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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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The CREW Development Project Management Group held a successful Hard Hat tour of Kendall Square on October 10th. The evening started with presentations from Maureen McCaffrey of MITIMCo, Melissa Schrock of Boston Properties and Michelle Lower of Alexandria Real Estate. Participants were able to hear about the development projects which are transforming the Kendall Square area. Project team members including Architects, Engineers, Contractors and Project Managers then led a hard hat tour of MITIMCo's SOMA development and Boston Properties' Akamai Headquarters.
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On October 3rd at the Fairmont Copley, Lisa Wieland, Massport’s new CEO spoke to an engaged audience to hear about her role and upcoming initiatives. It ended with a fireside chat with CREW Boston President, Jill Sharif.
As Lisa stepped into her role this past August, her goals are to enhance the customer experience, maintain strong business relationships and optimize best practices for the organization.
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On July 25th, Harvard’s Director of Capital Projects, Shirin Karanfiloglu, Director of Common Spaces, Julie Crites, and Program Coordinator for Common Spaces, Tracey Daley, led a group of CREW members around Harvard’s new Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center. Shirin, Julie and Tracey shared details about the history of the original building, Harvard’s vision for creating a center of campus that is also open to the public, and the constraints of performing the renovation while the building was occupied. A few of our CREW members had worked on the project and shared their own insights into aspects of the design and the selection of furniture.
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CREW Boston members and guests enjoyed an evening in July for a boat tour of the Boston Harbor, the culmination of our year-long series of events discussing climate change and its impact on the commercial real estate industry. Panelists will discussed the unique features of Boston’s coastline and how that has informed and transformed a diverse array of projects and initiatives from Spaulding Rehab, to Clippership Wharf, to the previously proposed Boston Harbor barriers.
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The Sustainability Group hosted a brown bag lunch on July 11 to hear Richard McGuinness, Deputy Director for Climate Change and Environmental Planning at the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) discuss the City of Boston’s planning for the short and long term impacts of climate change and sea level rise.
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As a thank you to our Committee members for their dedication and hard work, we invited them to a cocktail reception at Tishman Speyer’s Studio, a new concept in co-working space that just opened in the heart of the Financial District. Along with great networking, food, and wine, members were entered into a raffle for some amazing giveaways to show our appreciation. Attendees were able to tour the unique space and hear what makes Studio different from other co-working spaces.
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Please join us for an evening of education, idea-sharing, future planning and networking with CREW Boston members as hear about financial strategies for the mid-career professionals.