ULI Americas President Gwyneth Cote emphasized to Spring Meeting attendees the importance of connecting the Institute’s local initiatives to other areas of the organization, sharing insights based on numerous meetings with district councils since joining ULI’s executive team in December. “Each visit reaffirms the much-cited quote ‘ULI is only as strong globally as it is locally,’” Cote said

As we head to Nashville for our 2019 Spring Meeting, I am encouraged and enthused about the progress being made at ULI to improve the member experience. Our initial efforts will be on display at the meeting, with more member-informed, interactive programming designed to foster a broader exchange of ideas and knowledge as well as more member-to-member connections. The event, which follows a highly successful Midwinter Trustees Meeting, Europe Conference, and Asia Pacific Convivium held this winter, will serve as additional confirmation of ULI’s status as the gold standard for real estate organizations.

ULI Global Chief Executive Officer W. Edward Walter is the featured thought leader in the latest edition of “Leading Voices in Real Estate.” Walter reflects on his early years in real estate with Trammell Crow Residential; his service as chief financial officer and chief executive officer for Host Hotels and Resorts Inc.; why real estate continues to attract the best and brightest; and what he believes distinguishes ULI from other real estate organizations.

Lizanne Galbreath, who serves as managing director of Galbreath & Company, spoke recently at a ULI leadership event in Columbus. Her grandfather, John W. Galbreath, founded the John W. Galbreath Company in 1921, which eventually became one of the largest development companies in the United States, and was also a founding member of ULI.

The ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance, a worldwide alliance of leading real estate owners, investors, and financial institutions committed to reducing carbon emissions across the global property industry, has announced the addition of three new members: Kilroy Realty, the Howard Hughes Corporation, and Morgan Creek Ventures.

ULI Global Chief Executive Officer W. Edward Walter provided highlights of the Institute’s Global Strategic Plan, which will help strengthen member engagement and impact, during remarks at the 2018 Fall Meeting’s closing general session.

ULI has selected 26 professionals in real estate development, planning, design, engineering, finance, and health care from across the United States to participate in the second cohort of the ULI Health Leaders Network, a program designed to empower real estate and land use professionals with the skills, knowledge, and networks to improve health outcomes in their professional practice and communities.

Longtime ULI leader Douglas D. Abbey, chairman of Swift Real Estate Partners in San Francisco, has been named chairman of the ULI Foundation. Abbey, whose membership with ULI spans 37 years, began his term as Foundation chairman July 1.

One of ULI’s longest serving Life Trustees and renowned industry expert Stan Ross, Chairman Emeritus of the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate and Distinguished Fellow of the university’s School of Policy, Planning & Development, passed away June 10. He was 82.

ULI Life Trustee Frederick Kober, chairman of the board of the Christopher Companies, passed away on March 17, 2018, in Los Gatos, California, following a lengthy illness. He was 80. Kober, who joined ULI in 1970, was named a life trustee in 2005, a recognition reserved for the Institute’s most dedicated and respected members, and bestowed to only 15 members in ULI’s 82-year history.