Get to know some of the ULI San Francisco members who work hard behind the scenes to develop the events and initiatives for which our District Council is known. These industry leaders come from a variety of real estate land use sectors and lend their expertise and time to drive the work of our committees. We’ve asked these committee leaders to answer questions about their involvement with ULI San Francisco.

Tara Riefler, Young Leaders Group (YLG) Committee Co-Chair
Vice President, CBRE

Q: How did you first get involved with ULI and your committees?

A: I first dipped my toes here in 2018, meekly trickling into events, checking out all the different professional groups to gauge which had the best programs (& snacks). But in 2022, things got real. I joined the YLG Americas Steering Programs Committee—basically the Breakfast Club of young professionals who love meeting others who build buildings. After that, I threw my hat into the ring for the local district council’s (SF’s) Steering Committee, and to my surprise, they didn’t throw it back. Now, I’m honored to sit among the under-35 dream team, the crème de la crème – a wide range of people who know what “ULI” stands for. Things have taken off, and I’m just here trying to keep up without tripping over my own enthusiasm.

Q: What’s a memorable connection you’ve made through ULI? 

A: I’ve formed so many close friendships because of ULI that I fear losing them based on this response. However, I would be remiss to not mention someone who had cajoled me into joining in more depth. Lexi Russell of Google fame is a great friend and a wildly exceptional contributor to ULI’s local programs. She sang its praises, pushing me off the cliff of indecision when it came to picking a professional group. Don’t worry about that analogy, though; she also provided a very nice parachute from the jump and quickly saved me from drowning in the sea of opportunity. (Hi and thank you, Lexi.)

Q: What keeps you engaged with ULI SF, and what are you most excited about in the near future?

A: Without a doubt, it’s the people who keep me engaged. It’s the best place to meet and pick the minds of the greatest thinkers in San Francisco’s built community. I’m most excited for the Fall Meeting, intersecting both ULI Americas and our local council. San Francisco is hosting, after all. We’ll be like the development nerf herders, showing off our city to the best and brightest in commercial real estate from all over the country. How can one not engage?

Also, come to the Fall Meeting’s YLG Reception. As of this moment (writing this), it is not planned, but I’ll tell you here and now it will, as the kids say, serve/slay/leave no crumbs.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in the next year? 

A: I’ll be stepping off co-chairing San Francisco’s YLG group, stepping onto co-chairing the national YLG Programs committee soon. I hope to get some great regular programming up with my co-chairs, Xand and ‘Stoph (sorry for needing to do that, Alexander and Christopher), building the bones to base webinar and conference event structure for any future members of the Programs group.

Q: What’s your leadership philosophy/style?

A: Pure tyranny.

Note: that is a joke. My leadership philosophy probably lies more along the lines of laissez-faire. I’m a person who values clarity, autonomy, and patience–considering that my colleagues are quite possibly similar, this seems the most conducive environment to cultivate.

I think the best leaders bring positive energy with a consistent & clear target, then they give others room to work their magic. I think choosing the right people and giving those people space to be human and successful with their own ideas is the best thing you can do. Being there to help or guide things onto a different or right path, if needed, though, strikes the right balance.

Q: What’s front of mind for you right now?

A: Honestly? I hope I don’t regret how I’ve answered these questions. Especially trying to incorporate GenZ slang to a widely non-GenZ audience. As a millennial, I’m not even sure if I used those words properly. Time will tell, I guess.

Q: Outside of work and ULI, what do you enjoy doing?

A: I definitely enjoy reading a lot about psychology and neuroscience. It helps me understand why people act so bizarre and/or are so incredible. There’s also baking. I, from a long line of professional bakers, bake things now as a passion + as a love language for the people who matter most. If I’ve baked you something, you should know that it is pretty pretty big (read in Larry David’s voice).

And now/as of lately, ceramics. I’ve started handcrafting rings from ceramic silver. I’ve just started [translation: they’re not good yet], so I won’t burden anyone with that as a gift [you’re safe].

Thank you, Tara, for all your work on our YLG Committee!