The Real Estate Finance Association update – Keeping members engaged at home

Boston, MA Two months into the work from home mandate, the Real Estate Finance Association (REFA) continues to work hard to create valuable virtual content for its membership during this time to keep its membership engaged.  

In order to keep members connecting with one another, REFA is hosting virtual Coffee Hours on a variety of timely topics. Participants have the opportunity to network with other REFA members, share best practices, and have lively conversation in a small group setting. 

The first Coffee Hour was a discussion on “How have your transactions changed in the last 30 days?” REFA hosted two sessions. The morning session was led by Mandy Eckhof of Robinson + Cole and Patrick Keefe of Walker & Dunlop, and the afternoon session was led by Kristen Binck of Oxford Properties and Bill Flynn of Net Lease Capital Advisors. 

The second Coffee Hour was led by Travis D’Amato of Walker & Dunlop and Lauren O’Neil of JLL and discussed “Capital Stack and Source Changes.” 

The most recent Coffee Hour was a discussion on “Investment Sales” led by Nilesh Bubna of Longpoint Realty Partners and Sam Hallowell of Newmark Knight Frank. 

On Friday, April 24^th, the REFA board invited Laura Liswood, author of The Loudest Duck, to join their virtual board meeting again as she did back in early March. The conversation served as a continuation to last month’s discussion on the importance of diversity. Liswood discussed with the board how to best elevate the issue of diversity to senior leaders within their respective firms, how to work on diversity skills in virtual meetings, and the importance of keeping this dialogue going during these times especially.  

REFA continues to focus on the importance and value of its Mentorship Program. On Thursday, April 30^th, REFA hosted virtual group meetings for mentors and mentees to participate in. These video meetings allowed participants to network and connect with one another while sharing advice and experiences with the group. 

REFA’s next Webinar focused on Hospitality is planned for Thursday, May 7^th at 12 Noon.

To learn more, visit our website at www.REFA.org. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn @REFABoston.