As part of its continuing mission to assist encourage young women to pursue a career in real estate, NYCREW Network will host "DIGS This WINE," its annual wine tasting event, on Thursday, April 26th at NYC Wine Company, 167 West 23rd Street.

Monies raised from the event will support the "DIG This," initiative being implemented by NYCREW (the New York chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Women's Network) and Girls Quest through the CREW Careers: Building Opportunities Program. DIG is the acronym for "Developing relationships, Inspiring young women to Grow," explains Karen Dome, 2012 NYCREW President.

"One of the main goals of NYCREW is to help attract the best and the brightest young women to a career in commercial real estate," says Dome, a Senior Associate at Marcus & Millichap. "The CREW Careers Building Opportunities program is focused on introducing young high school women to opportunities in our industry. DIG This is our way of supporting that, even as we have networking opportunities and a relaxing glass of wine."

Andrew Harwood, Principal of NYC Wine Company, will guide attendees through vintages from a number of countries and regions as they nibble hors d'ouevres. The event allows the organization to enjoy an evening of networking even as they build toward the industry's future, says Beth Zafonte, Co-Chair of NYCREW’s Community Outreach Committee and Director of Economic Development Services, Real Estate Practice Group, Akerman Senterfitt.

"The sky's the limit for women choosing a career in commercial real estate today. We plan to share our enthusiasm for our work and our knowledge of the opportunities in this field with a selected group of high school girls from low-income families in the city," Zafonte says. "It is our hope that we may influence a few young ladies to pursue a career in commercial real estate as a result of our efforts. The funds we will raise at this wine-tasting event will help support our 2012 CREW Careers: Building Opportunities® program."

Previous programs have been tremendously successful.

"This will be my third NYCREW Careers: Building Opportunities program," adds Pauline Anderson Brown, Co-Chair of the NYCREW Community Outreach Committee and Vice President, Sales, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company. "The feedback from prior programs has been very positive. I have seen how the young women embrace the information we provide as well as the enjoyment they get from participating in the competitive real estate project portion of the day. The girls really do learn valuable lessons; not just about real estate but about professionalism and presentation skills. I am proud and honored to continue to be a part of this program."

Girls Quest, formerly the Girls Vacation Fund, is a youth development organization for girls ages 8-18, offering outdoor experiential education, literacy development, year-round mentoring, leadership training, and peer-to-peer role modeling. The organization celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2011.

The advance registration is $80 for NYCREW and CREW members, $100 for non-CREW members, and $30 for students. RSVPs must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24th. For more information and to register, please visit https://www.registrationfactory.com/v3/default.cfm?EventUUID=9E11AB45.

The session will be the latest in a calendar filled with information to help attendees maximize their success. May will see two events, an Industry Spotlight on "School is In: University Expansion in New York City," on Tuesday, May 8th, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at a location to be announced shortly. Speakers include: Robert Musco, Project Director of Cornell University, Lori Pavese Mazor, Vice President for Planning and Design of New York University, and Dr. Brian J. Byrne, Vice President of Fordham University. On May 16th, a Dine Around with the New Jersey and Connecticut chapters of CREW and the Association of Real Estate Women will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Pera, 303 Madison Avenue. More events are being planned.

For more information, visit NYCREW’s website at www.nycrew.org.

NYCREW Network, the original New York area chapter of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women, a national organization of over 8,000 commercial real estate professionals), was founded in 2001 to advance the success of women in commercial real estate through opportunity, influence and power. During the past ten years, NYCREW has provided its members with the skills and opportunities to achieve success in commercial real estate, encouraging doing business together in collaboration rather than competition. Comprised of senior and rising professionals from a broad range of disciplines within the commercial real estate industry, such as: financial services; asset and property management; developers; owners and operators; investment and property brokerage firms; and appraisers, accountants, architects, attorneys and other consultants, NYCREW members are also active in a wide range of industry segments, such as hospitality, industrial, office, retail, mixed use, transportation, etc. http://www.nycrew.org/.

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