Allison Zimmerman is the Owner and Broker-In-Charge of Cooke Property Inc, a boutique firm serving the Triangle area in North Carolina. With a focus on studying trends and deep market analysis, her goal is to educate her clients so they can make the best decisions to meet their Real Estate needs.

Her annual publication, The Cooke Report, provides Real Estate insights, features properties, highlights local areas of attraction in the community and is on file as a resource in the University of North Carolina Library system.

In addition to her work in Real Estate, Allison is also a partial owner of North Carolina’s oldest wine label and assists in running the production winery based in Durham, North Carolina.

Allison Zimmerman

We spoke with Allison after she completed Story Building: Secrets of Narrative Placemaking and Design from Entertainment Architecture. Allison is also a member of the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate (AMDP) Class 25.

Would you mind sharing why you decided to apply to the AMDP?

I have several answers to this question:

1 – In November of 2023 I sustained a terrible injury that left me immobile for nearly 6 months.  Unable to exercise my body, I decided to do everything possible to advance my mind.  Every “certification” or “learning opportunity” cared more about a yearly fee than an advancement of true knowledge.  When I found the AMDP program I knew it was the experience I was seeking all along.

2 – For too long, I have been a “big fish” in a “small pond.”

“While some may be comfortable with a plateau in their career in their 30’s and early 40’s, that isn’t my nature.  I wanted to know what I did not know, understand what I needed to improve within myself, and learn from those with vastly different experiences across the globe.”

3 – I never thought they would let me in – so I thought – What the Heck?  Why Not Apply? 

Think back to preparing your application to the AMDP – what stands out? And what would you recommend to others working on their application?

The question that stands out to me the most was regarding leadership.  I challenged the notion on its premise.  True Leaders do not ask to be followed. 

“I would recommend to any AMDP applicant, speak with your own voice. Do not answer questions the way you think others want to hear.  Be true to your own story and tell it well.”

As one of your AMDP electives, you signed up for Story Building. You had noted on LinkedIn that Story Building “embodies the elegance and simplicity of properly communicating a narrative, in more ways than relate specifically to Real Estate.” Can you elaborate on that?

ABSOLUTELY!   Everything we do in life revolves around a story.  It may be deeply personal, profoundly professional or just a tale we tell to get through the next meeting.  Understanding the root of the narrative and how to translate it to others is the essence of advanced communication. 

Steve Tatham, the instructor, is an AMDP alum, and has rapidly become one of our most popular instructors. What is learning from Steve like?

1. Steve Tatham is a dynamic speaker and instructor. He engages and challenges his students.
2. His workshops are insightful.
3. The “real world” applications are unparallelled.