By Peter Madrid | Madrid Media

The mission commitment of ULI Arizona is to connect, inspire, and lead. It covered each of those core principles – and more – at its May event, “Advancing Arizona’s Real Estate Industry Through Diversity.” It added educate.

The discussion at the John Paul Theater at Phoenix College touched on diversity, equity, and inclusion in commercial real estate, and what we can do to create more inclusive spaces for underrepresented communities.

The message: “In order for real estate companies to be able to relate to a diverse population, it is important to have representatives of these diverse populations providing input to decisions. Educating underserved youth about our industry provides them with the tools to make better decisions about issues in their communities, either as participants in land use discussions, as entrepreneurs or as employees of real estate-related companies. It’s all about education.”

In real estate, diversity means representing all communities with a variety of racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds, and a wide range of lifestyles and experiences. It’s recognizing and representing different demographic groups in a given market area resulting in better advocacy for education, homeownership and private property rights.

ULI Arizona’s DEI Committee partnered with Project Destined – a global, social impact platform that teaches underserved youth the fundamentals of commercial real estate – and presented four panelists who discussed how all groups involved can make a difference in the lives of future industry leaders.

Former television announcer Catherine Anaya served as moderator. Panelists included Alexis Barber, an ASU student and Regional Production Director, Project Destined; Joseph Blackbourn, President and CEO, Everest Holdings; Cedric Bobo, Co-Founder and CEO, Project Destined; and Natalia Chavez, Development Analyst, Dominium.

“At ULI, we are committed to a mission of shaping the future of the built environment,” said Sara Yehia, ULI Arizona’s DEI Committee Chair. “It is clear that DEI efforts are essential to me. The efforts we will discuss should serve as a successful example of how to bring a diverse and inclusive pipeline to the industry.”

Bobo explained the reach of Project Destined. It is currently training 2,000 students at 125 schools around the country. The key, he said, is to introduce these students to business owners in their neighborhoods.

“We run all of what we do,” he explained. “We create these chances to build relationships. We create those conversations of the community we have to shape. Real estate is one of those fields. We teach that you can shape a skyline and build your community. We do that every day.”

“For me, this is a great group of people that want to include more diversity in the industry. It’s a conversation that needs to be had. People are still not thinking about it as much as they should,” Blackbourn said.

Barber, the student on the panel, said a big part of bringing diversity to the industry is reaching out to talent early. In high school, not just in college.

“Partnering with an existing program is key,” Barber said. “One of the best ways to reach students is through executives of companies or college professors. They are the ones who have credibility. They trust their advisors.”

Chavez added that a big part of the diversity education process is presenting knowledge of the industry to those who might not think of real estate as a career choice.

“They need to be exposed to it,” Chavez said of the real estate industry,” but there is always that lack of exposure. Maybe a student wants to major in accounting or engineering.

“Knowing they want to be in real estate and that there are opportunities in that field is important. They must also have mentors to guide them. They must know that they can do wonderful things. We’re not changing the education system. We’re creating opportunities.”