New Jersey Women: That’s Who We R!

Pamela Banks lives in Unincorporated Palm Beach County, near Wellington, Florida. She has lived in Florida for a very long time...and although she calls Florida home, she is originally from New Jersey.

Pamela is currently serving as the 2021 President of the Women's Council of REALTORS®.

She married her high school sweetheart in 1980 and started her family in 1982. She has been married for 40 years and has three grown sons and three beautiful granddaughters.

Pamela has been licensed since 2000. She is involved in her local and state Associations serving on committees and is currently on the Board of Directors for Florida REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS®. She is also a Sterling R President’s Circle RPAC contributor.

Ilene Horowitz, ABR, AHWD, a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker in Mountain Lakes, has been a Realtor® for more than 23 years. An outstanding member of the Realtor® community, she has served on dozens of local, state, and national committees. She has held several leadership positions for each committee including President of the North Central Jersey Association of Realtors® from 2012-2014, and the 2016 NJ Realtors® Realtor® of the Year. She has been an NJ Realtors® Circle of Excellence Award recipient from 1999-2018. Horowitz served her community on the White Meadow Lake Property Owners Association Past Board of Directors, as well as the White Meadow Lake Festival Day Committee and White Meadow Lake Blood Drive.

Jones, a Realtor® since 1983, is the Broker Owner of Amerisource Realty Network, LLC in Parsippany, a commercial real estate firm specializing in office, retail, land sales, and leasing. At the state level, Jones has served on the NJ Realtors® Board of Directors, Executive Committee, 2017 Treasurer, 2015 Association Operations Division Officer, and 2014 Professional Conduct Division Officer. In addition, he has chaired and served on numerous committees.

At the local level, Jones has been a member of the North Central Jersey Association of Realtors® Board of Trustees for several years. He has served as Secretary and Treasurer twice. At the national level, Jones served on the Commercial Committee, Legislative Committee, and Regulatory Committee as well as a special Presidential PAG on commercial real estate in 2018. He has been an RPAC Major Donor since 2013.

In addition to his association work, Jones has authored a commercial course for North Central Jersey Association of Realtors® continuing education classes. He currently serves as one of North Central Jersey School of Business instructors. A National Association of Realtors® certified Mediator. He also served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Ethics Committee. Jeff and his wife Marianne have been married for 36 years and have two daughters, Katie and Kelly.

Shannon McGahn is the Chief Advocacy Officer for the National Association of REALTORS®, which represents more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

McGahn is responsible for leading NAR’s Advocacy Group, which includes Federal Legislative and Political Affairs and Political Representative teams. She provides strategic advice on public policy issues impacting NAR and helps direct its Independent Expenditure and Public Advocacy programs. Before joining America’s largest trade association, McGahn served as the staff director for the House Financial Services Committee and, prior to that, as a counselor to the United States Treasury Secretary. She also held communications roles for three members of House Leadership during her near 20-year Capitol Hill career. In addition, McGahn served as Vice President for a D.C.-based public affairs firm, and held the same position for a consulting firm focused on grassroots communication in major national media markets.

As the first woman to hold the Chief Advocacy Officer position in NAR’s 112-year history, McGahn brings with her nearly two decades of experience working with or for the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government. As she continues her career at NAR, she is focused on working on behalf of America’s 1.3 million REALTORS® to promote and protect property ownership for people across the United States. McGahn earned her B.A. in History from The George Washington University. A native of Westerville, Ohio, she currently resides in Potomac, Maryland, with her husband and two sons.

Carmen Mercado is the Affordable Lending Business Development Manager for Freddie Mac, in charge of building awareness of resources, products and tools for real estate professionals to help support responsible lending, provide sustainable homeownership and improve access to credit for all borrowers. As part of her ongoing responsibilities, she is focused on engaging with real estate professionals and industry leaders in alignment with the company’s affordable lending, credit access and housing and financial literacy goals. Prior to her current position, Carmen was the National Director of Strategic Growth Markets at Realogy Franchise Group.

