Yanet Garcia, a market leader in the real estate development and construction industry, is a Vice President at Related Midwest. Yanet is passionate about redesigning the way the construction and development industry approaches equity and inclusion and is recognized as a leader in creating transformative programs that provide opportunities for emerging businesses.
Yanet was instrumental in the development of an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Directive at Related Midwest, which sets a standard and raises the bar for true inclusion of underrepresented groups throughout the entirety of a project. In addition, she led the AIA Award-winning rehabilitation and construction of Chicago’s historic Lathrop Homes, a mixed-income development of more than 400 residential units. Yanet is also passionate about mentoring small women- and minority-owned businesses and co-leads Related Midwest’s small business mentoring program of 25 companies, helping them learn, build relationships and propel their organizations to new successes.
Previously, Yanet served as Vice President of Design and Construction at Three Corners Development. During that time, she led the construction of new student housing, developed internal real estate development management strategies and acquired the grants to obtain the first LEED Platinum status for a Health Center facility.
Yanet is an expert in architectural design, development and construction, and is a licensed architect in Illinois. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies and from Northwestern University with a Master of Science in Executive Management for Design and Construction.
Yanet is dedicated to community service and serves as a trustee for the National Museum of Mexican Art. She has also served on a number of other boards, including Center for Changing Lives, City of Aurora CDBG, The Society of Hispanic Professional Architects, and has served as Commissioner for the Aurora Housing Authority. She is a founding member of Arquitina, a national nonprofit organization with a mission to increase the fewer than 1% of licensed Latina architects in the U.S. and is an author in the award-winning anthology book Latinas in Architecture.
