Recognizing Excellence in DEI — Announcing Bisnow RISE Initiative and Awards

The waves of social activism and justice reform sweeping across America are touching every aspect of our lives in a long-overdue movement that feels monumental, yet fragile. As Executives in the Commercial Real Estate Industry, the companies we lead and the environments we manage must be the setting for a more hopeful and inclusive future. But how do we drive lasting change, and how do we get there in a timely way?

We cannot tackle these two pressing questions without the humility to accept that none of us alone have all the solutions at our immediate grasp. The pandemic forced us to reach out for help across competitive lines and to collaborate as an industry to access a collective source of wisdom, and in that experience lies the same approach that is needed to meaningfully address diversity, equity, and inclusion in commercial real estate. In short, we need the best ideas to rise from wherever they originate and exist to become actionable blueprints for us all to elevate our respective efforts and accelerate the pace of progress.

In partnership with Bisnow, I am pleased to support the establishment of the Bisnow RISE Initiative and Awards, an annual honoree program dedicated to recognizing excellence in DEI, but with a distinct mission. The Bisnow RISE Initiative is a showcase for the most successful and proven DEI initiatives in our industry, enabling companies and organizations to learn from one another and to draw on the best ideas to help advance and complement their own DEI missions. In that spirit, our collective DEI efforts will culminate early next year in an inaugural honoree presentation and event in partnership with the Council for Urban Real Estate (CURE) to be held in March 2022 in New York City. 

I invite you to nominate your firm and share the initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. I would also encourage you to share this initiative within your commercial real estate networks. An esteemed judging panel of diverse leaders from media, industry, academia and the not-for-profit sector will adjudicate submissions and highlight the exceptional ideas that are delivering progress and tangible advances.

Click here to learn more about the program and nominate your firm! The entry deadline is November 22nd, 2021.

Following the submission period, our collective DEI efforts will conclude in an inaugural honoree presentation and gala to be held on March 3rd in New York City. Please join us at this evening affair to honor the New York Rise 2021 honorees and celebrate the progress being made in our Industry. While we acknowledge there is still much more work for us all to do, this event will be an opportunity to connect, network and learn from the organizations and change makers that are leading the way for an inclusive and stronger CRE industry at large.

Please reach out via phone, email or social media to learn more about the Initiative and how our collective action can elevate the discussion on DEI into actionable strategies that we can all learn from and implement. This is about raising the bar collectively for us all and accelerating the pace of change.

Take care now!