Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!
Five years ago, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, Keller Williams co-founder and Executive Chairman Gary Keller made a bold move — the Texas-based franchisor created a task force aimed at exposing and solving racial disparities within the company and the industry at large.

Natalie Davis
A year later, the task force announced the creation of the company’s first inclusion and belonging program, spearheaded by industry veteran and KW Integrity Lakes Operating Principal Julia Lashay Israel. In four years, Israel grew the program to include 13 affinity groups with more than 15,000 members and a comprehensive diversity course that’s been taken 40,000 times.
However, Israel stepped down from her role earlier this year to focus on her business and upcoming book launch, handing the torch to fellow KW leader and star broker Natalie Davis, who is the head of community growth.
“Seasons change, and with that change, you pivot to what’s needed. So my season in that role has come to an end,” Israel told Inman on Wednesday. “Natalie is phenomenal, and I think she’s going to do a stellar job. What I hope to see is continued conversations about the good diversity brings to a business, and I have no doubt she’s the perfect person to make sure that that happens. Everybody’s voice must continue to be championed. It is hard work. I don’t care what company you’re at. Even though we are a great company, it takes intention.”
In an interview shortly after announcing her new role at Keller Williams’ Mega Leadership Camp, Davis said she was excited to further the franchisor’s agent communities, affinity groups and diversity education, even as wider political and cultural trends eschew such efforts.
“We’re definitely not going to take our foot off the gas,” she told Inman.
Here’s the full conversation with Davis, edited for length and clarity:
How does it feel to take over this role from Julia?
I am extremely honored and excited to have this opportunity. I look at Julia as someone who has been a trailblazer within our industry and in this space. So to have this opportunity to follow behind and continue the work that she has already started — it is a huge honor and a huge opportunity.
I know that I have tremendous support from Julia, and I continue to support her in all of her endeavors. So I’m truly looking forward to this.
Thinking back to when this inclusion role started in 2021, it was such a fraught and politically intense time, which, in a lot of ways, is very similar to what we’re facing now. With that in mind, what do you think Keller Williams’ agents need today, in terms of having an ecosystem that supports diversity and inclusion initiatives that will help agents of all backgrounds be successful?
I think [inclusion] speaks to what Keller Williams is all about, and it’s been since the very beginning and formation of the company. Looking at the climate of where we are now, I think the focus of the company is going to stay in that same space.
We’re wanting to provide the best and most amount of support that we can for our agents, so they have a sense of belonging within the company and can continue to grow their businesses and pour back into the communities that they live, work and play in.
When it comes to agent support, Keller Williams has more than a dozen affinity groups and a diversity certification that includes courses on unconscious bias and other relevant topics. I know you’re very new in this role, but what are your ideas on continuing to strengthen and grow those programs?
I think Julia did an amazing job at providing education, tools and resources for our agents, for our Market Centers, and the regions across the country. We are going to continue down that path because I think a lot of the growth and opportunity we want for our agents comes out of education and tools that we provide.
The other piece, as you mentioned, the affinity groups, is a huge part of our culture here at Keller Williams. One of my main priorities is connecting with the affinity group leaders, and at Mega Leadership Camp this week, I’ve had a chance to connect and have candid one-on-one conversations.
One of my priorities is to connect with everyone one-on-one to understand what initiatives are being worked on, how we can be supportive and what opportunities lie ahead for us. I have plenty of those meetings scheduled for the next couple of weeks where I and additional members of the staff are sitting down and we’re having those candid, open conversations so that we can look at the future.
What are some of the most poignant takeaways from the initial one-on-one conversations you’ve had? And how will those takeaways inform what you do next in those roles?
I think the best thing about those conversations is that they’re all grounded in a place of gratitude. One is the gratitude and appreciation for even having the affinity groups in the first place, the work that’s been done so far and the tremendous support for the transition from Julia to myself. That has been very refreshing. I think everyone is looking forward to what’s to come.
Again, reaching back to 2020 and the summer of protests in honor of George Floyd, I remember Gary Keller being one of the first major brokerage leaders to speak up and be quite candid in his thoughts about the need for diversity and inclusion in the industry. How do you see Keller Williams moving that conversation forward and advancing inclusion within the industry in a meaningful way?
When we look at the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives of the company, we’ve taken the approach of looking at the internal and the external. Initially, we were looking at an internal opportunity to support and create space for the individuals of Keller Williams, and as a result, we’ve become an example for the rest of the industry.
But truly, the focus and priority for Keller Williams is making sure these initiatives are present and a priority in every division at the company, and creating a space and a culture for our agents and our owners to truly thrive.
And I think as a result of that, it’s kind of the pebble in the middle of the pond. That ripple effect that goes throughout and allows us to see change at a much larger scale. But we know that at first we have to be working on what’s at home.
What are the metrics that you’ll be tracking? What will let you know that Keller Williams’s efforts are working?
I’ll be looking at the growth of the company — the growth in terms of our impact within the industry and the growth of our agents, because they’re in a space where they have a sense of belonging, and they have confidence and trust in the company they’re working with. That’s the opportunity that’s truly in front of us.
Keller Williams has a huge ecosystem of leaders, brokers and agents all over the globe, and it’ll ultimately be up to them to make diversity and inclusion a priority in their offices and communities. What advice do you have on what brokers, agents, etc. can do now to advance these principles in their businesses?
That is such a great question. I think that comes back to a motto that I always carry with me, and it’s inviting people to enter into the space from a place of respect and curiosity. And when I talk about respect and curiosity, I always think about curiosity like the curiosity of a five-year-old. I don’t know if you’ve been around a five-year-old recently, but everything is ‘Why? Why? Why?’ They’re always seeking a deeper understanding of the world around them.
If you enter into those conversations with that mindset, if you’re looking at your business model and how you can expand your business model with a high level of curiosity, you’ll be successful. And that’s the level of curiosity that I think we need to strive for, so we can have a deeper level of empathy with other individuals.