The Washington, DC, chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women is kicking off its next leadership cycle with a slew of new objectives to increase engagement among professionals who have sometimes felt ignored — namely, senior-level women and members who traditionally have left the organization after only one to two years.

"2017 is about helping women build stronger, more meaningful networks," said CREW DC president Phyllis Liebman Brill of MRP Realty.

The focus has been on educating past and present membership on ways to get more involved. Through a combination of committee assignments and leadership opportunities, Liebman Brill believes members will become more deeply engaged, organically growing and expanding their networks.

Hers is a strategy with long-term sights on the evolution of CREW DC's membership. The more women that are active in the organization, Liebman Brill believes, the more connected they will feel, leading them to stay with CREW DC beyond the "peak" of their careers.

The retention of women beyond a certain point in their careers has been a desire of the board in recent years and is one of Liebman Brill's goals this year as president. The strategy aims to keep senior-level women engaged by helping them find meaning and a reason to give back. Executive members have incorporated more speaker events and panels featuring former board members and executives and there are plans for additional outreach to past presidents.

Mentorship and professional development are also priorities this year. When a task force was created to focus on this, several past presidents and board members jumped at the chance to participate, and to have their career successes and experiences with CREW leveraged by the younger members.

Liebman Brill is most excited about the CREW National Capital Committee mentorship program that will kick off this fall. Established in 2006 by a CREW Metro Task Force, the CNCC works together to increase the visibility of the individual chapters and members and to raise the profile of CREW in the National Capital area. There is a renewed sense of purpose and meaning this year with greater collaboration within the chapter and among CNCC.

Because CREW is a volunteer organization, Liebman Brill stresses the importance of recognizing active women for their efforts. Honoring work done outside of the organization is equally important, and is celebrated each year at the CREW DC Awards Gala.

For anyone with a terrific project, transaction or marketing campaign that involved a CREW DC member, submissions are being accepted here. The application is easy and there is no submission fee!

"Recognition and appreciation go a long way and will hopefully perpetuate long-term involvement by our members," she said. "In the end, it’s all about connection, developing meaningful relationships and sharing positive experiences with the common goal of helping advance the success of women in commercial real estate."

With this in mind, CREW DC begins this year’s board application cycle and is seeking candidates passionate about CREW's mission and committed to bettering the organization and the women in it.

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