Introducting RISMedia's 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers
Riding the Waves of Change
For real estate professionals, resilience and innovation were imperative to survive 2025’s precipitous shift in market conditions. What’s more, despite the many challenges and obstacles suddenly thrown in their path, many found ways to not just survive but thrive.
In RISMedia’s ninth annual Real Estate Newsmakers showcase, we spotlight some of the industry’s most dynamic individuals for their accomplishments and contributions to their companies, colleagues and clients, and to the larger cause of expanding homeownership. Nominated by you, our readers, these more than 300 individuals represent real estate champions of all kinds – brokers, agents, executives, technologists, educators, etc. – because successful outcomes depend on the many, not just the few at the top.
Our 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers are a shining example of not letting market conditions dictate the future, but taking control of your own story instead. Congratulations to our 2026 Hall of Fame and to all of our Newsmaker honorees. We are grateful for your leadership and inspired by the example you set.
The 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers are brought to you by
Real Estate
Hall of Fame Inductees
Richard Haggerty
HALL OF FAME
OneKey MLS, LLC
Mike Hickman
HALL OF FAME
Seven Gables Real Estate
Marki Lemons-Ryhal
HALL OF FAME
ReMarkiTable LLC
Steve Morris
HALL OF FAME
EXIT Realty Corp. International
Emmett Laffey
HALL OF FAME
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Laffey International Realty
Real Estate
Influencers
Reizl Baker
Luxury Lake Oconee Real Estate Group
Darryl Davis
Darryl Davis Seminars
Leah Gibbons
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services
Melissa King
OneKey MLS
Olivia Merrill
Team Denver Homes-LIV Sotheby's International Realty
Jenifer Morin
REMAX Gateway
Johnny Mowad
MetroTex Association of REALTORS
Kevin O'Neil
Balistreri Real Estate
D.J. Paris
Kale Realty
Adrian Provost
Realty ONE Group Terminus
Matthew Rathbun
Coldwell Banker Elite
Mark Schneidman
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties
Risa Weiss
Kale Realty
Jemila Winsey
ΓEA⅃
Adjina Dekidjiev
Coldwell Banker Warburg
Yoann Dorat
Condogrid
Tiffany Sears
The Sears Group
Jessica Baskies
Serhant
Kathleen Wilks
The Long & Foster Companies
Todd Sumney
HomeSmart
Eric Stegemann
TRIBUS Group
Tristin Prince
Coldwell Banker Premier
Rich La Rue
HomeSmart
Fernando Arencibia Jr.
Avanti Way Commercial
Todd Emerson
Harry Norman, REALTORS®
Chris Fox
The Chris Fox Group
Michael Guthrie
Howard Hanna Charlottesville
Dionna Hall
Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors
Kyle Basila
Realty Executives Associates
Rei Mesa
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty
Christina Panos
Corcoran
Kathy Baker
Realty One Group
Erin Campbell
HomeSmart
Tiffany Curry
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Tiffany Curry & Co., Realtors
Debbie Doern
Houlihan Lawrence
Sarah Ellis
Corcoran Classic Living
Jason Abrams
Keller Williams Realty LLC
Audie Chamberlain
Rechat
Amy Corr
@properties
Britta Diaz
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties
Matthew Ferrara
The Learning Network, LLC
Nishika Green
HomeSmart
Michele Harrington
FirstTeam®
Jared James
Jared James Enterprises
Md Kamruzzaman
REAL New York
Alicia Kosec
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services
Lori Lane
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
Rudy Lira Kusuma
Partner Real Estate
Judi Nield
Legacy Real Estate & Associates, LLC
Michael Pennisi
Coldwell Banker Realty
Nicole Rideout Hartwick
Gibson Sotheby's International Realty
Keith Robinson
NextHome
Errol Samuelson
Zillow Group
Ryan Schleis
Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group
Jonathan Vega
ONE Sotheby's International Realty
Thad Wong
@properties and Christie's International Real Estate
Clint Galliano
Keller Williams Realty Bayou Partners
Steven Gottlieb
Coldwell Banker Warburg
Gretchen Rosenberg
HomeServices of America
Rebecca Thomson
Anywhere - Coldwell Banker Realty
Ann King
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty
Kamini Lane
Coldwell Banker Realty
Brian Schneider
Bright MLS
Jeff Kennedy
Maverix Advisory
Raffi Williams
National Association of Realtors
Annie Hanna Engel
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services
Duffy Hanna
Howard Hanna Financial Services
Paul Boomsma
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®
Andy Florance
CoStar Group
Christina Pappas
The Keyes Company
Real Estate
Trailblazers
Austin Blonde
Oakley Signs
Ritu Desai
Samson Properties
John Finn
United Real Estate Richmond
Lauren Henss
FirstTeam®
Chris McGoldrick
Inside Real Estate
Dawn Pfaff
State Listings Inc.
