Editor’s Letter

Sometimes a story can surprise you. When I set up an interview with Don Peebles to discuss Angels Landing, I expected a great conversation about the project and development in Los Angeles, especially with the Olympics coming, as well as a bit about programs to help developers with diverse backgrounds.

Instead, it became an in-depth conversation about his commitment to helping other MWBE-owned businesses achieve their dreams as he and his partners made commitments that governments can’t or won’t. I knew then that we had the cover feature for our Diversity issue.

Look, too, to our features and columns, which offer other views on diversity. Ferguson Partners CEO Gemma Burgess discusses the trials and opportunities of diverse hiring. A panel of proptech leaders note their challenges in the U.K. In separate articles, Verada Retail’s Nathan Mallon and former U.S. Ambassador to China and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad offer discussions of environmental, social and governance issues, while Pay Wu writes about supplier diversity. It’s a cornucopia of viewpoints on a topic that has long been a concern and which remains of vital interest today.

It wasn’t that long ago that I, as a young assistant and later, a reporter, was the only woman in a room. Just a couple of weeks ago, as I attended the CREI Summit, a conference for commercial real estate media influencers, I was joined by a group of male and female professionals who were Black, white, Latino, Asian, straight and LGBTQ. It looked like the real estate industry should: like the people we serve.

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