When people learn that I’m Vice Chair of Pride Connect, they often ask what it is and how it helps them. Here’s a simple answer, and why it matters so much to me.
What is Pride Connect?
Pride Connect is a Sotheby’s International Realty affinity group that brings together LGBTQIA+ advisors and allies. It’s a member-only network built around three things:
- Professional connections: networking events and mentorship that help agents find trusted colleagues.
- Trusted referrals: a way for members to connect clients with advisors they know and trust in other markets.
- Community support: advocacy, inclusion, and more LGBTQ+ visibility in the real estate industry.
Pride Connect also supports LGBTQ+ causes through its community work.
Why Pride Connect matters to me
When I started my real estate career in 2005, I was deep in the closet. It took time for me to learn to accept and love myself.
I know there are many people in this industry, and many buyers and sellers, who have been where I was. As a gay Latino, I want to help give them a platform, a community, and a place where they don’t have to hide who they are.
That’s a big part of why I serve as Vice Chair of Pride Connect, with a focus on membership. The more advisors who join, the stronger the network becomes, both for the agents and for the clients they serve.
How Pride Connect helps clients
If you’re buying or selling a home, you might wonder what an agent network has to do with you. The answer is referrals.
Real estate is local. I’m licensed to help you here in the Portland area, but if you’re moving to Phoenix, Miami, or another city, you’ll need an agent there. Through Pride Connect, I can introduce you to an advisor I know and trust, someone I’ve met and talked with, not a name pulled from a search.
For LGBTQ+ clients, that can make a real difference. You can start your next move with someone who understands you, without having to explain your life or your family from the beginning.
It also works the other way. Members across the country and around the world can send clients who are moving to Portland, Beaverton, or Lake Oswego to me.
A referral is always your choice. You’re free to work with any agent you like. If I refer you and there’s a referral fee between brokers, I’ll explain it to you up front.
Pride Connect at the Sotheby’s Global Networking Event
This October, I hosted the Pride Connect party at the Sotheby’s International Realty Global Networking Event in San Francisco. It was a success and a great chance to spread the word about Pride Connect and meet agents from around the world. You can read more about that experience in The Power of a Global Network.
For Sotheby’s International Realty agents
If you’re a Sotheby’s International Realty advisor, assistant, or staff member and want to learn more about joining, visit pride-connect.com. Membership is open to LGBTQIA+ advisors and allies.
Planning a move?
Whether you’re buying or selling in the Portland area, or moving somewhere new, I’d be glad to help or connect you with someone I trust. Reach me at Javier@JavierPDX.com or 503.343.5561. You can also read about moving to Portland as an LGBTQ+ person or learn more about me.
Javier Puga-Phillips is a real estate broker with Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty in Portland, Oregon, and Vice Chair of Pride Connect, a Sotheby’s International Realty affinity group for LGBTQIA+ advisors and allies. He serves buyers and sellers in Portland, Beaverton, and Lake Oswego, in English and Spanish.
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