Kayla Click
Ebby Halliday
Elisa Cho
Echo Realty
Stacey Soleil
Let's Growth Hack
Emil Sedgh
Rechat
Andrew Manning
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties
Jennifer Lind
Coldwell Banker Realty
Tei Baishiki
NextHome
Reneé Gonzales
Long Realty
Luis Poggi
HouseWhisper AI
Cory Vasquez
Realty ONE Group
Todd Tucker
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
Ben Caballero
HomesUSA.com
Amanda Cline
United Real Estate
Dan Cooper
Gitcha
Dean deTonnancourt
HomeSmart Professionals Real Estate
Brian Tepfer
PropStream
Cynthia Taylor
Zillow Group
Abby Lee
RE/MAX, Holdings Inc.
Dan Birdwell
Legacy Real Estate & Associates, LLC
Chad Carroll
Compass
Melissa Cohn
William Raveis Mortgage
Melissa Cunningham
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS® and The Trident Group
Rich DeNicola
Anywhere Integrated Services
Dina Goldentayer
Douglas Elliman
Kyle Hunter
Lone Wolf Technologies
Linda James
FyrstUp
Jimmy Kelly
Lone Wolf Technologies
Matt Kuchar
Showami
Kathleen Minser
Legacy Real Estate & Associates
Natasha Patla
@properties and Christie's International Real Estate
Kaylin Pound
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
Kim Prior
FBS, Inc.
Ayoub Rabah
Coldwell Banker Realty
Quan Remmer
Suncoast Tampa Association of Realtors
Khet Richards
Cartus
Kacie Ricker
Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
Karrie-Ann Sheppard
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
Meredith Smith
Gibson Sotheby's International Realty
Todd Teta
ATTOM
Andy White
Closinglock
Matt Widdows
HomeSmart
Blanca Hebe Lopez Pierluisi
Corcoran Puerto Rico
Michelle Lundy
ERA Real Estate
Tanya Reu-Narvaez
Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
Eric Elfman
MoxiWorks
Kim Koraca
MoxiWorks
Pritesh Damani
Real
Real Estate
Futurists
Brad Bjelke
UtahRealEstate.com
Jerry Legrand
APEX MLS
Matthew Leone
Brown Harris Stevens
Victor Lund
WAV Group & RE Technology
Kelly Silver
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
Frank DeRonja Jr.
Corcoran DeRonja Real Estate
Daphna Fields
Gibson Sotheby's International Realty
Laurie Evans
The Real Estate Studio
Meg McFarlane
New Mexico MLS
Stephen Meadows
Coldwell Banker Premier
Bob Portale
RELO Direct, Inc.
Muk Venkatakrishnan, Pierre Calzadilla, Ish Ahmed
Upfront & Vero
Ines Hegedus-Garcia
Avanti Way Realty
John Walkup
UrbanDigs
Ida Marie Petkus
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty
Jake Hamilton
Lone Wolf Technologies
Eric Fite
Century 21 Judge Fite Company
Richard Sullivan
Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty
Petya Manning
NextHome
Jillian Young
Premiere Plus Realty
Jun Choo
Zillow Group
Elyse Cruciani
Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
Juan Del Sol
Multiple Clients List
Bryan Devore
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties
Chris Dietz
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World
Troy Singleton
Anywhere Integrated Services
Don Kottick
REMAX Canada
Travis Saxton
RE/MAX Holdings, Inc.
