Illinois Holocaust Museum CEO Honored as Female Innovator of the Year

SKOKIE, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Susan
Abrams, CEO of Illinois
Holocaust Museum & Education Center, received a gold medal as
Innovator of the Year and a silver medal as Executive of the Year, by
the Stevie
Awards for Women in Business both in the category of Government or
Non-Profit Organizations with up to 2,500 employees. The awards were
announced during a gala event at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York
City on Friday, November 18.

As CEO of the Museum since 2014, Abrams leads the world’s third largest
Holocaust museum as it employs cutting-edge technology to teach the
lessons of the past and inspire positive change in the world. This
includes a partnership with the USC Shoah Foundation to create
holographic video recordings of Holocaust Survivors with voice
recognition capability that enables the recordings to respond to
visitors’ questions in a powerfully lifelike way.

To fuel this innovative approach, Abrams has galvanized philanthropic
support for a $30M campaign that will secure the financial and
programmatic future for the Museum’s next phase of growth, including
opening the Museum’s groundbreaking Take A Stand Center in the
fourth quarter of 2017.

“Susan has brought extraordinary leadership to the Illinois Holocaust
Museum,” noted J.B. Pritzker, Immediate Past Chair of the Museum’s Board
of Trustees.

“Susan has taken our solid foundation and introduced new programs and
vision that will serve our community for generations to come,” commented
Museum Board Chair John Rowe, retired Exelon Chairman and CEO.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives and
entrepreneurs and the companies they run worldwide. The Stevie Awards
have been hailed as the world’s premier business awards.

“It is an honor and fitting that the Stevie Awards has recognized Susan
as one of the nation’s leading executives and innovators,” said David
Golder, Museum Board Chair.

Contacts

Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
Amanda Berrios
847.967.4835
Amanda.Berrios@ilhmec.org