Page 29 - RE-NJ #80 Nov.2023

welcoming when she attended her first CREW meeting in 2005, helping to calm the nerves she felt as a recent college graduate. Naturally, she found it “exciting and inspiring” to see how many women were in the room representing the real estate and construction industries.
She became a member in 2008, reaping the benefits of the personal and professional connections she made, before joining the special events and golf outing committee. That allowed her to channel one of her own personal passions, she said, noting that the golf event benefits
a local cause or the national CREW Network Foundation. Korinis was then exposed to an even broader swath of the industry in 2014 when she joined the chapter’s board as membership director, allowing her to engage both existing members and new recruits over the next four years.
Her next role, as director of community outreach, meant continued opportunities for philanthropy. That came with
some difficulty as it coincided
with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, noting that the committee chair at each CREW NJ event would typically promote and collect donations for a charitable or nonprofit organization.
“By the time things got rolling, we weren’t having in-person meetings,” Korinis said, so the chapter pivoted. For each virtual meeting, a member would share a charity of personal importance and provide a URL where others could donate or learn more. And while it made for an “unconventional journey” in that role, it carried her through much of the next two years and into the start of her term as president-elect in 2022, serving under Cecilia Lassiter of Sills Cummis & Gross PC.
As president, Korinis said her goal was “to reinvest in our members.” She pointed, for instance, to an event in which attendees could have a professional headshot taken for free, recognizing that some entrepreneurs and small businesses may not
have access to such a service. It
has also meant maintaining an events calendar that includes both programs that are open to the public and smaller, members-only offerings, such as a virtual book club and its monthly Coffee + Conversation and
CREW NJ’s second annual Summer Beach Party in late July drew dozens to the Edgewater Beach & Cabana Club in Sea Bright and featured guest speaker Barbi Reuter of PICOR Commercial Real Estate Services, CREW Network’s immediate past president.
Walk + Talk in the Park series.
“That’s been a way that a lot of our members are really connecting on
a deeper level,” Korinis said of the monthly meetups, which often take place in a casual, outdoor setting. She noted that the gatherings started during the pandemic as a means
of allowing members them to stay connected, but are now a fixture on the chapter’s calendar.
It all dovetails with the perpetual push to grow membership, she
said. CREW NJ has helped drum up interest in recent months with its second annual Summer Beach Party, which drew dozens to the Edgewater Beach & Cabana Club in Sea Bright and featured guest speaker Barbi Reuter of PICOR Commercial Real Estate Services, CREW Network’s immediate past president. The chapter has also hosted joint
events with the Building Owners & Managers Association of New Jersey and the Industrial and Office Real Estate Brokers Association, while it enjoyed the high-profile recognition at this year’s United Way luncheon.
“That was very near and dear to
me,” Korinis said of the United Way Spirit of Philanthropy Award, adding: “That was exceptionally exciting and meaningful and a lot of our members all came. And it was midyear, but for me it was a great way to kick off the momentum of some of these more exciting things coming up.”
She’s now set to step down in December and make way for Godun, an architect with Ware Malcomb who recently was named the firm’s first-ever director for sustainability. Korinis expects that expertise to resonate with current and future CREW members, noting that Godun
“has her pulse on what’s new and vibrant in commercial real estate.”
The outgoing president also expects a seamless
member “has always been something membership-related,” further positioning CREW NJ to expand its reach.
“I really feel that she’s going to
take our hard work together this year and just bring it all to the next level,” Korinis said. “And I think she’s really going be able to grow our membership because that’s where she’s been amazing over the last couple of years.” RE
Erica Godun
transition after a year in Godun was “an amazing partner,”
Korinis said. She added that her successor’s role as a board
TM 27
Courtesy: CREW NJ
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