By Nicole Marshall
This month, New Orleans CREW is delighted to shine the member spotlight on Helen Siegel of Corporate Realty. Helen entered the commercial real estate industry in 1990 after a successful career in stock brokerage. At that time, she joined Corporate Realty, the firm she is still with, to provide help on the office management side of the firm. As we all know, an office full of real estate agents does not a success make! Her role has evolved in the 20 years since joining the firm and she now manages special projects. Most recently, Helen has been in charge of the oversight of all evacuation plans for all of the properties Corporate Realty manages during hurricane season.
In addition to her day job, Helen is also a passionate advocate and volunteer in our community. It is clear when you talk to her how ignited she is, particularly by the non-profit organization, Girls First, that Helen and a group of friends founded over twelve years ago during a spirited dinner conversation. Girls First is dedicated to providing sport and movement activities to underserved girls in the metropolitan New Orleans area. The group hosts an annual summer camp for girls ages 6-12 on the Tulane University campus providing numerous traditional and non-traditional sporting activities for a full week. Campers also meet throughout the year for regularly scheduled events centered around physical activities. Through these activities and using strong, caring women as role models, Girls First strives to empower girls to be empowered and gain self-confidence.
“I am so appreciative of Corporate Realty for their allowing me to run Girls First out of their office. It could not have happened without their support,” Helen says.
Her brother Mike Siegel, the newly appointed CEO of Corporate Realty, has surely played a big part in that process. The now 42-person organization has rapidly increased market share in the years since Hurricane Katrina and Helen has enjoyed watching and helping it grow. Her passion for commercial real estate has also grown in that time and she, like many of us, really enjoys knowing what’s happening often before it happens.
In addition to her roles with Corporate Realty and Girls First, Helen is also a Board Member with the NO/AIDS Task Force and Gulf Coast Teaching Family Services organizations.
A resident of Uptown and a frequent guest of Whole Foods, Helen really is a gracious and inspiring person that hopefully we can all get to know better in CREW.