Asian Real Estate Association Of America (AREAA)

Founded in 2003, AREAA is a national nonprofit trade organization dedicated to improving the lives of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community through homeownership. Now, celebrating its 20th anniversary, it is the largest Asian American trade organization in the country with 17,000 members and 43 chapters. I am excited to have been elected as the 2023 President of the AREAA San Antonio Chapter. Our local chapter is now in its sixth year and I am proud to be asked to continue the work that was started in 2018 and continued by so many.

We have had many successful events so far this year and look forward to a great year ahead. We started the year with a fun Asian American Heritage night at the Spurs game in January. The Installation of Officers and Gala was held at the JW Marriott in March and in April, we had a solar tax credit program at Dashi.

In addition, I, along with board members Yen Yan and Ojas Tasker, were able to respond to SB 147 on KSAT News. And May was a very busy month for us as it was Asian American Heritage Month. We joined our sister Texas chapters at the Capitol in Austin to speak to our legislators regarding issues affecting our communities and to celebrate our cultures. The crawfish mixer to raise awareness about the needs of the homeless was also held in May at Tandem and was a great success and then we moved on to attend our annual Diversity and Fair Housing Summit in DC. This month we will hold our Member Appreciation Event followed in July by a Commercial Update and 1031 class. In August we have scheduled a commercial tour and will hold our Annual Dodgeball Tournament in October. In November we work on our food drive and will finish the year with a toy drive for Christmas. Stay tuned for dates, time and locations for these events.

Some of AREAA to date include successfully persuading the US Census Bureau to track and include Asian housing data as a standalone category in its quarterly reports on homeownership by race and ethnicity; collaborating with the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) to create translated resources in Chinese for Limited English Proficiency(LEP) borrowers. Korean, Vietnamese, and Tagalog are set to launch this year; working with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to include a Preferred Language Field on the 2020 redesigned Loan Application in order to better capture the needs of LEP borrowers.

In 2019, the FHFA removed the question. AREAA continues to advocate for the reversal of its decision; and finally helping to change underwriting standards to more fairly account for student loans that were in deferment when calculating a borrower’s debt-toincome ratio.

Our goals for the rest of the year include: working closely through our board to continue brainstorming so we may implement innovative strategies that add value to our members’ experiences which would mean creating meaningful networking opportunities, offering professional development resources, and facilitating access to cutting-edge industry knowledge and technology to provide that value to our members.

We will continue to expand our reach through the power of collaboration which works to foster relationships with affiliate organizations and key stakeholders in the real estate industry which allows us to co-host events, share resources, and increase our visibility in the community as we are committed to giving back to those communities we serve. To this end we organize fundraisers and community service events throughout the year which provides us the opportunity to make a tangible impact on the lives of those around us and demonstrates our commitment to social responsibility.

Continuing to build a cohesive team within our board of directors continues to be my goal as the board of directors is the backbone of the chapter and I recognize the importance of having a strong and cohesive team. I will continue to help organize teambuilding events and facilitate an open communication system to ensure that we are aligned in our vision of AREAA's true mission. Please consider joining us as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary and complete another successful year. There is no time like the present to experience our diverse cultures.

