At Sperry Van Ness International Corporation, we believe that diversity should be a priority. That hasn’t always been the case in the commercial real estate industry. As a proud sponsor and supporter of Project REAP, SVNIC aims to empower CRE professionals who are often underrepresented in the business.

Connecting Minority Professionals with the Commercial Real Estate Industry

The Real Estate Associate Program (REAP) is an industry-backed, market-driven initiative that connects talented minority professionals with commercial real estate companies. With only 1% of the nation’s commercial real estate management ranks made up of minority professionals, REAP provides a necessary push for inclusivity in an industry that can benefit from new ideas. Since its 1988 founding, REAP has increased this proportion of minority CRE professionals by 10%, highlighting the value of a previously unacknowledged talent pool.

REAP’s highly selective recruiting process attracts credentialed, career-changing individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including law, sales, banking, engineering, and more. Applicants must go through a rigorous process of screening, interviewing, and testing in order to be considered for the program.  Each REAP class of 25-30 students benefits from networking opportunities and training sessions run by industry leaders. Several of these contributing CRE leaders are some of our own at SVNIC, including our Vice President of  Organizational Development Solomon Poretsky, Franchise Owner Michael Thanasouras, and Corporate Real Estate & Advisory Services Chair David Wilk.

REAP graduates go on to work at leading CRE firms across the country, largely as a result of the contacts made during the program. In fact, SVN | Gryphon Parker recently announced that they have added REAP graduate Maurice Hillman to their lineup of Advisors. SVN | Chicago Commercial has also hired REAP graduates in the past.

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SVNIC and Project REAP, A Winning Combination

SVNIC is eager to help further REAP’s mission by granting Project REAP students and alumni complimentary access to several of our industry-leading training events throughout the year. We are awarding up to 2 grants for each of the following events.

• SVN Broker Boot Camp – Portland, OR: September 29th – October 2nd, 2015
• SVN Broker Boot Camp – San Diego, CA: December 1st – 4th, 2015
• SVN National Conference – San Diego, CA: February 24th – 26th, 2016

Visit this page to apply for the grant.

To read more about the benefits of diversity in the commercial real estate industry, download our report here.