The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance will host a virtual, one-day “Experience The Alliance” conference on Thursday, December 9. The event will feature nearly 20 sessions throughout the day.
“We were greatly disappointed that the outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant forced us to cancel our inaugural in-person event in September, and we wanted to make sure that we could still deliver outstanding content to our members,” said Ryan Weyandt, CEO of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. “The end-of-year date gives us a unique opportunity to deliver a variety of sessions devoted to business acumen, market insights and personal success in 2022. We will also have quite a bit of discussion surrounding the challenges LGBTQ+ consumers face, along with how discrimination and unconscious bias impacts our community during the home buying and selling processes.”
The program, which runs from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Central, will feature such notables as television icon and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Carson Kressley, National Association of Realtors® President Leslie Rouda Smith, HomeServices of America CEO Gino Blefari, CEO of Prosperity Home Loans Tim Wilson, Exit Realty CEO Tami Bonnell and First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming. The Ft. Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus will also perform.
Other highlights include:
“Best Practices of Top Producers” panel featuring Herman Chan (Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty), Wendy Storch (Sotheby’s International Realty) and Michael Zinicola (Keller Williams Citywide), all members of The Alliance’s LGBTQ+ Real Estate Top Producer list. Mark Pattison will also share how he grew his Porchlight Team at eXp.
“How Discrimination Impacts LGBTQ+ Buyers” panelfeaturing Kimber White, Immediate Past-President of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, Kay Marshall, Senior Vice President at Truist, Kathy Cummings, Senior Vice President at Bank of America and Max Koziol, Executive Director, Senior Lending Manager for the Northwest Region at JP Morgan Chase. Realtor.com Chief Marketing Officer Mickey Neurderger will also address the impact of housing bias on the LGBTQ+ community.
“10 Tips for Building a Global Business Network” discussion featuring Stephanie Anton, senior vice president of Corcoran Affiliates. Michael LaFido, CEO of LUXE, will also lead a session about how to break into – and succeed at – selling higher end homes.
“I Am Woman; And I’m Not Sorry”discussion led by Kristi Hemmer, Founder of the Academy for Women’s Empowerment.
Personal skill building sessions will include presentations by Sara Szabo, noted business coach, Migdalia Gonzalez, a Supervisory Management Analyst at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and co-founder of the JMN Rise Foundation, and University of Phoenix Community Relations Specialist Grant Van Eck.
Digital presence and advertising sessions led by Kosha Brown, Director of Business Development at Box Brownie, and Matt Gentile, Managing Director at My BFF Social.
Business opportunities sessions include a franchising panel featuring Mike Reagan, Senior Vice President of RE/MAX, Mark Brenneman, Operating Principal at Keller Williams Realty, Peter Luft, Vice President of Franchise Sales of RE/MAX, and Jacob Stephan, Executive Vice President of Engel & Völkers. Additionally, Carmen Mercado, Senior Affordable Lending Business Development Manager at Freddie Mac, will share a variety of lending resources available to buyers.
The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance is a 501(c)6 non-profit dedicated to empowering the LGBTQ+ community on the path to homeownership as we also advocate on behalf of the community on housing issues. The Alliance, founded in June 2020, is an all-inclusive organization that works to improve the professional lives of its members through a public-facing Alliance Referral Community. The Alliance began accepting members in October 2020 and has more than 50 chapters in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. For more information visit realestatealliance.org.
