Why I left JLL to work on SEAM full time
I used to fly into countries I'd never been to, meet children I'd never forget, and come home to manage real estate projects I couldn't look at the same way twice.
For years I lived in that dissonance. On one side, volunteer work with nonprofits in developing countries — rescue missions for child trafficking and forced labor. On the other, a career in commercial real estate at JLL, managing projects whose supply chains I knew, in some cases, were connected to the very conditions I was fighting against on weekends.
The gap no one was filling
The commercial real estate industry had rigorous frameworks for measuring environmental performance. LEED for energy and materials. WELL for health and wellness. But when it came to the social dimension — labor practices, community effects, equity concerns — the industry relied on self-reporting and good intentions.
There was no systematic way to measure whether a building was having a positive social impact on the people it touched. No third-party verification. No accountability structure. Just voluntary commitments with no way to evaluate whether they were working.
Building the Standard
In 2018, a colleague and I began developing what became the SEAM Standard. Over six years, we grounded it in international frameworks including UN Human Rights principles and International Labour Organization guidelines. The standard underwent independent verification.
We evaluated buildings across four interdependent pillars: Social Impact, Social Responsibility, Social Justice, and Social Accountability. Each pillar contains specific activities with defined documentation requirements. Projects earn Bronze through Platinum based on performance across all four.
Making the leap
The SEAM Standard launched in 2024. The first certified project — The Jack in Seattle — was completed in 2025. That same year, I departed JLL to lead SEAM full-time.
It wasn't a dramatic decision. It was the next step in work I'd already been doing for years. The credential program targets professionals — architects, construction managers, sustainability directors — seeking structured, evidence-based approaches to implementing social equity in real estate development.
The industry is just beginning to understand that the "S" in ESG requires the same rigor as the "E." That is what SEAM exists to provide.