SPEAKERS

Meet the Keynote Speakers

We’re excited to welcome Matthew Ferrara and David Childers as featured speakers at the 2025 Convention. With decades of combined experience in leadership, business philosophy, and real estate insights, they bring powerful perspectives to help professionals embrace change, understand today’s market, and create meaningful growth both personally and professionally.

Matthew Ferrara

For more than three decades, Matthew Ferrara has combined philosophy with business as an entrepreneur, chief executive officer, professional speaker, online pioneer, and mentor. His career spans 49 states and 30 countries, working alongside leaders in real estate, sales, finance, marketing, and association management. From intimate gatherings of six to audiences of 6,000, Matthew delivers insights that empower individuals and organizations to take charge of their growth, embrace new opportunities, and create lasting positive change in both personal and professional life.

David Childers

David Childers, President of Keeping Current Matters, is a recognized leader in helping real estate professionals make sense of market trends and communicate them clearly to clients. With a passion for simplifying complex data, David provides actionable insights that empower agents, teams, and brokerages to build trust and drive growth in an ever-changing market. Through his work with audiences nationwide, he equips industry leaders with the tools and confidence to navigate shifting conditions and create lasting impact in their communities.

Breakout Session Speakers

How’s the Market

Dave Childers, Keeping Current Matters

In this session we will explore what’s driving today’s real estate market in the southeast and what your clients need to know right now! We will cover- rising Inventory and the effect on home prices plus, we’ll unpack what’s ahead for the real estate market in 2026. Right now we’re at an inflection point in real estate - its critical to stay connected and up to date on what is happening.

Your Invaluable Proposition

Matthew Ferrara, Philosopher

Learn how to break out of the “sea of sameness” by leveraging your unique abilities and Brand differentiation. Move beyond the “ordinary” competition for clients and discover “invaluable techniques” for offering bigger, better, and brighter value to your clients, using growth psychology, storytelling, and marketing technologies.

The Five Cornerstones for Securing and Marketing Your Listings

Mark Bardo, Luxury Strategiest & Andrea Stuart, Director of Luxury. Jennifer Harding, LRE and LPI VP of Member Engagement

Every seller and every property deserves a comprehensive marketing plan. Join us to learn about the words and strategies to use when interviewing for the listing and then marketing that property. You will leave with a list of tangible action items to help you increase your listing inventory.

List Like You Mean It: The Listing Class That Helps You List with Intention — Not Imitation

Gwen Bradley, Vice President of Career Development, Howard Hanna Real Estate

Let’s be real—your next listing success will not come from copying someone else’s script. It will come from knowing who you are as an agent and showing up with purpose.This session is designed to help you stop chasing trends and build a listing strategy that is rooted in your strengths, your voice, and your values. We will dig into what makes you magnetic to sellers, and how to turn that into a repeatable, intentional approach that gets results.

Is The Noise In my Head Killing My Closings?

Karyn Buxman, Neurohumorist

Real estate is 90% mindset—and 10% keeping your cool during appraisals, inspections, and client meltdowns. In this high-energy, humor-packed session, Karyn Buxman helps agents quiet the mental noise, boost resilience, and harness the power of humor to think clearly and connect better. Less overthinking, more closing. Because your mindset is your market advantage.

Managing and Reducing Taxes

Perry Dicus, Hanna Health and Wealth

Discover how real estate agents can take control of their taxes with smart planning. This session covers practical ways to maximize deductions, track expenses effectively, and reduce your overall tax liability—so you can keep more of what you earn.

Taking Control of Your Lead Generation

REDX, Curtis Fenn, President and COO & Jonathan Metoyer, Director of Outside Sales

Today’s successful agents are moving away from third-party lead providers and building their own predictable, systematic lead generation strategies. This session teaches a repeatable framework that top agents use to create a consistent flow of high-quality leads. Attendees will learn how to turn data into conversations, market across various channels, and streamline their follow-up to increase listings and commissions. The goal is to provide a clear roadmap for confidently increasing listing production by 20%.

