Taft Chicago Real Estate partner Graham C. Grady participated in “Diversity in Development: How Black and Latino Developers Can Change the Map,” on April 11. The segment was part of Chicago Public Television station WTTW’s Chicago Tonight Black Voices series. View the nine-minute video here.

Grady joined Leon Walker, managing partner of DL3 Realty, in discussing ways to bring equity into real estate development, not just in construction. “We have people with great education, talent and know-how, but until you have some experience on different types of projects to grow in scale, it’s difficult to get into the larger projects,” said Grady on the need for mentorship and relationships to break into the competitive field.

Both Grady and Walker are members of the Chicago Emerging Minority Developer Initiative, which seeks to boost development in Black and brown communities overlooked by big companies — and encourage people of color to get in the development game.

Grady’s real estate practice focuses on the City of Chicago and Cook County. He helps secure necessary approvals for land developments in the Chicago metropolitan area. Grady received his. B.A. from the University of Illinois and earned his J.D., with honors, from Northwestern University School of Law.