Tom Abrahamson is known for innovation in nonprofit marketing. He brings more than 30 years of success and leadership in the field to Lipman Hearne. At Lipman Hearne, Tom has served hundreds of organizations, including foundations and community-based agencies, global membership-based organizations, small and midsized private colleges, and large multi-campus public universities.
As a college administrator, Tom was instrumental in repositioning two major universities, both of which became recognized as #1 in their categories by U.S.News & World Report. Prior to joining Lipman Hearne, he served as Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admissions at DePaul University in Chicago.
Tom's clients have included Amherst College, the Archdiocese of New York, The College Board, the College of St. Catherine, Drexel University, Keck Graduate Institute, Kettering University, Lions Clubs International, Mercy College, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Oakton Community College, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Roosevelt University, the Society of Actuaries, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, St. Ambrose University, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Chicago, University of Cincinnati, the University of Detroit Mercy, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Valparaiso University.
A leading speaker and author in the field, Tom has given more than 100 conference presentations, written numerous articles for professional journals, and contributed to two books on enrollment management. He has created research instruments such as the Market Positioning Questionnaire©, Pricing Sensitivity Study©, and the Web Site Effectiveness Study©. Tom is currently Immediate Past Chairperson, Board of Trustees of the American Marketing Association (AMA) Foundation, and served on the Board of Directors of the AMA, a 38,000-member organization with 75 chapters in the United States and Canada. Tom chaired the AMA’s 2006 and 2007 Nonprofit Marketing Conferences. In 2009, Tom had the honor of being named Nonprofit Marketing Volunteer of the Year by the AMA Foundation.
As an active leader in the nonprofit community, Tom is President of the Board of Directors of Urban Gateways of Chicago, and has served as President of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago.
Tom holds an M.A. from Bowling Green State University, where he was honored in 2010 as a distinguished alumnus in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program. He earned a B.S. in the College of Communications and Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University.