March 31, 2021 — Austin

The Texas Accredited Commercial Specialist Scholarship is designed to help resolve racial inequity in commercial real estate. With research confirming that Black and African American agents are the least represented in commercial real estate, the scholarship opened in January 2021 to all Black or African American REALTORS® in Texas with less than five years of experience in the industry. 

“Texas REALTORS® is committed to being a leader in fostering equity in the real estate industry,” said Travis Kessler, Texas REALTORS® president & CEO. “We understand the unique barriers to opportunities facing our Black and African American members, and our Texas Accredited Commercial Specialist Scholarship addresses inequity in commercial real estate by providing educational, financial, and networking opportunities to the recipient. We are proud to award this scholarship to Sonya Brown-Marshall from the Houston Association of REALTORS® .”

As a new real estate license holder, Sonya Brown-Marshall’s ambition is to utilize this scholarship to help small business owners. “I want to educate small business owners on the value of having the knowledge to secure commercial real estate for their business,” said Brown-Marshall. “The greatest achievement for me will be obtaining the knowledge and confidence to begin immediately working within the commercial real estate industry.” 

This scholarship is part of ongoing initiatives at Texas REALTORS® to reduce barriers in real estate. “Achieving equity requires a combination of support and actions that allow individuals to have equal access,” said Andréa Moore, vice president of diversity and inclusion and talent opportunity at the National Association of REALTORS® . “Initiatives focused on understanding and addressing barriers to equity is a vital component of an organization’s diversity and inclusion strategy. Programs designed to increase the number of minority participants within the real estate industry can help bring meaningful and lasting change.”