Join CREW Charlotte for our first Distinguished Leaders Panel featuring two CREW Network Distinguished Leaders, Tonya Brandon and Dionne Nelson. Moderated by CREW Network President Elect, Marsha Womack. Tonya Brandon is a results-driven executive and as COO, Global Real Estate within TIAA’s Global Corporate Services team, she drives operational excellence across integrated functions and creates impactful outcomes for associates within the workplace. Her impressive 27+ year career spans roles at industry giants Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE, where she excelled in Global Account Management, Project Delivery, and Integrated Facility Management. At CBRE, she was Chairperson of the Black Excellence Business Resource Group for a decade. A North Carolina State University Civil Engineering graduate, Tonya holds RPA certification, LEED accreditation, CCIM designation, and MIT|Pro COO Program certification. Tonya is an active member of CREW, CHIEF, The Conference Board CRE Council, CoreNet Global, and has served on Board of Directors for several organizations within the local Charlotte community. Her recognitions include numerous awards, including: the 2011 Charlotte Business Journal “40 Under 40”; the 2013 Charlotte Business Journal “Women in Business”; CBRE’s 2015 Global Corporate Services Leadership; the 2016 UNCF Maya Angelou Women Who Lead; the 2017 Real Estate Forum “Women of Influence”; the 2014 and 2018 Mecklenburg Times “50 Most Influential Women”; the 2020 CoreNet “Service Provider of the Year” for the Carolinas Chapter; the 2021 CREW Charlotte “Diversity & Inclusion Impact”; the 2022 Career Mastered “Top 50 Diversity Equity and Inclusion”; the 2023 Charlotte Business Journal “Power 100 in DEI” and CREW Network Charlotte Chapter “Woman of Impact”; and 2025 CREW Network Distinguished Leader!   Dionne Nelson is the President and CEO of Laurel Street, a leading mixed-income housing development company experienced in providing high-quality residences for working families and seniors. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Laurel Street has a development portfolio...

Join us for a discussion focused on financial empowerment for women at every life stage. It will be a practical, candid conversation about the transitions women face, and the tactics that can build financial strength and independence. Admission is free, but space is limited to the first 50 CREW Charlotte members who register. Our hope is that this conversation will leave each woman with fresh perspective, practical insight, and greater confidence for whatever comes next. When women are equipped with knowledge, community, and strategy, they are better positioned not only to navigate change, but to lead through it.     Thank you to our Sponsor

Join CREW Charlotte and author, Dr. Tom Hanchett, to discuss his book on Affordable Housing in Charlotte. Please submit questions in advance to: Patty Drummond   Locally, regionally, and nationally, the lack of affordable housing is an urgent and ongoing issue. As elected officials rush to ramp up aid for the construction of affordable apartments, scholars and policymakers are asking how our present system of housing subsidies—both its strengths and its shortcomings—came into being. In this book, Tom Hanchett takes a case-study approach, tracking low-rent housing in the growing city of Charlotte, North Carolina, from the beginnings of public housing circa 1940 to the present. Looking beyond policy battles in Washington, Hanchett tells an intimate history of how federal initiatives played out on the ground, making clear connections between the creation of federal housing programs and how agencies interacted with local and state forces to actually produce housing. Using Charlotte as a lens, Hanchett shows in detail how power brokers have clashed on all levels of government and yet have the ability to empower both citizens and elected officials to take action toward better housing for all, in North Carolina’s most populous city and beyond.   Books can be purchased locally at Park Road Books or online at Amazon: Affordable Housing in Charlotte: What One City's History Tells Us about America's Pressing Problem: Hanchett, Tom: 9781469686202: Amazon.com: Books   Members: Complimentary Guests: $25