At ULI Michigan, we believe that diversity promotes innovation in development and land use and creates a path to better serve our communities.The Pathways to Inclusion Steering Committee established in 2020 is Co-chaired by Karen Burton (SpaceLab Detroit) and Liliana Gonzalez (Cinnaire). Made up of ULI leadership, staff, and professionals from various sectors of land use, the committee will have a significant role in the development of strategies and best practices with regards to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The Committee serves to not only promote the advancement of, but also to increase the number of diverse professionals in the real estate industry and ULI. We are committed to supporting Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+, and individuals with disabilities working in the industry.

The Pathways to Inclusion Initiative was launched at ULI Michigan in the Spring of 2018. Since the conception of Pathways, ULI Michigan has been able to support memberships for over 150 diverse land use professionals throughout the state.

In 2022, we also launched the Building the Perfect Pitch Program, aimed to support emerging minority developers in their efforts to complete commercial real estate projects in Michigan. Our program provides a space to perfect participants’ pitch for investors, potential partners, possible tenants, and other resources that could fill gaps in their project. We identified “coaches” from the lending, legal, development and other professional industries to help guide participant progress. As part of the program, the cohort was invited to present at the Spring Real Estate Summit for the Emerging Developer’s Marketplace. Participants were given the opportunity to pitch their project to the dozens of ULI Members present at the conference. The event was an opportunity to generate new connections, potential partnerships and hopefully, investment. ULI Michigan will continue with this program each year.