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Proving that Friday the 13th doesn’t have to be unlucky, CREW Boston’s CREW Network Committee hosted an engagingCoffee with CREW with special guests Holly Neber of AEI and Dianne Crocker of LightBox on November 13th. Leveraging CREW Network has been invaluable to both Holly and Dianne on their career paths, providing them with connections well outside of their chapters, opportunities to hone their leadership skills and the courage to embrace new challenges.
As an active member of East Bay CREW and Immediate Past President of CREW Network and CREW Network Board of Directors, Holly spoke to the value of joining CREW Network Committees (e.g., Audit and Finance, Communications/ Editorial, Industry Research, Nominating, Member Education, Recognition, Scholarship Selection, and Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force), assuming leadership positions within the Network, as well as registering to participate in the next Leadership Summit in February 2021 (virtual event). Dianne, an active CREW Boston member and a past member of the CREW Network Member Education Committee, stressed the value of having a strong CREWBiz Profile, leveraging the incredible power of CREW Network for reaching experts on a particular topic of interest, accessing the CREWBiz community to give and get business (https://crewbiz.crewnetwork.org/), and being proactive about engaging with members across the Network in virtually every niche of commercial real estate
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Members of the Entrepreneur Exchange Group aren’t strangers to chaos: many of us started our companies during layoffs or recessions. But what do we do in the face of global pandemic? Keeping teams engaged and accountable seems to be the biggest challenge of the COVID era. Several members are having all-staff meetings every day but Friday to keep everyone connected, adding weekly Project team meetings with their clients for a 15-minute check-in. Many have expanded their use of technology, starting, or joining podcasts, and upping their social media games. Make sure you’re following your fellow CREW members on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and your favorite podcast service! Let’s not forget the self-care aspect of the “new normal.” With increased screen time and the lack of social interaction, many have found that scheduling a mental health break in the middle of the day for a walk, yoga, pilates, or simply lunch away from their desks refreshes them for the rest of the day.
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Abby Roberts and Caroline Murry from Turner Construction shared both an overview and details of Turner Construction’s company-wide commitment to sustainability. Turner has committed to reduce CO2 emissions and water consumption on job sites by 50% by 2030. There is a Chief Sustainability Officer as a member of Tuner’s Executive team with sustainability representatives in all of Turner’s 50+ offices. There are numerous committees allowing opportunities for employees with varying backgrounds to get involved.
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The DPM Group and the Entrepreneurs Exchange hosted a presentation by Cathy Burgess a Vice President and Financial Advisor with Wells Fargo. Cathy presented information about what you can do now to prepare for your retirement. The presentation began with Cathy asking everyone to write down our three greatest hopes and our three greatest worries about retirement. She also asked us to focus on what we actually WANT and not what others want; the only person who cares about your retirement is you. On average, women live longer than men and are more likely to be the care givers – of children and of their parents. This requires a lot of preparation: educate yourself, develop a specific plan, have important conversations with your friends and family and use a check list to track your progress.
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Attendees enjoyed a night of networking, accompanied by a virtual cheese and chocolate tasting led by Lowell Culinary Collaboration, which is a partnership of Lowell's best-loved food businesses, Mill City Cheesemongers and Sweet Lydia's. The combination of cheese and chocolate was a great way to explore all the different flavors of each. Some attendees commented that they would never think to pair chocolate and cheese together but it was absolutely delicious!
CREW Boston Presidient, Laura Gregoriadis shared the importance of getting involved in CREW Boston - as the more you get involved, the more you will get out of your membership in CREW Boston. Then attendees were also able to join different breakout room as we provided a taste of all the different opportunities available to CREW Boston members through participation in our committees, groups and leadership
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In July 2020, the Sustainability Group welcomed Dr. Atyia Martin back for the third time. She was the first Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Boston as part of 100 Resilient Cities, and members of the Sustainability Group have been a sounding board and support system for her work. She led the development and implementation of Boston's initial resilience strategy which was the first one in the 100 Resilient Cities network to make racial equity, social justice, and social cohesion the foundation of building resilience across the city. She engaged over 12,000 people across government, community, businesses, and nonprofits to develop Resilient Boston: An Equitable, Connected City. SmartCities magazine selected Resilient Boston as the best resilience strategy of 2017 and the Center for American Progress featured it in its report A Framework for Local Action on Climate Change.
Dr. Martin presented practical strategies for making our own organizations more inclusive and more resilient.
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The first time ever in CREW Boston history, the annual meeting was held virtually with astounding success. With over 220 participants, we kicked off the annual meeting with a farewell address from 2019-2020 Chapter President, Jill Sharif. 2020-2021 Chapter President, Laura Gregoriadis provided her goals for the Chapter in the coming year and also announced President-Elect, Kerry Hawkins.
