Speakers

Catherine Cortez Masto is the first woman from Nevada and the first Latina ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Cortez Masto has spent her career protecting Nevada families. From 2007 to 2015, as Nevada’s Attorney General, Cortez Masto fought to protect seniors and combat drug crime, strengthened laws to end sex trafficking and violence against women, and took on the Big Banks in the wake of the financial crisis.

In the Senate, Cortez Masto has taken her fight for working Nevadans to Washington, D.C., by working to expand middle class housing in Nevada, protect Nevadans’ access to health care, hold banks accountable when they harm hardworking families and homeowners, defend Dreamers so they can continue to live in the only country they’ve ever called home, and grow Nevada’s innovation and renewable energy economy while also prioritizing workers and union families. She is a member of four U.S. Senate Committees: the Committee on Finance; the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; and the Committee on Indian Affairs. Cortez Masto currently serves as the Chair of the Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittee of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Cortez Masto earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1986, and a J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1990. She resides in Las Vegas with her husband Paul. 

Known as a builder of political bridges with deep expertise in both the public and private sector, Ambassador Scott Brown speaks from more than 30 years of experience as a diplomat, senator, military officer, trade negotiator and bestselling author. As the former Ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa, he is considered an expert on all issues in the Indo-Pacific, including the U.S. relationship with China. In that region and beyond, Ambassador Brown brings high-level insights into the impact of geopolitics on trade and the business climate. He also shares an inspirational personal story of rising out of abuse and troubled beginnings to achieve success against all odds.

Completing his full four-year term as Ambassador, Brown returned to his native Massachusetts to briefly serve as the President, CEO and Dean of New England Law/Boston. Prior to his ambassadorship, he was the United States Senator of Massachusetts, elected as a Republican in a 2010 special election to fill the term of the late U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy. During his time in the Senate, Ambassador Brown was considered its most bipartisan member, drawing upon many years of experience as a Republican in Democrat-majority Massachusetts politics. As Senator, Brown was the ranking member on the Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. He also served as a member of the Veteran’s Committee and the Committee on Small Business. In 2011, he reached the top of the New York Times Best Sellers List with his powerful memoir, Against All Odds: My Life of Hardship, Fast Breaks and Second Chances.

In June 2017, Brown earned overwhelming bipartisan support and was confirmed by a 94-4 vote as the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa. During his term, Ambassador Brown focused on combatting terrorism, China’s expansionism in the Indo-Pacific region, enhancing trade opportunities, strengthening the United States’ “Five Eyes” relationship in New Zealand, expanding cooperation in the Antarctic,  and spearheading human, drug, and child trafficking prevention efforts. He also led the United States Embassy through the Christchurch Mosque attack, the White Island volcano eruption, and the repatriation of American citizens during the COVID-19.

Ambassador Brown’s career in public service began as an Assessor and Selectman for the Town of Wrentham, Massachusetts. He served as Massachusetts State Representative for the 9th Norfolk District for seven years and as State Senator for the Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex District for five. For nearly four decades, Brown served in the enlisted and officer ranks of the Massachusetts and Maryland National Guard. He retired as a Colonel after three years as the Deputy to the Chief Counsel, to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon.

Ambassador Brown’s private sector experience includes working for the Boston law firm Nixon Peabody, LLP, focusing on Mergers and Acquisitions and Governmental Relations. He also served on numerous boards to include the Board of Directors and as an advisor to 1st Alliance Lending, LLP, an organization aimed at helping low-income citizens keep their homes. He is also remembered for his work as a paid contributor and occasional host on FOX and appearances on FOX National News and Fox Business. Brown has served on the Advisory Board for the J. Ron Terwilliger Foundation and is also on the Board of Advisors for the Bipartisan Housing Policy Center, in DC.  Brown is also the Chair of the Competitiveness Coalition, a group supporting innovation in the high-tech industry and sits on other Boards and organizations.

Scott has extensive experience mentoring young athletes and has coached youth sports for many years.  He was the Captain at Wakefield High School and Middlesex League MVP in 1977.  He went on to be Captain and a four-year starter at Tufts University.  He is the head coach for the Amesbury, MA Varsity Girls’ Basketball Team.

