Shannon McGahn is the first female Chief Advocacy Officer for the National Association of REALTORS with an extensive background in financial services and housing policy. Since taking the helm in 2018, she’s built a bipartisan advocacy operation and rallied industry players to consistently deliver wins for NAR’s 1.5 million members on issues that comprise nearly one-fifth of the U.S. economy. With her “thinking modern” approach, she inspires her team to innovate and ensure NAR is on the leading edge of advocacy in Washington and around the country.

McGahn leads NAR’s federal, state and local advocacy efforts to promote policies aimed at advocating for and protecting the rights of property buyers and sellers in the U.S. and around the world. While NAR is America’s largest trade association — representing over 1.5 million members — and is involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries, McGahn is exceptionally well-suited to working in a divided Washington. She maintains a strong relationships with both political parties and expands NAR’s team of lobbyists to canvass every new congressional office on both sides of the aisle.

Under McGahn’s leadership, NAR’s advocacy team has focused on developing and supporting federal long and short-term policy solutions for housing accessibility, availability and affordability, as well as fair housing enforcement and elevating the REALTORS voice, working with NAR’s state and local associations to identify policy solutions that can be replicated across the country and identifying and engaging new industries and associations. McGahn and her team think beyond a two-year election cycle to plan for the future, including modernizing the President’s Circle program — which allows REALTORS to contribute beyond RPAC dollars and increase the strength of NAR’s voice on Capitol Hill — and in-district events. McGahn is also in charge of promoting NAR research and reports on inventory shortages, housing affordability and increasing homeownership to drive the conversation and explain why NAR is fighting for specific policies.

Name:

Shannon McGahn

Title:

Chief Advocacy Officer

Company Name:

National Association of REALTORS