Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, HSF Affiliates LLC

(Check out our latest Magazine Issue, for our sheCENTER(FOLD) on Teresa)

 

Teresa Palacios Smith is Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer for HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate which is one of the country's premier providers of homeownership services, including brokerage, mortgage, franchising, title, escrow, insurance, and relocation services. In her role, Teresa oversees the organizations commitment to employee and agent diversity programs, along with cultivating a culture of equity and inclusion and championing the company's goal of increasing minority homeownership.

 

Teresa has over 25+ years of experience in the real estate industry and is a sought-after keynote speaker and trainer at national and local industry events specializing in women in leadership, diversity, real estate, and multicultural strategies. She currently serves on the boards/councils of some of top housing organizations in the country including AREAA, LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, NAHREP, NAMMBA, NAREB, NAWRB’s NDLIC and Rocket Homes. Teresa also serves as an Executive Sponsor for “Our Familia” which is the newest Employee Resource Group within the Berkshire Hathaway Energy company. She is also co-founder and Executive Sponsor of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ FoREver Pride network.

 

In 2022, Teresa was featured on the cover of NAWRB’s Magazine. She was also featured in Hispanic Executive Magazine for her work in advancing women in leadership. In 2021, Teresa authored the foreword to the book From Athletics to Engineering: 8 Ways to Support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for All by Johnnie Johnson and Dr. Michael Webber. In 2020, Teresa founded, Women Who Lead, a Facebook and YouTube series featuring powerful and influential women and in 2022 the podcast was launched. In 2019, Teresa was honored with NAWRB's Diversity leader award which recognizes top leaders in the industry. Teresa has been recognized as a Trailblazer by RISMedia and was also inducted into the inaugural class of RISMedia’s Newsmaker's Hall of Fame. Teresa is a founding member of HSoA Foundation which a 501c-3 non-profit organization focused on housing equity. Teresa is the founder of Diversity MEETS, a monthly gathering of the organizations’ diversity councils and business resource groups across the country.

 

Teresa served as 2015-16 President of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) one of the largest minority trade associations in the country with more than 75,000 members. She is the co-founder of the NAHREP-Atlanta chapter and served as President in 2010. Teresa is a past chair of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

 

Teresa holds an active Georgia REALTOR® license and is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and the Society for Human Resource Management. She is a first-generation graduate of Mississippi State University where she received a B.A. in Broadcasting and Public Relations. Teresa is the proud daughter of Colombian immigrants and is fluent in Spanish.

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