REBNY and city officials celebrate 77 New Yorkers who have completed real estate industry internships

Manhattan, NY The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the city’s leading real estate trade association, was joined by representatives from member organizations and New York City officials on August 3^rd to celebrate 77 talented young people that recently completed paid real estate industry internships through NYC’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Hosted by Rudin Management at 3 Times Square, the event featured a networking cocktail hour and remarks from New York City Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD) deputy commissioner Valerie Mulligan and Rudin Management executive vice president Samantha Rudin, as well as several student speakers.

15 REBNY member firms hosted 77 interns over the course of the summer; a 24% increase in intern placements within REBNY member firms compared to 2022. To support member firms in recruiting interns, REBNY hosted a series of training sessions entitled “Best Practices in Hosting Summer Interns” with over 80 individuals in attendance.

In addition to receiving incredible opportunities to learn from REBNY members, these interns also had access to Summer Enrichment Programming webinars that were created by REBNY's social impact team in partnership with DYCD and CUNY LEADS. These programs engaged student participants on topics such as developing soft skills and using Linkedin to create your personal brand. The webinars will be utilized by other organizations and sectors including the NYPD Foundation, The Governors Island/Navy Yard Fellowship Program, LaGuardia Research Foundation and 32BJ.

“REBNY’s staff and members are dedicated to helping New Yorkers from a wide range of backgrounds break into the industry,” said Yvonne Riley-Tepie, REBNY senior vice president of social impact. “Thanks to the hard work of our social impact staff, Diversity Committee and broader membership, we are building a future workforce that is ready to serve and better reflects the city we love.”

“As DYCD celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) and the second straight summer of an unprecedented 100,000 young people served, we are grateful for REBNY’s longtime support of both SYEP and Ladders for Leaders,” said DYCD commissioner Keith Howard. “REBNY, the leading real estate trade association, is one of the corporate partners that support workforce development, while correcting a false narrative that ‘SYEP has fallen short connecting young people to career opportunities in the highest paying, fastest growing companies.’ The mayor’s vision and forward thinking has substantially expanded the number of corporate firms and youth participating this summer in one of NYC’s most important industries. DYCD thanks the REBNY team for creating and nurturing a diverse talent pipeline of young people who truly reflect the future and great promise of our city and this administration.”

“One important way to support the long-term strength of our city and our industry is by continuously cultivating a thriving pipeline of talented young New Yorkers,” said Samantha Rudin, executive vice president of Rudin. “Today’s interns are tomorrow’s CEOs, and we are grateful for the opportunity to provide real life experiences to students with real estate aspirations.”

REBNY’s work with the SYEP is part of the organization’s broader focus on engaging talented local young people and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in New York City's real estate industry.

Earlier this summer, 24 mid-career professionals from diverse backgrounds graduated from the 2023 REBNY Fellows Program. In partnership with CORO New York, the program features a high-impact curriculum of leadership training, networking exposure and other events that help rising stars shape the future of the industry. Notably, the 2023 REBNY Fellows program served twice as many participants as in 2022, and early interest in the 2024 cohort has already surpassed early applications in prior years.

In 2022, REBNY established a Social Impact Council, where lead Social Impact, DEI and other officers within REBNY’s largest member firms gather to share ideas and best practices. It is the goal of this council to lead change in their own companies along with raising awareness of positive initiatives that could be replicated throughout the industry and other sectors. REBNY also partners with Building Skills NY to connect underemployed New Yorkers with jobs and training to create new career pathways into the construction industry.

“The future of New York is closely tied to creating a broadly diverse population in our real estate community,” said Darcy Stacom, co-chair of REBNY’s diversity committee and chairman and head of New York City Capital Markets at CBRE. “Every summer program acts as a catalyst for this critical initiative.”