In December 2024, Neighborhood Allies and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Pittsburgh participated in a virtual satellite meeting of the quarterly Women’s Leadership Initiative BUILD UP Breakfast Club, bringing together women leaders in Pittsburgh for discussion, networking, and learning.
The Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) was established in 2011 as a program of ULI and now has over 40 chapters in 8 countries around the world. The BUILD UP breakfast club series was created by ULI Michigan as a way “to empower women in the workplace by fostering connections, inspiration, and a supportive network,” and has brought together chapters of WLI virtually from across the country Including Atlanta, Boise, Detroit, New Jersey, New York, Pittsburgh, and Tampa.
The final installment of the 2024 BUILD UP series was titled “Building Consensus and Community Engagement Strategies” and featured panelists Lauren Hood, the Founder and Chief Visionary of the Institute for AfroUrbanism (IAU), and Samantha Jenkins, the founder of Effect Detroit. It was moderated by Deena Fox, Principal, Strategy+ at AECOM and ULI Michigan Co-Chair.
The panel and following offline discussion focused on community engagement strategies that truly meet communities where they are, and how to approach direct and genuine resident engagement when pursuing any infrastructure project in neighborhoods. Around our table there were Neighborhood Allies staff and ULI members, as well as other women in real estate, many of whom have participated in and graduated from our Real Estate Co-Powerment series! (Learn more about the Real Estate Co-Powerment series and register for the Spring cohort launching on March 25th!)
Here’s what some of the participants had to say about their experience:
“This event was extremely eye-opening! As a recent graduate of the Real Estate Co-Powerment Series, residential contractor, and new developer in Allegheny County, learning the right process of connecting early with the community and that urgency can be the enemy of success….were my biggest takeaways from this event. I’m encouraged to keep going with the resources and education from ULI and Neighborhood Allies.” – Tamara Ridgley, President of Ridgely Home Improvements (RHI)
“I’m invested in the local change agents in our area and a big advocate of affordable housing initiatives in the area where community development engagement is paramount.” – Ty Allen, Broker Owner of Unity Concord Real Estate
“As an incoming agent, my biggest takeaway [from this event] was understanding the importance of infrastructure when building consensus. From the very early stages of development, it is crucial to have a written plan of action that allows for changes and community engagement.” – Glendaly N.
“As a HUD Housing Counselor with WAVE, helping families attain housing in safe neighborhoods where their family can thrive because of your surroundings means everything. That is why it is so important to engage with the community to discover what is most important to them.” – Lynae Solomon
“I truly enjoyed attending this event and am already looking forward to the next one. The speakers were great, and I enjoyed their candid responses to the questions asked, along with adding in their experiences. My biggest take-away came from early on in the program when the speakers were talking about consensus building as a tool for any endeavor that they have been a part of. It is considered to be a fundamental piece of any project. Consensus building allows even the smallest of projects to help the stakeholders feel like they have been heard, even when 100% consensus is incredibly difficult, if not impossible to always achieve. I think also realizing that 100% consensus is not a practical goal is important.” – Lisa Hart, Senior Vice President | Senior Credit Officer, M&T Bank
The BUILD UP Breakfast Club is an amazing initiative that provides opportunities for learning, but the conversations rarely stop there. ULI and Neighborhood Allies are proud to offer resources and help women in real estate continue to make connections across the sector to help them level up in their careers. For example, ULI Pittsburgh’s Learning from the Best mentorship program allows “young and emerging professionals the rare opportunity to have a candid conversation with some of the most revered real estate and land use leaders in the Pittsburgh Region.”
“It is so exciting to meet new people and share partnerships – at the macro level where ULI and Neighborhood Allies missions intersect and how we leverage that intersection – and at the micro level when we can see a participant of the Co-Powerment series use Neighborhood Allies’ resources and network to access our resources and network.” – Emily Jo Gaspich, Executive Director, ULI Pittsburgh.
