The Goldie Initiative® Announces 2025 Award Winners at 2nd Annual Impact Summit
The event focuses on the organization’s impact on the commercial real estate industry over the past year
Chicago, IL – May 22, 2025 – The Goldie B. Wolfe Miller Women Leaders in Real Estate Initiative (‘The Goldie Initiative®”), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to prepare women to advance as leaders in commercial real estate by providing financial and professional support, held its 2nd annual Impact Summit at the Union League Club of Chicago on May 21st. The focus of the event, attended by over 200 commercial real estate industry professionals both in person and via livestream, was to recognize volunteers, mentors, and donors for their contributions to improving the commercial real estate industry and to demonstrate the impact of the organization’s program on Goldie Scholars over the 2024-25 school year. Additionally, the event celebrated all in attendance, including 2025 graduates and award winners.
Impact Summit Award Winners were honored for the contributions during the 2024-25 school year, based on the four pillars of Goldie Initiative programming: Scholarship, Networking, Mentoring and Leadership. The Networker of the Year Award recognized Goldie Scholar Alumna Vera Halicki, Vice President, Asset Management, Beacon Capital Partners and a graduate of Roosevelt University, for her role as an individual who attends networking events often and consistently promotes organizational visibility. The Trailblazer Award was given to Collete English Dixon, Executive Director, Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University, an industry leader who advocates, endorses, and/or sponsors women in commercial real estate. The Mentorship Impact Award was given to Nicole Grimaldi, Chief Operating Officer-Global Finance & Enterprise Services at Hines, recognizing her longevity and commitment to mentoring with The Goldie Initiative. The Corporate Champion Award was given to Wintrust, with Steve Madden accepting on behalf of the company. The award recognizes the ongoing, outstanding financial contributions to The Goldie Initiative and active participation in programming.
The speakers included Goldie B. Wolfe Miller, Founder/Chair of The Goldie Initiative; Kimberly Adams, Managing Director of Clarion Partners and Goldie Gala 2025 Shero Award Winner; Goldie Scholar, 2025 graduate of Iowa State University, and Managing Partner at Talisman Development Group ; Shreya Singh, Goldie Alumna and Senior Development Associate at Related Midwest; and Katie Kazas, Board Chair of The Goldie Initiative and Managing Director-Capital Markets at Longfellow Real Estate Partners. Megan Abraham, CEO of The Goldie Initiative, emceed the program and introduced a new Impact Video. In addition to covering the impact of The Goldie Initiative on Goldie Scholars’ careers in commercial real estate, speakers also commented on the past year’s growth and expansion of the organization’s activities both in the northeast United States and virtually via private online community.
In addition, numerous commercial real estate industry associations attended the event to provide an opportunity for stakeholders of The Goldie Initiative to pursue leadership opportunities. Indeed, participation in industry organizations is a key factor in building one’s leadership profile. Several significant donors were also recognized, such as presenting sponsors of the 9th annual Goldie Gala on September 18, 2025: Chicago Title Insurance Company and the Jack and Goldie Wolfe Miller Fund.
The Impact Summit concluded with an informal informational session for students, regarding The Goldie Initiative’s application for the 2025-26 school year, which is open until June 2, 2025.
Learn more about The Goldie Initiative at www.goldieinitiative.org.
Impact Award Winners L-to-R: Steve Madden, Nicole Grimaldi, Goldie B. Wolfe Miller, Collete English Dixon, Vera Halicki, Katie Kazas
Goldie B. Wolfe Miller (far right) speaks with Goldie Scholars and Alumnae.