CREW Miami Awards $15,000 in Scholarships and Unveils 2026 Board of Directors
- camilarosiaz
- Jan 5
- 2 min read
Commercial Real Estate Women Miami (CREW Miami) concluded its 2025 calendar with its annual Holiday Party & Awards on December 10 at Lucid Art Gallery in the Miami Design District. The event gathered professionals from across South Florida’s commercial real estate sector to recognize leadership milestones, educational investment, and organizational growth.
Board Members: Jennifer Hernandez; Jennifer Kusek; Melinda Sherwood; Dorota Lopez, Brenda Saavedra, Sarah Zhou, Zeynep A. Talu-Balci, Staci Merchant, Julia Grachova, Mabelle Perez, Shannon Wilson, Isabela Montalvo, Emily Butler, Josie Legido Correa, Yvonne Nyakana, Cristina Zampieri. Not pictured: Rodolfo Javier Hernandez, Holly Cohen, Wendy Ruiz Cofino
During the evening, CREW Miami awarded $15,000 in scholarships to women pursuing careers in commercial real estate-related fields. The 2025 scholarship recipients were Peyton Recer, a Juris Doctor candidate at the University of Miami School of Law (Class of 2027) and recipient of the Roslyn K. Berrin Scholarship; Patricia Llerena Perez, an architecture student at the University of Miami (Class of 2028); and Pietra Ingletto Wagner, a finance and real estate student at the University of Miami (Class of 2027).
CREW Miami’s scholarship program supports undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in real estate-related disciplines at Miami-Dade County institutions who maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. The Roslyn K. Berrin Scholarship is awarded annually in honor of one of South Florida’s early women leaders in commercial real estate and is sustained through a dedicated perpetual fund.
Throughout 2025, CREW Miami expanded its programming and outreach. The organization hosted 22 events attended by more than 1,000 professionals, including hard hat tours, educational panels, virtual networking sessions, and signature events such as its annual Golf Tournament and the Tri-Chapter “Anatomy of the Deal” program. Additional initiatives included fireside chats with industry leaders Avra Jain and Ramola Motwani, UCREW programming at the University of Miami and Florida International University, and a formal mentorship program pairing emerging professionals with senior leaders. CREW Miami also awarded more than $12,000 in professional development scholarships for members to attend national CREW Network conferences and leadership summits.
At the event, CREW Miami announced its 2026 Board of Directors, representing a cross-section of expertise across development, finance, law, construction, design, and professional services. Emily Butler, Office Managing Partner–Miami at CohnReznick LLP, was named Chapter President. Julia Grachova, Vice President of Business Development and Governmental Legal Affairs at Fuse Group Investment Companies, will serve as President-Elect. Josie Legido Correa, Director of Business Development for Florida at JWR Construction, will transition into the role of Immediate Past President.
The remaining board includes Sarah Zhou (Treasurer), Jennifer Hernandez (Board Secretary), Melinda Sherwood (Communications Director), Zeynep A. Talu-Balci (Education Director), Shannon Wilson (Programs Director), Staci Merchant (Hospitality Director), Jennifer Kusek (Signature Events Director), Dorota Lopez (Sponsorship Director), Brenda Saavedra (Legal Director), Cristina Zampieri (Membership Committee Director), and Wendy Ruiz Cofiño (Member Services Committee Director). Newly appointed board members for 2026 include Sherwood, Talu-Balci, Hernandez, Kusek, and Lopez.
Looking ahead, CREW Miami will host its Annual Economic Forecast on January 21, 2026, featuring market insights from Saif Ishoof, founder of Lab22c. Additional details will be released in early January.
More information about CREW Miami is available on its official website, and updates are shared regularly on Instagram and Facebook.