White Plains, NY The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR), along with six other Realtor associations, recently held their third annual Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Summit at the Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott in Newark, NJ.

HGAR teamed up with the National Association of Realtors, the New York State Association of Realtors, the New Jersey Realtors, the North Central Jersey Association of Realtors, the Greater Bergen Association of Realtors and the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors to create this two-day presentation.

The goal of the summit was to build curiosity while exploring understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusions within personal and professional careers. It was also designed to help attendees develop the skills needed to be successful and create actionable steps towards impactful change.

This year’s keynote speaker, Thasunda Brown Duckett, Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People of 2024” and president and CEO of TIAA, shared the stage with Michelle Mills Clement, CEO of Chicago Association of Realtors, where they discussed financial inclusion, retirement, building generational wealth, and importance of financial inclusion.

Duckett is determined to put more underserved Americans on a path to financial health and resilience. She helped launch Advancing Black Pathways, an initiative to help more Black Americans achieve sustained economic success. She’s also striving to help the 40% of all Americans at risk of running out of their retirement savings.

The first day of the summit launched with Bias Override, an approved continuing education course to combat bias in the industry led by certified instructor Matt Difanis. The next day included close to 20 speakers and panelists on various topics.

“With over 200 attendees from several associations mainly from New York and New Jersey, this year’s DEI Summit was our best yet,” said Freddimir Garcia, HGAR’s DEI officer. “It was uplifting and invigorating to hear a strong support of DEI from our keynote speaker, Thasunda Brown Duckett and Michelle Mills Clement, among others.” The topics covered included advocacy, appraisal bias, advancing DEI, and on the field challenges with the “-isms.”

“This powerful and innovative summit is the leading Realtor DEI event in the Northeast,” said HGAR CEO Lynda Fernandez. “It engages members of participating Associations, while advancing DEI throughout the region’s real estate markets through collaboration and by securing top speakers and industry leaders who address the latest topics and issues impacting DEI.”