Community Service
The Community Service Committee identifies and plans community service activities with GCAAR’s strategic charitable partners and other non-profits that fall within GCAAR’s charitable priorities. The committee also nominates the annual GCAAR Good Neighbor Award winner.
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 1-2 p.m.
2024 focus
- Support the work of our strategic charitable partners and identify volunteer opportunities with both our partners and other non-profits.
- Increase participation and awareness of community service events among the general GCAAR membership.
- Raise awareness of the GCAAR Good Neighbor Award.
Contact staff liaison: Barbara Seldes
Board liaison: Jordan Chronopoulos
Chair: Maria (Ruby) Garcia
Vice Chair: Charles Carp
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The mission of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is to identify opportunities for conversation and education, establish expectations of diversity, and promote the practice of diversity, equity and inclusion within our membership base and industry.
Discrimination has no home here.
Membership
Members should demonstrate a personal and professional commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Members attend two-hour monthly meetings and work between meetings individually or in subcommittees.
2024 focus
- Growing the number of DEI Champions by increasing awareness of the program. Subcommittee members will support through conducting direct, peer-to-peer outreach, by promoting the program on their social media channels, through direct conversations with brokers and office staff, and by attending GCAAR events. GCAAR will support with one recruitment video, ongoing promotions in GCAAR’s communications channels and at GCAAR events, and through improved structure and partnership with local chapters of NAR-family organizations.
- Promoting the practices of DE&I and GCAAR’s DE&I initiatives within member brokerages, networks, and the larger GCAAR community.
Contact staff liaisons: Katherine Gordon, Shiesha McNeil and Zac Trupp
Board liaison: M. Jacqueline Bennett
Chair: Ileann Jimenez-Sepulveda
Vice Chair: Marty Stanton
Forms
The mission of the Forms Committee is to review the association's current forms and make recommendations for revisions. Forms can be reviewed in response to legislative or regulatory requirements, and/or significant changes to either market conditions or industry best practices.
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: James T. Kim
Chair: Samantha Damato
Vice Chair: Marjorie Rosner
Grievance
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 two-hour monthly meetings. “Homework” between meetings includes reading and analyzing cases filed and attending the professional standards training seminar in January.
2024 focus
- Grow the number of trained ombuds people and increase the utilization of ombuds services to promote dispute resolution between parties.
- Promote member awareness/education regarding their ethical obligations and understanding of the grievance process (i.e., ethics, arbitration, SentriLock).
- Increase training opportunities for the committee to further their COE education.
Contact staff liaison: Tammie Grice
Board liaison: Carlos Evans
Chair: Bryan Waters
Vice Chair: Virginia Gergoff
Professional Standards
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 at least three (3) years. “Homework” for this committee includes analyzing assigned case files prior to each hearing as well as drafting hearing panel decisions.
2024 focus
- Grow the number of trained chairpersons for ethics and arbitration hearings.
- Promote REALTORS®’ professionalism in the practice of real estate.
- Increase the number of training opportunities for committee members.
Contact staff liaison: Tammie Grice
Board liaison: Marilyn Emery
Chair: Jeffrey Ganz
Vice Chair: Jacque Grenning
Property Management
The Property Management Advisory Group is for members who want to make a positive impact on the rental property community. This group comprises of members who specialize in property management and who seek to share industry best practices and issues of concern by organizing quarterly speaker events with government and industry stakeholders or planning industry networking events for those involved in the property management space. The advisory group will also have two subcommittees that focus on forms and public policy.
Membership
At the time of application, members will indicate whether they would like to participate in either the Forms or Public Policy subcommittees, which will bring vital information from the property management perspective to GCAAR’s main Forms and Public Policy committees. Members must be ready (or willing to learn) to actively contribute to conversations surrounding forms and public policy affecting housing providers. Meetings of either subcommittee will only be activated if there is an issue handed down either from the Forms or Public Policy Commitee to be reviewed.
2024 focus
This upcoming year, the Property Management Advisory Group will be restructured to leverage the expertise of property management industry members in the greater framework of the GCAAR committees. The Advisory Group will meet monthly to plan industry-specific events and the two subcommittees will work in tandem with the Forms and Public Policy Committees to bring vital information from the property management sphere to ensure the voices are heard in the work GCAAR performs.
Contact staff liaison: Irene Kang
Board liaison: Samuel Medvene
Chair: Scott Sachs
Vice Chair: Risha Williams
Public Policy
GCAAR’s Public Policy Committee discusses the impact of proposed legislative and regulatory changes in Montgomery County and the District of Columbia 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.
MembershipMembers must indicate their jurisdiction of interest at the time of committee application and attend monthly meetings, scheduled for the third Wednesday of each month, participate in county or state task forces and attend hearings.
2024 focus
In Montgomery County, 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.
In the District of Columbia, the committee will likely review reforms and improvements to the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP), modernization of the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) based on a study to be released by a third-party entity, and reviewing possible legislation on rent control reform.
Contact staff liaison: Zac Trupp and Irene Kang
Board liaison: Russell Brazil
Chair: Villy Iranpur
Vice Chair: Lauren Kline
Young Professionals Network (YPN)
YPN helps new real estate professionals excel in their careers by giving them the tools and encouragement they need to become involved in four core areas:
- REALTOR® associations. Attend REALTOR® conference and pursue leadership roles within their local, state, and national associations.
- 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.
See what YPN is up to on their webpage.
Contact staff liaison: Kaya Roberts
Board liaison: Molly Branson
Chair: Brad Rothstein
Vice Chair: Nelson Fuentes
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