As the REALTOR® community continues to grapple with the aftermath of the sexual harassment scandal that resulted in the ouster of President Kenny Parcell, two anonymous letters suggest there is division among NAR staff regarding how to address the past and move forward.
One letter, which was obtained by Crain’s Chicago Business, demanded further house cleaning at the REALTOR® trade group, specifically naming CEO Bob Goldberg, SVP Donna Gland, Chief Counsel Katie Johnson and current President Tracy Kasper as all being culpable for allowing a hostile culture to fester, as well as protecting Parcell.
A second anonymous letter, emailed directly to RISMedia, pushed back against this sentiment, urging staff to rally around leadership as NAR attempts to regain trust and reform the organization.
RISMedia could not independently verify the authorship of either letter. Both were unsigned, and the second was sent by an anonymous Gmail address, with the authors declining to verify their identities, saying they “are mindful of the impact publicly using our voices could have” on their ability to work with colleagues.
However, a source within NAR did confirm that the second anonymous letter had in fact been received by the Executive Committee, without being able to offer further details.
“While we likely don’t all agree on everything all the time, many of us across our two offices agree we are asking for reform, not revolt against members nor our leadership,” the second letter reads.
Authors of the first letter, on the other hand, called for the “immediate removal” of Kasper and the executives, and named Kasper “a primary contributor to the hostile work environment.”
So far, NAR has mostly stood behind its executives. After what was characterized as an “emergency meeting” of NAR leadership earlier this month, the organization put out a statement in support of Goldberg.
The unnamed staffers in the first letter point out that NAR leadership failed to address sexual harrasment for months, specifically referencing an investigation conducted by an outside law firm, which was brought in to probe specific staff complaints about sexual harassment back in 2022.
The staffers allege this investigation was more about protecting NAR and its leadership than actually rooting out systemic issues.
“It is well documented that these same behaviors, reported by staff in 2022, have been an issue for some time,” the letter reads. “(O)ur personal stories which we believed were shared in confidence informed their strategy. It is at best a conflict of interest and we were betrayed by those claiming to help us.”
In a statement provided to RISMedia, NAR said that they “do not understand these views to be representative of the majority.”
“We take the issues raised seriously and we will continue to engage with all employees as we take action to further strengthen NAR,” the statement said.
Responding to this first letter in an email sent to all NAR staff, Kasper promised “serious consideration” to the concerns raised, without addressing specifics.
“We are evaluating potential additional actions the organization could take, and I will share further updates in due course,” she wrote.
In a video message delivered roughly a week after Parcell’s resignation, Kasper acknowledged that “trust had been broken.” She promised to “engage outside experts” to review how NAR investigates complaints, as well as evaluating how leadership is chosen.
A source close to NAR told RISMedia that the organization does plan to address these specific concerns with staff in the future, including the concerns around how the outside law firm’s investigation was handled (while claiming some things can’t be discussed due to privacy concerns). They also claimed there are new initiatives and processes that will soon be announced that will allow anyone, including this group, to share their concerns.
But this person added that they believed the group behind the first letter might have ulterior motives, and they expected there could be more anonymous letters in the future.
The second anonymous letter was explicit in pushing back against the idea that those who wanted to see Kasper, Goldberg and others gone did not speak for everyone at NAR.
“Many of us appreciate the support and acknowledgment that our voices need to be heard, but another perspective has not been shared enough,” the letter reads. “Our ask is that, collectively, there is recognition amongst the (leadership team), Executive Committee and Board of Directors that we need our staff leaders supported and empowered to bring about change if that is what is truly desired.”
Stay tuned to RISMedia for further developments.
