Michael Glasser -
In 1990, after five years practicing law, Michael Glasser combined his initials (MAG) with his mother’s first name (Ellen) to create the name “Magellen” Properties for his newly founded company, through which he today owns and manages a portfolio of family-owned properties in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood and DuPage County.
Several years later, Mike joined with other Rogers Park building owners to establish the Rogers Park Builders Group (RPBG), a community-based real estate organization with the mission of promoting responsible ownership, development and management of multifamily properties in Rogers Park. He served as president of the RPBG for six years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and he reassumed the role of president in 2018.
In fall 2018, Mike took on an entirely new volunteer position leading the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance (NBOA), a county-wide organization that advocates for owners and managers of multifamily properties in Chicago and suburban Cook County. Under his leadership, the NBOA experienced substantial growth and became a leading voice at the state and local levels on issues involving rental housing. Mike takes pride in NBOA’s achievements, such as steering the industry through the complexities of COVID-19, effectively advocating against the proposed title transfer tax increase in Chicago, and working to ensure that both elected officials and the media are informed about the unintended impacts of well-intended but problematic legislation introduced across various levels of government.
In addition to his volunteer work for the NBOA and the RPBG, Mike serves as president of the Northside Community Development Corporation, a city of Chicago delegate agency that administers first-time homebuyer, foreclosure remediation and rental assistance programs. He is also active with the Friends of Roger C. Sullivan High School, a nonprofit that provides financial assistance and programming for the students of this highly regarded Rogers Park public high school, which has an extraordinarily diverse group of students.
Mike is a proud father of three and grandfather to three, including two new grandsons this year. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and international relations from the University of Rochester (New York) and a J.D. from the John Marshall Law School (now the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law).