Rob Barber
ATTOM
Nathan Brannen
Restb.ai
Chris Cox
Keller Williams Realty LLC
Anne Marie DeCatsye
Canopy Realtor Association
Alan Fenn
MLS Offers
George Gatt
Stephen Joseph Properties
Diane Glass
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago
Yuval Golan
Waltz
Katey McGrath
Elfant Wissahickon REALTORS
Ted Mucellin
Bright MLS
Brian Murray
Houlihan Lawrence
Rob Norman
Coldwell Banker Realty
David Rickel
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS® and The Trident Group
Amy Riggsbee
HomeServices of America
Diana Zaya
Maverick Systems
Andrew Lafreniere
Houlihan Lawrence
Eric Chesin
Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
Tommy Dunbar
Old Colony, REALTORS
Chip Murphy
Michael Saunders & Company
Nicholas Sekela
Oasis Realty Group
Bennett Richardson
National Association of Realtors
Real Estate
Achievers
Melanie De Armas
RE/MAX Advance Realty
Caroline Coladonato
RE/MAX Ready
Charlotte Savoy
The KW Collective
Bill Scavone
Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.
Micah Smith
HRLS Partners at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Kenny Drysdale
Ombelle Fort Lauderdale, Douglas Elliman
Justin Landon
MetroTex Association of REALTORS
Bryson Taggart
Opendoor
Elena Smirnova
Powered by DMT
Chaz & Kayleen McDowell
McDowell Real Estate
Rochelle Maize
Nourmand & Associates
Jonathan Lickstein
Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors | LoKation Real Estate
R Michael Frazier
ReeceNichols
Amy Gant
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
Smokey Garrett
Keller Williams GO Network
Samantha Giuggio
Fathom Holdings, Inc.
Ashley Conlon
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company
Ana Teresa Rodriguez
ATR Luxury Homes Group at Coldwell Banker Realty
Sonia Roham
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties
Claudine and Carlos Coto
ONE Sotheby's International Realty
Samantha Curry
Douglas Elliman
Tom Downing
@properties
Steve DuBrueler
Coldwell Banker Premier
Shayne Fairley
Stellar MLS
Michael Sherman
Zillow Group
Gabby Maddox Davis
Keller Williams West Atlanta
Chris Lim
REMAX
Misty Beard
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
Sara Bentson
Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
Leigh Ann Bogran
United Real Estate
Aaron Buchbinder
Compass Boca Raton
Dennis Carvajal
ONE Sotheby's International Realty
John Cella
Coldwell Banker Warburg
Beth Dickerson
Gibson Sotheby's International Realty
Jacqueline Feldman
ONE Sotheby's International Realty
Maria Kazakos
Berkshire Hathaway Carolinas Companies
Nicole Konsler
Christie's International Real Estate
Lane McCormack
Ansley Real Estate Christie's International
Angel Nicolas
SERHANT
Liz Nunan
Houlihan Lawrence
Sumaiyya Raza
MetroTex Association of REALTORS
Kate Reisinger
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World
Veroushka Volkert
ONE Sotheby's International Realty
Lindsay Barton Barrett
Compass
Maria Daou
Coldwell Banker Warburg
Marko & Reid Gojanovic & Heidenry
ONE Sotheby's International Realty
Frank Malpica
ERA Real Estate
Charis Moreno
NextHome
Duff Rubin
Coldwell Banker Realty
Mor Zucker
LIV Sotheby's International Realty
Morgan Salama
Anywhere Integrated Services
Viviane Wolak
ONE Sotheby's International Realty
Angel Nicolas
SERHANT
Real Estate
Crusaders
Ennis Antoine
EA Realty of Georgia
DeAnn Golden
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
Vanessa Martin
Tether RE
Cameron Paine
MARIS
Teresa Palacios Smith
HomeServices of America and HSF Affiliates, LLC
Rajeev Sajja
Bright MLS
Doreen Spagnuolo
Long Island Board of REALTORS®
Emily Dieckmann
Emily Dieckmann Real Estate Team
Dan Troup
Broker Public Portal
Natalie Davis
Keller Williams Realty Inc
Mark Johnson
Recruiting Insight
Colette Stevenson
REsides, Inc.
Andrew Levinson
Corcoran
Jessica Ingram-Bee
Gibson Sotheby's International Realty
Kathy Connelly
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
David Deza
Brown Harris Stevens
Jessica Edgerton
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®
Debra Beagle
The Ashton Real Estate Group of REMAX Advantage
Jennifer Butler
Zillow Group
Chris Czarnecki
Keller Williams Realty LLC
Michelle Feola
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago
Dan Harris
The CE Shop
Daniel Jones
Hive MLS
Erik Carlson
RE/MAX, Holdings Inc.
