LAS VEGAS, May 24, 2016 – The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Foundation presented scholarships and a fellowship to qualified students and dedicated industry professionals who demonstrate the potential to make significant contributions and excel in the retail real estate industry. The award recipients, who ranged from promising undergraduates to up-and-coming professionals, were honored during ICSC RECon, the premier international retail real estate conference held in Las Vegas.
The ICSC Foundation has recognized the following 16 ICSC members who have exercised determined commitment to furthering their professional development with the John T. Riordan Professional Education Scholarship. The award grants complimentary admittance to a Riordan School–a week of rigorous study that leads to an ICSC Certificate of Completion.
- Michael E. Alport, Harvard Developments Inc.
- Janet Duke, Hendon Properties, LLC
- Laura Sanchez Gomez, Pactia SAS
- Cynthia Handal, Corporacion Lady Lee
- Noushig Hovhannesian, WS Development Associates LLC
- Vaughn D. Irons, APD Solutions
- Jennifer L. Lavier Jankovic, Williams Engineering Canada Inc.
- Catherine Llagas, Morguard
- Anna Khavulya, Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC
- Juan M. Martinez, Courtelis Company
- Rima Pradhan, Sheth Developers & Realtors (India) Ltd
- Laurie M. Reynoldson, Hawkins Companies
- Charles A. Thomas, REAP–The Real Estate Associate Program
- Heather Ruiz, Turnberry Associates
- Duncan D. Whitcomb, The Hardman Group Limited
- Zack Zarrilli, Diamond Inner Circle Investments
Jill M. Ferrari, CEO of Michigan Community Resources, was the highest scorer of the John T. Riordan Professional Education Scholarship and thus received the Melvin Simon Professional Development Scholarship.
The Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation Scholarship, which provides a John T. Riordan (JTR) Professional Education Scholarship to an ICSC member based in the U.S. Midwest, was awarded to Christian Schock, economic development manager at City of Wausau.
The ICSC Foundation presented the Love Scholarship for Diversity to Lizbeth Flores, a senior at DePaul University who is majoring in real estate and is passionate about commencing her career post graduation. The Retail Real Estate Diversity Scholarship was awarded to Michelle Doong, a first year graduate student at the University of Utah who is pursuing her master’s in real estate development with hopes to one day lead an international brokerage company. Launched last year, these diversity scholarships are designed to encourage and increase ethnic diversity within the retail real estate industry.
The Charles Grossman Graduate Scholarship, designed for ICSC members who are graduate students preparing for a career in retail real estate, was awarded to Bhavik Thakkar, a second year graduate at Clemson University, and Derek Wilson, a second year graduate at the University of Oxford, recognizing their unwavering enthusiasm to the industry. The Charles Grossman Graduate Scholarship is named in honor of the late Charles Grossman who served as the Foundation’s chairman from 2006-2007 and was instrumental in taking the Foundation in its current direction. The award provides each recipient with a $10,000 academic scholarship and complimentary trip to RECon.
The Schurgin Family Scholarship was presented to Nicholas Wessels, a junior at the University of Cincinnati, and the Schurgin Family Entrepreneurial Scholarship was presented to Nicole Sadowsky, a senior at Bowdoin College. These two scholarships honor their active participation in and promising aspirations for the industry. Since 2008, the Schurgin Family Foundation Scholarship has provided tuition assistance to undergraduate students studying retail real estate or a related field. The recipients each receive $5,000 to help continue their education, which will better prepare them for a career in retail real estate, real estate development or shopping center leasing. In addition to the scholarship, the students receive full admission to ICSC RECon, enabling them to enhance their professional development through networking and public recognition of their success.
The Fiala Fellowship was awarded to Herbert Henry McClary II, assistant vice president of the Commercial Real Estate Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. McClary, who has a master’s in real estate from New York University, holds an impressive resume of industry accomplishments, with ambitions to start his own urban retail development company. Launched in 2010, the Fiala Fellowship annually awards an outstanding professional under the age of 35 who demonstrates a commitment to retail real estate and has the potential to make a lasting contribution to the industry.
Want to learn more? Join the conversation on Twitter via @ICSC and #ICSCFoundation and use the hashtag #MindfulMalls to recognize shopping centers that share a common vision of making a difference.
The ICSC Foundation is the charitable arm of ICSC. The ICSC Foundation is dedicated to career development through educational endeavors, and to engaging, promoting and recognizing those in the retail real estate industry who contribute to making their communities better. For more information, visit www.icscfoundation.org.
About ICSC
Founded in 1957, ICSC is the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its more than 70,000 members in over 100 countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, investors, retailers, brokers, academics, and public officials. The shopping center industry is essential to economic development and opportunity. They are a significant job creator, driver of GDP, and critical revenue source for the communities they serve through the generation of sales taxes and the payment of property taxes. These taxes fund important municipal services like firefighters, police officers, school services, and infrastructure like roadways and parks. Shopping centers aren’t only fiscal engines however; they are integral to the social fabric of their communities by providing a central place to congregate with friends and family, discuss community matters, and participate in and encourage philanthropic endeavors. For more information about ICSC visit www.icsc.com and for the latest news from ICSC and the industry go to www.thecenterofshopping.com.