About ULI Colorado’s NEXT Program:

Mission: Provide an avenue for mid-career professionals to foster leadership skills, develop professional relationships, and promote shared knowledge through education and networking.

Program Summary: ULI Next Colorado serves to engage members of the ULI Colorado District Council that fall into the age range between a Young Leader and an Executive (i.e., age 35-45). Guided by the Co-Chairs of this initiative, Next Colorado will host 8 gatherings over the course of 8 months in 2022. These meetings are pre-scheduled and programmed for promoting candid discussion from a diversity of perspectives through sessions led by grouped participants of the program as well as special guests. This is a co-mentorship program. All participants will be asked to give short presentations, lead discussions or provide tours with the group while learning about current trends and topics in land use and best practices, true to the ULI mission.

Next Colorado is open to all active ULI Colorado members that fall into the general 35-45-year-old demographic. You do not need to be a member to apply, but you are required to join as a new member if accepted into the program.

Participants are expected to openly discuss real-world projects, successes and failures, and to actively participate in group gatherings.

Colorado NEXT Goals

• High-level sharing of best practices and pitfalls among leaders and peers
• Seed future collaboration that leads to better policies and projects
• Support each other in mid-career challenges and share best practices for effective leadership skills, and professional growth
• Develop new and grow existing meaningful relationships with peers from cross-sectors of the field for the long-term
• Provide a collegial and non-competitive atmosphere
• NEW 2022 tours of new projects based on the selection of the group leads!

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About the Application Process and 2022 Program Structure: 

Colorado NEXT Requirements

• Attendance at all 6 meetings… you were offered a seat at the table, where someone else was not; so please try to attend all meetings. Your participation is crucial to this program’s success.
• If you will miss a meeting, please let your NEXT Chairs  (Brooke Schubert and Jason Weimer) know in advance of the meeting date.
• Engage with your NEXT group and participate in group discussion. Participation is key!
• Be an active leader and participant in your group content discussions and meeting planning. Everyone will help lead a session and present your experience or research on the topic of your choice.

Leading a Meeting – You Too Can Lead!
Program participants are asked to select one of five topics that align with ULI Colorado’s strategic priorities based on their interest in exploring the topic further and meeting with an experienced industry professional in that field. Participants are evenly divided between topics and meeting types. The meeting type (panel discussion, presentation or tours), topics and dates will be selected at the kick-off event for the program on May 24th.

Once you’ve selected your topic, meeting type and date you will work with your group to identify leaders or projects that align with your subject. Then on the meeting date your group has selected you will either provide a tour, panel discussion or presentation to the group on your topic. After the panel, tour or presentation your group will lead an informed dialogue on that topic with your NEXT peers .

You may have advance research or discussion points to present to kick off the conversation. You may choose to utilize imagery or visual aids to assist you in leading the conversation.

Every group has one hour of time to utilize. We hope you will use that time to present the topic succinctly, engage your NEXT peers in discussion, and ultimately direct the conversation towards potential solutions or calls to action from the group. 

Contents of 2022 NEXT Meetings:

In addition to a series of dialogues led by NEXT participants, every meeting will include 15-minutes to network with your peers.  Additionally, we will have at least three guest speakers on professional development, DEI in real estate and one chosen by the class. These workshops/guest speakers seek to give you more tools to excel in your career and the real estate industry.

Past topics have included:

• The power of telling your story
• Leading beyond your 9-5; how to engage in the community outside of your job
• Elevator pitching and the science of first impressions
• How to negotiate for what you want
• Project pitching: selling yourself, your product, and your business to investors and more
• Effective community outreach; how to work with community members and neighborhoods to achieve great projects
• How to effectively communicate with elected officials and navigate land use approvals

2022 Meeting Dates – Mark Your Calendar!

All participants are expected to attend meetings on the following list of dates. 100% attendance and participation is required. Meetings are (typically) scheduled on Tuesday from 4 pm – 6 pm in-person.

Meeting 1: Tuesday, May 24th – Kickoff -Program Orientation & Pecha Kucha
Everyone should construct a 3-5 slide PPT timed at 20 seconds per slide. Content of the slides should simply introduce who you are, what you are interested in, where you work/what you do, or anything else that demonstrates your character. Feel free to get creative or goofy here!

Meeting 2: Tuesday, June 21st – ULI Next Happy Hour with Next Alumni
Meeting 3: Tuesday, July 19th – Group 1 & Professional Development Guest Speaker
Meeting 4: Tuesday, August 16th – Group 2 & DEI in Real Estate Guest Speaker  
Meeting 5: Tuesday, September 20th –Group 3 & Guest Speaker 
Meeting 6: Tuesday, October 18th – Project Tour & Happy hour

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How Can You Participate?!

To be considered for participation in the NEXT program, you must complete the online form of interest and include a copy of your resume for consideration. The application is short, but should adequately demonstrate your interest in participating in the program and should demonstrate HOW and WHAT you will contribute to the group of NEXT peers if accepted. Please note, this is a competitive program. Applicants are selected based on authentic applications and potential to make a positive contribution to the group.

Thank you to our program sponsor: