Nate Ellis
The real estate community has lost a beloved advocate, educator and friend.
Nate Ellis, the Local Education Directors Chair at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), died today as a result of complications from an illness. He was 39 years old.
A former loan officer and mortgage specialist, Ellis found his calling when he began working as a Realtor and joined the Contra Costa Association of Realtors (CCAR) as the chair of the association’s social media communications committee in 2007.
As a Keller Williams agent (Ellis joined the franchise in 2008 and was a KW agent through February 2011), Ellis first adopted the title “technology coach.” He found a niche that would lead him to helping so many others in the real estate industry.
In 2011, Ellis became CCAR’s director of education and training. His duties there included training users on new technical tools, assessing training effectiveness, developing relationships and setting goals. He became the Local Education Directors Chair at NAR in January 2015.
Ellis had a gift for teaching, training and helping others. He used that gift to uplift his colleagues in the real estate industry, giving them tools to be better at their jobs and thus better serve the world.
On the Nate Ellis Support Page, a Facebook group with more than 1,200 “likes” that was created to support Ellis and offer updates as to his condition, the news was met with heartbreak.
A post from the Facebook Nate Ellis Support Page with tributes to Ellis. Screencapture taken at 3:45 PT 4/12/16.
In honor of Ellis, publisher Brad Inman announced a new Inman Innovator Award.
“The Nate Ellis Giving Back Award will be given to an individual who has been devoted to giving more than they take from the industry,” said Inman. “We send our deepest condolences to Nate’s family and friends, and we hope this award will help keep his spirit of service alive and inspire others to follow his example.”