Becoming an Urban Land Institute member was an important decision for me considering that I’m a mother, a working professional, and an MBA student.  Through my participation in the MBA program, I’ve come to realize that my networks are not as strong as I had thought.  I am generally connected to engineers and other project consultants in the western suburbs, but less so with other industry professionals in both the suburbs and the City.  Now that school is winding down and my children have become more independent, the timing was right for me join ULI.

My first event was the November breakfast meeting “Riding the Recovering Housing Sector – Fundamentals and Opportunities” which was moderated by a senior colleague from my organization and attended by another fellow colleague.  This made me more comfortable with the event, as I believed that I wouldn’t know anyone else.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I actually knew many of the event attendees, and thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with them.  I was greeted at registration as a new member and I was introduced to several other ULI members who were all very warm and welcoming.

Overall, I found the event to be informative and relevant to my profession and thoroughly enjoyed networking with others.  In fact, I spent so much time talking that I was among the last to leave.  I am excited to be a part of ULI and look forward to future events as well as meeting a diverse group of professionals.

I found that making the effort to attend just one meeting has opened up the door to more involvement with ULI Chicago … look what I’m doing now!