Gabrielle Abinion, who at age 25 serves as general manager of Fox Valley Volkswagen in St. Charles, Ill., was honored with the Ally Sees Her award as an emerging auto dealership leader.

The award was presented by Ally senior director of auto sales Juan Niebles during the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers annual conference last week in Miami.

“Gabrielle is a trailblazer in automotive retail, becoming a general manager at 25 years old, and an inspiration to the next generation of minority dealers,” Niebles said.

The Sees Her award was established by Ally and NAMAD six years ago to recognize significant achievements of women of color in the auto industry and their commitment to strengthening their communities.

“Growing up in the automotive industry, I always admired my mentors and coaches, most of whom were men, said Abinion, a Filipina, whose family has owned the dealership since 2006. “However, my perspective on the industry changed when I started selling cars at a Land Rover Jaguar store and was taken under the wing of an African American saleswoman, Alicia Houston, right out of college.

“She taught me the importance of having women in our industry and how by challenging traditional masculine norms, we can create a culture of diversity that inspires innovation, growth and meaningful change.”

To celebrate Abinion’s commitment to giving back to her community, Ally in making a $10,000 donatoon to be split between Cal’s Angels, which supports pediatric cancer research and helps families affected by the disease, and Naomi’s House, which provides housing, job-skill training and mental health services to victims of commercial sex trafficking.

Through Abinion’s leadership, the dealership has donated 10 vehicles to graduates of the Naomi’s House program since 2019 to give each participant a fresh start.

Abinion began her automotive career as a sales consultant for Howard Orloff Imports in Chicago. She said mentoring was instrumental to her development and led to a promotion to finance manager within a year.

She has completed the NCM’s General Management Executive Program and Ally’s Financial Leadership Academy, and is a member of the General Motors Dealer Development National Candidate Pool.

In February, Abinion was selected as a finalist for the What Drives Her Retailer of the Year award at the Chicago Auto Show.