The Real Estate Roundtable is a Founding Partner of a national program unveiled Feb. 3 by the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC) – the trade association for CRE professionals of color – that will seek to address equity, diversity, and inclusivity issues across the commercial real estate industry with a wide spectrum of partner companies and organizations. (REEC news release, Feb. 3)

• "The lack of diversity in the CRE industry, and the disparities that exist in access to capital and credit for African Americans and other people of color, are systemic problems that need a multifaceted approach. None of us can do this alone. Coming together to tackle the challenge through industry partnerships such as REEC's Diversity Partner Program will give us a fighting chance," said REEC Board Chair Tammy K. Jones, CEO and founder of Basis Investment Group.
  
  
• Ken McIntyre, CEO of the REEC and a Real Estate Roundtable Board Member, said, “We are excited to launch the Diversity Partners Program and to work with this committed group of initial partners to improve diversity and inclusion in the CRE industry. We invite other firms to join REEC as Diversity Partners to further our mission. As an industry we have a great deal of work to do to change the paradigm.”
  
  
• REEC's initial diversity partners have committed to meaningful goals for diversity and inclusion in support of REEC's mission. The founding diversity partners include:

• Ventas, Inc. –Healthcare REIT led by Debra A. Cafaro, Real Estate Roundtable Chair
• The Real Estate Roundtable 
• NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association
• National Multifamily Housing Council
• L+M Development Partners 
• Nuveen -- Investment
• Ferguson Partners – Human Capital
• Bisnow– Media and events

• The Roundtable’s Board of Directors has established an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Committee, chaired by Roundtable Board Members Jeff T. Blau, CEO, Related Companies, which is organizing members and finalizing a mission statement. (Roundtable news release, Sept. 30, 2020) 
  
  
• The framework of the partnership REEC has with The Roundtable and other founding partners includes the following goals:
  
  
  • Diversity Ecosystem – hiring and developing a pipeline of racially diverse talent.
  • Diversity Business Plan -- focus on goals, measurements and transparency. 
  • Supplier or Vendor Diversity/Diversity Spend – increasing percentages of annual spend allocated to firms owned by people of color. 
  • Investment Allocations and Access to Capital & Credit - increase the amount of, and improve access to, capital and credit for minority-owned investment managers, developers, projects and communities. 

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