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Gino Blefari, CEO of HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, has appointed Teresa Palacios Smith as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for HomeServices and its subsidiaries, including its family of brokerage, mortgage, insurance, settlement-services, and relocation companies, and HSF Affiliates, which operates the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Real Living franchise networks.
In her role, Palacios Smith will lead HomeServices’ employee- and agent-diversity programs, cultivate a culture of equity and inclusion, and champion the company’s goal of increasing minority homeownership.
“There’s no place like home. Our home is a place that we associate with acceptance, family, love, safety, and belonging,” said Palacios Smith. “HomeServices exemplifies this and I’m honored to lead the diversity and inclusion efforts of a company that values its people, promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion, and cherishes homeownership and fair housing for all.”
Palacios Smith began her career as a successful real estate agent and served on Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties’ management team. In 2017, she joined HSF Affiliates as its Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion for the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Real Living franchise networks.
During her more than 20 years in the real estate industry, Palacios Smith has been a national speaker and trainer who has focused on emerging markets, unconscious bias, and real estate trends in diverse market segments. She is serves on the boards of many of the country’s top housing organizations that focus on supporting people from traditionally underserved communities and is recognized for her dedication to expanding and celebrating leadership opportunities in real estate for women. She is a past president of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), one of the largest associations of minority real estate professionals in the country, and a cofounder of the NAHREP’s Atlanta chapter. In 2019, she received the Diversity Leader Award from the National Association of Women in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem. In May 2018, she was honored by RISMedia with the Newsmaker award and was inducted, along with HomeServices’ executive chair Ron Peltier, into RISMedia’s Hall of Fame.
© 2020 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.