Josie Legido Correa, 2025 President, CREW Miami
Josie Legido Correa, president of CREW Miami, talked to Invest: about its mission of advancing all women commercial real estate. CREW Miami is the premier business network for commercial real estate professionals in Miami. She highlighted the importance of building relationships and getting involved in organizations and committees for those women to build the relationships they need to gain more business opportunities and advance their careers.
What have been the most significant achievements for CREW Miami over the past 12 to 18 months?
It has been an incredible year. We started 2024 with about 170 members, but we are now up to 200 members. We are also doing well in terms of attendance at our events, the participation of members, and how they invest their time in CREW Miami. For instance, we recently had our fifth annual golf tournament, which was a huge success. We had about 130 people in attendance, and the number of sponsors almost doubled compared to previous years, which allowed us to net 50% more than last year. The purpose of the golf tournament is to raise money to award two $5,000 scholarships for women who study anything related to commercial real estate. In addition to providing awards for current members to attend for free to the annual convention and Leadership Summits.
What strategies does CREW Miami have in place to support women interested in a career in commercial real estate?
Aside from scholarships, we also encourage women to get actively involved in this industry by sending them to conferences and the leadership summits that the CREW network puts together. Part of the funds raised through our golf tournament are for that purpose. We aim to give younger women the leadership skills they will need to succeed within the industry and in companies. Those events also allow them to expand their network and build strong relationships with like-minded professional women people who will be helpful in increasing their business opportunities within commercial real estate.
What are the most important challenges that women face in the commercial real estate sector of Miami?
Commercial real estate has always been a male-dominated business. The reason that CREW and similar organizations exist is to give women a platform, provide them with the tools they need to succeed and give them a forum to learn from other women. We are constantly looking for ways to help the next generation as they come into the business through, for instance, CREW Miami’s mentorship program.
The commercial real estate sector in South Florida is particularly strong, so if this is a business that you enjoy and you find the right niche where you can have a voice and move up the ranks, you have a job for the rest of your life. The opportunities abound. Nevertheless, setting ourselves apart and making a difference within one’s company is one of the challenges that people face in any career. As women, we need to go the extra mile. Men may read a job description and think they got it if they know one or two of those things, but women may not feel capable of doing the job if they are missing one thing. That mindset needs to change. We can do the job, and if you teach us, we will overcome those challenges.
How does your personal experience reflect the goals and work of CREW Miami in terms of bringing more women into commercial real estate?
Years ago, those doors were not really as open. CREW was created in the 1980s because there was a need for a platform to help women who wanted to go into and succeed in this sector. We now have 1,400 women attending the CREW convention from all over the world and doing everything from being on a construction site to doing the upfront work to get a development created. It is incredibly invigorating and inspiring to hear the stories of these women, how they navigated through challenges, and how they overcame those challenges, to eventually succeed and thrive. They have paved the way for the next generation because companies see women can do it as well and maybe even better.
I came from a totally different industry. I ran a nonprofit organization called Downtown Miami Partnership for 23 years and eventually went to work for the Florida Retail Federation for about five years. When I needed to pivot, I already knew a little about construction because that organization ran a fa§ade/building re-hab program, so I took that man’s mentality of “Hey, I can learn this.” I had experience doing business development and building relationships and was sure that I could fill in the gaps as I learned more about construction. That turned out to be a very successful part of my career.
What advice would you offer women aiming to advance their careers in commercial real estate?
Relationships are everything. Every job that I have ever gotten was because someone at my previous job knew who I was and what I was capable of, and referred me to the next job. Within three days of being laid off because no projects were breaking ground in the middle of the pandemic, I got my current job with JWR Construction. That was because I met a gentleman on the engineering side whom I befriended due to networking events we were both attending and he put me in contact with my current company. That only comes from having good strong relationships. If you can pick up the phone, call somebody, and ask for help after showing who you are and what you are capable of, it will be a lot easier for them to recommend you for another job.
Additionally, something I often say at CREW Miami is that getting involved in organizations and committees and meeting people on a regular basis is the way to build relationships. Those relationships are key to getting business and opportunities. For instance, a friend who works as a banker at a community bank has referred many people to me over the past year and a half. She thinks of me because I have built a great relationship with her thanks to working together on a committee. That is something that CREW does phenomenally well. By getting involved, joining a committee, and showing up to events, you build a network that allows you to propel your business and personal relationships.
How does CREW Miami leverage research to benefit its members and advance women in commercial real estate?
A lot of the industry research is done by CREW Network at a national and international level. They bring in industry experts to discuss not only leadership-related topics but also industry trends. We have access to that through events and virtually. One can go on the CREW Network website and see statistics and data going back 20 years. It is there for us to access and use.
Additionally, if there is something happening in the industry, we make women aware of it at the local level through our events. We hold luncheons every month that are completely educational but also have a component of networking because we want to do business together. We want to give these women the tools and resources they need to be successful in what they do, take that back to their companies, and spread that information.
What are the top priorities and goals of CREW Miami for the next two to three years?
I would like for us to continue doing the same quality events and bringing in the right members who become involved and are willing to step up and help us do everything that we set out to do. We want to have a large organization with a good number of members, but it is more important to ensure that we get more C-suite women involved. I would like to see more women developers coming to the table. We have a handful of them in South Florida, and they are wonderful. For instance, Ellen Buckley worked for Terra for many years and basically went on her own with Prospera a couple of years ago. She is now a developer looking to do affordable workforce housing on her own.
Moreover, we should focus on strategic partnerships with companies such as Invest:, BOMA, CCIM, Bisnow, and ULI. We are all in the same business and often going for the same sponsorship dollars, but we could do events together and access those people who may not be part of our group and give them an opportunity to learn about CREW.
