UNITE Speakers

Cynthia is CEO and Co-Founder of Pearl Certification, a vertical SaaS firm that provides investment grade data on a home’s performance features to increase its value in the refinance or real estate transaction. Cynthia is also the co-founder of the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council and a twenty-year veteran in energy efficiency and green construction. Voted 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council, she is also the 2018 winner of the Linda Wigington Leadership Award from the Building Performance Association, and she serves on NAR’s Sustainability Advisory Group. Cynthia has been a gubernatorial appointee to the Virginia Energy Council and Executive Committee on Energy Efficiency. She has been certified as a USGBC LEED Accredited Professional and NAR Green Designee. 

As the lead Subject Matter Expert of NAR’s upcoming rebuild of ePro, 2023 RIS Media Newsmaker as an Industry Futurist, over 150 in-person & virtual speaking engagements around the world each year, including sessions for NAR, several state conventions, franchises, CRS & other key industry events, Craig Grant is considered one of the most sought-after technology, marketing & cybersecurity speakers around. 

Whether it be at an industry event, in the classroom, or online via Zoom or the RETI.us portal, one thing that fuels Craig is to help today’s real estate professionals embrace and get over their fear of technology so that it can work for them and not against them. 

As his motto, “Advanced Real Estate Technology & Marketing Instructed at Pre-K Level” states, Craig is able to take extremely complicated topics & present them in a way that the average non-technical person not only understands but is able to apply & improve their business. 

Kim Harvey is the Director of Sustainability in the Minneapolis Health Department at the City of Minneapolis. He is responsible for the development of policy and programs that support the city’s Climate Action Goals and elevate racial and environmental justice initiatives.   With a background in urban planning, Kim leverages the resources of the community and city to create a more resilient, equitable and healthy community through public policy and collaboration with local utilities, community residents, business, and government. 

Robin LeBaron is the president, and co-founder of Pearl Certification, a national firm that is transforming the way homes are bought and sold in the U.S. by certifying high-performing homes and creating a platform that connects homeowners with the professionals who build, improve, sell, and finance high-performing homes. Prior to co-founding Pearl, Robin served as the Managing Director of the National Home Performance Council, a national non-profit organization created to promote energy efficiency upgrades in U.S. homes, where he led national efforts that developed energy efficiency, real estate home data, and certification standards, and authored guides on best practices in energy efficiency for the U.S. Department of Energy and other stakeholders. He previously served as the executive director of Hope Community, Inc., a non-profit based in East Harlem, New York, that built and managed 1,200 units of affordable housing, including the first affordable LEED Silver multi-family buildings in New York City. 

• Licensed mortgage banker over 25 yrs.—funding residential & development loans
• Driving new regulatory and legislative policies for high-performance financing programs and incentives in Washington DC. Stakeholders include the DOE (Department of Energy), HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development), Fannie Mae, The Appraisal Foundation, legislators, and energy policymakers
• Published author of "Green Energy Money for Residential Properties"
• Awarded two U.S. patents for Green Loans
• Developed national curriculum quantifying value for green homes
  

After surviving three near death encounters in his native country of Trinidad – including almost losing his ear in a gang fight at age 14 – a 17-year-old Ifoma Pierre turned his life around. He received a craftsman diploma from John Donald Technical Institute and started making various types of clothing which he sold on a wall eight hours away by boat in the sister island of Tobago. 

Pierre met and married the love his life Hazel at age 22. But after a bad property deal took their life savings, they decided to start over in New York City and moved into a basement rental so small his nine-month old’s room was a closet. 

Pierre humorously thought himself the “perfect candidate” when he answered a newspaper ad to make money in real estate with no experience or money required! When the opportunity didn’t work out, he quickly realized a license would lead to better opportunities, but it would be three years before his first sale. Despite the slow start he continued to invest every dollar he had on personal development books, coaching and tools and by 2018, Pierre was named one of the Top 20 Rising Stars in Real Estate under 40 by the Long Island Board of REALTORS®.

Pierre has been an International Corporate Trainer and is a John Maxwell Certified Speaker Trainer & Coach. 

Todd is a connector of people and ideas. He sees the world as it could be and takes the risk to step into the unknown. Todd can vision how the collaboration between people, ideas, and change can evolve into something better for individuals, organizations, and the human capital within. As a Realtor, thought leader, startup CEO, he is committed to the business of organized real estate.  

