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In late 2021, as he was preparing to serve his second local REALTOR® association presidency, Bill Flagg knew the North Central Jersey Association of REALTORS® could do more to address homeownership challenges in the diverse communities they served.
“Our territory is very diverse, but we weren’t really serving people of color—the low- to moderate-income sector, the people who really need it the most,” says Flagg, CRB, CRS, a broker-associate with ERA Queen City Realty in Scotch Plains, N.J.
The gap was longstanding: Back in 2014, when his previous association merged with NCJAR, there were only two people of color serving on the board. That seemed very low for such a multicultural area. “It wasn't reflective of the demographics in our market,” he says. “So, my goal was to change that.”
Furthermore, the industry was still grappling with a bombshell that had dropped two years earlier, in November 2019, when Newsday released Long Island Divided, an investigation exposing pervasive bias among local real estate agents. “That [investigation] elevated everybody’s understanding of how bad things really were,” says Flagg.
During Flagg’s presidency, the association invested in inclusion and fair housing training, hosted impactful sessions on housing equity and partnered with nearby associations to host a summit with local affiliates of multicultural organizations, now an annual event. A new Membership Appreciation Day was launched to celebrate multiculturalism among NCJAR members.
The association also organized its first Homeownership Fair in Newark, N.J., attracting over 300 attendees. Nicole Coleman attended the NCJAR homeownership fair in 2022 with her husband Wes. “We didn’t think we would qualify for homeownership,” she shares. “Once we were actually given resources to guide us, it allowed us to go through the process with confidence.”
Inclusion Policies Create a Lasting Impact
While events are impactful and raise awareness, policies create lasting impact. Flagg realized that having a policy would ensure that NCJAR “would always integrate fair housing and diversity, equity and inclusion into their strategies, into who we are,” says NCJAR Chief Innovation Officer Crystal Colón, RCE.
Flagg appointed a presidential advisory group to create the policy. “We looked at every part of the organization and what we stand for—to integrate it in,” says Colón. Chelsea Hayes, CEO of The Coaching Factory—and, since early 2024, head of social impact and strategy with the Chicago Association of REALTORS®—was brought in to support this effort. With Hayes’ help, NCJAR developed a policy that directs the association to:
- Gather member and community demographic data
- Educate members about fair housing and inclusion
- Celebrate the diverse groups within its membership
- Seek new leaders from varied backgrounds
- Offer mentorships
By making these initiatives a matter of policy, Flagg ensured their impact would last well beyond his time as president. His achievements offer a blueprint for leaders hoping to make a meaningful impact. For his accomplishments, at an April 10 Fair Housing Month event, Flagg was recognized by the National Association of REALTORS® as a 2025 Fair Housing Champion.
Thasunda Brown Duckett, president and CEO of TIAA describes Flagg’s impact this way: “His unwavering dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion reminds each of us that we are more than leaders. We are community builders, and we have a responsibility to ensure that everyone—regardless of their background—deserves equal access to opportunity.”
Her Fight Was His Inspiration
Growing up, Flagg witnessed both discrimination and resilience. His family was among the first Black families in a Scotch Plains neighborhood. “We were the third Black family to move on to a cul-de-sac of fourteen homes,” he says, recalling that a year later only three White families remained.
Flagg’s mother, Lydia Sanchez Flagg, was a pivotal influence. “She was raised by entrepreneurial grandparents,” he says, and she followed in their footsteps, overcoming significant obstacles to open a clothing boutique in Scotch Plains. He remembers her battling discriminatory leasing practices. “She had to sue to lease her space,” he says. After she was turned away, he recalls, she asked a White friend to inquire about leasing the space; the owner wanted to rent it to her friend.
Lydia had been working in real estate for about four years when she opened an ERA franchise in 1982. A local bank refused to lend her money for the startup, saying she was never going to make it, Flagg says. He adds that, during that era, he also witnessed discrimination against people of color who were represented by the brokerage, including agents who refused to present offers from people of color and agents refusing to show properties to people of color in predominantly White neighborhoods.
Cultivating a Network to Unlock Opportunities
When Flagg was in a position to effect change, he called on his network for help.
He credits former NAR staffer and longtime friend Fred Underwood with giving him advice and speaker recommendations. The incoming president of the Miami REALTORS® told him about National Association of REALTORS®’ Community Outreach Mega Board Grants, which help the country’s largest associations implement game-changing community development and fair housing initiatives.
“Networking is Bill’s superpower,” says Colón, “He follows up on great ideas, nurtures his network, and ensures those connections that support his work. It’s about being deliberate in enacting change.”
Flagg asked his Miami colleague to set up a meeting with Miami REALTORS® CEO Teresa King Kinney so that he could learn more about the Mega Board Grants. He then worked with NCJAR staff to secure $60,000 in grant funding. The grant not only funded the first housing fair but also supported a Museum of Makers + Innovators Thinkscape Park in Morris Township. “With that kind of funding, you can do more than one thing,” he says. “And we did a few things!”
Uplift Through Leadership
Now a REALTOR® Emeritus, recognizing his more than 40 years of membership in NAR, Flagg was advocating for fair housing decades before becoming a leader at NCJAR. In 2001, he was New Jersey president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, whose members are known as Realtists. Under his leadership, the group began hosting housing fairs. “We had the radio station and partners—it was really a good event,” he recalls.
Flagg has an approach to leadership deeply rooted in lifting others.
“Bill opens up people’s minds to what they are really capable of,” Colón says.
“It’s not just in the leadership of the organization. Even in his initiatives to promote homeownership, it was about educating, elevating and improving their chances of buying a home,” says Tezeta “Tez” Roro, ABR, CIPS.
“[Bill] sees opportunities, opens his network to others, and connects people from all parts of his life—church, business—to subject matter experts we’d never had access to before,” explains Liz Decoursey, CEO of Greater Middlesex and Morris Habitat for Humanity.
Reverend Dr. David Jefferson, pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., recalls connecting with Flagg: “Three years ago, Bill contacted me to bring Metropolitan in as a partner for the fair in Newark. We now have a great relationship with NCJAR because Bill brought them to the table.”
