hear from distinguished female leaders in the Jacksonville/North Florida real estate market. The dinner series provides an opportunity to both network with other members as well as get to know an industry leader. Members will apply to participate at one of the three dinners. ULI North Florida will be collecting survey results on the impact the dinner series had on their careers and ULI membership.

ULI Pittsburgh: Advancing Leaders Series

ULI Pittsburgh has confirmed through member surveys that professional development is of strong interest to their membership. To enhance an existing program, ULI Pittsburgh’s WLI will provide an accelerated training series with quarterly skill-building sessions and content programs focused on negotiation strategies, understanding leadership styles, and enhancing communication. The grant will support existing fundraising to support a yearlong leadership series.