The Etkin Johnson Student Scholar Scholarship program is designed to immerse its participants into the thriving land use industry in Philadelphia. From October 2018 through May 2019, the participants will attend ULI Philadelphia events, committees, become volunteers, meet with a mentor and network with ULI members to enhance their scholastic endeavors and learn the benefits of ULI membership.

This year’s review process was exceptionally difficult due to the strong pool of candidates, but ultimately five winners were selected by the Young Leader’s Education Subcommittee. Meet the Etkin Johnson Student Scholars for 2019!

Joel Amin Jr.

Joel Amin Jr is a senior at the University of Delaware studying within the Horn Entrepreneurship program with a concentration in Real Estate. In 2017, he founded “Wilminvest” a social impact real estate investment company which acquires distressed residential real estate assets, repurposing them as permanent supportive housing.

With a background working in the skilled trades since a young age, and attending a vocational high school before college studying construction management, his knowledge has given him an advantage when managing construction projects of his own. By creating public private partnerships between the local governments, the private sector, and community healthcare organizations, his goal and passion is to sustainably invest in distressed properties and transforming them into quality homes.

To this date, the company has been awarded at three national pitch competitions and filled its first round of funding to acquire three residential properties which will ultimately host ten individuals in need.

Oji Bratcher

Oji Bratcher is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Growing up in a diverse city that is rich in community and architecture, has helped shape the way he approaches real estate. He is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Construction Management at Thomas Jefferson University, East Falls as a member of the class of 2019.

Passionate about the issues surrounding the lack of affordable housing and deteriorating conditions of urban school facilities, he would like to pursue corrective conditions to these issues, as they will only worsen unless an active role is taken solving these problems.  His work experience includes operating his own contracting company, while maintaining and renovating properties belonging to homeowners and investors.  Most recently he has spent the past two summers interning in the Construction and Facilities Department at West Chester University, assisting in various projects throughout the campus. This position also allowed him to assist the Facilities Management Department at Cheyney University.  He is excited to join the ULI Philadelphia community with hopes to continue his education in the real estate development field.

Joe Buckshon 

 This marks Joe Buckshon’s 11th year living in Philadelphia, but he balances that with 18 years of small-town charm. After graduating from the Temple University’s Honors Program in 2012 with degrees in Economics and Spanish, he worked in market research, marketing, branding, design, and web development. A project manager by day, he is also pursuing his Master of Public Administration part-time at the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2017, he co-founded Volunteering Untapped PHL to increase millennial volunteerism. He hopes to positively impact transportation policy, affordable housing, and economic development in Philadelphia.

Bridget Labe

Bridget Labe is a first year MBA student at the Wharton School, concentrating in real estate and entrepreneurship. Originally from metro Detroit, Bridget graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business with a BBA in real estate and marketing. Prior to matriculating at Wharton, she spent four years at Alphabet, working on Google’s advertising sales and Google Fiber’s real estate partnerships, ultimately serving as a chief of staff to the director of product management and CFO at X (formerly Google[x]). As a former intern for the Related Companies, Bridget is passionate about urban development, specifically smart cities and future-focused infrastructure investment.

Jesse Weiss

Jesse Weiss is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in City Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to graduate school, he was a senior associate at Bennett Midland, a management consulting firm that works exclusively with the civic sector. At Bennett Midland, he collaborated with government agencies, nonprofits, and foundations to design and implement complex initiatives that delivered positive social and economic impact. Jesse holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan.