This past November, the REACH initiative celebrated the graduation of Cohort 3.

During the course of the program, Fellows participated in one-to-one mentorships, attended professional development workshops, and engaged in peer networking opportunities. Some examples of themes we explored were sustainability, navigating the industry as a professional from a historically under-resourced background, and affordable housing in Los Angeles.

Through these activities, the types of growth that the year-long program had helped Cohort 3 bolster can be best summed up in three themes:

1. strong sense of community and safe space;
   “I struggle with imposter syndrome but hearing from experienced professionals with similar backgrounds as me, truly inspired me to speak up for myself and demand space at school and in my career.”- Genevieve Chacon, UCLA MURP and Public Transit Planning Inter at City of Pasadena
2. guidance through mentorship;
   “My mentor and peers alike in REACH helped me towards my career goals through introducing me to new opportunities, providing different perspectives on problems from event planning to realizing my passions, and pushing me to pursue opportunities that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the confidence to”- Tami Kwok, KTS Real Estate
3. and development of skills such as career strategy and event planning.
   “You deserve to work in an industry where you feel like you belong and have the same opportunities to rise up. If you’re feeling like you’re on the outside, here’s a group that will welcome you with open arms and cheer you on as you navigate a career in real estate.”- Nay New Htin Aung, Brookfield Properties

Our Cohort walked away with long-lasting connections and exciting achievements, from changing new positions to starting new ventures. The Fellows are more confident to move up to the next chapter of their careers as well as in leadership roles of ULI committees.

More about REACH

REACH stands for Recruit, Empower, Access, Connect, and Hustle. The program was established with the mission to increase the representation of BIPOC professionals in commercial real estate and provide the resources and network to aid in advancing the career trajectory for underrepresented professionals.