The organization’s new board members pledge to advance REAP’s expanding
mission and reach.
NATIONAL – Project REAP (Real Estate Associate Program), the nation’s leading initiative in advancing diversity, equity & inclusion in commercial real estate (CRE), has elected four new members to its board effective May 2022. In announcing the elections, Manikka Bowman, executive director of Project REAP, states, “I’m excited to welcome these members to the board at this pivotal moment in our 24-year history. The newly elected slate represents a remarkable mix of top-tier executives and successful entrepreneurs located throughout every region of the U.S. who have pledged ample skills and resources to further REAP’s evolving and expanding nationwide mission and reach. Throughout their careers, each one has committed to achievement not only of professional excellence but toward advancing DEI in the industry and improving the quality of life for the communities and the built environment.”
The new REAP board members are:
Audra Cunningham, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, T. Dallas Smith & Company, Atlanta, GA
As the first female C-Suite executive at Atlanta-based T. Dallas Smith & Company (TDS&Co), Cunningham brings a diverse perspective that is transforming leadership in commercial real estate. The executive vice president and chief administrative officer at TDS&Co has over 30 years of results-driven success and a career highlighted by extensive experience in complex lease negotiations, business development and community activism. In her first year at TDS&Co, she significantly grew the firm's national client base while continuing the mission of exposing more women and people of color to the commercial real estate industry. Her leadership and ability to foster strategic partnerships have been instrumental in the firm expanding its representation with law firms, nonprofits, corporations, and government contractors. She also played a pivotal role in launching new real estate brokerage services in Washington, DC.
Cunningham’s community service is nothing short of stellar. She has served as an expert panelist on the Atlanta Regional Commission addressing walkable communities, revitalization, and economic empowerment; is on the board of Fort Mac LRA, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Midtown Alliance, Council for Quality Growth and CoreNet Atlanta where she serves as the co-chair of the Diversity in Action Committee. Cunningham is also a Board Director with SmartPath. Cunningham studied business administration at Mercer University.
Khalid Rashid, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Clarion Partners, Los Angeles, CA
Khalid Rashid, equity owner and managing director with Clarion Partners, is a portfolio manager and member of the firm’s Investment Committee. He has more than 18 years of experience in the real estate industry with extensive transaction and leadership experience in portfolio and asset management, acquisitions and financings. Based in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Rashid oversees separate account portfolios for several institutional investors. Rashid serves as Clarion’s DEI council chair, spearheads the company’s business development and co-investment partnership opportunities with diverse firms, and is an active member of the firm’s ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Committee.
Rashid currently serves on the Robert A. Toigo Fellowship (RTF) Alumni Endowment Board. Rashid is an RTF recipient, Real Estate Executive Council education committee member, and an active member of the Urban Land Institute’s Multifamily Product Council. He graduated from REAP in 2006 and was named among the RTF’s “40 Under 40” in 2014. Rashid received his B.A. in economics with honors from the University of California at Berkeley and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Reesa Fischer, Managing Director, Strategy & Client Solutions, Keller Augusta, Boston, New York City, and South Florida
As managing director, client solutions & strategy at Keller Augusta, a national full-service female-owned and staffed search and advisory firm specializing in CRE with offices in Boston, New York City and South Florida, Reesa Fischer oversees the strategic direction, brand management and DEI initiatives. Her relationship-oriented approach derives from over 30 years in real estate advisory roles, defining the future direction and growth of institutional organizations. The results include building diverse networks, breaking the glass ceiling for women and minorities in CRE, and creating sustainable change.
As the former executive director of NAIOP Massachusetts, she developed programming and engagement opportunities for over 1,700 CRE principals and professionals. She worked with Kage Growth Strategies to create Commercial Real Estate Success Training (CREST) to attract under-represented college students through summer internships and was a member of the committee that partnered with the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC) to launch the Real Estate Exchange (REEX) summer intensive educational program at MIT Center for Real Estate, which introduces diverse high school students to top universities and career opportunities in CRE. The recipient of Bisnow’s Boston Power Women award and NAIOP’s Chapter Executive of the Year award, Fischer is a graduate of Boston University.
Allan F. Suarez, Principal and COO, All Renovation Construction LLC, New York City, NY (Harlem-based) and Co-Founder, Newark Foundry Workspaces, Newark, NJ
A resourceful and visionary entrepreneur, Suarez is a principal and COO of All Renovation Construction LLC, a Harlem-based full-service general contracting firm for large-scale institutional, commercial and residential projects he joined in 2012. Additionally, he co-founded Newark Foundry Workspaces in 2017, a real estate development offshoot that began by revitalizing a blighted gilded age mansion. With All Renovation Construction and Newark Foundry, Suarez currently initiates new business relationships with city economic developers, end users and financial institutions to merge business interests into successful real estate developments in both New York City and Newark, New Jersey.
Suarez received the Salvation Army’s Community Above Self Award for his participation in The Construct Relief Foundation to help families impacted by Hurricane Sandy. A graduate of REAP (2017), the Turner School of Construction Management and Pace University’s SBDC Contractor Training Program, he holds a B.A. in communications from Boston University and completed Columbia University’s Community Business Program (CCBP).
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Media Contact: Evelyn Mertens; 914.762.6429; 914.263.9129 (cell); emertens@westnet.com
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