Prep for Prep announces 2016 Lilac Ball Honoree Jeff T. Blau of Related Companies

Prep for Prep is pleased to announce Jeff T. Blau, CEO of Related Companies, as its Lilac Ball Honoree for 2016. The Lilac Ball is Prep for Prep's signature annual fundraising and student graduation event, which will be held on Monday, June 13th at the Waldorf Astoria New York. 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," said Prep for 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 Lilac Ball."

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About Prep for Prep:
Prep for Prep is an educational leadership development program that prepares and places New York City's most able students of color into independent schools and provides them with ongoing support and life-changing opportunities. 91% of Prep's college graduates earned their degrees from the most competitive colleges in the country; over one-third graduated from Ivy League schools. Over 4,500 members of the Prep Community, who are rapidly assuming leadership positions in a wide variety of endeavors, are living proof that the potential for academic and professional success exists in all ethnic groups and socioeconomic classes. 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. For more information, visit www.prepforprep.org.