Long Island Board of REALTORS® Welcomes New CEO Tessa Hultz

The Long Island Board of REALTORS® Inc. (LIBOR) welcomes Tessa Hultz, RCE, CAE, CIPS, as the new Chief Executive Officer.

Hultz has served as a REALTOR® Association Executive for nearly 15 years. Her commitment to keeping REALTORS® central to the transaction and Association advocacy efforts is unwavering.

“We are elated to welcome Tessa to the Long Island Board of REALTORS® as our new CEO,” said Dianne Scalza, President of LIBOR. “Tessa captivated us with her warmth, energy and enthusiasm. She possesses a sincere passion for our REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) and in turn, homeownership advocacy. She will undoubtedly inspire others to complete old ideas and search for new ones. Tessa is an unequivocal fit, she is a great addition to a strong membership, which will continue to grow in the coming years.”

Hultz began her career in Association Management as the Director of Education, first with the Columbia Board of REALTORS® in Columbia, MO, and then with the St. Louis Association of REALTORS®. Next, she joined the Wichita Area Association of REALTORS® and South-Central Kansas MLS as their CEO, before taking her most recent position as President of the Triangle Multiple Listing Service and CEO of the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS®, where she has served since 2013.

Subscribing to the concept that Steve Jobs brought to life during his 2005 Stanford University commencement address, “you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backward.” Hultz believes that being named LIBOR CEO is a culmination of connecting the dots along her capacious path in the REALTOR® Association industry. It’s these dots of past experiences which have sowed the seeds for Hultz’s tenure at LIBOR. She will bring the best practices of her previous positions and apply them to her work at the fourth largest local REALTOR® association in the country.

Since entering the field, Hultz has earned several notable achievements and honors, including the REALTOR® Association Certified Executive (RCE), the Certified Association Executive (CAE) and the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designations. Hultz has been recognized by her peers, being named an inaugural recipient of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) AE-YPN Leaders of Tomorrow Award and with her induction into the Bud Smith Leadership Society, whose members play an active, ongoing role as leading contributors to the industry and innovative mentors for the AE community.

As demonstrated by her membership in the NAR-RPAC Hall of Fame, Hultz’s passion lies in RPAC and housing advocacy. Her focus for LIBOR is to unite REALTORS® in the name of protecting buyers, sellers, renters and homeowners alike. Following the sentiment “There’s no national association of homeowners, we’re it.” said by Jerry Giovaniello, former Senior Vice President and Chief Lobbyist at the National Association of REALTORS®.

The LIBOR Board of Directors appointed a Search Committee to work with a national executive search firm to recruit candidates for the CEO position. Hultz, who joined LIBOR in February, replaces Joseph E. Mottola, who departs after forty-three years at the helm of the 26,000-member association.

“I am excited to join the staff and leadership of the Long Island Board of REALTORS® as the new CEO.” Hultz said. “I look forward to working together to build on LIBOR’s proud history and traditions, while meeting the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. I know together we will make great things happen.”

On a personal note - Tessa, a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, counters her thirst for skydiving by deeply rooting her feet and hands in the soil, as an avid gardener. Also a bibliophile, Tessa didn’t stray far from her love of the land with her last read, The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Tessa’s first stop in exploring the surroundings of her new home, will be the astrophysical wonderment at Hayden Planetarium, with her husband Preston and son John Preston.

Media contact: Christina DeFalco-Romano