NAR recognized 4 winners for making a difference in their businesses and communities as they help expand homeownership to buyers of all backgrounds.
WASHINGTON –The National Association of Realtors® and Realtor.com® today honored the four inaugural winners of the first Fair Housing Champion Awards during NAR’s Fair Housing Month event, “What Will it Take to Close the Racial Homeownership Gap?” Honorees were recognized for their work to increase access to homeownership in their communities.
The Fair Housing Champion Award honors Realtors who have gone above and beyond to advance fair housing and expand homeownership in underserved communities. Sponsored by Realtor.com, each award provides a $4,000 prize that winners can dedicate to a housing-related nonprofit organization of their choice.
“NAR is committed to helping build thriving, inclusive communities in every zip code in America,” said NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith. “I am so proud of all the work our winners have done to increase access to homeownership and hope their leadership can serve as an example to inspire others into action.”
This year’s winners:
Harrison Beacher is managing partner of the Coalition Properties group, serving the D.C. metro area, and affiliated with Keller Williams Capital Properties. He currently serves as the 2022 president for the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors and as an at-large director for the D.C. Association of Realtors. Many of his clients are first-time buyers: Beacher helps them succeed by connecting them with down payment assistance and other resources.
Sabrina Brown is a broker-owner of Brown and Brown Real Estate in Fresno, California. She is a director at her local and state associations, the Madera Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors. Brown regularly holds homebuyer workshops that connect first-time buyers with programs to help them achieve homeownership and invest in real estate, with an emphasis on outreach to people of color.
Bobbi Howe is a second-generation real estate professional with more than 24 years of experience as a Realtor. Currently serving as the treasurer-elect for Missouri Realtors, she is dedicated to using her platform to spread the word about systemic racism in real estate. Howe works to expand opportunities for Black real estate investors in the Kansas City area.
Rafael Perez has been a Realtor since 2012 and has extensive experience as a mortgage banker, lender and educator. He serves on NAR’s Fair Housing Policy Committee and is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals San Diego, where he is a past chapter president. He continues his eight-plus years of service as a commissioner for the City of San Diego on the Citizens’ Equal Opportunity Commission. Perez is passionate about helping families create household wealth through homeownership and created the Companion Unit Handbook for the City of San Diego to expand housing supply. He also helps people in San Diego who have been displaced by development to move back into their old neighborhoods.
“Realtor.com was inspired to help create and sponsor the Fair Housing Champion Awards based on our support of NAR’s Good Neighbor Awards,” said realtor.com Chief Marketing Officer Mickey Neuberger. “Like the Good Neighbor Award winners, the Realtors who are recognized today as fair housing champions are making a real difference in their communities as they help people overcome bias, discrimination and inequality.”
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