Tessa Hultz Named New Greater Los Angeles REALTORS® Chief Executive Officer
Before I share a bit about Tessa’s professional background and why she has been chosen to lead our association, I want to say a huge thank you to our Interim Association Executive LaShawn Scales for her leadership and hard work over the last few months.
The GLAR team, and by extension our membership, did not miss a beat while the board conducted its CEO search. We have a great group of professionals working on our behalf here at GLAR, and they continue to excel no matter what challenge is thrown their way. Thank you LaShawn and the GLAR team for all your hard work!
When conducting the search for our new CEO, we were seeking a leader that has not only deep experience in association management, but also one that has expertise in the issues that are impacting communities across our five regions. Tessa meets both of those requirements in a big way.
She has worked in REALTOR® association management for 18 years. Her association career began in 2005 at the Columbia Board of REALTORS® where she served as their Director of Education and led their advocacy efforts. She then served as the CEO of the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS®, where under her leadership the association developed a first-of-its-kind affordable housing study by a local REALTOR® Association utilizing MLS data to advocate for affordable housing projects. I think we can all agree that her experience working on housing affordability issues will be a major asset to the association and communities across the Los Angeles region!
In early 2019 Tessa joined the Long Island Board of REALTORS® as their CEO and led the association through the aftermath of Newsday’s Long Island Divided investigation into racial steering in the Long Island real estate market. Under her leadership, the organization emerged from the crisis as an industry leader in protecting and promoting the principles of the federal Fair Housing Act and became a fierce advocate for a higher standard of ethics in real state.
Tessa has earned notable industry achievements and honors including the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Association Executives YPN Leaders of Tomorrow Award, induction in the Bud Smith Leadership Society, and was recently named the 2022 William R. Magel Award of Excellence recipient. She has also earned the REALTOR® Association Certified Executive (RCE) and the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designations which denote a high level of expertise and proficiency in association operations.
While my service as President draws to a close in just a couple of weeks, Tessa’s time in the CEO role is only just beginning. I hope that you share my excitement and pride in GLAR’s future and know that it is in great hands with Tessa.
Thank you, and let’s all work together to achieve great things in 2024!
Tom Swanson
