ELECT MAURA NEILL

Vice President of Member and public services
Georgia REALTORS®

Greetings, friends!

I am honored to be serving as your current 2024 Vice President of Professional Development for the Georgia REALTORS®, and I’m equally excited for the opportunity to continue to serve you, as a candidate for 2025 Vice President of Member and Public Services for the Georgia REALTORS®.

I am passionate about our industry and our Association, and in our current real estate landscape, those are the two things our Association should be focused on — our members and the public. You can click here to read about my experience, but I want to take a few moments to tell you more about who I am and what I believe.

WHO I AM

I am full-time REALTOR®; I am an educator and a lifelong learner; I am a real estate investor. But like all of you, I am so much more. I am a daughter, a sister, a wife, and a mom to furry, four-legged children.

As a REALTOR®, service to my Association seems like a natural commitment to make — giving back to the industry which has given so much to my family and me. My parents made sure that my younger brother and I were raised to be service-minded, to think of giving back as our obligation, to believe that giving back was repaying what we were given in this life.

After losing my dad in December 2023, I have begun to reflect even more on the lessons he taught me and the service mindset he instilled in me from a young age. The real estate industry has given much to me, and the opportunity to not only serve, but to lead and to contribute, is one I do not approach lightly.

WHAT I BELIEVE

My parents taught me that, when you raise your hand for a job, when you accept a role, you commit and give it your all. This year, as your 2024 Vice President of Professional Development, I have been enjoying every moment of working with and for my fellow members of GAR, but more importantly, learning from you all. I believe I am the best candidate for the position because I am eager and excited to continue as a Vice President for our Association, and I understand the unique position we are in, as our industry is evolving and changing at a rapid pace, to look for the opportunities, to put our members first, and to continue to not only serve the public but to educate them about the importance of what we do. Additionally, my track record of service at my local Association, the National Association, and here at the Georgia REALTORS® is proof that I serve not to build my resumé but to continue the fight so that we can all keep doing what we love so much, protecting and promoting the American Dream. If not now, then when?

I have been focusing on three words this year — not only in my real estate business, but in my volunteer roles and in my personal life. I want to share them with you:

OPPORTUNITY

As our industry continues to evolve and change at a rapid pace, I see OPPORTUNITY — not just for myself, but for our Association and our members. Our past leaders have fortified our strategic plan into a living, breathing roadmap for our future; they created our robust contract forms, which have protected us in the past and will continue to do so in the future; they have put us on the map, literally, with two buildings that are a physical representation of Georgia REALTORS®’ Real Estate; they have continued to expand our reach with consumers in campaigns that highlight the value of what we do.

It is up to us — the future leaders of this Association — to continue to look for opportunities to improve the quality and value of membership for our number one client: you, the member. And it is imperative that we look on the consumer as our client, too, because they are our clients in our businesses and deserve consideration by our Association.

ABUNDANCE

I believe our future as an industry is bright, and I believe in approaching every day, every problem, every opportunity with an attitude of ABUNDANCE. In a time of negative media coverage and click-bait headlines, we have a responsibility to our members, to our clients and consumers to be honest, innovative, and also optimistic. Approaching our challenges with an attitude of abundance, rather than one of scarcity, means that we can be both realistic and optimistic, we can accept change and evolve through adversity without submitting to fearmongering.

GRATITUDE

Finally, I am filled with GRATITUDE, every day. I’m grateful for the confidence you — our Directors — put in me last September when you elected me. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve and to learn from each of you. I’m grateful for the abundance, both personally and professionally, that I feel every morning when I wake up and get to work in this business for another day. And I’m grateful for the lessons my dad taught me — lessons I told you all about last year, to serve and give back, and though my dad is gone now, those lessons stay with me every day.

LEADERSHIP NOW

Leadership is imperative now. We need members who not only want to serve, but want to lead; leaders who have a deep understanding of our industry, the challenges we face, the opportunities at our fingertips. I believe that my experience, my passion and commitment, and my outlook are the reasons that you elected me last year to serve you. I also believe those are the very reasons I am the right person to continue to serve you as your Vice President of Member and Public Services. I am committed; I am involved; I care about the future of our industry and your place in it. I believe those things make me the right person, right now, for the position.

I humbly ask you to vote for me on September 13 for the 2025 Vice President of Member and Public Services for the Georgia Association of REALTORS®.

