The Board of Managers of the Broker Public Portal (BPP) recently announced four new Board members. The Broker Public Portal, owned and managed by real estate brokerages and MLSs, operates a joint venture with Homesnap, the BPP’s public-facing brand.
The four real estate industry leaders joining the Broker Public Portal Board of Managers include Lacey Merrick Conway, CEO of Latter and Blum; OB Jacobi, co-president of Windermere Real Estate; Dana Strandmo, SVP/CAO of HomeServices of America; and Shelley Specchio, CEO of MIBOR REALTOR® Association. These four new board members fill existing board vacancies.
“BPP continues to attract real estate industry’s most trusted, thoughtful, and enterprising leaders,” said Alon Chaver, chairman of the Broker Public Portal, a real estate and technology investor who served as chief information officer at Home Services of America. “Today’s real estate industry is at an apex of change, and these new leaders will help BPP continue its work in eliminating barriers between consumers and their real estate brokers and agents.”
The Broker Public Portal Board of Managers includes, as it notes in its Charter, a “fair and balanced group of executives who represent the interests of large brokers, medium brokers, small brokers, independent managers, and multiple listing service organizations.” The agent count of participating firms establishes the size of brokerages eligible.
2020 New Board Members:
Lacey Merrick Conway, CEO, Latter and Blum
Lacey is the president of Latter & Blum Inc., which has 25 offices located throughout Louisiana, Texas and Southern Mississippi. She has been active in residential real estate sales and broker management for more than fifteen years and oversees all company operations, strategic planning and general management. She serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Latter & Blum, Inc. and serves on the board of United Way Southeast Louisiana and Greater New Orleans, Inc.
OB Jacobi, Co-President, Windermere Real Estate
Jacobi brings a second generation of leadership to Windermere Real Estate which was founded by his father, John Jacobi, in Seattle in 1972. As president, Jacobi has helped facilitate Windermere’s growth—the regional real estate company has more than 6,500 agents and 300 offices in 10 states and Mexico. In addition to guiding business strategies for the Windermere network, Jacobi oversees operations for six family-owned Windermere offices. He also serves on the board of the Windermere Foundation, which has provided over $43 million in funding to non-profit organizations that support low-income and homeless children and their families.
Dana Strandmo, SVP/CAO, HomeServices of America
Strandmo is senior vice president and chief administrative officer for HomeServices of America. He has been employed with HomeServices from its beginning in 1998 and served as general counsel before being promoted to his current position in 2015. Previously, Strandmo was corporate counsel for Edina Realty Home Services. In addition to his voluntary service with the National Association of REALTORS®, the Minnesota Association of REALTORS®, RESPRO and the The Realty Alliance in various positions.
Shelley Specchio, CEO of MIBOR REALTOR® Association
As CEO of MIBOR REALTOR® Association and the Broker Listing Cooperative®, in 2017, Specchio brought her desire to build and foster strong relationships and her dedication to a culture of excellence to complement MIBOR’s strong tradition of community involvement. MIBOR, the professional association representing central Indiana’s REALTORS®, was founded in 1912 and today serves the needs of more than 8,500 members. Shelley was the 2015 president of the Council of Multiple Listing Services and began her career in the real estate industry in 1994 with the Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS®. She went on to lead the Northern Nevada Regional MLS as CEO from 2008 to 2017.
Each officer term is three years, with about one-third of the directors rotating off each year.
