Prep for Prep Announces 2016 Lilac Ball Honoree

Jeff T. Blau is Chief Executive Officer and a Partner of Related Companies. For the past 25 years he has been responsible for directing and overseeing new developments worth over $20 billion in virtually every sector of the real estate industry. As CEO, he is responsible for the strategic direction of the company, overall management of the firm, the pursuit of new development opportunities, and corporate acquisitions and financing activities across all business platforms. In addition to his extensive professional commitments, Mr. Blau is a dedicated philanthropist and participant in the civic life of New York City. He serves on the boards and advisory boards of distinguished institutions including the Central Park Conservancy, Partnership for New York City, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Robin Hood Foundation, and the Union Square Partnership. He was named to Crain’s New York’s New Influentials list of 25 leaders reshaping the city. Mr. Blau completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan and received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

“As a Trinity School parent, I have seen firsthand how Prep for Prep students earn places at independent schools and then thrive there and become leaders in their communities,” said Mr. Blau, a member of the Trinity School Board of Trustees. “I’m happy to support an organization that so successfully develops diverse future leaders in the city and beyond, which mirrors my own interests in education and civic engagement in New York.” In recent years, Related has provided summer internships for Prep students, including one student who worked on the Hudson Yards Project while a college junior at MIT. She is now an engineer for the New York State Department of Transportation. 

“We are so pleased to honor Mr. Blau at this year’s Lilac Ball,” says Prep’s Chief Executive Aileen C. Hefferren. “The combination of support from Mr. Blau and hands-on internship experience from Related has opened the doors of opportunity for the most deserving and under-served students of color. We look forward to celebrating this partnership at the Ball.” 

 

Since 1986, the Lilac Ball has served as Prep’s signature annual event. It not only honors leaders with a commitment to education and youth, but also celebrates the outstanding college choices of Prep’s graduating high school seniors who host the evening's festivities. Proceeds from the event support Prep's mission of creating a more diverse national leadership pool. All funds raised through the Lilac Ball go directly to Prep programming; event-related expenses are underwritten by the Board.