Women Leading the Way with Confidence

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There are plenty woman-driven moments worth celebrating this year. From opportunities to highlight initiatives to advance in Olympic sports, corporate boardroom, red carpet Oscars, and Congress, women are leaving a stalwart trace of power, closing the year 2018 strong.

In Congress, women comprise an impressive record-setting number of 108 held seats in, about 20.2 percent of the 535 members.

With 49.6 percent of total world’s population of women, we continue to be the guiding force committed to shining a light on empowering female role models in an effort to inspire more women leaders.
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Leap-In: Inspiring Career Role Models for the Next Generation of Women Leaders

LeapIn

The revolution for women has been a long time coming—think since before the beginning of the written history of our civilizations.  As an ally in the space who is an advisory member of BRAVA Investments and a close friend of CEO and Founder Nathalie Molina Nino, I’ve become an even stronger champion for equality.  That being said, it’s amazing to me that gender equality has taken this long to become a constant subject of conversation given the number of fires lit towards it throughout the past 40 years alone.

My understanding of the issues women have faced changed after I finished Leapfrog: The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs.  Though this is not a book review, there are so many valuable features in this that should not only serve to strengthen women’s culture, but also illuminate how and why when women come together and bring with them the men who champion them that true changes are possible to our civil society.

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U.S. Metro Cities Investing the Most in New Housing

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Increased demand for new housing in a specific geographic area can be an indicator of job growth and a prospering economy, while a halt in demand in new housing might signify an economic slowdown.  Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permit Survey, researchers from Construction Coverage identified the metropolitan areas in the nation that are investing the most funds in new housing.

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sheCENTER(FOLD) Quinn Palomino

Quinn

Co-Founder and Partner, Virtua Partners

Quinn Palomino

Quinn Palomino is the Co-Founder and Principal of Virtua Partners, a fully-integrated, private equity and real estate services firm. In this intimate discussion with NAWRB, Quinn shares her incredible story as a first-generation Vietnamese immigrant, her experience growing up in a mix of both American and Vietnamese cultures, the words of wisdom she lives and works by, and more.


NAWRB: What was your childhood like growing up in Vietnam?

Palomino: My family evacuated Saigon, Vietnam on April 30, 1975 after the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. The image that many people may recall is of helicopters leaving from the rooftops of the U.S. Embassy that day. Approximately 125,000 individuals like my family evacuated and many of us were allowed entrance into the US as refugees. My family was sent to Fort Chaffee in Arkansas and provided refugee housing in the barracks at Fort Chaffee as part of the what the U.S. military called “Operation New Life.” And it was exactly that for my family and I, an opportunity at a “New Life.” We later settled in Orange County, California in a little suburb called Mission Viejo.
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Deadliest Fires in California 2018: Resources for Financial Recovery

Deadliest Fires

After dealing with numerous deadly fires earlier this year, California is currently dealing with three major wildfires, including the Camp Fire in Butte County, the Woosley Fire in Los Angeles County and the Hill Fire in Ventura County. California Governor-elect Gavin Newsom recently issued emergency proclamations in response to the wildfires and requested statewide FEMA Emergency Declaration. While Cal Fire firefighters still work hard to contain these fires and affected homeowners plan their next steps, it is important to know about the available resources for financial and physical damage recovery.

While we still await updates, these California fires are being named the deadliest in the state’s history. At time of writing, the number of deaths from the Camp Fire in Northern California has risen to 63 while over 600 people remain missing. According to recent updates by Cal Fire, the Camp Fire has burned approximately 142,000 acres, causing over 40,000 residents to abandon their homes and find safety. The Woosley Fire has burned more than 98,000 acres and numerous homes, and the Hill Fire in Ventura County has burned over 4,000 acres, including RVs and outbuildings. While the Hill Fire is fully contained, the Camp Fire is 45 percent contained and the Woolsey Fire is 69 percent contained.
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AI & Blockchain in Real Estate: How to Leverage the Disruption

AI blockchain

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain are emerging technologies that are impacting the way industries conduct business, especially in real estate. Not much is known about blockchain to the general public besides its association with bitcoin, and most people associate AI with either Siri or Alexa. However, more professionals in the housing ecosystem are increasing their focus on these new trends as they will significantly alter the way businesses operate and interact with their customers and clients. 

In this article, we’ll get you up to speed on how blockchain and AI will alter the industry, especially real estate, and how companies can stay afloat along this new current of technological development. 
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NDILC in the News

Dr. Chitra Dorai, Computer Scientist, Data Science and AI Expert, and Founder and CEO at Amicus Brain Innovations, Inc., attended the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, which had over 70,000 attendees and was the largest entrepreneurial conference with participants ranging from IBM, Google, Amazon, and other major companies. Dr. Chitra Dorai also recently participated in DC Finance New York on October 23rd, 2018, regarding Future Proofing the Real Estate Business in AI (Artificial Intelligence) Era. Dr. Chitra Dorai also participated at MBA’s D&I Summit in Washington D.C. on Using Technology and Data Analytics to Impact D&I on November 28, 2018.
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Life of a Female Veteran: U.S. Army Combat Veteran Erica Courtney (Part 4 of 6)

With my EMBA close to completion, I was offered a senior level job at a logistics company in Miami. They needed me to lead and grow the government market. Even though I kicked and screamed about being pigeon-holed in logistics and contracting, it sure was a marketable skill. I used to buy everything, from BBQs and sunglasses to furniture and aircraft armor. I worked with the contracting officers and comptrollers who handle the big budgets routinely when I had to equip my units in the U.S. or abroad. Now companies wanted to know how to get to the person I used to be.

It was obvious people had no clue how to deal with federal buyers. I could build a section and plan out their approach. Sure, sign me up. I will take the job. For the first time, I had to think about what I was going to wear. It had been uniforms day in and day out forever. Not a big shopper, I found outfits on mannequins that looked good and showed up early, because if you are not early in the Army you are late. 

No one was there when I got there. The boss pulled up, happy to see me and said I was looking sharp. I thought nothing of it. I had to be very guarded; you never give off signals in the Army. My boundaries were disciplined. In Miami, flirtatiousness abounded. I wanted to be taken seriously and flirting would have destroyed that. I worked hard and the boss loved me, but I was in my own bubble. No one knew what I was doing or had any idea about government. I was not connecting with the workers. It was not a good fit. 

I left after a year. Corporate America was not my thing. However, during this time, Oprah and The White House Project named me, along with 50 other women around the country, a woman with the background and drive to change the world. We were all sponsored and flown to New York to collaborate with community, government and private leaders who inspired me to continue to serve. 

Degree in hand, I decided to go it alone. My family was now moving to Jacksonville, Florida. The need for government business development was there. I researched the market and found many unqualified people charging a fortune to break into this space. People just don’t know what they don’t know. You can’t just jump in. You have to understand the buyer’s language. I knew within 30 seconds if I would work with a vendor or not while serving. Why not prepare people correctly, especially if they were willing to pay for my expertise?
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