The National Association of Realtors, the largest trade group in the U.S. at 1.4 million members, is filling out its heavy-hitting advocacy team with three promotions.
Bryan Greene, who joined NAR in November 2019 as its first director of fair housing, is being promoted to vice president of policy advocacy. He replaces Joe Ventrone, who will retire as of Dec. 31 and has served as a vice president at NAR since 2003.
Bryan Greene
Before joining NAR, Greene was a veteran of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), overseeing the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. He graduated from Harvard University in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in government.
At NAR, he helped develop a comprehensive strategy to combat bias in the U.S. real estate industry and has implemented NAR’s fair housing plan, the trade group said in a press release. He was a ubiquitous figure during NAR’s Realtors Conference and Expo last month, which was heavily focused on fair housing.
Greene will keep his fair housing role at NAR while also overseeing all of the trade group’s public policy and industry relations, NAR said.
Joe Harris
Joe Harris, who joined NAR as a federal lobbyist in 2015 and became its director of federal and legislative political affairs in January 2019, has been promoted to vice president of government advocacy.
Before his work at NAR, Harris spent eight years on Capitol Hill advising Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Congressman John Spratt (D-SC). In the middle of those years he earned a law degree from the University of South Carolina, graduating in 2009. NAR said Harris’s experience and years of relationships in Congress helped the trade group navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lastly, Helen Devlin, who joined NAR as a senior lobbyist in 2004 and has also previously served as its director of federal legislative and political affairs, has been promoted to vice president of strategy.
Helen Devlin
According to NAR, Devlin has been “a fixture” on Capitol Hill since graduating from Hanover College in 1988. She served as a chief of staff and legislative aide and in 1996 got a master’s degree in public administration with a focus on public policy analysis from George Mason University.
The trade group credited Devlin with implementing reforms to NAR’s advocacy group, including a “Call to Action” program the trade group said had been highly successful and improved communication and collaboration between NAR members and their elected representatives.
“This group fills out a dream team of talent and professionalism that will help solidify our advocacy group’s position as the envy of Washington,” said Shannon McGahn, chief advocacy officer of NAR in a statement.
Shannon McGahn | Photo credit: NAR
“Bryan, Joe and Helen are invaluable to our work with both lawmakers on Capitol Hill and regulators throughout this city, and I’m tremendously proud and excited to announce their promotions to these new and much-deserved roles.”
McGahn, a former official with the Trump administration, was NAR’s senior vice president of government affairs before she was promoted to chief advocacy officer on October 1, following the announced retirement of Bill Malkasian, NAR’s former chief advocacy officer.
“Bryan, Joe and Helen are exceptional and experienced leaders, and I am excited to see what they will accomplish in their new roles at NAR,” said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg in a statement.
“I have received many compliments about our modernized and revamped advocacy operation, and these successes would not be possible without this team. With the foundation and strategic vision laid out by Bill Malkasian, Joe Ventrone and our new chief advocacy officer Shannon McGahn, we will have many more successes to celebrate in 2021 and beyond.”