Todd served on the Strategic Planning Committee 2022, at The National Association of Realtors as Chair 2014, worked to deliver The ReThink Experience, Think2020, The NAR DANGER REPORT and implemented a 3-year Strategic Plan. Serves as Chair / Vice Chair of the 2018/2022 Sustainability Advisory Group his group delivered a set of Strategic Priorities to the NAR Leadership Team, to be implemented across the organization and the industry. As Chair 2022/2018 Northstar Multiple Listings Service of Minnesota he has recently completed a CEO search.  He co-founded PicketFence.com - bootstrapped and coordinated a start up team to launch into the proptech space.  

Todd has twenty-seven years of experience bringing together smart enthusiastic property owners and buyers. He never underestimates the power, knowledge and skill required to project manage a successful real estate transaction. With 500 + successful transactions, he still focuses on working with each client personally, listening to the client’s needs and wants and giving them the benefit of his 26 years of experience.  

Aaron Smith is the CEO of the Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) which represents a community of over 50,000 builders and their stakeholders across North America that are truly the early adopters and innovators in driving sustainable transformation of the homebuilding industry. Aaron has over 25 years of experience in home construction, building products, sustainability, and non-profit board leadership. He has worked for companies including Kohler, Uponor and ASSA ABLOY as well as startups in Silicon Valley and is CEO of GreenSmith Builders, which focuses on net zero build-to-rent properties. Aaron previously served on non-profit Boards for Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC), CT Sustainable Business Council, and co-founded the CT Collaborative - Living Building Challenge. Aaron completed his undergraduate studies at West Point and St. Cloud State University and is a 2016 graduate of the Yale University MBA program with a focus on Sustainability. He loves green building and sustainability as well as hockey, hiking, skiing, gardening, and spending time with his wife, Jennifer, 3 boys and 3 cats and chickens at their home in Minneapolis. 

Fawn Weaver has been a serial entrepreneur for more than 25 years. As the CEO and founder of Grant Sidney, Inc, a privately held investment company, Weaver has often been active in her investments, serving in leadership capacities behind the scenes. Weaver is a popular TED speaker, as well as a US Today and New York Times bestselling author who has appeared on 100s of popular newspapers, radio, morning, and television talk shows across the US, including FOX Business, the TODAY show, The New York Times, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America and CNBC. She is a regular contributor to Inc. Magazine and has been interviewed by top shows in Canada, United Kingdom, South Africa, Italy, Belgium, Australia, Ireland, Poland, Spain and New Zealand on topics ranging from accelerating growth in business without losing your soul to creating a happy balance between work and family. 

Weaver is the first Black American woman to build a $1B+company from the ground up, who is not a celebrity. She serves as the CEO of Uncle Nearest Inc., a company she founded in 2016, which sits under the Grant Sidney umbrella. Uncle Nearest Whiskey is the fastest-growing American Whiskey brand in the US History, the best selling African American founded spirit brand of all time and was the most award-winning American whiskey (including bourbon) of 2019, 2020, 2021 and has now extended that winning streak to include 2022. 

Weaver launches her first company, a public relations and special events firm, in 1996. In addition to her firm, from 1998-2003, she served as Partner and Business Manager for G. Garvin’s LLC, the operator of G. Garvin’s Restaurant. Weaver developed the business plan, secured development and operational funding and was business manager for the first four years. 

Taking a six year break from entrepreneurialism, to learn what it was like to be the employee rather than the employer, Weaver held a variety of positions in the hospitality sector. She worked as the head of special events and catering for the world-famous Viceroy Hotels and as a General Manager for Dimension Development Co, the operator of more than 50 Marriott and Hilton brand hotels throughout the US.  

Zak Williams is a passionate global mental health advocate, entrepreneur, father, professional speaker and son of beloved actor and comedian, Robin Williams. He focuses his time, expertise, and resources on sharing his personal journey from pain to purpose, supporting initiatives and campaigns seeking to remove the stigma of discussions aligned with mental health challenges, addressing any discrimination associated and creating access to quality care for all in need. 

Zak is CEO and co-founder of anxiety relief neurotransmitter nutrition company PYM and is an investor in technology and consumer packaged goods companies.  Formerly, he was COO of the recommendation platform Crossing Minds, the Director of Business Development for media company Conde Nast, and the marketing lead for gaming and media platform N3TWORK. 

In 2020, Zak was proud to be keynote speaker at a reception at the United Nations General Assembly where he announced the launch of the #SpeakYourMind campaign, a global mental health movement intended to amplify the needs of underserved communities, too often unseen and unheard. 

Zak earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in Linguistics from New York University.