Promoting Women in Real Estate: CREW New York’s Newest Initiative

CREW New York has been providing women the tools and opportunities to thrive in the commercial real estate industry since 1978. Through leadership development, networking opportunities, and providing its members with cutting-edge industry insights, CREW New York drives its mission to advance all women in commercial real estate.

Robin Landow, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, a partner at Landow and Landow Architects and chair of CREW New York’s Career Advancement Committee, joined Commercial Observer to discuss the Mentorship Program that CREW New York launched in February. The program aims to provide women at all stages of their careers the opportunity to connect with and learn from each other. Participants include CREW NY members at various points in their careers, including women entering the workforce, experienced industry professionals, and women making a career change. Mentor and mentee pairs were carefully matched based on their professional needs and backgrounds using an extensive questionnaire spearheaded by the Mentorship Subcommittee members Maria Elefante, Andrea Palacios and Rebecca Tuteur. 

Landow emphasized why this program is crucial, sharing, “Having someone you can learn from, and share your experiences with, regardless of your work environment, is so much more important now. Today many people are working in a remote setting. Generations are beginning their careers without seeing the inside of an office and having to collaborate through Zoom. This has changed how people communicate and affected the incoming workforce’s comfort level approaching senior staff for guidance and a better understanding of our industry.”  

This is just the beginning of CREW NY’s Mentorship Program, with plans already in place to expand the initiative to make an even more profound impact in the years to come. Landow is a fierce advocate for giving back and has been a driver behind many of CREW NY’s philanthropic initiatives, including its Women in Need (WIN) support. In 2024, CREW NY visited WIN’s facilities and organized a hygiene kit drive for its sought-after September Luncheon. Landow plans to add a hands-on philanthropic initiative to the Mentorship Program next year, saying, “Bringing women together to help other women is what CREW NY is all about, and that mission can extend beyond our membership and the commercial real estate community. Adding a philanthropic element to the Mentorship Program will reinforce this understanding and bring our community closer together.” 

The Mentorship Program was founded on creating a microcosm of CREW NY and what the organization embodies in its daily goals and membership. This group of mentor and mentee pairs creates a centralized place where seasoned members can share knowledge with both new members and their peers, while those new to the workforce have the opportunity to both learn from their mentors and share their daily experiences with other women new to the commercial real estate industry. CREW NY’s Mentorship Program reaches beyond networking and creates the space for new and veteran professionals to continue learning and growing in their careers. 

“Mentorship is important for anyone and everyone. We enter professional life seeking opportunities to learn from those already there. Many people have more than one career during their lifetime. To have a person or persons to turn to for guidance, who you can confide in, use as a sounding board, is necessary for all of us. … For women, having a woman mentor is important because even today there are challenges that women alone face,” Landow said. “CREW NY’s Mentorship Program creates the much-needed space for women to mentor each other, to teach and share experiences, navigate careers, evaluate work-life balance, and assist each other with professional advancement.”