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The California Association of Realtors has installed its 2025 leadership team, according to an announcement on Monday.
Heather Ozur
CAR President Heather Ozur, President-elect Tamara Suminski, and Treasurer Mark Peterson started their official term at the close of the National Association of Realtors’ NXT Conference. Ozur, Suminski and Peterson will work alongside CAR Chief Executive Officer Phil Hawkins, who took the helm after former CEO John Sebree left the Association to pursue other opportunities.
Ozur has been one of the leading real estate agents in Palm Springs since 1999, with sales experience at Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, and indie brokerage The RE Collective.
Ozur’s first Association leadership role was in 2008 as a CAR Director, where she served on the Strategic Planning and Finance, Professional Standards, Transaction, and Regulatory, Federal, Legislative, and Business Technology Forum committees. She then served as the president of the California Desert Association of Realtors, the regional and national president of the Women’s Council of Realtors, and the secretary of the Greater Palm Springs Association of Realtors. She was the CAR treasurer from 2022 to 2023, before becoming the Association’s 2024 president-elect.
Tamara Suminski
Ozur is an NAR Leadership Academy graduate and has been honored as a Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) Golden R Presidents Circle Hall of Fame member and CDAR Realtor of the Year.
Under Ozur is 2025 President-Elect Tamara Suminski, who is the broker and co-owner of BEACH Real Estate Group in Manhattan Beach. Suminski has been in the industry for more than two decades and is a well-known speaker and trainer who’s appeared at CAR’s WomanUP!, Broker Conference, REimagine!, and NAR’s NXT and Leadership Summit.
Suminski is an NAR Leadership Academy graduate and has been inducted into the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC) and RPAC Hall of Fames. She was the 2010 South Bay Association Realtor of the Year and later served as SBA’s president. Suminski currently serves as Federal Political Coordinator to California Congressman Ted Lieu.
Mark Peterson
Alongside Ozur and Suminski is Treasurer Mark Peterson, who is the broker and CEO of RE/MAX Masters in La Verne, California. Peterson has held Association leadership roles on the local, state and national levels, including being a CAR state director and the president of the Citrus Valley Association of Realtors.
He’s also served on multiple CAR committees, including Federal, Strategic Planning and Finance, Taxation & Government Finance, MLS Policy, Real Estate Business Services, Public Policy, CREPAC Trustees, and Global Real Estate Forum, as well as the Investment Subcommittee. He’s also served as a CAR Assembly Key Contact and Federal Political Coordinator.
Rounding out the 2025 leadership team is CAR CEO Phil Hawkins, who joined the Association in September from the Pacific West Association of Realtors (PWR). At PWR, Hawkins served as the vice president vice president of Government Affairs from 1998 to 2008, the executive vice president of Government Affairs from 2008 to 2015, and CEO from 2015 to 2024.
Phil Hawkins
In August, Hawkins spoke to Inman about his hopes for CAR and navigating the Association through industry headwinds, including buyer-broker commission changes and a brewing battle over NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy.
“I am eager to collaborate with our leadership team, the board, and the staff at C.A.R. during what is an extremely challenging period for our industry,” he said. “I am confident that, together, we will successfully navigate the current environment and emerge even stronger, ready to seize opportunities that lie ahead for our members, the industry, and our organization.”