Morin currently serves as a New Jersey Realtors® Educational Foundation Trustee, NJ RPAC Trustee, and is the Professional Development Division Officer. She is a member of the Political Affairs Committee and served as 2018 Convention Committee Vice-Chair. On the local level, Morin serves on Metro Centre Association of Realtors® Board of Directors. She also serves on local committees including Budget & Finance, RPAC Fundraising, Public Relations, Bylaws, Education, and Realtor® of the Year.

In 2019 Morin was a Member of the National Association of Realtors® Association Executive Committee Volunteer Leadership Advisory Board, and in 2018 was a member on the NAR Professional Development Committee. In 2017 Morin was named Realtor® of the Year on the state and local level.

Brenda is a Broker-Associate with Keller Williams Realty-The Brenda Richmond Group, operating her real estate business for the past 20 years within Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties. Her mission is to assist clients and customers to achieve their desire to own real estate and to advance the level of service and knowledge of agents in our business, while maintaining honesty, integrity, reputation and trustworthiness.

Brenda is currently serving as the 2021 President of Women’s Council of Realtors®-New Jersey. She is a member of the Nexus Association of Realtors®; New Jersey Realtors® (NJR), NJR Risk Management Committee member and a lifelong New Jersey resident.

Leslie Rouda Smith (ABR®, CRS®, PMN, CRB, e-PRO®, CIPS, AHWD, C2EX), a REALTOR® for 35 years from Plano, Texas, is the 2021 President-elect of the National Association of REALTORS®.

Leslie is a broker associate at Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate in Dallas, where she specializes in residential, ranch and country real estate along with her husband Brian and their children, Kristin and Austin, all of whom are REALTORS®.

At the national level, Leslie has been a member of NAR’s Board of Directors since 2009 and has served several years on the Executive Committee. In 2017, she was the vice president for Region 10, comprised of Louisiana and Texas, and she chaired the “Future of the REALTOR® Party” PAG. In 2013, she served on the NAR Leadership Team as vice president.

In 2009 and 2011, she served as a liaison for two NAR past presidents. Also in 2011, she chaired the Leadership Academy Advisory Board, served as the political fundraising liaison, and served on Presidential Advisory Groups for political survival as well as National Flood Insurance Program implementation. In 2008, Leslie chaired the Professional Development Committee.

Leslie is very active in REALTOR® Party activities. She has been a member of the RPR Board of Directors and was a longtime Regent for the REALTOR® University. She has experience serving on numerous NAR committees, including Finance, Strategic Thinking, Communications, and Research.

At the state level, Leslie was the 2016 Chairman of the Board of Texas REALTORS®. She has served on their Board of Directors for multiple terms. She was named their 2018 REALTOR® of the Year and received the Texas REALTORS® Distinguished Service Award in 2014. She was the founder of the Texas REALTORS® State YPN Network.

Leslie is a past recipient of the Salesperson of the Year award from a local association. She received REALTOR® of the Year from her local board, the Collin County Association of REALTORS® in Plano, Texas. She served as president of the Dallas chapter of the Women’s Council of REALTORS® in 1998, and in 2014, she was named Entrepreneur of the Year for the Texas Women’s Council of REALTORS® Chapter.

Active in her community, Leslie has volunteered on behalf of affordable housing programs, neighborhood revitalization, and housing opportunity initiatives. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the Ohio State University, where she was named an Outstanding Young Alumni.

Diane is the Broker-Owner of NextHome Nexus Realty Group in Toms River. She has been a full-time real estate agent since 1996 and believes that exceptional service is key in today's fast paced society and that education and experience go hand in hand in achieving success. Diane is an Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) and a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (GRI).

She is the 2021 Treasurer/Secretary of the Monmouth Ocean Regional Realtors® and the Immediate Past President of Women's Council of Realtors-New Jersey State.

Kim Zwiener is the Broker/Owner for Sellstate Empire Realty, a 100% local (Lincoln, Nebraska), woman owned company. Throughout Kim's career in real estate, she has been a leader, an educator, a manager and an owner who never shied away from challenges. She is President of the Realtors® Association of Lincoln and 2021 Chairperson of the Realtors® Safety Advisory Committee for the National Association of Realtors®.

Her favorite pastimes include reading-both fiction and non-fiction, jogging, riding motorcycles and experiencing unique events with my family and friends.