Managing Director & Principal

Tom Abrahamson is known for innovation in nonprofit marketing.  He brings nearly 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 has served numerous institutions, including Amherst College, University of Chicago, University of Cincinnati, Drexel University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, Roosevelt University, University of Pennsylvania, College of St. Catherine, University of Southern California, The College Board, National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Lions Clubs International.

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 Chairperson, Board of Trustees of the American Marketing Association (AMA) Foundation, and serves on the Board of Directors of the AMA, a 38,000-member organization with 75 chapters in the U.S. and Canada. Tom chaired the AMA’s 2006 and 2007 Nonprofit Marketing Conferences.

As an active leader in the nonprofit community, Tom is President-elect of the Board of Directors of Urban Gateways of Chicago, and has served as President of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago.

Tom holds an M.A. in higher education administration from Bowling Green State University and a B.S. from Southern Illinois University.