Committees are critical to the success of GCAAR’s members, and we deeply appreciate those who volunteer their time and professional expertise to the real estate community.
The committee description and focus of work, as well as membership requirements and time commitment, can be found below.
GCAAR encourages all committee members to be GCAAR D&I Champions (that is, to have completed At Home with Diversity (AHWD), Fairhaven, and NAR’s Implicit-Bias training – learn more).
Applications open each year in the fall; appointments are made only once each year. Thank you for your interest in serving on a GCAAR committee!
Membership
Committee members should demonstrate a commitment to community service. Members attend monthly meetings and attend or lead at least one community service activity per year. This committee meets the second Wednesday of every month from 1-2pm.
2022 focus
Contact staff liaison: Katherine Gordon
Board liaison: Sam Medvene
Chair: Dan Cumberland, Jr.
Vice Chair: Maria R. Garcia
Discrimination has no home here.
The committee focuses its efforts in these areas:
Personal growth:
Business development:
Membership
Members should demonstrate a personal and professional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. They should also be GCAAR D&I Champions. Members attend monthly meetings and work between meetings individually or in subcommittees.
2022 focus
Contact staff liaisons: Katherine Gordon, Shiesha McNeil and Zac Trupp
Board liaison: Christopher Suranna
Chair: Maurice Mckinney
Vice Chair: Ileann Jimenez-Sepulveda
Membership
REALTOR® members must demonstrate extensive experience with GCAAR forms as evidenced by transaction counts over the past three years, or in the case of the broker/manager or team leader/trainer, the number of transactions processed in the office or by the team. Prior experience on another GCAAR committee is preferred, but not required.
Members must attend monthly meetings, which occur on the second Wednesday of each month. "Homework" between meetings includes extensive reading, proofing and/or editing forms.
Contact staff liaison: Zac Trupp
Board liaison: Daniel Schuler
Chair: Susan Ader
Vice Chair: Marjorie Rosner
The Grievance Committee is the Grand Jury for ethics complaints, arbitration requests, and SentriLock violations. The committee reviews filed documents and determines whether to forward cases to the Professional Standards Committee for hearings.
Membership
Members are appointed for three-year terms and should have a deep understanding of and commitment to the Code of Ethics (COE). Members attend 2-hour monthly meetings. "Homework" between meetings includes reading and analyzing cases filed and attending the professional standards training seminar in January.
2022 focus
Contact staff liaison: Shiesha McNeil
Board liaison: Mark Butterfield
Chair: Andrew Hill (2021 - 2022)
Vice Chair: Bryan Waters (2019 - 2022)
The committee will also have a key role in the use of REALTOR® Party resources during upcoming election years in Montgomery County and will be preparing to secure increased RPAC investments for those election cycles.
Membership
Members must attend quarterly meetings and participate in and promote REALTOR® Party fundraising efforts with GCAAR members. Members may also be asked or invited to attend political events in the community.
2022 focus
Members will be focused on meeting our RPAC fundraising goals so we have the resources to be active participants in the various 2022 Montgomery County elections. Committee members will also review candidates for Montgomery County Council, County Executive, and other offices for possible endorsement and/or independent campaign efforts on behalf of GCAAR in the 2022 election cycle.
Contact staff liaison: Scott Reiter
Board liaison: Christopher Suranna
Chair: Christopher Suranna
Professional Standards Committee members sit on hearing panels for cases involving Code of Ethics complaints, arbitration requests, and SentriLock violations.
Membership
Members must attend quarterly training meetings focusing on case studies and exercises from the NAR Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual and serve on hearing panels, as necessary (up to three hearings per month). In order to serve on the Professional Standards Committee, a member must have served on the Grievance Committee for three (3) years. "Homework" for this committee includes analyzing assigned case files prior to each hearing as well as drafting hearing panel decisions.
2022 focus
Contact staff liaison: Shiesha McNeil
Board liaison: James T. Kim
Chair: Leslie Dembinski
Vice Chair: James Higgins
The committee also helps set the standard for best practices and protocols in the property management space. The aim is to enhance members’ businesses with an emphasis on community stewardship.
Membership
Members must attend monthly meetings. Members must be ready (or willing to learn) to actively contribute toward conversations surrounding forms and public policy affecting housing providers. Assignments between meetings may include reading, proofing and/or editing forms and legislation.
2022 focus
The pandemic placed the rental housing community in the limelight. This past year, the Property Management Committee has taken a more active role in monitoring and reviewing legislation affecting housing providers, and we expect this to continue. As always, the committee will continue to focus on improving forms for members.
Contact staff liaison: Evan Loukadakis
Board liaison: Marilyn Emery
Chair: Scott Sachs
Vice Chair: Risha Williams
GCAAR’s Public Policy Committee discusses the impact of proposed legislative and regulatory changes on real estate business and the housing market and decides whether to take a position on those proposals. The committee focuses its advocacy efforts on those issues of greatest and most direct impact to the REALTOR® community.
Membership
Members must attend monthly meetings, participate in county or state task forces and attend hearings.
2022 focus
In 2022, the committee will likely review proposed zoning changes being considered by the Montgomery County Planning Board and County Council, intended to spur new ‘smart growth’ development.
Contact staff liaison: Zac Trupp
Board liaison: Craig Rosenfeld
Chair: Barbara Nalls
Vice Chair: Villy Iranpur
Real estate industry. Take an active role in policy discussions and advocacy issues; be informed about the latest industry news and trends.
Peers. Network and learn from one another by attending events, participating in online communication, and seeking out mentoring opportunities.
Community. Become exceptional members of their community by setting a high level of REALTOR® professionalism and volunteering for causes they feel passionate about.
Membership
Members must attend quarterly in-person meetings, monthly call-in meetings, and GCAAR YPN-related events.
2022 focus
See what YPN is up to on their webpage.
Contact staff liaison: Kaya Roberts & Katherine Gordon
Board liaison: Molly Branson
Chair: Paul Basto
Vice Chair: Kameron Kang