From September 15 through October 15, the United States recognizes National Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the vibrant histories, languages, traditions, and values that transcend borders and unite Hispanic and Latinx people across the Americas and Caribbean islands.

At ULI San Francisco, we will be highlighting the stories and voices of the Hispanic community within our district council. We are delighted to hear from Edith Ramirez, Mariana Ricker, Natalie Sandoval, and Jesse Tejeda as we celebrate their careers and leadership in our community.

Mariana Zavala Ricker is a Landscape Architect and Bay Area native. She attended the University of California at Berkeley, and has been part of the SWA San Francisco studio for over six years. In that time, Mariana has worked on a wide range of projects from community parks to large-scale urban development and planning efforts around the Bay Area and beyond. With each project, she seeks to create memorable experiences, connect people to the environment, and provide elegant solutions to programmatic needs.

Mariana enjoys working in urban settings that engage diverse user groups and activate the spaces that are most important to civic life.

Tell us about what diversity in the real estate industry means to you.

My grandfather made a career for himself as a brick craftsman after immigrating to California from Mexico, and it is an honor to continue his legacy of creating beautiful public spaces. It is inspiring to see, and be a part of, the growing number of people from diverse backgrounds in the real estate industry working to evolve our cities to truly serve all members of the community.

Tell us about your career journey.

The opportunities I’ve been afforded throughout my real estate career have exposed me to many aspects of the real estate business. I started my career in commercial real estate lending focusing on construction and permanent debt financing and then moved to real estate private equity focusing on joint venture equity investments and asset management. The cumulation of my experience across debt and equity as well as various asset classes and markets led to working for an institutional real estate development company with a focus on acquisitions, development and capital raising for multifamily, office and mixed-used projects. Currently I am working on one of the largest entitlement efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area.

What is the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the real estate industry?

“Talent is universal; opportunity is not” – Rye Barcott. Not having any family ties or connections in real estate, I’m very thankful for the connections I’ve made from my involvement in ULI which have supported me from the very beginning of my real estate career.  That is why I am very excited to see the outcome and results of ULI’s efforts in promoting DEI and developing the next generation of leaders in real estate!

Edith Ramirez has over 26 years of community, business and local government experience.  Edith helps communities grow their economies, collaborating with businesses, and generating or growing strategies to help create places where people want to work, live and play.

Edith started her career in local government as a policy advisor and community relations manager for a Councilmember in San Jose.  She spent eleven years with the San Jose Redevelopment Agency supporting Downtown Development, Project Management, and Industrial Development. For the last eleven years, Edith has shepherded the visioning and subsequent development of the City of Morgan Hill comprehensive economic development program to attract investment, leverage resources, create partnerships and raise awareness of the Economic Development platform.

Edith is active with the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) among other organizations. Edith holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s in Public Administration from San Jose State University. Edith was born in Mexico City and immigrated to the Bay Area as a young adult.  She is bilingual, a mother of two young children, and lives in Morgan Hill.

What is the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our industry?

Today, more than ever, our goals in community development have to go beyond creating safe, livable and economically viable places. We should embrace and honor the diverse fabric of our communities and find ways lift each other.

How has involvement in ULI impacted your career?

I have been incredibly fortunate to have worked with and been supported by organizations like ULI that enrich our professions of community development.

Natalie Sandoval is Executive Director at ULI SF and has over 14 years of experience in real estate, economic development, urban planning, and landscape architecture. She has been with ULI SF since 2016 and a member of ULI since 2007. Natalie’s experience in the industry includes leadership positions around the country. Prior to joining ULI, she worked in the New York office of HR&A Advisors, an economic development and real estate consulting firm, as the Director of Marketing and Business Development. Prior to HR&A, she was the first Marketing and Business Development Manager for SWA Group, an international landscape architecture and urban design firm. Natalie received her MBA from the Presidio Graduate School and holds a BA from Bard College.

Tell us about what diversity in the real estate industry means to you.

Growing up in Los Angeles and living in NYC and now the Bay Area, I have been lucky to be surrounded by an incredible array of diverse people. My father is Mexican, from Guadalajara, and my mom was born and raised in LA. They both instilled an intense appreciation for culture and history from an early age. From exploring pockets of LA, to trips to Tijuana for weekend adventures and menudo, to the restoration of a Japanese Garden that had been destroyed in WWII, to travels later on in life. Understanding the communities, infrastructure, history, and the diverse people that really create a sense of place led to my obsession with cities. What I learned early on in life continues to resonate in my work today – the most inclusive and interesting places are those that are created in partnership with the diversity of people who live there.

Thank you to Mariana, Jesse, and Natalie for sharing their stories and for their commitment to our communities!