At the 2018 ULI Fall Meeting in Boston, MA, the Women’s Leadership Initiative awarded four $2,500 “sprout grants” to District Councils with newly forming WLI programs. Read more about the winners below!

ULI Cleveland: WLI Monthly Breakfast Series 

ULI Cleveland WLI will be hosting a monthly breakfast series featuring a highlighted female guest speaker in an intimate breakfast setting. The highlighted female guest speaker will be an established professional in the real estate industry and will focus on providing career advice. This breakfast will provide women in the industry an opportunity to build meaningful relationships and gain career insights as they discuss certain topics. This event is free and open to all ULI members. ULI Cleveland kicked off this the first of this series on August 24 and this event sold out within 24 hours of registration opening. We see a strong desire for women in the real estate industry to participate in related events as a mentor and mentee and we want to ensure that the opportunity is available for all ULI Cleveland women. Our WLI Committee will continue to expand this series throughout the end of 2018 and in 2019 to accomplish this goal

ULI Nevada: Boardroom After Dark: Local and National Perspectives of Women in Real Estate & Development 

This program is envisioned to give attendees direct access to professionals in the field, showcase local members and ULI Trustees on a quarterly basis, allow for members at all stages in their careers to network with each other and students, and to organize formal and informal mentoring opportunities. In addition, the program aims to increase membership.

ULI Northwest – Portland: WLI Professional Development Series 

In 2018, ULI Oregon/Southwest Washington announced plans to launch a local Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI). With a membership of 340 overall including 35% women, the District Council felt it was an ideal time for ULI Oregon/Southwest Washington to add this important program for its members.

The WLI kicked off by conducting an industry survey of its female members. Through this survey, WLI identified three focus areas for its first initiatives: professional development, networking, and mentorship. Based on the survey results and continued conversations, the professional development committee identified training in negotiation and leadership skills as a key focus area of interest among its female ULI members. Supported by its District Council, the professional development committee is working to put together a robust training series for a cohort of approximately 30 women that will provide in-depth, professionally led and moderated, leadership-oriented training in how to be an effective negotiator and strong industry leader.

ULI Virginia: WLI Kick-Off at Annual Meeting 

This funding will launch a 1-year WLI mentorship program, which will kick off at ULI Virginia’s Annual Conference in March 2019. At the Annual Conference, the mentors and mentees will participate in a Women in Leadership meeting featuring a female thought leader giving the keynote address.