What a year!

While it has not been the 2020 any of us expected, I have been honored to serve as NAIOP SoCal Board Chair this year. I am really proud of what we have all accomplished as a team, and how resilient we have become. Our members, committees, staff and our entire Board of Directors have worked tirelessly and have achieved some pretty amazing things. Everyone had to pivot, adapt, improvise and find creative ways to get things done. As an industry that loves people and loves being together, it has been especially difficult to forego our networking events, our meetings and our big events. But we have survived, even thrived. I absolutely cannot wait to see all of you in person next year!

As we look back on the year and look forward to the next, we have so much to celebrate and so much to look forward to.

 - We said goodbye to the incredible Cynthia Fusco as she embarked on her well-deserved retirement, and welcomed our new Chief Executive Officer, Tim Jemal. Tim is exactly the person we need to help us navigate through the challenges we will face over the next several years. With Tim’s guidance, we plan to expand our membership, our influence and our leadership in the real estate industry.

 - We achieved some amazing success on the legislative front. The defeat of Proposition 15 was monumental. Thank you to everyone who called, emailed, wrote letters and wrote checks to help support this successful campaign. In the coming year, we will expand and strengthen our legislative leadership. It will be imperative for our industry to come together and coordinate our efforts as we fight the battle against legislation that is harmful to real estate. I encourage you to join in this effort, to stay informed and to speak out. Our incredible Legislative Affairs Committee will lead the way.

 - We launched our Diversity Task Force, our Chapter’s first true effort to diversify our membership and our Board and to inspire real change in the real estate industry. This incredible and very dedicated group has spent countless hours brainstorming on the best way to tackle the challenges we face in diversifying our industry, from entry level all the way up to the highest levels of future real estate leaders. This dedicated group of professionals will be rolling out some innovative and impactful initiatives over the next few months, and there will be many opportunities to participate and get involved. I am confident that our diversity efforts, led by our task force, will effect real change and will truly change lives. I hope you will all join in this effort.

While this year has been a big challenge for all of us, I have really enjoyed getting to know many of you better via zoom calls and I know that our connections will continue. I am so excited for the future of our Chapter as I hand over the reins to my good friend Rob Antrobius, our incoming President, Rob’s energy, commitment and great sense of humor will be perfect for this upcoming year of recovery, rebound and continued positive change. With Rob and Tim at the helm, and the commitment and enthusiasm of all our members and staff, I just know it’s going to be a great year.

Thank you all for your leadership, support, friendship and collaboration. I look forward to seeing all of you in 2021!

Pamela Westhoff
NAIOP SoCal President