From backflips to robots to serenades, you truly never know what you’re going to get at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area’s Best of the Bay Awards—one of the most exciting and one-of-a-kind events in the region’s commercial real estate community.

The 12th Annual Best of the Bay, held on March 12, 2026 at the elegant Julia Morgan Ballroom, once again brought together industry leaders, rising stars, and longtime colleagues for a lively celebration of the deals, developments, and people shaping the Bay Area’s built environment. What makes Best of the Bay truly unique is that the audience decides the winners in real time—voting live after each creative finalist “pitches” to determine who takes home the award. The result is a fast-paced, interactive evening filled with humor, surprise performances, and plenty of friendly competition.

This year, the evening also included a special moment of recognition as Tawni Sullivan of JNT Solutions received the Inclusive Leadership Award for her extraordinary leadership with the Commercial Real Estate Alliance for Tomorrow’s Employees (CREATE). A founding leader of the program, Tawni has dedicated more than a decade guiding and growing CREATE, helping design the original curriculum and leading the initiative as it evolved into a regional alliance of industry organizations connecting students with careers in commercial real estate. Through the partnership of NAIOP SF Bay Area, BOMA San Francisco, BOMA East Bay, and IREM San Francisco, CREATE has now graduated more than 450 students and continues to connect diverse, career-ready candidates with opportunities across the industry. A 501(c)3 non-profit, CREATE provides this program at no cost to students due to generous contributions from more than 85 individual and corporate annual donors.

Between the laughter, networking, and well-earned recognition, the night served as a reminder that even in a challenging market, the Bay Area CRE community continues to innovate, collaborate, and show up for one another in style. Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and winners below, and thank you to everyone who helped make the evening another unforgettable celebration including the Program Planning Committee: Lisa Vogel, Conor Famulener, Courtney Trunnell, Josh Westerberg, and Jordan Angel.