Jul 1 Patricia Israe Kimberly Howell Properties

Jul 2 Marcus Jones RE/MAX Corridor

Brenda Malcolm Fathom Realty

R.J. Reyes Keller Williams Heritage

Nikki Diamond-Jones Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper

Carolyn Hernandez BHHS Pen Fed Realty

Steve Bennet BHGRE Homecity

Jul 3 Misty Wood Keller Williams City View

Yvonne Kal RE/MAX Preferred

Jul 4 Wiley Cloud Texas Hill Country Realty

Jakey Weilbacher Kuper Sotheby's International

Jul 5 Janie Thelen RE/MAX Associates

Robert Collins GSG Property Management

Jim Concannon ERA Troy Realtors

Art Martinez Texas Land 4 You

Rose Garcia Home Team of America

Jul 6 Ted York Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper

Jul 7 Jason Johnson RE/MAX Preferred

Bertha Soraiz Truman & Saenz Realty

Lea Rongey JB Goodwin Realtors

Mini Varghese BHHS PenFed Realty

Loretta Baeza Annette Slater, Broker

Jul 8 Charles Jeffers III DH Realty Partners

Brenda Escobedo Full Spectrum Realty

Kevin Fenno Home Team of America

Jul 9 Barbara Ayala Texas Listing Agents

Judy Crawford Kuper Sotheby's International

Dorothy Ybarra Century 21 Scott Myers

Dave Munro RE/MAX Preferred

April Frazee Keller Williams Legacy

Jul 10 Bruce Osborne JB Goodwin Realtors

Bil Trodlier Keller Williams City View

Phyllis Teer Home Team of America

Sara McCaffrey Southern Style Hospitality

Denver Lambuth Home Team of America

Jul 11 George Julian RE/MAX Preferred

Jul 12 Susan Gross Phyllis Browning Company

Monette Kroeger Phyllis Browning Company

Steve Short Alamo Top Realty

Andrew Morin eXp Realty

Jul 13 Rick Acosta RE/MAX Associates Boerne

Michelle Perez Realty Executives of S.A.

Jul 14 Hank Macias Old Republic Title

Jul 15 Edward Greene BHHS Don Johnson Realtors

Jul 16 Michael King Realty Executives of S.A

Marlene Gray Century 21 The Hills Realty

Jul 17 Dianne Garibay Keller Williams City View

Jesse Fuller Sterling Group Real Estate

Kathy Ripps Kuper Sotheby's International

Pepa Thomas RE/MAX North-San Antonio

Pat Busby Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper

Parisa Sanchez BHGRE Homecity

Jane Baker Premier Realty Group

Laura Wing RE/MAX Associates

Andre Dade Central Metro Realty

Jul 18 Joel "Jerry" Porras eXp Realty

Shelly Jeffries Phyllis Browning Company

Kate Crone Phyllis Browning Company

Jul19 Colleen Sherwood REAL Broker, LLC

Lynnette Boyd Prime Realty

Jul 20 Sheryl Sepulveda Brigette Neal

Rene Cervantez Century 21 The Hills Realty

Jul 21 Lisa Bates REAL Broker, LLC

Jeselle Garza Century 21 The Hills Realty

Debra Perez Levi Rodgers Real Estate Group

Lauren Denman DosLunas Realty

Donna Fremin Century 21 Scott Myers

Jul 22 Michael Daniels King Realtors

Rita Stanley Premier Town & Country Realty

Mike Daniel Century 21 Scott Myers

J.C. Rubiola Rubiola Realty

Jul 23 Toni Smart Smart Group Realtors

Rick Jorgensen Alamo Top Realty

Claudia Escobedo Vortex Realty

Jul 24 Judy Dunlap Phyllis Browning Company

Frank Bailey Keller Williams Heritage

Janet Heydenreich Phyllis Browning Company

Cathy Cole RE/MAX North-San Antonio

Jul 25 Lindsay Blodgett Inspire TX Realty

Jul 26 Matt Troy ERA Troy Realtors

Carol Levandoski SABOR

Pat Howell Phyllis Browning Company

Cheryl Julian RE/MAX Preferred

Jene Rand Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper

Laura Whitehead Delise Realty

Delaine Gaston EXIT Premier Realty

Linda Steven Linda Stevens

Jul 27 Mary Ann Sisneros Home Team of America

Jeffrey Bradley Patriot Realty

Barbara Kressin Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper

Jul 28 David Sawyer Century 21 The Hills Realty

Arnold Rodriguez Premier Properties

Jul 29 Jacque Klatt Jacque Klatt, Broker

Alison Heft Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper

Jul 30 Fran Stankovich Century 21 Scott Myers

Adrian Moreno All City Real Estate

Jul 31 Becky Hicks Old Republic Title

Jeff Pozzi Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper