The Forum · For women in valuation

Your 2027 starts in a room full of women who get it.

Six months of community, connection, professional support, and business growth. Forums twice a month, and a spring retreat in New Orleans that's all in, except getting there.

Claim your seat See the year
A woman in sunglasses laughs at the edge of a rooftop pool, holding a copper mug
Women laughing together around a table on a terrace
Limitedspots
available
6Months
LimitedSpots available
60–90Minute Forums
1Spring retreat

What the year gives you

Four things every ambitious appraiser needs and rarely gets.

The whole group gathered on a balcony in front of a grand yellow building at night

Community

A standing room of women in valuation. The same faces every time, so trust builds fast.

Four women hugging and laughing on a patio at night

Connection

Friendships that outlast the program, with women who know your practice and your life.

Women talking around a table on a leafy terrace above the bay

Professional support

Bring the client, the fee, or the decision you can't see around. Hear what worked for women who've been there.

A smiling woman in a yellow dress and sun hat sits in a rattan chair on a terrace

Business growth

Leave every Forum with a clearer next step for your practice, your team, or your second act.

A woman in a sun hat listens with her arms crossed as the circle talks outdoors, the bay behind her
Women seated in a circle in a dark plum room, several laughing

Old San Juan, 2026

To the women of Old San Juan. We shared our biggest ask of the year and a couple of you put a real dilemma on the table. We asked questions until we understood it and then, one at a time, we told her what had happened to us.

Nearly all of you asked the same thing in the closing circle: could we keep doing this?

We can. It's called the Forum.

Emily Braman, founder

Your year in the Forum

January to June, and a spring you'll remember.

A live Forum of 60 to 90 minutes, twice a month on Zoom. Day and time to be announced. Then, in the spring, the room meets in person.

A 60–90 minute Forum, twice a monthIn-person retreat, all in except travel

How a Forum runs

The rules are the reason it works.

What's said in the room stays in the room.

  1. i.

    One dilemma

    One woman brings a client, a fee, a partner, or a decision she can't see around.

  2. ii.

    Questions first

    The room asks until it understands. Nobody jumps to answers.

  3. iii.

    Experience only

    Not what you should do. What I did, and what it cost me.

  4. iv.

    Open floor

    The end of each Forum is where the advice lives, and the laughter.

Hands raising cocktails together over a bright blue pool
Cheers to the year ahead
Two women laughing with their arms around each other at a crowded bar
Night one
A woman in a sun hat dancing with an instructor on a terrace
Salsa lesson
Plates of small bites on a round table
Every meal covered
A woman in a white shirt and hat relaxing on an outdoor sofa
Time to think
Sandals and a drink tumbler at the edge of a pool
Off the clock
Women talking and laughing at a busy bar
Your people
The group sits together on a grand staircase under a stained-glass window
The whole room
Women seated along a long candlelit dinner table set with pink flowers
One long table
The group smiles down a long restaurant table at dinner
Dinner together
Three women at a high table listen closely to the conversation
Listening in

The spring retreat · New Orleans · April 22–25

Fund your reserves.

All in. You just get yourself there.

After three months of Forums, the room meets in person: a few days away from the order queue with women who already know your practice. Puerto Rico 2026 was the third Ascend retreat. Spring 2027 belongs to the Forum: New Orleans, Thursday, April 22 to Sunday, April 25.

  • LodgingIncluded
  • MealsIncluded
  • A full in-person ForumIncluded
  • Time to plan the rest of your yearIncluded
  • AirfareOn you
  • Ground transportOn you
The retreat group poses together on a rainforest overlook in front of a waterfall
Puerto Rico · 2026
“The knowledge and support from Emily has boosted my confidence.”Jennifer O'Neill, SRA

Notes the women wrote to Emily at the 2026 retreat

I admire your leadership, generosity, and absolute willingness to go above and beyond for your community. KEEP GOING!
Grace
You are a true inspiration to me. I’ll always thank you for showing me my real professional value!!
Migdalia
Thank you for putting this together and for knowing how important this kind of time together is.
Megan
I don’t think you realize how much you’ve impacted my life. Bringing this incredible group of women together has opened doors I never could have imagined.
Katie Mingay
Thank you for your big ideas! So grateful to be a part of your community.
Amy
Thanks for all your contributions to us women & the industry.
Kristen
I so admire you for the courage to create this space, to fill a much needed void in the appraisal world and expand the possibilities for women.
Samantha
You are now one of my heroes. The space you created is powerful beyond measure.
Erica
The space you have created for women across the country is amazing!
Akia
Thank you for creating one long table in a room we don’t have to rush to leave. It is how the profession should feel.
Katelyn

Who it's for

Women who are running something.

Licensed and certified appraisers, residential and commercial, running a practice, a team, a specialty, or a second act.

You'd rather be asked a hard question than told a comfortable answer. You don't need a designation. You need to be ambitious about your work and honest about where it's hard.

A smiling woman in sunglasses and a striped dress stands with her arms crossed under green trees

The Forum isn't

  • A course. There are no modules or slide decks.
  • Technical training on forms, adjustments, or USPAP.
  • A fit if you can't protect 60 to 90 minutes twice a month through June.
Emily Braman, smiling, seated outdoors in front of tropical greenery

Your host

Emily Braman

MAISRAAI-GRS

Emily is an appraiser and the founder of Ascend Appraisers, the network for women in the appraisal profession. Since the Founders Retreat in Miami in 2023, she has brought women in valuation together at retreats, dinner parties, and mastermind groups. She hosts every Forum.

The investment

One seat for the year you grow on purpose.

Appreciate your value.

Best valuePay in full
$5,000

One payment. Saves $1,000 compared with the payment plan.

Payment plan
$2,000 × 3

$6,000 total.

  • A 60–90 minute Forum twice a month, January through June
  • Emily hosting every session
  • A small, limited room of women in valuation
  • Time on the table for your own dilemmas
  • The spring retreat in New Orleans, April 22–25, with lodging and meals covered
  • A say in who joins the room

If your firm would rather pay, write to Emily and she'll make it simple.

Limited spots available

Could we keep doing this? We can.

We build rooms where women rise.

Joining takes three steps.

  1. 1

    Write to Emily

    Tell her a little about your practice and what you want from 2027.

  2. 2

    Have a conversation

    A short call to make sure the Forum is the right room for you.

  3. 3

    Take your seat

    Choose your payment option. Your first Forum is in January.

Write to Emily

Questions

Good to know.

Do I need a designation?

No. You need to be a licensed or certified appraiser who is running something, and ready to be honest about where it's hard.

What if I miss a Forum?

The room works because the same women show up every time.

What does "all in" cover?

Lodging, meals, and the retreat program. Your flight and ground transport are on you.

Will I be in a room with competitors?

What's said in the room stays in the room.

Can my firm pay?

Yes. Write to Emily and she'll set it up.

Limited spots availableClaim your seat