Over the year, traveling to more than 15 states and 5 countries as part of NYU Schack, my key takeaway for 2023 is resilience. This past year highlighted the importance of experiences, conversations, research and reflection.
I pulled back from the minute by minute news cycle in favor of weekly or monthly publications and face to face conversations. I’m so proud of Blueprint our student Real Estate publication modeling responsible journalism. With that, the doom loop talk and the recurring themes of decline and apocalypse recede and their place arise new perspectives. I feel lucky to do this in the context of my position as Association Dean at NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate.
In dialogue with Sam Zell just a month before his passing at our REIT Symposium, in conversation at ULI New York with Rebecca Rocky on the economy, sitting at Vince Rocco’s podcast on the affordability crisis and other events let me spar and learn from the best. Heading to Brazil and Seoul with our students and meeting with alums, investors and lenders, opened new windows on how the international real estate markets are faring post-covid.
Partnering with Adeola Adejobi’s Avant-Garde Network’s Diversity in Commercial Real Estate and Women of Color in Capital Conference, showed me ways to bring forward diverse voices in the industry. Joining the boards of NYC Housing Development Corporation and Trust for Governor’s Island deepened my ties to New York. Writing and collaborating brought me back in dialogue with the Joint Center for Housing Studies, the Institute for Public Architecture and UPenn’s Weitzman School.
Our amazing partner, CREFC continued to expand the discussion on our current markets and advocate for industry best practices. Our new partnership with the Build Out Alliance is already paying benefits for our LGBTQ students through events and mentorship. Sadly, the media sets up competitions which feed into Americans rooting for our cities to fail. Going to San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, Austin, Portland and Detroit this year showed me that cities are resilient and the best incubators for ideas, culture and innovation.
Our 56th annual capital markets conference in November highlighted the sectors thriving in the current economy and rather than siloing topics, wove debt, equity affordability and policy throughout the panels. Having April Housing, Jonathan Rose Associates, Todd Gomez and Alicia Glen all on one panel was a highlight followed by a rousing talk by Larry Silverstein and a keynote by Governor Kathy Hochul. It truly was a banner year from Schack.
Hosting the Mayor’s Institute on City Design, presenting the results from our new student run REIT Investment Fund and producing on 28th Annual REIT symposium all while planning student treks to Kenya, Singapore, Brazil, London and Sydney has 2024 already packed with events. I’m excited about what’s to come and the continuing and new collaborations in the works. Schack is the home for Real Estate at NYU, preparing the next leaders to be resilient, sustainable and at the forefront on the industry.
Ideas and Action 