In this episode, Chad Hughes is joined by Tara Green, a Real Estate Specialist with Ameren Corporation, to discuss the innovative approaches she introduced to Ameren for engaging with landowners. Tara’s experience has taught her strategies, effective communication, and the importance of consistency in messaging and teammates. She shares sound advice and is very encouraging to those who may have an interest in joining the industry.

Tara lets Chad in on her career journey from a small-town childhood in Illinois to leading real estate and transmission routing projects at Ameren. She was influenced by her father’s work in the electric utility sector and through his stories developed keen respect for landowners and rural communities. This respect shaped her empathetic approach to easement acquisition and project development.     

One of the key focuses of Chad and Tara’s conversation is Tara’s creation of “impacted landowner meetings,” which are collaborative, community-style assemblies that replace traditional door-to-door negotiations. Through these meetings, Ameren was able to build trust, maintain consistent messaging, and address landowner concerns directly through subject matter experts in every area. Tara emphasizes communication, respect for landowners, and consistency from project conception through construction as critical components of success. 

“I noticed that there weren't many people sensitive to the landowner receiving the information. And I said, well, as a negotiator, my main job is to take very complicated, maybe scary information, simplify that in a way that normal people understand what's going on, and they're not fearing it. If I can keep it simple and give them the facts that they need to make an educated decision, I've done my job.” - Tara Green

About Tara Green:

Tara Green grew up with country surroundings in the rural community of Staunton, Illinois, and began her real estate career when she graduated from Staunton High School.  Throughout her childhood, her dad, Rollie Lorenz, worked for Union Electric Company (now Ameren) as a design draftsman focused on electric schematics for substation and energy centers.  She continued her real estate career by earning a bachelor's degree in business management and maintains her Managing Broker Real Estate License for Illinois.

Green spent the first 5 years learning about title searching and real estate ownership rights at Community Title & Escrow in Illinois.  Over the next decade, she utilized her Illinois Real Estate Broker's license to partner with commercial, industrial, and investment companies to create jobs and support economic development in Southwestern Illinois.  She served as the commercial property manager for Bandwidth Exchange Buildings, two data center carrier hotels located in downtown St. Louis, as the Information Technology industry grew in the Metro St. Louis region.  This experience in effective customer service, through quality client relationships, has laid the foundation for her continued success in the real estate network.

Tara's awareness of the manufacturing and industrial processes, the need for redundant and reliable energy, and the long-term needs of commercial and industrial companies introduced her to the utility sector in early 2014 when she began supporting Ameren Illinois as a member of their Real Estate Department.  Her Ameren Illinois journey began in natural gas pipeline and distribution electric projects along with logistics lead for emergency storm response.  Over the next several years, Tara designed and implemented a sustainable railroad permitting strategy for processing and training utility, contractor, and railroad companies to work together as partners.  In 2016, Tara advanced to a lead real estate position serving electric transmission leading the vegetation reclamation program and the fiber communication installation and maintenance program (Intelligrid Program) across the existing transmission and distribution facilities in Missouri and Illinois to ensure the reliability of its infrastructure.

Currently, she manages multiple certificated greenfield electric transmission projects to serve transmission utility business partners across Ameren's service territory.  As a Real Estate Specialist, Tara is responsible for planning, executing and completing real estate scope requirements for large-scale electric transmission construction greenfield certificated utility projects on behalf of Ameren's operating companies.  Tara is responsible for coordinating and managing all real estate matters connected to transmission line projects including surveys, market studies and appraisals, public process and testimony, acquisition of land rights and permits, access determination for construction and maintenance support, damage settlements, and eminent domain.  

Her daily responsibilities include providing written and in-person testimony for the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) public process, consultant and landowner relationship management, preparing and negotiating legal instruments for the acquisition of easements, leases, consent and crossing agreements, railroad and highway right of entry permits, construction-related property damages and project forecasting.

Tara serves as an active member of Chapter 37 of the International Right of Way Association (IRWA) for Chapter 37 and is Region 3 Vice Chair for the 2025 - 2027 term.  

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Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website | linkedin

Tara Green | Real Estate Specialist, Ameren Corporation: website | facebook

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