An active member on the Speaker’s circuit, Brown is a highly engaging speaker known for connecting with audiences through his eclectic life stories.  Ambassador Brown is also an All-American Triathlete, accomplished musician (he played guitar with Hall of Fame Inductees Cheap Trick 7 times) and has his own rock band – Scott Brown and the Diplomats.  Brown is a graduate of Tufts University and Boston College Law School. He is married to Gail Huff Brown, and they have 2 children, and two grandchildren.  Ayla Brown, morning co-host Country 102.5 in Boston and Dr. Arianna Brown Hendry, head veterinarian at Lafayette Animal Hospital in Portsmouth, NH.

Dr. Chilton is an Associate Professor of Public Administration & Policy at Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN. His primary research interest is institutional investors—primarily Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Private Equity (PE)—and their impacts on home ownership. He and a colleague (Dr. Rafael Harun) are currently working on a grant from the Payne Center for Social Justice & CBRE that explores home ownership rates for African Americans in neighborhoods with high concentrations of REIT/PE owned properties. Dr. Chilton has given numerous talks about Wall Street landlords, their business model, and the implications for intergenerational wealth creation.

Kevin Hassett served as the 29th Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers from 2017 through 2019.

Prior to becoming Chairman of the CEA, he was an economist at the American Enterprise Institute since 1997. His most recent titles at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) included James Q. Wilson Chair in American Culture and Politics and Director of Research for Domestic Policy. He also served as Director of Economic Policy Studies and Resident Scholar from 2003 through 2014, and currently serves on One River Digital Asset Management's Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council.

Prior to joining AEI, Hassett was a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and an associate professor of economics and finance at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business of Columbia University. He has also served as a visiting professor at New York University’s Law School, as a consultant to the U.S. Treasury Department, and as an advisor to presidential campaigns. A noted expert in the field of public finance, Hassett has authored peer-reviewed articles in leading economics journals and has served as a columnist in leading media outlets. He received his bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and his PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Noerena Limon leads Mariposa Strategies LLC, which is an advisory firm focused on housing supply, homeownership, and bridging the racial and ethnic wealth gap.  Noerena is also a Housing Fellow at the UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation. Most recently, Noerena served as Executive Vice President for Public Policy and Industry Relations at the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), where she founded the organization’s first policy department and its corresponding National Advocacy Committee--NAHREP’s grassroots network. At NAHREP, Noerena led the organization’s research efforts, authoring the annual publications of both the State of Hispanic Homeownership Report and the State of Hispanic Wealth Report. Additionally, Noerena led the Hispanic Wealth Project, an initiative that sought to triple median household wealth for Latinos through homeownership, entrepreneurship, and the diversification of assets.

Prior to joining NAHREP, Noerena spent six years at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, both in the Office of the Director and the Office of Mortgage Markets. Prior to that, she worked in the Office of Political Affairs at the White House, served as Deputy Communications Director for Spanish Language Media for the Obama-Biden 2008 Presidential Campaign, and as a Legislative Fellow for the Office of former U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra. Noerena received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Currently, Noerena serves as a board member for the MAAC Project, a San Diego-based non-profit focused on poverty alleviation, as an Executive Committee Board Member for Up For Growth, and as a board member for California YIMBY's Education Fund.

Pete Kopf (AHWD, C2EX), a REALTOR® from Cincinnati, Ohio, is the 2023 Vice President of Advocacy for the National Association of REALTORS®.

A graduate of Miami University and licensed since 1996, Pete is a third-generation practitioner and the principal broker and owner of Kopf Hunter Haas REALTORS® in Cincinnati.

At the national level, Pete served as the 2018 RPAC Participation Council Chair, the 2019 NAR Member Services Liaison, the 2020 REALTOR® Party Director and the 2022 NAR Region 6 (Michigan & Ohio) Regional Vice President.

Pete served as the 2011 President of the Cincinnati Area Board of REALTORS® and was the 2017 President of Ohio REALTORS®.

Advocacy and philanthropy are core beliefs that drive Pete through life. One of Pete’s greatest accomplishments has been creating a nonprofit, the Cincinnati Golfers for Charity, with four high school friends. CGC is responsible for raising and donating close to $1,500,000 for local Greater Cincinnati children’s charities.

Pete also has active roles with the Arthritis Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and REALTORS® with Heart.

A lifelong Cincinnatian, Pete and his wife Heather, also a REALTOR®, are proud parents of Georgia, Gus, and Lilee.