EXPERIENCE

RPAC COMMITMENT:

RPAC Platinum R, 2017-present
RPAC President’s Circle, 2016-present
RPAC Major Investor, 2012-present
RPAC Hall of Fame: $25k level – 2017; $50k level – 2021

Georgia REALTORS® Experience:

Vice President of Professional Development – 2024
- Overseeing Broker Council, Commercial Connection, GRI, Professional Development Committee
- Also a member of the following committees, by virtue of the Vice President position: Administration and Operations Committee, Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Legal Affairs Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, REALTOR® Party Advisory Group (Vice Chair)
Executive Committee – 2024, 2023, 2019-20, 2017
Website Redesign Task Force – CHAIR 2024
Administration and Operations Committee – 2021-22
Housing Opportunity Committee – CHAIR 2023 (Vice Chair 2022)
Region Restructure Task Force – CHAIR 2023
Special Recognition Committee – CHAIR 2021
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force – 2020-21
Regional Director – 2019-20
Communications and PR Committee Committee – 2019-20
Presidential Advisory Group (PAG) for Fair Housing Initiative – 2018
Strategic Planning Committee – CHAIR 2018 (Vice Chair 2017)
Professional Development Committee – VICE CHAIR 2018 (Member 2017)
YPN – CHAIR 2016 (Vice Chair 2015; Member 2014)
Presidential Advisory Group (PAG) for YPN – CHAIR 2016
Director – 2015-present
Leadership Academy, class of 2009

Atlanta REALTORS® Experience:

RPAC Committee – CHAIR 2024
RPAC Committee – VICE CHAIR 2023
Atlanta RPAC (ARPAC) Action Board of Trustees – 2023-24
Committee & Board Voting Structure Task Force – 2022
Director – 2015-20
Atlanta RPAC (ARPAC) Board of Trustees – CHAIR 2020 (Member 2013-14, 2019)
Emerging Leaders Program (Leadership Academy) – CHAIR 2017
Vice President of Member Services – 2016
Executive Committee – 2016
New REALTOR® Member Orientation Program – CHAIR 2015
Professional Development Committee – CHAIR 2014 (Member 2013, 2015)
Strategic Planning – 2013
Governmental Affairs & RPAC – 2009-11, 2013-14
YPN – 2013-16
Atlanta REALTORS® Leadership Academy, class of 2008
YCR (Young Council of REALTORS®, predecessor to YPN) – 2007-09

National association of REALTORS® Experience:

Director – 2024-26, 2022, 2021
Federal Legislative and Political Forum – CHAIR 2024
Federal Legislative and Political Forum – VICE CHAIR 2023
Public Policy Coordinating Committee – 2017-18, 2020-24
Public and Federal Issues Liaison* (to 18 committees and work groups) for President Charlie Oppler – 2021
REALTOR® University Regent – 2020
Federal Financing and Housing Policy – CHAIR 2018 (Vice Chair 2017; Immediate Past Chair 2019; Member 2015-16)
Fair Housing 50th Anniversary Task Force – 2017-18
Professional Development Committee – 2016
Leadership Academy, class of 2016
Member Communications Committee – 2014
Data Strategies Committee – 2013
Federal Technology Policy Advisory Board – 2013
Issues Mobilization Committee – 2010

Residential real estate council (formerly CRS) Experience:

Election Guidelines Implementation Committee – CHAIR 2021
Election Presidential Advisory Group (PAG) – CHAIR 2020
Strategic Planning Committee 2020
Director – 2019-20
Finance Committee – 2018
President’s Advisory Group on Education/CRS Courses – 2017
Membership Development Committee – VICE CHAIR 2016
Strategic Planning Committee – 2014-16
Membership Development Committee – 2014-15
President’s Advisory Group on YPN – 2013
CRS Leadership Academy, class of 2013
CRS Designee, since 2009

WOMEN’S COUNCIL Experience:

Speaker, Georgia Leadership Academy – June 2023
National Committee Liaison to NAR’s Public Policy Coordinating Committee – 2021-22
Speaker and Moderator, Network360 Conference – August 2021
Speaker, National Conference – November 2018
Speaker, National Conference – November 2013

*NAR Liaison to the following NAR Committees (2021): Business Insurance Work Group, Business Issues Policy Committee, Commercial Federal Policy Committee, Consumer Communications Committee, Conventional Financing and Policy Committee, Disaster Policy Work Group, Executive Committee, Federal Financing & Housing Policy Committee, Fair Housing Policy Committee, Federal Legislative and Political Forum, Federal Taxation Committee, Federal Technology Policy Committee, Housing Voucher Work Group, Insurance Committee, Land Use Property Rights and Environment Committee, NAR Franchise Policy Work Group, Public Policy Coordinating Committee, Regulatory Issues Forum