ULI Learning Partners with Project REAP to Increase Diversity of the Real Estate Profession

The Real Estate Associate Program (REAP) is an industry-backed, market-driven program that serves as a bridge between talented minority professionals and commercial real estate companies looking for talent. REAP—the Real Estate Associate Program—is now widely acknowledged to be the most successful diversity initiative in the commercial real estate industry. REAP exists because the commercial real estate industry’s professional ranks are less than 1 percent minority at management levels—fewer than 1,000 people of color in an industry with over 125,000 professionals. During its short existence, REAP has increased that minority cohort by 10 percent—by spotlighting a talent pool that was always there, but was previously unacknowledged.  

ULI and REAP have expanded on their partnership to create the ULI REAP Virtual Academy, building on a longstanding relationship between the organizations with a common goal of strengthening the real estate industry. With the current digital transition, REAP provided the opportunity to expand its traditional in-person program into an online academy, reaching a larger and more diverse audience without the geographic and financial constraints of face-to-face convenings. ULI Learning is partnering with REAP to make this online experience possible. The pilot cohort included 190 participants from with across the United States and abroad, something that was not possible when REAP held its academies in person.     

The purpose of this course is to introduce commercial real estate terms, concepts, and processes, which will lay the foundation for a career in real estate or land use. Taught by esteemed faculty and industry leaders, this course is divided into six sections, which ran across eight to 10 weeks with six hours of content each week. Participants also received free registration to the 2020 ULI Virtual Fall Meeting and a one-year ULI Associate membership.   

ULI Learning has developed a custom certificate to meet the specifications and needs of the REAP academy associates, allowing them to leverage the Institute’s learning platform and introduce the REAP academy participants to the benefits of ULI membership. Since diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to ULI’s mission, this certificate presents a meaningful way to increase the diversity of the pipeline for the Institute and the commercial real estate industry.