Erinn Nobel
ENRG Realty
Marie Claire Ntam
MEHGA Collective of Compass
Lindsey Wallace
MetroTex Association of REALTORS
Tisha Wright
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
Pauline Bennett
Coldwell Banker Realty
Leigh Thomas Brown
One Community Real Estate
Chandler Crouch
Chandler Crouch Realtors
Alexia Rodriguez
Keller Williams Realty LLC
Lee Ann Roughton
ERA Real Estate
Real Estate
Luminaries
Candace Adams
HomeServices of America
Robert Bailey
Bailey Properties, Inc.
Kelly and Linda Boehmer
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties
Jeremy Crawford
First MLS
Bess Freedman
Brown Harris Stevens
Chris Kelly
HomeServices of America
Vince Leisey
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
Leo Pareja
eXp Realty
Steve Belloumini
Corcoran Icon Properties
Craig Witt
EXIT Realty
Mark Woodroof
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene
Ginger Wilcox
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
Jason Waugh
Coldwell Banker Real Estate
Stuart Siegel
Engel & Völkers
Michael Nourmand
Nourmand & Associates
Brenda Maher
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England, New York & Hudson Valley Properties
Dan Duffy
United Real Estate
James Dwiggins
NextHome, Inc.
Jim Fischetti
NextHome
Lauren Fox
HomeSmart
Cindy Black
Five Star Productions
Eric Shull
John L. Scott Real Estate
Nelson Zide
ERA Key Realty Services
Phillip Cantrell
Benchmark Realty & United Real Estate
Tom E. Chance
Legacy Real Estate & Associates
Katie Cooper
HomeSmart
Brian Donnellan
Bright MLS
Merri Jo Cowen
Stellar MLS
Ivan Sher
IS Luxury
Matt Tebbe
Cartus
Branden and Rayni Williams
The Beverly Hills Estates
Bill Aboumrad
Legacy Real Estate & Associates
Mike Brodie
Keller Williams Legacy
Mayi & Daniel de la Vega
ONE Sotheby's International Realty
Larry Flick, V
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS® and The Trident Group
Liz Gehringer
Anywhere Franchise Brands
Mike Golden
@properties and Christie's International Real Estate
Shayan Hamidi
Rechat
James O'Bryon
REMAX Gold and Gold Nation
Joe Skousen
Inside Real Estate
William E. Soteroff
Keller Williams Realty LLC
Alexis Bolin
Keller Williams Realty Gulf Coast
Tami Bonnell
EXIT Realty
Kuba Jewgieniew
Realty ONE Group
Dan Kruse
CENTURY 21 Affiliated
Mike Miedler
Century 21 Real Estate LLC
Michael Valdes
LPT International
Whitney LaCosta
Howard Hanna | Coach Realtors
Pat Shea
Windermere Signature Properties & Windermere SoCal
Gavin Swartzman
Christie's International Real Estate
Mike Clear
Realty ONE Group
Alex Vidal
ERA Real Estate
Tamir Poleg
Real
Sherry Chris
National Association of Realtors®
Nykia Wright
National Association of Realtors®
Howard "Hoby" Hanna
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services
Robert Reffkin
Compass
Brian Buffini
Buffini & Company
Anthony Lamacchia
Lamacchia Companies, LLC
Rick Haase
United Real Estate & United Real Estate Group
ABOUT RISMEDIA’S REAL ESTATE NEWSMAKERS
RISMedia’s Real Estate Newsmakers were chosen based on nominations received through an online nomination process on RISMedia.com, and by nominations from RISMedia’s in-house editorial team and other industry sources. Nominations for RISMedia’s Real Estate Newsmakers are collected on an ongoing basis throughout the course of the year. There is no fee to nominate a Newsmaker or be recognized/featured as a Newsmaker.
Due to deadline and production criteria, RISMedia’s 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers Online Directory may not currently be in its final format. Please check back for ongoing updates. For inquiries regarding your Newsmakers profile, please email editorial@rismedia.com.
RISMedia’s 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers Hall of Fame honorees will be inducted at RISMedia’s Annual Awards Gala on October 1, held during the company’s 38th Annual CEO & Leadership Exchange, September 30 – October 2, at the Georgetown Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C.