In November 2024, Gary Tasman received an honorary bachelor’s degree in Life Success from FGCU. In the ceremony, Tasman was awarded the degree by Dr. Aysegul Timur and was recognized for his commitment to the Southwest Florida area.
Tasman is the CEO and Principal Broker of Cushman and Wakefield Southwest Florida and has been serving this area for over 30 years, both within his professional field and his service outside of it.
In 2020, Tasman was a founding member of the Lee County Conservation Board. He found himself motivated by his passion for sustainability.
“We have the unique opportunity in Southwest Florida to do things different from what other places in Florida have done,” Tasman said.
On the board, Tasman helped ensure sellers had the say in conserving their land and not the government.
“Our conscious effort to balance development with open spaces and green spaces and a keen sensitivity to the environmental attributes adds to our quality of life. It’s something I’m very proud to have been involved in,” he said.
At FGCU, Tasman serves on the advisory board for the Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development and Finance. His firm also provides internships to students. Nathan York is a FGCU alum who interned for Cushman and Wakefield as a student.
“It was a real-world learning experience, not just learning the definitions and in class material,” York said.
Now as a full-time research analyst within the firm, York credits the opportunity to an email he sent Tasman when looking for internship experience.
“I personally reached out in an email to Gary Tasman and asked him for an informational interview, that’s how I acquired the internship from there,” he said.
As the Southwest Florida area continues to grow, he has been keeping an eye on how the community will expand.
“We’re going to become more intelligent, not just our community, but all over Florida and all over the United States on how we maximize the utility of land, and in a lot of cases that will require additional development or redevelopment,” said Tasman.
However, Tasman has strong faith in the next generation of real estate developers in the Southwest Florida area, especially FGCU graduates.
“The next generation is going to develop in a smarter and more sustainable way than the last generation,” he said.
As the community changes, Tasman’s motivation for sustainability has been fundamental to his business.
“My guiding principle is that I want to be instrumental in leaving things better than I found them,” Tasman said. “Having been a resident and an entrepreneur in this market for 30 years now, it’s very rewarding to me to look back and see the progress that we made as a community.”
