2025 Broker Summit x Fair Housing Summit

Christopher M. Germain

2025 Michigan Realtors® President

Christopher M. Germain is a lifelong resident of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In 2004, he attended Holloway Institute to then go on and receive his real estate license. Since then, he has taken a very active role in the real estate community. He is a past director on the Delta County MLS Committee, past president of the Upper Peninsula REALTORS®, and has served on various PAGs. In addition, he was selected to take part in the Inaugural Leadership Academy class for the Michigan REALTORS® and then went on to facilitate the academy for the following two years. He occasionally speaks on real estate and various business topics around the country. He has served his community as Captain of the Ford River Township Volunteer Fire Department. He is a past president of the Delta County Jaycees, Past Master of Delta Lodge 195 of Free and Accepted Masons, past secretary of the Delta County Fire Chiefs Association, past director of the Delta County Fire Training Council, and a past committee member of Delta County Relay for Life.

• 9:00 - 9:10 AM, Apr 8, 2025

  Opening Remarks

Clarence Gayles

Field Director

• 1:05 - 1:55 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Policy Matters LIVE!

Amy Taylor

West Michigan Regional Director

Michigan Realtors®

• 1:05 - 1:55 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Policy Matters LIVE!

Brian Westrin

General Counsel

Michigan Realtors®

Brian Westrin is General Counsel for the Michigan Realtors®. He helps facilitate both the Public Policy Committee & Legal Action Committee. He regularly presents on legal and policy issues, often working directly with local associations on emerging concerns. Brian is a graduate of Louisiana State University and Michigan State University College of Law.

• 1:05 - 1:55 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Policy Matters LIVE!

• 2:10 - 3:00 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Broker Best Practices

Rebecca Berke

Director of Legal Education

Michigan Realtors®

Becky Berke serves as the Director of Legal Education for Michigan Realtors® . She began her role in 2016 after acting as a legislative and legal intern for the Michigan State Senate. Becky earned her undergraduate degree from Michigan Technological University and her law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law. In her role at Michigan Realtors® , Becky conducts legal and legislative research on issues that affect the real estate industry. She also assists in developing content for legal continuing education. As an advocate of Fair Housing education and outreach, Becky also serves as the staff liaison to the Fair Housing Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

• 11:15 AM - 12:05 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Legal Hotline Unplugged: Your Top Questions Answered

• 2:10 - 3:00 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Broker Best Practices

Brian Westrin

General Counsel

Michigan Realtors®

Brian Westrin is General Counsel for the Michigan Realtors®. He helps facilitate both the Public Policy Committee & Legal Action Committee. He regularly presents on legal and policy issues, often working directly with local associations on emerging concerns. Brian is a graduate of Louisiana State University and Michigan State University College of Law.

• 11:15 AM - 12:05 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Legal Hotline Unplugged: Your Top Questions Answered

Bernie Ballesteros

Legal Hotline

Michigan Realtors

• 11:15 AM - 12:05 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Legal Hotline Unplugged: Your Top Questions Answered

Brad Ward

Vice President, Public Policy & Legal Affairs

Michigan Realtors®

Brad Ward serves as Vice President of Public Policy & Legal Affairs for the Michigan Realtors®. He has worked for the Michigan Realtors since 2001, starting as director of legal affairs and a liaison to local Realtor® associations in mid and northern Michigan. Since 2013, Ward has been the association's head lobbyist.

• 1:05 - 1:55 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Policy Matters LIVE!

Derek Taylor

T3 Sixty

Derek Taylor is a seasoned real estate professional and visionary, leveraging Artificial Intelligence and cutting-edge technology to reshape the industry. As a sought-after consultant at T3 Sixty, he collaborates with leading proptech firms and startups, guiding them in effective AI implementation and strategies for agents and brokerages. An MIT-certified AI developer, Derek brings deep technical understanding to enhance client outcomes, from content generation and marketing to predictive analytics for informed decision-making.

His passion for innovation extends beyond AI, encompassing blockchain for real estate transparency and the fusion of smart technologies with SaaS platforms. A frequent speaker on the international stage, Derek's insights on AI and real estate have earned him recognition and leadership positions within prestigious organizations such as the Texas Association of REALTORS® and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems.

• 9:10 - 10:00 AM, Apr 8, 2025

  Opening Keynote: The Real Estate Technology Landscape

Shawon Cecil

Public Policy Field Director

Michigan Realtors

• 1:05 - 1:55 PM, Apr 8, 2025

  Policy Matters LIVE!

Alexia Smokler

Director of Fair Housing Policy & Programs

National Association of Realtors

Alexia Smokler represents NAR’s positions on fair housing to Congress and federal agencies and leads NAR’s ACT! initiative, which emphasizes Accountability, Culture Change, and Training to advance fair housing in the industry. She led the development of Fairhaven: A Fair Housing Simulation, and Bias Override: Overcoming Barriers to Fair Housing. Alexia also oversees NAR’s discrimination self-testing program for real estate brokerages, NAR’s fair housing real estate licensure reform efforts, and other projects aimed at closing racial and ethnic homeownership gaps. Alexia serves as staff executive to NAR’s Fair Housing Policy Committee and writes and speaks regularly on fair housing issues to audiences around the country. Her 2021 cover story for REALTOR® Magazine, Repairers of the Breach, won several awards for excellence in business-to-business journalism.

Before joining NAR, Alexia worked in fair housing enforcement at HUD, on the staff of Congressman John Conyers, Jr., and with nonprofit civil rights organizations. She is admitted to practice law in Maryland and holds a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law; a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs; and a bachelor's degree in government from Smith College. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

• 1:40 - 2:30 PM, Apr 9, 2025

  Closing Keynote - Appraisal Bias

Michael Akinwumi

Chief AI Officer

National Fair Housing Alliance

As NFHA’s Chief AI Officer (CAIO), Dr. Michael Akinwumi is responsible for leading the organization’s efforts to ensure technologies impacting the housing sector are fair, privacy-preserving, reliable, transparent, and controllable. Dr. Akinwumi provides leadership in AI governance, risk management, and innovation to ensure ethical and effective AI usage that aligns with NFHA’s mission. He leads the strategic and operational aspects of AI implementation and governance at NFHA, as well as NFHA’s work to ensure private and public sectors adopt responsible AI principles. He also works on ensuring that AI technologies and initiatives in housing are both innovative and compliant with relevant civil and human rights laws, policies, and regulations, and he collaborates with private sector and public sector AI officers, including at state and federal agencies, to develop and oversee AI strategies that advance fair housing and fair lending goals, promote innovation, eliminate bias, serve humanity, and mitigate risks.

Simultaneously, as an Eagleton Civic Science Fellow, Dr. Akinwumi is dedicated to shaping AI governance frameworks for policymakers. Drawing on his background in advanced mathematics and statistical machine learning, he is working on crafting an LLM-centric guidance document for state legislators—aiming to educate and align AI regulation with best practices.

Before joining NFHA, some of Dr. Akinwumi’s work covered governance engineering, recommender systems, and machine learning solutions for various sectors, such as fintech, banking, and insurance. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Alberta.

Dr. Akinwumi lives his belief that “only a life lived for others is worth living.”

• 9:10 - 10:00 AM, Apr 9, 2025

  Opening Keynote - AI in Real Estate: Power, Profit, and Pitfalls