Diversity & Inclusion

Our Mission and Commitment

NAIOP GA is dedicated to cultivating and celebrating an inclusive commercial real estate workforce in Atlanta by connecting underrepresented students and young professionals to leading CRE organizations. Breaking down these long-standing barriers for people of color will result in the strengthening of our communities and our industry due to the increased creativity, performance, and productivity that is inherent within a diverse environment.

Although NAIOP has ongoing initiatives concentrated on diversity and inclusion, recent events in our country have made it apparent that much more work is still ahead of us. For this reason, we are reflecting on ways to double down on our efforts and better define our goals. We are committed to becoming informed and initiating intentional change that will have a transformational and lasting impact on the commercial real estate industry.

Career Diversity Internship Program

NAIOP Georgia launched our inaugural internship program by working with HBCUs and local universities to identify and interview students who would create a pool of potential candidates. We then partnered with corporate members of our chapter to provide diverse candidates with a paid summer internship across a variety of career disciplines in commercial real estate. In addition to the work program, students also benefit from an educational curriculum as well as additional opportunities like meeting with CEOs in commercial real estate. Candidates will be invited to attend NAIOP Georgia chapter events during the calendar year in which the internship is awarded, in order to facilitate additional networking and learning opportunities.

This summer program targets incoming full-time college juniors and seniors who are enrolled in a financial, business, economics, mathematics, logistics, or real estate-related major (for example, architecture or engineering programs). Candidates should identify as Black, Indigenous, or students of color. We seek candidates that have a genuine interest in commercial real estate.

We just completed the process of taking applications for 2024.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Ryan Woods, NAIOP Georgia VP Diversity (ryanwoods@beckgroup.com), or Isa Tatum, NAIOP Georgia Chapter Services Manager(isatatum@naiopga.org).

Thank you to our Partner Companies:

Past Diversity Initiatives

NEXUS Summer Program

The commercial real estate industry has historically lacked diversity among its ranks. To shape the next generation of CRE leadership, NAIOP joined forces with other entities to leverage their industry intelligence, networks and capabilities. Through this collaboration, the NEXUS Summer Program was established to introduce teens of color to a variety of colleges and CRE career paths.

Project REAP

NAIOP Georgia has been a supporter of Project REAP (The Real Estate Associate Program) for many years. REAP’s mission is to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the commercial real estate industry through education, mentorship, and partnerships.