Change Agent
At age 12, Daniel Walcott spent hours on the couch watching “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” At 15, he watched students going home after school in Long Island, N.Y.: White students got on one set of buses and Black students got on another. He would soon learn about redlining and the history of discrimination that created persistent racial divisions in communities. “I got my real estate license,” he says, “because I know homeownership is one of the most critical pieces to closing the racial wealth gap in America.” Walcott, 29, serves on the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS®’ public policy committee, working to expand opportunities for low- to moderate-income first-time home buyers. He also volunteers with the Capital Area Food Bank and hosts monthly homebuying seminars for a nonprofit dedicated to increasing local homeownership.