Ms. Abraham has joined The Goldie Initiative to grow and advance the newly-established 501(c)(3) organization, which has existed as a program since 2007. “We are so very excited to have Megan join our team; she is a big believer in what we are doing at the Initiative and will bring her own unique energy and ideas to both our current goals and future plans,” says Karin Kraai, President of The Goldie Initiative and Senior Managing Director of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. Ms. Abraham’s background uniquely positions her to assume this post, as The Goldie Initiative’s first Executive Director. With years of non-profit and fundraising experience, connectivity to real estate via the National Association of Realtors, as well as a background in social entrepreneurship as a non-profit founder, Abraham will advance The Goldie Initiative’s current strategic plan and significantly expand the caliber and cadre of women leaders in Chicago’s commercial real estate industry. Abraham shared, “I am honored and excited to join inspirational female business pioneer Goldie B. Wolfe Miller in her efforts to promote women’s leadership in a male-dominated industry. I welcome the challenge of taking The Goldie Initiative to the next level, and I hope to further develop our impressive group of women real estate students and professionals. I look forward to working with The Goldie Initiative’s board of directors, who represent the very best of Chicago’s commercial real estate industry.”
Abraham has a Master of Science degree in Public Services Management from DePaul University and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Most recently, she was Founder and Executive Director of Bayit Afterschool, a non-profit social innovation that filled a critical childcare need for families, which was recognized as a cutting-edge start-up. Previously, she spearheaded marketing and evaluation efforts and researched educational innovation at the Community Foundation for Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago. Abraham also served for many years as an association executive with several national and global real estate organizations, including the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the International Real Property Foundation, and the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations. She served as a senior grants administrator and customer service representative to real estate professionals around the world, and she also managed various educational forums and research projects focused on improving the profession globally. She has extensive experience working with non-profit boards of directors and senior business executives.
More information is available at www.gbwmi.org.
Contact: Megan Abraham, Executive Director, The Goldie Initiative
megan@gbwmi.org, tel. 847-883-9952