2019 Ones to Watch: Jeremy Anne Herco, SCG Retail

Name: Jeremy Anne Herco

Title: Location Data/GIS Specialist

Company Name: SCG Retail

Address: 250 W 57th St #1801, New York, NY 10107

Real estate organizations: GeoNYC and Gismo

Who or what do you attribute to your success?
I’m extremely fortunate to work with an incredible team of GIS professionals in our New York office. They are supportive and collaborative, which really helped smooth my transition here since my degree is in Environmental Science with a background in Urban Development. The SCG Retail working environment has allowed me to be innovative in my approach to data and has pushed me to utilize my experience as a strength. The brokers here are early adopters of real estate tech and together we are developing creative data-driven solutions for our clients.

?What advice can you offer to someone who is just getting started in your industry?
Take advantage of the open nature of the GIS community! Upon entering the field, I met students and professionals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets, all who have introduced me to the many facets of the industry. With data becoming more available and the rapid pace of innovation, it is more important than ever to network and collaborate with other professionals. 

If you have a mentor, who is it and how has this relationship influenced your professional growth?
My mother was very important to my early successes. She gave me the confidence to believe in myself. She told me that being a woman was an advantage in the tech field because there were so few of us, and she was right. She encouraged me to be creative and to keep learning new skills. She also taught me to think critically and encouraged me to be innovative. Her strength and belief in me gave me the confidence to go into the world and succeed. 

How have your life experiences impacted who you are professionally?
I was born in the Philippines, but moved to California when I was one. I went back to visit family often, and still do, and on those frequent visits to the provinces, I saw how the community had positively been impacted by commercial growth and economic expansion. For example, the first national retailer, 7/11, opened in my father’s hometown only three years ago and this helped begin the transformation of the area. This is what inspired me to work in a field that contributes to growth and community development. Improving real-estate investment decisions utilizing innovative data-analysis is very exciting.