Collete English Dixon, executive director of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University, has been named to interview Sam Zell, founder and chairman of Equity Group Investments as part of the REAL Bright Night on January 28. This event is part of the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation’s REAL Bright Summit: Building the Future of Real Estate series running January 25-29 presented by Old Second National Bank.
The REAL Bright Summit: Building the Future of Real Estate is a bold new initiative of The Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation to UNITE industry leaders, students and supporters from across the country. The virtual format of The REAL Bright Summit, as well as the REAL Bright Night program featuring Sam Zell allows for participation from real estate professionals and students across the country.
“With her portfolio of expertise in real estate’s private sector, and now in her role as the executive director of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University, Collete is uniquely qualified to facilitate this one-on-one interview with Sam Zell,” said Peter Eisenberg, president of the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation. “Collete’s background along with Sam’s expert insights and opinions will certainly provide for a fascinating discussion at REAL Bright Night.”
The week-long summit combines what traditionally have been two annual events—the foundation’s Annual Dinner and its Annual Career Day.
The Annual Dinner is the premier real estate networking dinner of the year and the foundation’s most significant fundraiser, raising nearly $500,000 annually for gastrointestinal cancer and real estate education. It’s traditionally held in downtown Chicago the evening before the ICSC Deal Making conference and welcomes over 800 influential thought leaders at the founder and executive levels.
Career Day is a two-day experience designed to bolster young careers, allowing students the unique opportunity to network with industry leaders, while gaining valuable exposure to the Chicago real estate world. Students visit two development projects and attend panels, networking events, and a career/internship fair.
A critical part of the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation’s two-pronged mission is building the future of real estate by educating and mentoring young people. That mission is as critical as ever during these uncertain times. Students and new graduates nationwide are facing unmatched obstacles to join the commercial real estate industry, which has always been full of opportunity for growth and innovation.
Proceeds from the summit will benefit the foundation’s two-pronged mission which also includes advancing gastrointestinal cancer research.
The REAL Bright Summit is being presented by Old Second National Bank and sponsors include: Becker Gurian, CIBC, Clayco, Cullinan Properties, Elliss Park Partners, Elrod Friedman LLP, FGMK LLC, France Media, Harrison & Held, Inland Bank & Trust, Lakeshore, Marcus & Millichap, NARE, Newmark Knight Frank, Starwood Retail Partners, Swinerton, TCF Bank, The Taxman Corporation, Wintrust and more. Co-chairs of the summit are Nick Bartholomew of Pine Tree, Christian Williams of CBRE, Siteng Ma of The Scion Group, and Jenna Goebig of Facebook. The President of the Foundation is Peter Eisenberg of Elliss Park Partners.