Unleash the Power of Our Branding — And Get a First Look at the New Design Studio

Leah Gibbons, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Howard Hanna. Kevin Patai, Senior Director of Digital Product, Howard Hanna

This session will explore our strategic vision behind the brand evolution and reveal how this powerful brand will set us apart in the market. Join us for an exclusive unveiling of Maxa Designs, our brand-new design studio, and learn how we’re elevating our company’s brand identity.

The Winning New Homes Recipe for More Listings

Lind Goodman, President Builder Services. Stephanie Gossett, Regional Vice President - Charlotte North/West/Central

Create New Business Opportunities with Relocation Horizons

Kelly Hanna Riley, Howard Hanna Relocation

Leverage your business relationships and expand your real estate services by connecting them with Relocation Horizons, Inc. Provide them with industry-leading relocation services throughout the country and across the globe.

AI: Prompt Like A Pro

Rider Harris, GoBananasAI

AI tools are nothing without high-quality prompts, so we’re going to make sure we learn how to prompt like a pro. Expect to leave with a solid understanding of Gemini, as well as use cases you can implement immediately.

The Fulfilled Entrepreneur

Bill Middleton, Founder, Middleton Elite Coaching

Unfortunately, the words Fulfilled and Entrepreneur are two that rarely go hand-in-hand, especially in real estate. Many believe that to live a quality personal life, their business will suffer; or to have a thriving business, then they will have to make personal compromises. Neither has to be true. In fact, the ultimate level of success is personal fulfillment and entrepreneurial success.

Selling Houses When Houses Ain’t Selling

Bill Middleton, Founder, Middleton Elite Coaching

The past 5 years of real estate have been a rollercoaster. We’ve lived through some of the easiest real estate years in history, followed by a couple of the more difficult ones in recent history. Businesses have expanded, sometimes wildly… contracted to the point of possibly over-correcting… and many are still trying to find their footing. Existing home sales remain near a multi-decade low. Yet, more than 4+ million homes will sell this year.

Run Your Business Like A Boss

Adam Snelling, CFP, Hanna Health and Wealth

Strong businesses are built on strong numbers. In this session, we’ll walk through the essentials of financial planning for real estate professionals—understanding cash flow, setting budgets, and tracking performance. Learn practical steps to bring clarity to your finances so you can make smarter decisions, grow with confidence, and run your business like a boss.

Rethink Stress: Recharge Resilience, Reclaim Your Edge

Jennifer Wegmann, Wegmann Wellness Solution

In a fiercely competitive world, stress is often seen as an unavoidable burden—but what if it could become your greatest asset? Rethink Stress flips the script; stress is not your enemy, it’s fuel to sharpen focus, enhance decision-making, and ultimately boost your earning potential. This workshop provides science-backed strategies for increasing stress tolerance, helping you thrive under pressure while avoiding burnout. Elevate your mental toughness and reveal the resilience that keeps your productivity on point.

A Rookie’s Blueprint for Success

Agent Panel

New to the real estate game? This session provides a practical, step-by-step guide to building a thriving business from the ground up. Learn the essential strategies for finding clients, negotiating deals, and building a network that will set you on the path to long-term success.

Build Your Dream Team with Essential Services Partners

Agent Panel

SOLD by Social Media

Agent Panel

Ready to turn Likes into Leads? This session will reveal the secrets to leveraging social media platforms to generate a consistent stream of qualified clients and close more deals. Learn how to craft a powerful personal brand, create engaging content that captures attention, and master the art of conversation to convert online connections into real-world sales.

Proven Strategies from High-Performing Listing Agents

Agent Panel

Elevate your business by learning from the best in the industry. This session goes beyond the basics to reveal the advanced strategies high-performing listing agents use to win more listings and sell homes faster.