Bisnow Diversity & Inclusion Series

Kerris is Vice President People Services for Colliers International North America partnering with the US and Canadian CEOs and senior leadership teams. Kerris coaches, mentors and manages a high performing team of US and Canadian human resources professionals with a focus on strategic business partnerships, talent management, employee experience excellence, employment brand championship, diversity & inclusion and continuous process improvement. Colliers International is a leading full service real estate professional services and investment management company. With operations in 68 countries, more than 17,000 enterprising people work collaboratively to provide expert advice to maximize the value of property for real estate occupiers, owners and investors.

Patti Miller currently serves as a Vice President at E.E. Reed Construction, LP. Patti grew up in the small north Texas town of Decatur, TX. After graduating from high school, she finished college in three years earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Studies from The University of Texas at Austin. In 2017 she returned to school and received her MBA from Texas A&M University. Patti has worked in public relations both in the US and abroad. Her A/E/C career began in 2005 where she worked for two geotechnical engineering firms and a construction company. In 2010 she started her career at E.E. Reed Construction first as Director of Business Development and now as Vice President. Patti leads the strategic planning and revenue generation efforts at E.E. Reed Construction. She provides direction and leadership for the company by developing and executing various company initiatives. Patti is responsible for short and long-term strategies, as well as, many day-to-day operational activities. Patti has served many years on boards for various real estate organizations. Currently she is Programs Chair for ULI Houston and is a very active WLI Committee member. She is also serving on the National Committee for the NAIOP CRE Convention. Last year, Patti was honored in the Houston Business Journal Women Who Mean Business Awards.

Kamecia Mason is the Diversity and Community Outreach Director for McCarthy Building Company - Southern Region. In this role, she develops policy, creates programming and partners with the leadership team to set the strategic direction for the regions diversity initiative. Kamecia has served both public- and private-sector clients including, Parkland Hospital District, Dallas County, Trammell Crow, Houston Independent School District, and DFWIA to name a few. At the project level Kamecia creates, collaborates and connects local diverse businesses to the McCarthy’s procurement opportunities and develops programs that enhance business capacity. She currently serves on numerous advisory councils, boards and committees including Construction Outreach Advisory Council, Dallas County Small Business Advocacy Council- County, Regional Hispanic Contractors Association- Board of Directors, DFW Minority Supplier Development – Supplier Diversity Working Group among others. Across the industry Kamecia is noted for her strategic approach to enhancing economic inclusion opportunities and servant leadership approach. She is a 40 under 40 awardee and has been recognized by multiple organizations for her commitment to diversity and leadership including Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs (DMars – Houston), E Award-Advocate of the Year (DFW MSDC), and Advocate of the Year (Regional Hispanic Contractors Association- LUNA). Kamecia holds bachelor’s degrees in communications and Criminal Justice and Certified Diversity Executive credentials from the Institute for Diversity.

Edward Nwokedi has 17 years experience with brokerage and client advisory services working with Colliers International, and for the past 15 years, as Cushman and Wakefield’s Executive Director of Capital Markets Group. He is one of Houston’s repeat top performers with over $2 billion in successful transactions. Prior to his CRE career, Edward was a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur who founded and exited a venture-backed startup he built for $100M to a Fortune 500 Company.

A seasoned veteran in the Human Resource field, Colleen is responsible for overseeing Transwestern’s human resources and payroll service functions for its 1650 team members throughout the country. Colleen joined Transwestern with over 20 years of experience in the Human Resource arena, most of which has been in service-oriented industries. Prior to coming to Transwestern, Colleen served as the Vice President of Human Resources corporate operations for Equity Residential Properties Trust, where she primarily handled compensation, benefits, and performance management functions.

Bijal Patel, RID, is the Founder and Creative Director at LAUNCH, a cutting-edge Interior Design and Graphics firm for CRE, which specializes in creating experience-rich, authentic spaces & graphics that help reflect their client's brand, strategy and end-users. She has a reputation for being a change maker who can deliver while taking the whole team along the journey. She is often called in to completely re- envision a market segment, brand or space. With her fresh design & ROI-focused work, she has received multiple Design and Business awards from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Texas / Oklahoma Chapter, Hotel World Competition, Houston Business Journal’s Landmark Award, and J.D. Power & Associates. The firm’s attitude is entrepreneurial, positive, and tenacious with a dash of humor. Patel got her Master’s in Interior Design from the prestigious Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), has a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from the University of Florida and has lived / practiced design in Florida, Georgia, Washington D.C., New Jersey, and various parts of Texas. Her clients include: JLABS of Johnson & Johnson, Southwestern Energy, Central Houston, Trammell Crow, CBRE, Hines, BBVA Compass Stadium, Targa Resources, BMC Software, Kavi Properties and many more!

Kim was born in Flushing, New York and come from many generations of New Yorkers. It was a culture shock when she first moved to Houston, Texas in the late 70's but can now say Y'all with the best of them. Kim graduated from the University of Houston with a BBA in Marketing and has worked in media her entire life. Kim played and coached soccer for many years and even spent a summer in England playing in tournaments. The oldest of three girls, she now has two sons (the first born Texans in her family), a husband and three male rescue dogs.