RISMedia’s Power Broker Forum at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo
Thursday, May 18, 2017
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 pm
The Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Virginia Suite
RISMedia’s Power Broker Forum: Expand Your Horizons, Boost Business
Understanding and Capturing Emerging-Market Business
During RISMedia’s annual Power Broker Forum at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, a panel of leading brokers and experts will chart the course of real estate’s future, pinpointing the emerging markets that are changing the face of real estate. Panelists will offer in-depth insight into understanding and working with the Hispanic, Asian, LGBT markets and more, including how to create the right infrastructure and marketing to effectively meet the needs of these markets.
Moderators
John Featherston, President & CEO, RISMedia
John Featherston is president and chief executive officer of RISMedia, Inc. Since 1980, RISMedia, the leader in real estate information, has been servicing more than 250,000 of the residential real estate industry’s most productive and successful agents, brokers and related service professionals. RISMedia has been providing the industry with news, trends and business development strategies through its flagship publication, Real Estate magazine; its leading website, RISMedia.com; and its renowned networking and educational events. RISMedia’s private Power Broker events, including the CEO Exchange – held each September in New York City – and the Power Broker Forum, Reception and Dinner – held each year in conjunction with the REALTORS® Conference & Expo – are two of the most sought-after events for brokerage owners and other industry executives. RISMedia’s extensive library of customizable, licensed content, along with its other business-building services, has established the company as one of the strongest industry allies for residential real estate professionals.
Gary Scott, President of Real Estate Brokerage, Long & Foster Inc.
Gary Scott is the president of Real Estate Brokerage for Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., the largest privately held residential real estate company in the United States. His territories include Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Baltimore, the Eastern Shore areas of Maryland, Richmond, Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, Roanoke, and the Southwest areas of Virginia. Long & Foster Real Estate is part of The Long & Foster Companies, which also includes Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC, Long & Foster Settlement Services, and Long & Foster Insurance Agency, Inc. Scott oversees thousands of Long & Foster’s professional sales associates, and is committed to ensuring that Long & Foster maintains its position as the market leader and continues its reputation as a real estate company committed to its agents and their customers. He is also committed to continuing to provide Long & Foster sales associates with the latest tools and technologies to keep ahead of the industry.
Panelists
Joseph Nery, President, The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP)
Joseph Nery is the 2016 president of NAHREP and one of the members of Nery & Richardson LLC. His practice is focused in four areas: real estate, corporate and business law, estate planning and commercial and civil litigation. Nery represents individuals and companies in litigation matters such as foreclosure prosecution, consumer protection, breach of contract and landlord/tenant disputes. Nery served as president of the Chicago chapter of the NAHREP from 2009 -2011. He has served as a national board member of NAHREP since 2012 and was elected 2015 NAHREP president elect. Nery has also served as a board member of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association since 2008. He is an active member of the American Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association and Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. He is a frequent speaker on topics such as business formation and development, establishment of estate plans, short sales, foreclosure prevention, predatory lending, collections enforcement and the purchase and sale of a home. He is regularly featured on legal and business segments for Univision and Telemundo Chicago.
John Yen Wong, CRB, Founding Chairman, Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA)
John Yen Wong is the founding chairman of AREAA and is currently with Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie Real Estate. Wong graduated from Yale University in 1975 with a degree in biology. He began his real estate career in 1981, and has been both a salesperson in and an owner of real estate companies. In 2003, Realtor Magazine named Wong one the 25 most influential people in real estate. He is the Asian Real Estate Association of America’s 2006 “Real Estate Person of the Year,” and in 2011, was inducted in the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Manager’s “Hall of Leaders.” His business, from its inception, has included buyers with Asian backgrounds, both domestic and global. Wong is a past national president of CRB and a founding chairman for the AREAA, the first nationally focused organization serving the Asian real estate industry.
Jeff Berger, Founder & CEO, The National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP)
Jeff Berger is the founder and CEO of NAGLREP and a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker in Jupiter, Fla. He is a dedicated advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality and in May of 2007, with a vision of advocacy and business, he founded NAGLREP, a 501(c)(3) non profit advocating for homeownership within the LGBT community. The 1,000+ members of NAGLREP share a LGBT-friendly REALTOR referral network, in addition to providing services to over 75,000 LGBT and non-LGBT homebuyers and sellers visiting its website each month. The NAGLREP referral network also includes mortgage professionals, appraisers, home inspectors, title agents, insurance agents, commercial agents, trainers, educators, etc. Berger studied marketing at Boston University School of Management. Prior to his career in real estate and marketing, he worked in the financial services industry as a stockbroker in lower Manhattan during the 1990s.
Dan Forsman, President & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
Under Dan Forsman’s leadership as president & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties (formerly Prudential Georgia Realty) has become the market leader in Metro Atlanta. Trendgraphix, RealValuator and SmartNumbers rank the company as the leader in transactions and agent productivity. BHHS Georgia has the strongest listing distribution network in Atlanta to over 40,000 websites. Forsman is a founding member of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, as well as the Metro Atlanta Relocation Council and the International Multiple Listing Service. His company was also awarded the first ever diversity award given by Prudential Real Estate Affiliates. Forsman was named the Most Admired CEO in Residential Real Estate by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2014 and 2015. He has been named Broker of the Year for the entire Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/Prudential Real Estate Affiliates Network (1,600 offices and 88,000 associates), and has received numerous professional awards including the Atlanta Board of REALTORS® REALTOR of the YEAR, the coveted President’s Award, and served as the board’s President in 2007.
Eddie Berenbaum, President/Chief Marketing Officer, CENTURY 21 Redwood Realty
Eddie Berenbaum is the president and chief marketing officer of CENTURY 21 Redwood Realty. A 1997 graduate of Penn State University, Berenbaum moved to the DC area immediately after college to begin his career in Real Estate. Working for Richmond American Homes from 1997 through May of 2001 as a top producing new-homes sales agent and divisional sales manager, Berenbaum discovered two important things: He loved real estate and the market was ripe for innovation. After taking a year and a half to backpack around the world, Berenbaum returned to the DC area and founded Redwood Realty in November of 2002 with his friends/co-workers, Shawn Milletary and Nick Pasquini. Through aggressive marketing, hard work and the help of two extremely understanding business partners, Redwood Realty has multiplied itself many times and now has ten offices and 400+ agents generating more than $1 billion worth of annual real estate transactions.
