Taneshia Nash Laird is a transformative leader at the intersection of real estate, cultural equity, and economic development. As Executive Director of Project REAP (Real Estate Associate Program)—the nation’s preeminent initiative advancing diversity in commercial real estate—she is redefining who gets to build, lead, and benefit from the built environment. Over it’s 30-year history, Project REAP has helped place over 2,000 professionals of color into commercial real estate careers, tackling head-on one of the industry’s most persistent inequities: access. Ms. Laird views herself as a steward of the organization’s rich and sustaining legacy.

I’m proud to have played a role in creating pathways for women transitioning into their desired industries when other doors were closed to them. As a Black woman, I know we have to work more than twice as hard to get into leadership positions, and studies show these opportunities often come much later in our lives. By developing programs that identify talent historically underrepresented in the industry and creating meaningful opportunities for advancement, we’re changing not just individual career trajectories but the composition of leadership in the sector itself.

Nash Laird’s perspective is rooted in deep and practical experience. A former city and state official for economic development, she oversaw the development of multifamily housing, office, retail, and light industrial projects—often structuring complex public-private partnerships to unlock capital in underinvested communities. She is also a cultural strategist and creative entrepreneur, having co-founded MIST Harlem, a cultural center backed by New Markets Tax Credits and major institutional lenders including Goldman Sachs and Prudential.

As CEO of Newark Symphony Hall, she raised $15 million to preserve and expand one of New Jersey’s most historic Black-led arts institutions. But beyond the capital stack, her mission has always been people-focused: leveraging real estate as a tool to spark economic mobility, anchor culture, and revitalize communities.

When asked about her proudest accomplishment, she doesn’t point to deals or accolades—but to her work building pathways for women who’ve faced closed doors and systemic bias. “As a Black woman, I know we often get leadership opportunities later in life—if at all. I’ve made it my mission to change that,” she says. Whether mentoring women into leadership, expanding talent pipelines, or rewriting the narrative on who belongs in the C-suite, her legacy is rooted in access.

Nash Laird’s leadership is also tested and battle-proven. When stepping into an organization with a six-figure deficit, she stabilized operations, rebuilt stakeholder trust, and eliminated the deficit within a year—through vision, discipline, and team-driven innovation. “Sustainable change doesn’t come from having all the answers,” she reflects, “but from creating the conditions where solutions can emerge through collaboration.”

She continues to invest in her own growth, currently pursuing the Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) designation through the Council of Development Finance Agencies—ensuring that her leadership stays grounded in technical excellence as much as purpose.

Appointed to Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s Cultural Policy Development Advisory Council, Nash Laird advises on infrastructure for creative and cultural spaces—advancing her belief that the arts, like real estate, must be vehicles for equity.

Inspired by cultural icons like Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, her work channels the idea that institutions can be both transformational and mission-aligned. From the classroom (as a professor at Berklee College of Music), to the boardroom, to the block—Taneshia Nash Laird leads with clarity, conviction, and a deep responsibility to those who come next.