I
n 1991, Donna Duhe was heading to a brunch with high‑school friends when she noticed smoke rising near her Oakland home. Only six months after buying the house, she hurried back, only to be stopped by emergency crews. From the haze she saw a familiar figure on the roof—Kevin Brown, her real‑estate agent and longtime friend—spraying water to keep the blaze at bay. The Oakland‑Berkley Hills fire that day, fueled by five years of drought, claimed 25 lives, destroyed roughly 3,400 homes, scorched 1,500 acres, and cost about $1.5 billion. Duhe’s house survived, thanks in part to Kevin’s quick thinking.

    Kevin’s concern for Duhe went beyond the fire. He knew she wasn’t home; he’d declined the brunch invitation because of work. He drove to her house, broke in, and climbed the roof with a hose. After an hour of battling the flames, he spotted Duhe’s car and, remembering her upcoming business trip, loaded it with her computer, clothes, and other belongings. “I was shocked and in tears,” Duhe says, noting how Kevin’s actions reflected his dedication to clients and the industry.

    In November, Kevin will be inaugurated as the 2026 president of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Duhe sees his record of hard work and community focus as proof that he will lead with integrity. “He will work hard for every homeowner, every prospective buyer, every community,” she says, highlighting his DNA of service.

    Kevin’s work ethic is rooted in his family’s legacy. His parents, raised in Mississippi, valued education as a path to opportunity. His maternal great‑grandparents were enslaved; his mother, Fannie, grew up in Jackson, where her father ran a grocery store that taught her the importance of financial literacy. Her father, Bill Sr., began school at 15, selling milk and butter to pay tuition, then attended Alcorn State University. He and Fannie met, married, and fought against the harsh realities of Jim Crow, enrolling in an all‑white school in Piedmont, California, and learning to treat everyone with respect.

    The Brown family’s perseverance paid off. Redlining forced them to buy property in a less desirable area, but Bill Sr. later found a foreclosed lot in a sought‑after neighborhood and purchased it with cash, building their first home. Kevin credits this intergenerational wealth for his belief that real estate can transform lives.

    Kevin’s career began in biology, but a pivotal conversation with his father shifted his path. In 1977, he joined his father’s brokerage, William H. Brown Realtor, and later the family firm became Better Homes Realty Rockridge. He invested in over 2,000 units, learning hands‑on skills in electrical work, framing, and carpentry to better manage properties. His experience in both residential and commercial real estate, coupled with his advocacy for property rights, led him to serve as president of the Oakland Association of REALTORS® in 1995 and later the California Association of REALTORS®.

    His advocacy work includes helping pass the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, which restored subsidized flood insurance rates, and collaborating with Rep. Maxine Waters to repeal a bill that would have harmed homeowners. Kevin has testified before Congress on GSE reform, tax reform, and the impact on the middle class, and has held more than 60 roles within NAR, including on the commercial finance committee.

    As NAR’s incoming president, Kevin plans to build on his predecessor’s “back to basics” foundation. He will focus on practical benefits for members: navigating insurance costs, exploring flexible financing, advocating for less restrictive zoning, and providing tech tools and market intelligence. His leadership style is described as smart, principled, and hardworking, with a commitment to “back to business” that will set a new standard for the association.

    Kevin’s story—from a family that broke barriers in Mississippi and California, to a real‑estate entrepreneur who saved a friend’s home during a wildfire, to a national leader—illustrates how dedication, education, and advocacy can shape both individual lives and the broader industry.