Founded in 2016 by Kirk Sykes (then Board Chairman, Real Estate Executive Council (REEC)) & Steve Martin (then Chairman, NAIOP), the REEX (Real Estate Exchange) Summer Programs were originally aimed at addressing the lack of diverse representation in the commercial real estate (CRE) industry. In 2017, REEX launched its inaugural summer program at Georgia State University (GSU), and expanded to three (3) additional universities in 2018 at Villanova, Columbia University and Fordham University. In 2019, REEX impacted 103 new students at Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Roosevelt University, and the University of Miami (Miami, FL).

In 2020 and 2021, propelled by the continued support from REEX’s lead sponsor, The PREA Foundation, the REEX program successfully pivoted from an in-person program to an online platform, with a total of two hundred and eighty three scholars participating in the virtual summer experience.

REEX continues to grow significantly each year as the industry’s leading high school CRE immersion program, and to date, has exposed over six hundred students to the industry. REEX returned on-campus in 2022 and is continuing to recruit high achieving students to this on campus experience.