November 2017: Collete English Dixon '75

I had attended the Cleveland Public Schools for elementary school and had been in the “advanced” program. For junior high, the choice was a school not near my home or that my parents liked. Laurel was the option to provide the “advanced” program education with the college preparatory intent.

No, it truly was not very diverse—not culturally, racially or economically. That lack of diversity did make it hard to find traction with many of my classmates whose families were very wealthy, or had gone to Laurel since nursery school and had long-lived relationships, or just were not exposed to a diverse world. I graduated from Laurel with a keen sensitivity to those differences and the challenges that come from trying to fit in as a newbie. I also left Laurel with very few close friends, which isn’t what I would have expected from six years in one place.

I loved working on the school plays and the Class Song competition. Our class had an incredibly talented group of girls who put together a strong Class Song set each year (I think we won four times in Upper School), and we also had a talented group of girls for the school plays. Mrs. Schenk taught me so much.

I learned that being a strong, self-confident woman is not a bad thing. Going through Seventh–Twelfth Grades at Laurel, I learned that being smart, talented, outspoken and intelligent, etc., is not something to hide, which has stayed with me throughout my life. I understand that there are many ways that those attributes have been used against me and others, but the strength of conviction that those attributes are valuable and worthy of appreciation and expression has done me well.

I went to college with aspirations of becoming a corporate lawyer, so I got a business degree. After deciding not to go straight to law school, I had to use that degree to find a job and the one that intrigued me the most (possibly because it would take me to Atlanta) was working with the real estate group at Prudential. I had no idea what real estate was about, except as some esoteric alternative investment option, but initially I didn’t care because I was only going to do it for a couple of years before I went to law school. Well, law school didn’t happen— I wound up getting my MBA at night and got caught up in the glamour and allure of real estate. I was fortunate to get involved in the industry as it was on the cusp of major change—institutional money investing in it, being in the southeastern United States when it was beginning to boom and being with a company that was looking for ways to do more with its investment in the sector. The timing made all the difference. I had no idea what career path was ahead of me. I just moved along the path as the opportunities arose.

The “dream job” that I wanted at Prudential came up and, unfortunately, it was in Chicago. My husband was born and raised in Chicago, so it wasn’t like going to a completely unknown city, but it was an adjustment.

I left Prudential in June 2016 because I was not having fun any longer and thought that there was “something more” for me in my career. I never dreamed that I would wind up in academia, but this role appealed to me for a number of reasons: I have always been actively involved in efforts to enhance the diversity and inclusion of the real estate sector, which is largely male and not very diverse. I’ve been engaged in mentoring young people who were in college or just starting their careers, as well as in advising colleagues on what they could do next to further their careers. My position at Roosevelt’s Marshall Bennett Institute, which has one of the best real estate programs in Chicago and the Midwest, puts me on the front lines of all of that and more. I get to support the success of an educational platform that is developing talent for the real estate industry. I am at a university that is widely known for its diverse student population and for making a difference in the lives of young people who are important to the future of Chicago. In this position, I also get to stay in touch with the real estate industry to make sure that we are providing the best education that prepares talent for the industry’s firms, which when put together can impact the diversity and inclusiveness of the sector.

Wow, tough question! I think that the skills that have helped me through my career have changed over time. Initially, it was my attention to detail and comfort with numbers. Then my communication skills, verbal (thank you, Mrs. Schenk) and written, were beneficial. Lastly, my negotiation skills, honed through exposure to some truly talented negotiators and by listening and watching, were key to my success. Through it all, my self-confidence and integrity (doing what I said I would do and thinking through my actions and decisions carefully) were fundamental.

I am past national president of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Network, an organization of 10,000 women in commercial real estate in North America and the United Kingdom, and I continue to be actively involved with the organization on the local and national level. I am a full member and product council chair for the Urban Land Institute and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers), Lambda Alpha International and the International Women’s Forum. I am on the board of the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, which is my committed not-for-profit effort to resolve food insecurity, and on the board of the Housing Equity Partnership Trust, which focuses on the development and retention of quality workforce and affordable housing around the U.S.

I love to garden, listen to music and attend both live music and theatre. I do play the piano but a recent finger injury has set me back.

It is very important to understand how everything you do in life has an impact— directly and indirectly. You never know who is watching you or what influence your actions can have on another.

Always strive to bring your best self to every moment.