Dinner & Dialogue

Enjoy networking over drinks with ULI Houston members followed by a seated dinner featuring speakers from around the country for intimate fireside chats to discuss key issues and topics of the day.

Join us for an evening at our Annual Dinner & Dialogue, presented by JLL Capital Markets and hosted by the ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative. This event is open to all ULI members. Network over dinner and cocktails, then hear from our special guest about her successful career and her path to get there.

September 24, 2025
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Houston Country Club

TICKETS AND SPONSORSHIPS

Individual Tickets – $250
ULI Members only. Limited individual tickets available.

Online registration is closed. To register for remaining tickets, please email us.

 

Partnerships are available:

To secure your partnership, please fill out our commitment form. Please email your logo to ULI Houston Staff. There are a limited number of partnerships available.

GOLD – $3,500

  • Gold level logo on event marketing (web/emails)
  • Logo recognition at event
  • Preferred table location

TABLE – $2,500

  • Logo on event marketing (web/emails)
  • Text recognition at event
  • Table

 

AGENDA

5:30 pm – Cocktail Hour / Guests arrive
6:30 pm – Welcome / Dinner served
7:00 pm – Introduction and Interview
7:45 pm – Guest Q&A
8:00 pm – Event concludes

A portion of proceeds from this year’s Dinner & Dialogue will support two powerful initiatives:

We’re proud to honor Charlotte C. Baldwin, often called the “Mother of Houston.” In 1836, she is believed to have suggested the name for the city and played a vital role in its founding. Her home later served as Union Army headquarters, and she donated the land that became Market Square. Charlotte was a pioneering force when women had few opportunities, remembered as the “connecting link between Houston’s past and present history” and Houston’s first woman in commercial real estate.  Proceeds from Dinner & Dialogue will fund a portion of a bronze statue of Charlotte to be installed at City Hall.

Amplify Women is a career development program presented by ULI WLI Houston helping women in real estate clarify their vision, amplify their strengths, and connect with mentors and peers to pursue leadership opportunities.  Proceeds from Dinner & Dialogue will fund our next class of women leaders.

 

PROGRAM

Special Guest
Cia Buckley Marakovits
President & Chief Investment Officer
Dune Real Estate Partners

With a breadth of experience in finance, fund management and real estate investing through multiple market cycles over a more than 35-year career, Cia Buckley Marakovits is an accomplished professional in institutional real estate investing. As Chief Investment Officer and President, Ms. Buckley Marakovits is responsible for the management and performance of Dune’s investment activity and operating business and drives the development and implementation of the Firm’s strategy. Before joining Dune, Ms. Buckley Marakovits was the President of the U.S. Fund Business for JER Partners, an affiliate of the J.E. Robert Companies. Ms. Buckley Marakovits joined JER in 1997 and held a variety of positions in the JER organization, including Chief Financial Officer, Head of Asset Management, Head of Acquisitions and President of the U.S. Fund Business. She started her career in 1988 in the real estate finance group at Bankers Trust. In addition to her management role at Dune, Ms. Buckley Marakovits is an active member of the broader real estate community.  She is a full member and former trustee of the Urban Land Institute, serves on the Board of Directors of the Pension Real Estate Association, the Columbia Business School MBA Real Estate Program Advisory Board, and the Executive Committee of the Zell-Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Buckley Marakovits is a former board member of Taubman Centers (NYSE: TCO), a current trustee of Phillips Exeter Academy, and on the board of directors of SparkYouth NYC.  Ms. Buckley Marakovits received an M.B.A. from Columbia University Business School and a B.A. from Lafayette College.

 

Interviewed by

Jessy Oglesby
Development Director
WGA

Jessy Oglesby is a strategic leader with a passion for culture, business growth, and operational scalability. She currently leads Development at WGA and brings a track record of guiding organizations through transformative growth. A strong advocate for advancing women in leadership, Jessy serves as Chair of WLI Houston. She holds a B.S. in Education from the University of Tennessee and an Executive Leadership Certificate from Rice University.

Thank You to Our Partners

Presenting

JLL

 

Cocktail Reception

 

Gold Partners

Table Partners

Previous Dinner Guests

  • 2017

    Sue Ansel
    President & CEO
    Gables

  • 2018

    Mary Hager
    Co-founder / C0-CEO
    Thackeray Partners

  • 2019

    Onay Payne
    Managing Director
    Clarion Partners

    with

    Susan Hill
    Senior Managing Director
    JLL

  • 2020

    Gayle Starr
    Advisor for Prologis, First Republic Bank and Bridge 33
    Former Managing Director, Global Capital Markets at Prologis

    with
    Erica Siegal Henning
    Rice Management Company

  • 2021

    Miriam Wheeler
    Partner & Managing Director 
    Goldman Sachs

    with

    Susan Hill
    Senior Managing Director
    JLL

  • 2022

    Laurie Baker
    Chief Operating Officer 
    Camden

    with

    Jennifer Raymond
    President
    JPR Commercial Real Estate, Inc

  • 2023

    Michele Wheeler
    President & Chief Executive Officer
    JacksonShaw

    with

    Cortney Cole
    Senior Managing Director
    JLL Capital Markets

  • 2024

    Constance B. Moore
    Former President and Chief Executive Officer
    BRE

    with

    Laurie Baker
    Chief Operating Officer 
    Camden