Yanet Garcia, who serves as Vice President, Construction, at Related Midwest, is widely recognized in the industry for her extensive construction knowledge and dedication to empowering the next generation of real estate professionals. Her accomplishments and contributions recently earned her recognition from Crain’s Chicago Business, which named Yanet a Notable Latino Leader for 2024.
Among Yanet’s key responsibilities are evaluating contractor engagement to ensure minority- and women-owned businesses participate equally on all Related Midwest and LR Contracting projects. This was evident at The Row Fulton Market, which was the first high-rise in Chicago to be co-built by an African-American general contractor. Yanet is instrumental in Related’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Directive (EDID), an internal program that ensures all Related projects exceed equity, diversity and inclusion standards and promote the development of sustainable careers and business ventures for women and minorities. Related’s EDID initiatives include a networking panel discussion series exploring how developers, architects and contractors shape neighborhoods through diverse relationships; a small business mentorship program that provides training to project partners; and a program prioritizing effective jobsite safety training and workforce wellness.
Yanet is just as dedicated outside of the office, volunteering her time for multiple causes. She serves as a trustee for the National Museum of Mexican Art and co-chairs the museum’s Yollocalli Arts Reach Expansion with the goal to acquire and renovate a vacant firehouse into a youth arts center. She has contributed her expertise and time to boards for the Center for Changing Lives, City of Aurora’s Community Development Block Grant and The Society of Hispanic Professional Architects, and was a Commissioner for the Aurora Housing Authority. A founding member of Arquitina, a national nonprofit organization seeking to increase the number of licensed Latina architects in the U.S., Yanet is also an author in the award-winning anthology book “Latinas in Architecture.”
