Nancy Manning, Founder, CREW Tampa Bay

July 2026 — Nancy Manning, founder of CREW Tampa Bay, spoke with Invest: about the organization’s role in advancing women in commercial real estate and why recognition and leadership development remain essential to the industry. “The work is not finished,” Manning said. “The goal is to continue building a stronger path for women in commercial real estate and making sure they have the tools, visibility, and access to lead.”

What changes in recent years have most impacted CREW Tampa Bay, and in what ways?

One of the most important developments for CREW Tampa Bay actually came out of the pandemic. At a time when many organizations were not connecting in the same way, CREW continued to bring people together, primarily through Zoom. We created opportunities for new members, existing members, and specialty groups to stay engaged, and that consistency made a real difference.

After several years of meeting in that format, we saw a groundswell of participation unlike anything we had seen before. That momentum carried forward into stronger attendance, greater involvement, and a deeper sense of community. Under Jennifer Scher, our current president, who also served in a membership leadership role toward the end of the pandemic, that engagement has continued to grow. What could have been a setback for the network turned into an opportunity to strengthen it.

What initiatives, programming, or events have helped strengthen CREW Tampa Bay’s presence in the region?

There have been several. One is the formal leadership track delivered through the national CREW Network. If women are selected and able to participate, there are multiple leadership summits available to them, and those experiences can be transformative at any stage of a career. That kind of structured development has been a powerful addition.

We also have our Excellence Awards, which celebrate the accomplishments of women and make their work more visible. That recognition matters because it highlights leadership and success in a very public way.

Another cornerstone is our economic summit, which we launched many years ago and remains one of the signature events in the community. It brings together professionals around market insights and gives members exposure to larger economic conversations shaping the region.

We have also worked to bring more women into golf. In Florida, so much business is still done on the golf course, and for years that was a space where many women were simply not participating. Helping women become more comfortable in those environments matters because access to informal networking is often tied to access to opportunity.

Another important initiative is UCREW, which engages college students who are interested in commercial real estate. We work with universities in the region to connect students with professionals, create opportunities for them to attend events, and provide scholarship and mentorship pathways. That pipeline is important because it helps introduce the next generation to the industry early and in a meaningful way.

What challenges have women historically faced in commercial real estate, and how has CREW Tampa Bay helped expand pathways?

Having started my career in this market more than 30 years ago, I saw firsthand how few women there were in the room. In many cases, there were no role models inside your own company. You were trying to figure out how to navigate the business, how to collaborate, how to present ideas, and how to ensure your contributions were recognized as your own.

There were also broader structural challenges. Compensation was not always equitable. Women were not always invited to the table, and they were frequently excluded from the informal settings where relationships were built and decisions were shaped. Men might go play golf, play basketball, or have a drink after work, and those were not always spaces where women were present or welcomed.

The ways that CREW has furthered women’s participation in all of that is to give them a seat at the table. It gives women access to one another, to mentors, and to senior leaders across disciplines. It also helps them build the confidence and tools to approach senior attorneys, bankers, developers, and other leaders with ideas that can elevate their role in an organization or a transaction.

Those challenges have not disappeared. CREW Network’s 2025 compensation survey shows that while the wage gap has narrowed over time, women are still being paid less than men in similarly situated roles. That is exactly why organizations like CREW Tampa Bay remain necessary. The work is not finished.

What key trends are shaping the commercial real estate workforce today?

One of the most significant changes is the greater inclusion of women from more diverse backgrounds. When I look back 35 years, there were very few women in the field and even fewer women of color. Today, the workforce is much more reflective of the broader population, and that is an important sign of progress.

We are also seeing more women attend college, earn advanced degrees, and establish careers before starting families. That has changed the shape of the workforce. In addition, remote work and Zoom have made it easier for women to continue their careers without having to stop and restart in the same way that previous generations often did. That flexibility has been a tremendous advantage.

When you look at CREW Tampa Bay today, you can see those changes in the membership. The organization reflects a workforce that is more diverse, more educated, and more connected than it was decades ago.

How does CREW Tampa Bay collaborate with developers, investors, and professional organizations to strengthen the commercial real estate ecosystem?

Our membership itself is the collaboration. We have developers, brokers, attorneys, construction professionals, title experts, environmental engineers, civil engineers, and others who are all part of the same network. That means the people involved in a transaction are often already connected through CREW.

Our partnerships are really fostered through access to one another. If I know someone and another member wants to meet that person, I can help make that connection. If one of our members is leading a major development, she can reach out to fellow CREW members and say there may be a role for you here. Those opportunities happen because people have already built trust through lunches, golf outings, awards events, and other forms of engagement.

We also have crossover with groups such as CCIM, ULI, and ICSC, and many of our members participate in multiple professional organizations. In addition, we host industry-specific meetups, often on Zoom, that allow professionals from different regions and specialties to connect around shared interests and projects. That takes place locally, statewide, nationally, and sometimes internationally. The network creates a web of relationships that becomes very practical in day-to-day business.

What are your key goals and priorities for CREW Tampa Bay?

Our priorities remain consistent. They are the advancement of women in the industry, the recognition of women for what they accomplish, and leadership and education. We want to continue being a resource that members can rely on, whether formally or informally, and strengthen the network that has been built over the past 30 years. That is one of the most powerful things about the organization. It creates an intersection point for ideas, support, and opportunity.

Going forward, the question is how the women coming behind us will define the next stage of that mission. Their challenges will not look exactly like the ones we faced, but the purpose remains the same. The goal is to continue building a stronger path for women in commercial real estate and making sure they have the tools, visibility, and access to lead.