Brian Ricklin

President of the Board

Brian focuses on external engagement and business and board development and provides counsel and partnership on major initiatives to CAW’s executive leadership. Previously from 2010 to 2023, Brian served as the Executive Director and CEO of the organization, a role he stepped into after serving on its Board of Directors since 2007. He has brought extensive experience in strategic development, board management, and involvement in the arts, philanthropy and community service to bear on his leadership.

Brian’s leadership of CAW has been dedicated to best practices and the quality and expansion of all its program-related investments, partnership and initiatives. He brought CAW recognized, tangible and innovative results in board management, strategic and succession planning, and programming impact, including achieving top ratings for transparency, constituency feedback, revenue growth, and program expense growth and efficiency. Brian was responsible for over a decade of capacity-building at CAW, including attracting talented program and development staff.

Since his formative childhood years, Brian has maintained three simple principles that brought him to CAW: empowerment through creativity, grass-roots community service and authentic engagement, and leadership as a fiduciary. Prior to serving CAW full time, Brian served on numerous nonprofit boards of directors as well as in leadership roles in his local community board and numerous boards of corporate investments.

He spent over 25 years in real estate portfolio management, acquisitions & dispositions, asset management and capital markets. He is the founder of Real Estate Acumen, a principal real estate investor and advisory firm. Brian served previously as the Senior Director and Global Head of Asset Management at Marathon Asset Management, an alternative investment advisory firm, directing the $4.5B in real estate and real estate operating company investments in the Marathon Real Estate Opportunity Fund portfolio.

Having his two grown children, Zach and Michelle, and his parents (who are now deceased) meet young people and community partners who have been so powerfully impacted by CAW