Laura welcomed back guest speaker Alison Levine, who was our annual meeting speaker in 2019. Alison helped provide guidance and support as our audience continues to tackle the COVID pandemic that has affected everyone personally and professionally.
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CREW Network Delegate Karen Hurd held a virtual meet up May 18 to discuss how to leverage your membership with CREW Network. Special guest Judy Nitsch, Founder of Nitsch Engineering, CREW Boston member and the Past President of CREW Network, shared insights into all the tools and resources available at CREW Network for our members. Judy also shared why CREW Boston members should attend the 2020 Spring Leadership Summit Zoom Conference June 18-19. It is free and you can work on professional development from the comforts of your home.
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On Thursday April 2nd, the Development Project Management group hosted a virtual “book club” to connect with fellow CREW members while still maintaining social distancing guidelines. Two articles from the Harvard Business Review were sent out in advance – these chosen articles were about the role of a supportive partner in successful careers and the idea of “transitions.” A moderator led the discussion with some previously prepared questions, but overall the event was a great success with 14 participants who were actively engaged in the conversation providing both thoughtful responses to the questions and enjoyable open dialogue.
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The Rising Leaders were fortunate to have Tracy Welch, Vice President and Investment Counselor and Laura Godine, Vice President and Director of Wealth Management from Eaton Vance educate our group on personal finance. Tracy spoke on topics of active vs. passive investing, compound interest, asset allocation, as well as retirement planning. For the second part of the evening, Laura stressed the importance of wealth planning through health care proxies, powers of attorneys, wills, trust, §529 plans and charitable planning. Tracy and Laura provided clear guidelines and examples that left attendees with the knowledge and inspiration to better prepare themselves financially. This was the second annual collaboration with WWIRE (Wellness for Women in Real Estate) and keeping with the theme of health and wellness, nutritious refreshments were graciously provided by Eastdil Secured and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company – National Commercial Services.
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Members attended the Public Strategies Committee’s January 2020 breakfast to hear about the Boston newly released Climate Action Plan 2019 Update with ambitious strategies to put Boston on track to meet the City’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. Alison Brizius, Director of Climate and Environmental Planning for the City of Boston described the action plan and the strategies proposed, especially those that involve commercial real estate such as building planning, design and operations. It was a lively event with the attendees asking questions and contributing to the discussion through the presentation.
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At January's luncheon, Ben Breslau, Chief Research Officer, Americas of JLL spoke about big themes impacting the commercial real estate industry in the next decade.
Some pearls of wisdom from Ben: 1.) Organizational agility will be a critical factor to getting ahead of the competition. 2.) Investors are increasingly concerned with the environmental and societal impact of their investing. 3.) Elements that maximize human performance and engagement (lighting, acoustics, air quality, etc.) are becoming a differentiating factor in attracting the next tenant or employee.
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The Mentor Program had a very successful kick off lunch at JLL’s Offices This year’s Program is comprised of 32 members, including Peer to Peer and Mentee to Mentor pairs. After introductions and learning about suggestions for a successful experience, the mentors and mentees broke out into pairs to formalize their match and discuss logistics, as well as, what the mentees are looking to accomplish to begin a productive and rewarding mentorship relationship.
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Have you had your Vinegar Tonic or Golden Milk today? Done your walking or metta meditation? In January, the CREW Boston Entrepreneur Exchange had a really fun and interesting conversation on our own wellness tips and tricks. Unfortunately, it seems some things may only be made easier by young children growing more self-sufficient, but I certainly left with some new strategies. From meditation apps to yoga retreats, dog-walking to aerial yoga, we covered a lot of ground, recipes, and products. New Year, New You, New Shopping List?
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In November CREW Boston hosted a luncheon panel discussion about one of the industry’s favorite buzzwords: placemaking. The panel, which was moderated by Tara Piurko, a real estate partner at Toronto-based Miller Thomson and former CREW Network President, featured Jesse Brackenbury, Executive Director of The Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston; Russell Preston, Founder and Director of Principle Group, a planning, design, and development firm; Al Wilson, Founder and CEO of Beyond Walls in Lynn; and Laura Christopher, Real Estate Innovation Officer at MassDevelopment, explained what placemaking is, what it is not, and why real estate developers in the private sector should consider investing in placemaking to create successful, sustainable, and thriving projects and communities.
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What Silver Linings Have You Found During Pandemic? Entrepreneur Magazine has some thoughts on this topic, but we know our Entrepreneur Exchange Group members will have more to share!