The Women’s Leadership  Initiative’s (“WLI”) Fall 2014 Scholarship Program

The WLI created a Fall Meeting Scholarship Program in 2012 to recognize exemplary women members of ULI who have made significant contributions to the organization, have demonstrated a long-term commitment to real estate and land use issues, and have articulated the compelling benefits of WLI involvement and attendance at the ULI Fall Meeting will be with respect to their professional interest and pursuits.

The Scholarship program includes a complimentary registration to the Fall Meeting, as well as an expense reimbursement up to $1,500 for all documented, otherwise non-reimbursable expenses incurred in connection with Meeting attendance. At the Meeting, recipients will be ‘hosted’ by senior WLI members at a Product Council as well as at all WLI branded Meeting events – in particular, the  Women’s Reception – at which function the award winners will be formally recognized. Following the Fall Meeting, each recipient will be asked to write a short essay summarizing their major takeaways from the conference, and these remarks will be posted on the ULI website.

Having received over 130 outstanding applications, the WLI Selection Committee announced the ten outstanding recipients of the Fall Meeting scholarship:

Bernadette Austin, ULI Sacramento. Bernadette is Project Manager for Domus Development in California. Bernadette holds a B.S. in Community Health from Saint Mary’s College of California as well as a M.S. in Community Development from the University of California, Davis. View Fall Meeting essay.

Lauren Cahill, ULI New York. Lauren is Development Director for Avalonbay Communities in New York, NY. She holds a B.A. in Architecture from Columbia University, and a Master of City Planning with a concentration in Urban Design and Development from The University of Pennsylvania.

Kaitlin Dastugue, ULI Nashville. Kaitlin is the Development Specialist for Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) in Nashville, TN. She holds a B.A. In Political Science from Emory University and a Master in City Planning with a concentration in Public/Private Real Estate Development from the University of Pennsylvania. View Fall Meeting essay.

Steffenie Evans, ULI Northwest. Steffenie is the Assistant Vice President and Development Manager for Legacy Partners in Mercer Island, WA. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Rice University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington. View Fall Meeting essay.

Kirsten Hull, ULI Chicago. Kristen is the Development Director for Joseph Freed and Associates, LLC in Chicago, IL. She holds a B.A. in Politics from Princeton University and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. View Fall Meeting essay.

Ma’Ayn Johnson, ULI Los Angeles. Ma’Ayn is a Senior Planner for the Southern California Association of Governments (SGAC) in Los Angeles, CA. She recieved a B.A. in Legal Studies and a Master of Urban Planning with a concentration on Transportation and Land-use Analysis from the University of California, Los Angeles. View Fall Meeting essay.

Amy Korte, ULI Boston. Amy is Principal at Arrowstreet Inc. in Boston, MA. She holds a B.F.A. in Environmental Design from Parsons New School for Design and a master in Architecture from Harvard University.

Sherry Rudnak, ULI Los Angeles. Sherry is Vice President at BAE Urban Economics (BAE), in Los Angeles, CA. Sherry holds a M.A. in Economics from California State Economics and a B.A. in Economics from Georgia State University. View Fall Meeting essay.

Janet Smith-Haltom, ULI Memphis. Janet is Principal of Urban Adaptive Reuse/’ReGen’ at HBG in Memphis, TN. She holds B.A. in Architecture from the University of Arkansas. View Fall Meeting essay.

Irene Dumas Tyson, ULI South Carolina. Irene is the Director of Planning for the Boudreaux Group in Columbia, SC. She received her Bachelor of Architecture from Mississippi State University.