Colonial Williamsburg Foundation hires real estate VP

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has hired Diane E. Branch as vice president of real estate, the foundation announced Friday.

Branch will manage a portfolio of nearly 400 parcels, which is more than 1,900 acres of developed and undeveloped land in the city of Williamsburg and James City and York counties. She begins her new role June 6.

Before coming to the foundation, Branch had been awarded a grant sponsored by Columbia University to “broaden and deepen the understanding of racial inequities in real estate that impact the Black community,” according to a news release. She has also been a senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL), responsible for leasing transactions for Fortune 500 clients. She was an associate vice president at Howard University and led the campus master plan process and developed the strategic plan for the university’s first real estate office. Before joining Howard, she was the District of Columbia’s project manager for the Gallery Place and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Project TIF bonds.

“Under Diane Branch’s leadership, we will continue to work closely with the city, our partners and the Greater Williamsburg community to think beyond our traditional infrastructure to reimagine Williamsburg’s shared spaces and maintain the traditions and history that shape our community,” Colonial Williamsburg Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Kevin Patrick said in a statement.