The Ten: Nykia Wright’s determination to remake NAR 

Editor's note: In a year of epic mergers — and industry division — a handful of people and themes have emerged as defining forces. Real Estate News has selected the top newsmakers of 2025, based on their industry impact and influence. They are The Ten.

Even before securing a permanent position as CEO of the National Association of Realtors, Nykia Wright was setting ambitious goals for the organization.

A former media executive with no real estate experience, Wright was hired as interim CEO following the departure of Bob Goldberg in November 2023. While new to the industry, it wasn't the first time she'd taken the helm of a company at a pivotal moment. 

After leading the Chicago Sun-Times through a major overhaul and merger, Wright's "deep experience driving organizational transformation" was just what NAR needed, former President Tracy Kasper said when announcing the appointment.

A bold mandate for a weakened organization  

Ten months into her official role as CEO, Wright declared a lofty vision for NAR: to "be the preeminent trade organization across the world." 

But it wouldn't be easy. First, she needed to unify real estate professionals who, in the wake of scandals and lawsuits, had lost faith in an organization that was once the leading voice of the industry. NAR needed to "get out there and start figuring out how we can bring those people back into the fold," Wright said during a Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast in August 2024. 

At her first NAR NXT annual conference in November 2024, Wright again acknowledged "rumblings" of discontent — which in many cases took the form of pushback against NAR membership requirements and outsized control over industry policies — but she also expressed optimism about the coming year. 

"I think in 2025 we can change that narrative and not talk about the size of governance, but really talk about the effectiveness," she told NAR's board of directors.

So, how did she do?

Out with the old, in with the new

Wright hinted at future personnel changes while at NAR NXT 2024, noting her recent  appointment of a chief human resources officer to "help us understand how to put talent in the right places."

So began a series of hirings, promotions and layoffs as Wright sought to surround herself with leaders who could help NAR regain its stature and demonstrate value to members.  

First in line was Sherry Chris — an industry and brokerage icon named special advisor to the CEO just one week into the new year. Chris would be NAR's fence-mender, with then-NAR President Kevin Sears citing her "ability to build relationships and foster collaboration" as "instrumental in strengthening connections and ensuring NAR remains a trusted partner for the entire real estate community." 

Less than two weeks later, Wright hired NAR's first-ever director of industry relations, Jarrod Grasso, to focus on MLS and association outreach. 

February and March brought a new general counsel and CFO. But putting people "in the right places" also meant layoffs. NAR announced in March it was eliminating 61 jobs — 41 current staff and 20 open roles — as part of a cost-cutting and realignment strategy. 

Wright continued to reshape NAR's leadership as the year progressed with new hires across education and events, communications and marketing, and data and technology. In a September appearance on Ask T3, Wright noted that the association's executive team had been "re-engineered." 

"There were people who got us here that would not be able to take us to the next chapter, and so we dissolved those relationships," she said, adding that she was "very empathetic" to those who didn't sign up for "running faster than the scandal."

A clear-eyed view of NAR's challenges 

Wright hasn't shied away from discussing NAR's shortcomings. 

"We have a communication problem that we're trying to overcome," she told the audience at a NAHREP panel in September. To tackle that problem, NAR leadership has been "on a feedback mission," Wright said. "We need the feedback from you all to understand what those friction points are, so that we can begin to solve them."

NAR is in "a race against expectations, a race against irrelevance," she added.

In a recent appearance on Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, Wright said she's received plenty of unvarnished feedback from brokerage leaders in particular. They've "said the old NAR was dysfunctional, financially undisciplined, lacks transparency and wasn't accountable to members or the industry" — something she's pledged to change as NAR works to rebuild trust.

Putting a plan in place

With a better understanding of the issues facing NAR — an organization that was "way more broken than most people even realize" — Wright began laying out a roadmap for the year ahead, announcing in October that NAR would be releasing its first-ever annual report and implementing a three-year strategic plan partly informed by member feedback.

Taking those steps, she said, "will provide an unprecedented level of transparency into how the association is currently situated and where it's going."

The strategic plan, which was unveiled and approved at NAR NXT 2025 in November, includes 75 projects and 24 initiatives in eight "commitment" categories. Compliance, disciplined budgeting, risk mitigation, transparency and member satisfaction are among the key goals.

Ahead of the plan's official Jan. 1 launch, Wright emphasized that the leadership team was already "doing the work" to bring it to life, she told Playmakers podcast host Andrew Flachner in December.

Leading NAR through a turbulent time has been "the hardest thing that I've done," Wright said — but she believes it will all pay off.

"I think 2026 will be the most transformational year of NAR in at least the last two decades."