The ULI Fall Meeting in Washington, D.C. this year was punctuated with spectacular weather, which only helped the sprawling grid seem more approachable and walkable, and encouraged us visiting to explore the city on foot. Participating in this year’s Fall Meeting gave me the opportunity to see the city through a completely different lens than my previous visits. Thank you to the WLI Langan Fall Meeting Scholarship for the opportunity to experience the Fall Meeting as a WLI member and as a NEXT Co-Chair.

The first scheduled activity of the morning was a tour of the National Building Museum. Situated adjacent to Chinatown, the museum offers a fascinating history of architecture, engineering and design. As a designer, being able to get behind the scenes of such a spectacular interior was a fantastic experience. One of the best aspects of how the tour days at ULI are set up is that it gives members a great opportunity to engage with one another in a more intimate setting. Meeting people from all over the country and the world is what makes coming together on tour day so special and being able to have meaningful conversations about how we can take the information we learn at the Fall Meeting back to our own regions and councils.

During the conference I was able to attend several meetings relating to WLI and NEXT. One of the focus points for both groups was diversity, inclusive of both gender and race. These are issues that have been brought up on many different platforms throughout my career as a minority woman in the AEC industry and it was exciting to hear ULI taking the issue head-on. Providing real data showing their growth in inclusiveness and the ways they wish to continue to improve was exciting to see. Meeting other members of WLI councils and NEXT provided an opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences, ask questions about best practices, brainstorm new ideas and find out what has been successful or what needs work from people who are experiencing ULI in other councils.

As a first-time attendee of the Fall Meeting I found it to be an invaluable experience to be able to leverage the work we are doing at a district level and see it in motion on a greater stage. Whether it be through a tour or session, being able to visit and walk a city that has similar struggles to Philadelphia’s history in planning, transit, historic precedents, etc., inspired me and made me eager to return with new ideas to implement into my own community.