Margie Williams

“REDI is getting me ready for the future development of my properties.”

Margie Williams is a West End resident, property owner, and entrepreneur. Growing up in the West End, Margie has always been very connected to the area and community with strong personal ties. Owning properties on both sides of Delmar, she is looking to help eliminate the “Delmar Divide.”

“I am making lasting connections to prosper the community!”

 

Alona Sistrunk

A proud St. Louis native, Alona is the owner of Melodic Suites Management, LLC, where she serves as an unofficial ambassador to the city while providing quality, affordable housing to traveling medical professionals. In addition to her real estate investing endeavors, Alona currently serves as the associate client operations manager at Daily Kos, a digital media platform for “news you can do something about.”

“The ULI REDI program is helping me build a deeper foundational knowledge in commercial real estate in the most fun and engaging ways! I most enjoyed learning alongside a truly impressive and inspiring cohort from industry-leading professionals who were honest about the joys and unique challenges of development.”

 

Reina Stovall

“Enrolling in the REDI program has helped me define and elevate my vision in reducing economic barriers that will create equitable communities, spaces and resources. This opportunity will advance us minority developers and strengthen the St. Louis region during such a pivotal moment.”

Reina is a native of St. Louis as well as a Mom to a 4yr old! At a very young age, Reina knew she wanted to make a difference beyond her hometown, St. Louis! She was motivated by her parents, 20+ years of hard work, and dedication to providing a better life.

 

Catherine Smith-Morgan

“The invaluable information I have learned in ULI gives me the extra confidence to enhance my career as a real estate developer. ULI has provided me with the tools to build a foundation, select the right team, and see myself through a successful project where everyone wins, the City, the Community, and the Developer.”

Catherine is the President of the Academy/Sherman Park Neighborhood Association and has always been enamored with communities of people. A lifelong resident of St. Louis, she fell in love with the Academy Sherman Park Neighborhood (ASPNA) and made it her home. With a strong background in restoration and a sense of design, she took several years to restore her current home in ASPN. Her rehab and development have been recently featured in the West End Roundup publication.

 

Lynne Lane

“As a Residential Property Manager with some training as a Project Manager, through UMSL NLF I applied for the ULI REDI program to gain insight on mixed and commercial property processes. So far the REDI presenters are providing great insight on development from realistic experienced perspectives such as past projects, board/committee opportunities, commercial networks and other resources such as the playbook and databases . I hope to utilize the gained knowledge and connections to develop new construction, mixed and/or commercial property as well as renovate one of my residential properties contingent on where the REDI opportunities lead me with various offerings. I also hope this can lead to some collaborations with other cohorts.”

Lynne is currently employed at UHC as a Care Navigator. Prior to UHC, Lynne has served as a Director at Northside Youth & Senior Service Center and PEACE Weaving Wholeness providing programmatic services to aging adults in St Louis MO. She had gained formal recognition for the Transportation Management Program known as the Bus Pass Program. The Program gainfully assists those with transportation barriers sustainability, providing more than 12,000 bus passes annually. This propelled clients to pin her as “The Bus Pass Lady.”

 

Malik Simmons

“My experiences with the REDI program has been great exposure dealing with the inner workings of real estate development. What I enjoy most is being in the shoes of a developer seeing all the moving pieces to revitalize and restore communities.”

Malik takes great interest in building homes that are sustainable and vibrant for low-income families. Growing up in government housing himself, he has an earned knowledge of what it looks and feels like to be surrounded by vacant shopping centers, boarded homes, factories that pollute the air, high crime and more. Malik strives to change the narrative that your circumstances describe who you are and who you can become in life.

 

Heather Racy

“REDI has encouraged me to think outside the box in the world of real estate development. The amount of information provided, resources available, and connections that can be made with people just as passionate as I am about real estate and community are what I believe add so much value to the experience!”

 

Tyra Wooten

“This enriching experience has taught me the fundamentals of successfully developing any neighborhood and making necessary network connections with local leaders and professionals within the industry that will contribute to our missions of building a better future for the community. The amount of insight I gained is unmatched and I look forward to implying it to create resilience in my neighborhood by developing one sapace at a time.”

Tyra comes from a family of relators including her mother that has over 25 years of experience, and her little brother who received his license this year. She wants to invest in real estate to invest in her community. She grew up in north St. Louis city and has admired the architecture of European-style homes since she was an adolescent.

 

Dionne Peeples-Jones

“Everything I’m learning through REDI is vital to the future of my community. It’s a powerful and empowering experience. Within in two weeks, I began to apply what I’d learned. Citizens are hopeful.I now have so many tools and connections to help move my city forward.”

Dionne is the Executive Director of Pine Lawn Community Development Association and an Alderwoman of Pine Lawn.

 

Cortaiga Collins

“This is an amazing opportunity that came at the perfect time in my life – all these connections are helpful, and these development philosophies are why I chose my development.”

Cortaiga serves as the founding Executive Director of the Foundation for Strengthening Families (FSF). She also serves as Head of School for Good Shepherd Early Learning Center, a nationally accredited early childhood education center she founded in 2009. Additionally, she is the visionary behind the Show Me Family Zone, an ambitious, herculean effort to end generational poverty and close the wealth and achievement gap in the West End.

“It’s awesome that this opportunity is available to minorities and people of color – people from whom this info was hidden, and ULI has removed the veil to community development. We can now develop our own communities for our families with the tools to revitalize our own communities in ways that matter to us.”

 

Juliet Kamau

“The knowledge I have gained through REDI empowers me to believe that the change I wish to see in my community can become a reality and can be done so by me. Most importantly, it can be done so by people like me.”

 

Tashara Earl

“I feel more prepared and confident with leading organizations in developing plans to revitalize our underserved communities into beautiful places to live, work and play.”

Tashara is the Owner and Operator at Fusion Entertainment Management.