Shown in bottom row (from left) are: Don Peebles, founder and chairman, Peebles Corp.; Hugh Kelly, PHD, CRE, principal, Hugh Kelly Real Estate Economics and curriculum chair, Fordham REI
New York, NY The Fordham Real Estate Institute (REI) launched its Visionary Series CCL: The Future Role of CRE, a five-year campaign tied to the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. The first panel discussion, “The Real Estate Workforce–Restarting the Engine and Propelling the Economy,” took place on January 21st and brought together some of the most influential minds in commercial real estate and beyond to discuss the state of employment and what it will take to get the American workforce back on track over the next few years.
“This campaign was created by Fordham REI so we can all continue the unfinished work of creating a more perfect union,” said panel moderator Louis Mirando, founder and principal, Streamline Realty Funding, LLC and chair of the Fordham REI Executive Advisory Council. “We know that in areas all over the country, there are people who don’t have access to real estate knowledge, contacts or resources. We need to strive for inclusion in this important sector, one that can help rebuild our country and make it better.”
According to panelist Joseph McShane, S.J., president, Fordham University, the role of education is critical in preparing the next generation of employees to not only work hard, but to be good people.
“Education is the greatest work of empowerment that the human mind has ever conceived,” he said. “The City of New York educates 660,000 students every year and our institutions employ 180,000 people. We’re a big industry that doesn’t exist for itself: it exists to prepare young women and men for careers and meaningful lives in other professions. In doing our job, we have to listen to the signs of the times and the desires of the human heart so we can prepare people for jobs in the industries that we seek to service.”
With the event following just a day after the inauguration of a new president and administration, the panelists set their sights on the role of government in promoting diversity and inclusivity, and the impact it can have on the economy.
“The government’s role is to set the tone. Opportunities should be provided to all based upon merit,” said panelist Don Peebles, founder and chairman, Peebles Corp. “The government should require anyone that wants to do business within its domain to be inclusive. If you’re going to give allocation of capital to the big firms that have done it their way this whole time then you’re not going to change anything. The government’s role is to be the initiator of economic inclusiveness.”
For panelist Dorothy “Dottie” Herman, CEO, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, one the key factors to be successful in real estate, an industry that is a critical component to restarting the American economy, is perseverance.
“It’s about your inner drive – that want to work hard and to know that there’s no easy way to get to the top,” she said. “You have to be willing to fall down. It’s one of those professions that if you’re willing to work hard you can succeed. I don’t know that you’re born with that drive or not, but I do know it comes from within yourself and the passion within your heart.”
The event also featured a presentation by Hugh Kelly, PhD, CRE, principal, Hugh Kelly Real Estate Economics. Kelly, who also serves as curriculum chair for Fordham REI, shared statistics on the impact of COVID-19 on the American workforce, and discussed what it could take to get things back on track.
“More than nine million Americans lost their jobs due to the health crisis, and we’re not going to be putting that mass of people back to work in the short term,” Kelly said. “Time is our ally in real estate; it is not our enemy at this point.”
The event was the first of four currently scheduled virtual events in the “Visionary Series CCL: The Future Role of CRE.” The remaining schedule is:
- February 18, 2021: What’s Next for the Major Sectors of Real Estate
- March 18, 2021: Show Us the Money: How Providers Will View Risk and Capital for the Next Five Years
- April 15, 2021: Envisioning the Near Future: Technology, Innovation and Obsolescence
For a full list of speakers and to register for any of the webinars, CLICK HERE.
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