Real estate lost a generation - the executives who would now be in their early 40s - when the industry crashed in the early 1990s. Most entry-level and middle managers left the industry for good and 15 years later, the industry now faces a leadership succession challenge, as does ULI.

Despite losing half of our members 15 years ago, ULI now has over three times that number, topping 40,000 members today. Even more important than ULI's overall growth, we have been growing younger, increasing the number of members under 35 years of age by 45 percent in the last three years.

The reason behind ULI's explosive increase in younger members is the direct result of an inclusivity initiative launched four years ago - the Young Leader Groups (YLGs). However, the key to its success is for ULI to give younger members free reign to design the programming they want and to fill the leadership positions to make it happen.

The first YLG started in Houston in 2001 and now are in almost every District Council in North America. Young Leaders are any persons who are under the age of 35. The success of YLG programs has been tremendous. Young Leaders are much more engaged in ULI locally and nationally. ULI has integrated many YL programs into the annual Fall Meeting. Here you will find information that will help you start a YLG, contact YLG chairs, find out information on Partnership Forums, review monthly YLG Chair conference calls, and give you a general glimpse at what other YLGs are doing.