Council of MLS elects two progressive, emerging MLS leaders to their Board of Directors

Congrats to Justin Haag and Chris Haran, two of my absolute favorites to the Council of MLS Board of Directors!

I am confident Justin Haag, soon to be the new CEO of Northwest MLS in Seattle and a leader in advocacy and promotion of Buyer’s Agency along with Chris Haran, one of the best and brightest technology strategists and visionary in the industry are going to be terrific additions to the leadership team of CMLS. 

I often reminisce about my days serving on the CMLS Board of Directors, supporting strategic planning, membership engagement and industry surveys. I was at dinner at night with John Mosey and, as I do, passionately pitched a bunch of ideas about how CMLS could step into a critical leadership position. As Mosey does, he said “Great ideas Marilyn!  Come to the next board meeting and share these ideas with our Board of Directors!  Be careful what you wish for, right?  

That was the beginning of the time when CMLS was starting to think about taking on a much larger role. I was lucky to be there to help drive the evolution of the organization from mainly a conference planning organization to a fully functional advocacy, education, and best practices sharing organization. In those days we had no paid staff at all!  Just a passionate and highly engaged volunteer leadership team driving innovation and the formation of new programs. 

Those were the days when Merri Jo Cowen led the initiative to create the CMLX program. Until that time there was no education available to help groom future staff leaders or methods to help MLS leaders learn how to be effective drivers of MLS Success. 

I am proud to be a long-time member and contributor to the success of CMLS!  

Cant wait to see where Dionna, John, Nicole and Jim and the rest of the Executive Team are going to take the organization in 2024!

Congrats!

 

See full press release below:



 

COUNCIL OF MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICES ELECTS NEW DIRECTORS FOR 2024

HENDERSON, Nev., December 12, 2023 – The Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS), the professional trade organization serving the Multiple Listing Services industry and representing 231 member organizations with 1.8 million subscribers, has elected new directors for 2024. They will assume their roles on January 1, 2024.

Justin Haag, General Counsel and incoming President and CEO (Jan. 1, 2024) of Northwest MLS (Washington); and Chris Haran, Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer of MRED (Illinois), were elected to serve three-year terms on the CMLS Board of Directors. Matthew Consalvo, CEO of ARMLS (Arizona) was re-elected for a second three-year term.

“We are very fortunate to welcome these leaders to the CMLS Board,” said Denee Evans, CEO of CMLS. “Our leadership is committed to guiding MLSs to evolve and innovate while providing efficient, transparent, and pro-consumer marketplaces. There has never been a more important time for MLSs to share our value, and I am encouraged by the contributions these new leaders have already made to our industry and will add to the strength and vision of the CMLS Board.”

The 2024 executive committee was announced in October at CMLS2023: Dionna Hall, CEO of BeachesMLS (Florida) will serve as chair; John DiMichele, CEO of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (Toronto) was named chair-elect; Nicole Jensen, CEO of realMLS (Florida) was elected secretary/treasurer; and Jim Yockel, CEO of Upstate NY Real Estate Information Service, Inc. (New York) will serve as past chair. All four will serve one-year terms.

The newly elected directors will join our current directors: Brad Bjelke, CEO of UtahRealEstate.com (Utah); Jeff Bosch, CEO of IRES, LLC (Colorado); Brian Donnellan, CEO of Bright MLS (Maryland); Faith Geronimo, CEO and President of Hawaii Information Services (Hawaii); Shelley Specchio, CEO of MIBOR Realtor Association (Indiana); Colette Stevenson, CEO of REsides, Inc. (South Carolina); and Rob Wagoner, Senior VP & MLS Director, Heartland Multiple Listing Service (Kansas and Missouri).

The CMLS Board of Directors advances the multiple listing service by supporting the CMLS mission and strategic priorities. MLS directors are elected by the general membership. The board of directors elects officers.

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About CMLS

CMLS is an association of 231 multiple listing services, serving over 1.8 million combined subscribers. CMLS is committed to a competitive real estate marketplace accessible to all, advances the pursuit of excellence among its member organizations, and serves as the unified voice of the MLS community.

For more information, please visit CMLS at www.cmls.org.